Summer re-reading list
Last summer we couldn’t wait to read The House in France by Gully Wells and Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan. Sadly, this summer, there are few new books that are destined for our beach bags. So we decided this is the year to re-read not only our own favorites, but each others’ as well.
Jennifer’s choices:
Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion. At the top of my favorite book list for quite a while. Didion’s classic from 1970 is a cautionary tale of a young woman who succumbs to the banalities of a soul-less Hollywood. Think of it as the Less Than Zero of the 70s, but far more poetic and sad.
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lhari. Lhari mostly writes about Indians struggling with traditions in their homeland and America. There is a realistic, touching quality to her words and the title story evokes the mysticism and romance of India.
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I am a sucker for big romance and this heart-breaking story has it with a capital R. The movie that came out in the late 90s with Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas works just as well, but the part when Laszlo must leave Katherine behind in the cave–I cry buckets!
When You’re Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. Because it’s summer and you need some levity. The birds in the house in France and his grocery store experiences in Japan still make me laugh on a third read.
Preston’s choices:
Julia Leach tucked Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem in her Chance event gift bags and after reading the first two stories, I went on a bit of a Didion binge and bought The Year of Magical Thinking, Play it as it Lays and The White Album.
Evening by Susan Minot. The movie did this wonderful book a great injustice and deserves a re-read.
Mohawk by Richard Russo. One of my favorite authors and I have read all of his books except his first. I will this summer.
Topics: David Sedaris, Jhumpa Lhari, Joan Didion, Richard Russo, Susan Minot
Grace Coddington’s new book looks very nice.
Excellent choices – I love Joan Didion and David Sedaris – and need to get my summer reading sorted.
Thanks for some good suggestions. I went on a book buying binge just before my vacation last month, but I’ll definitely be adding Mohawk (love Richard Russo) and Evening, and maybe some others from your list, to my summer reading stack.
If you’re a Joan Didion fan—-try ” We Tell Ourselves Stories In Order To Live “–collected nonfiction.
Thank you for the suggestions! I loved ‘Maine’ last summer, but I, too, am having trouble finding more than just a few comparable beach/boat/car reading about which I can truly be excited. That said, Alex Witchel reviewed a novel in The Times, ‘Skios’ by Michael Frayn, that looks intriguing. Jane Hitchcock Stanton wrote the book ‘Social Crimes’ over ten years ago, and it remains my all-time favorite summer read. Her books are witty, easy, Madison-Avenue-thrillers. I am also looking forward to the novel ‘A Paris Wife,’ and possibly reading the non-fiction biography of Lois Moran, who is rumored to have been Fitzgerald’s inspiration for the character Rosemary in ‘Tender is the Night’. Happy summer reading!
OMG! It is like you understand my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or soetmhing. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, besides that, this is good blog post. A great read. I’ll certainly be back. Wishing you Happy New Year!