As summer vacations wind down, we’re checking in to ask what your favorite reads have been. I had a terrific season, with ‘A Month in the Country’ by J.L. Carr and ‘Pisti, 80 Rue de Belleville’ by Estelle Hoy as standouts. Donna’s favorite was ‘Roman Stories’ by Jhumpa Lahiri.
What about you? Tell us in the thread below which book(s) you enjoyed most this summer. Whether it’s a short book, a long book, a beach read or ‘War and Peace,’ let’s discuss!
Matt Riordan’s “The North Line” pulled me in. Adam needs to make a lot of money over the summer so he can stay in college back East. He goes west to Alaska and its fishing industry, where he finds danger in the cold waters, in the coming strike among other fisherman and his Captain who’s hellbent on making a buck in the harsh, frontier environment. Well written with rising tension throughout the book.
Thanks, Susan! I just looked this up and it seems to be quite a fun and sinister read. It reminds me that I need to get more murder mystery/thrillers into the mix.
The Great Alone. A troubled family in the 70s moves to a small island in Alaska. Even though it was a dark book, the descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness were beautiful. (Check trigger warnings before reading)
Thanks, Julie! Both of these novels look really interesting. I've been meaning to read TJR for a while now, starting with 'Daisy Jones & the Six.' I see that Malibu Rising is being adapted for TV, too. I need to read her stuff
I finally got around to A. S. Byatt's Possession and loved it. It's about two British academics who happen upon a discovery that changes the scholarship around two 19th century poets dramatically. They decide to investigate this without telling their colleagues and bosses which complicates matters and a relationship with each other blossoms in the process (also complicating matters). Meanwhile, everyone is feeling hemmed in by social, and especially gender, expectations. I couldn't put it down for the last 100 pages!
For non-fiction, I loved What God Hath Wrought by Daniel Walker Howe (a doorstop about the US between 1815 and 1848 but gripping, really) and The Big Picture by Ben Fritz (relive the Sony email hack of 2014 and hear about why the movie industry is the way it is now).
Thanks for sharing, Keke! I read Possession last summer and adored it, too! It's so good! I've been telling everyone to read it since. The Daniel Walker Howe book reminds me of 'The Year of Decision, 1846' by Bernard De Voto, another fascinating book about an oft-overlooked time in U.S. history.
This has been the summer of Siri Hustvedt for me. I loved The Sorrows of an American -- it had just the right mix of lyricism and erudition to completely pull me into the narrator's inner world. In The Summer Without Men I enjoyed Hustvedt's play with 18th-century-inspired narration. Both novels translated the author's love for art into an interesting perspective on crafts and secret amateur tinkering that reveals hidden depths. The earnestness of the fictional amateur art amused and amazed me. I had a great time in both of these novels.
I love that novel. I read it a couple of years ago after a "false start" with The Blazing World. I think that What I Loved prepared me for understanding Hustvedt's approach to the interplay of art and psychology, so I call my attempt to start with The Blazing World a false start. Initially, I just bounced off that novel. Upon rereading, I like it more, but I still think that it's largely enjoyable as a next encounter with this author.
Leo, the narrator of What I Loved, makes a reappearance in The Sorrows of an American. I was ridiculously excited to meet him again, from a different perspective -- as someone being looked at rather than doing the looking.
Thanks, Mil! 'What I Loved' has been on our shelf (twice) for a million years, and I've always wanted to read it. Maybe once Donna is done with her re-read, I'll finally get to it!
Hi Jam! It doesn't have to be a book about summer. I was curious about books folks loved that they read during the summer. I've been meaning to check out Emily St. John Mandel, especially since people seemed to really be into 'Station Eleven.' I'll definitely give 'Sea of Tranquility' a look!
Horse by Geraldine Brooks even if crushed by the character’s death at the end. James by Percival Everett and The Many Daughters of Afong May by James Ford.
Thanks for sharing, Sylvia! James is very high on my list--I'll probably pick it up when it's out in paperback. And after seeing American Fiction, I'm definitely interested in reading more of Everett's work. Horse and Afong May both look really interesting. I'll have to check those out, too!
Thanks, Becky! I haven't seen the new Ripley, but I recently rewatched the movie with Matt Damon. I hadn't seen it since it was in theaters, and it held up! Everyone in it was really good! It made me want to read the Highsmith novel, and now I'll have to keep an eye out for it in the second-hand shops.
Madness by Antonia Hylton: an eye-opening non-fiction read about a segregated asylum in Maryland. She weaves in the conditions at the asylum with the sociocultural changes of the times. Well-paced writing & a great work of investigative journalism. My favorite summer fiction was Quarterlife by Devika Rege: a sharp observation of the class, caste, religious structures that shape Indian society -- along with considering what this means as a post-colonized state. It made me uncomfortable... in the way that only a good book can.
Thanks for sharing these, Pratiksha! They both look really intense and interesting. It doesn't seem like Quarterlife is out here yet, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that. And I definitely want to check out Madness, too.
Technically it was The Details by Ia Genberg. Just fantastic. I was reading through some recent International Booker finalists for a guest post I was doing; and it caught my eye. Glad it did.
But for the ending that knocked me over of a book that is much less prestigious, The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. Powdered wigs and fortune telling and courts of law and MURDER!
Thanks for sharing these, Susan! You remind me that I need to get more murder books into the mix. I just picked up 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino and was taking a long look yesterday at 'Time of the Flies' by Claudia Piñeiro, which was also a Booker finalist. 'The Details' and 'Square of Sevens' look really interesting, too!
Yes! The story looked really interesting and the cover design was striking. I'm a sucker for bright colors and murder lol!
I picked up Out because I saw a woman on the train reading a copy that had this cool pink and gray design. Not even 15 minutes later, I was at the neighborhood bookstore for an event and the book was on display there as a staff pick, and then the same woman walked in. All this I interpreted as signs from the universe to read the book. When people ask me how I select the books I review, and I tell them it's based on the universe/vibes, they look at me strange, but how could this experience be anything but lol?!
I totally get this. I used to read books based on carefully constructed lists and themes of my own design (too many years of school and grad school and being used to syllabi) but lately I’ve been going with my gut and it’s kind of magical??? I feel like it’s like tarot cards or something. Why did I pick up this book… something subconsciously drew me to it. Well that and/or I promised someone I’d do it next under pain of death.
I have had a good reading summer. I loved 3 but will go with The God of the Woods by Liz Moore which has been all over social media and book review best of lists. It is set in a summer camp and a girl goes missing 14 years after her brother went missing on the same piece of property. Set in Maine, with class issues at its heart, I really enjoyed it.
Hi Kate! I'm glad you had a good reading summer, too. 'The God of the Woods' sounds intense. I somehow missed all the social buzz about it, but I'll definitely check it out!
I've been all over the place -- reading R.L. Stine for my 10-year-old, to reading 'The Power Broker' by Robert Caro, to reading 'Better, Faster, Farther' by Maggie Mertens (which is great!). Lately, I've been feeling the pull to read more fiction again, after not reading it for a long time leading into this year -- it won't be on anyone's "best of" list, but I loved John Grisham's 'The Guardians' 😃
Thanks, Terrell! I read The Power Broker a million years ago and really loved it. I've been meaning to read Caro's LBJ series, but that would take me months and that doesn't jibe with my newsletter schedule. There's no problem with loving books that aren't on any best of list. my favorite book of the summer is so obscure you can't find it anywhere let alone on a best-of list. But it will be on my best-of list at the end of the year, for sure. Long-story short, read whatever you like!
I haven't gotten through nearly as many books this summer as I expected (the reader's lament) but I read The Troop by Nick Cutter, which was gripping and had me wondering what on earth could happen next. And because I read a lot of horror, I also give high marks to The House on the Borderland by W.H Hodgson.
One of my great reads this summer was A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent and Mary Price. From 1965, the Prices gathered recipes from gourmet restaurants around the world and each has a story of dining in that restaurant and who they were with, meeting the chefs, etc. It's conversational and witty and so very hi-brow.
Oh wow! 'A Treasury of Great Recipes' sounds amazing! I have to find it. I hear you, Jennifer, about not getting through as many books as we'd like. That's my constant lament as well. And yet I keep buying them and stacking them up!
You Are Here by David Nicholls - so funny and heartwarming. Saw him being interviewed by Dolly Alderton in London when it came out and I swear everyone in the audience was a bit in love with him as they left.
Long Island by Colm Toibin I listened to this read by Jessie Buckley and it was such a beautiful treat to drive to. So achingly human. Could not turn it off for the last hour - like a thriller. 10/10.
We are Experiencing a Slight Delay by Gary Janetti - Gary is an Instagram favourite and scriptwriter (Family Guy, Will and Grace) and this is a slim volume about travel in his life. So funny and true. I rarely laugh out loud when reading but his Cunard voyage alone and his sojourn in London at the Covent Garden Hotel are comedy gold.
I'm glad you're enjoying the thread, Cindy! So many interesting books have been mentioned, it seems everyone has had a great summer of reading. Thanks for sharing these! You remind me I should listen to more audiobooks!
“The Summer Book” by Tove Jansson. Sweet, strange, very funny, and short. A perfect summer book, especially if you like islands in oceans, rustic “camp” life, and interesting people and beautiful places. Also “Paul takes the form of a mortal girl” by Andrea Lawlor- an bildungsroman exploring gender, place, and general coming-into-selfness. And of course “All Fours” by Miranda July- the perimenopause book of the year.
Thanks for sharing, Ann! 'All Fours' might be the book of the summer, it's everywhere! I enjoyed 'The First Bad Man' and had been looking forward to reading the new novel, but will probably wait for paperback. I also have been interested in Lawlor's book, I keep seeing it in bookshop displays. And I've been wanting to read Jansson for a while, but have been unsure where to start. Maybe I'll try that one next summer!?
Thanks, Cynthia! This book looks really interesting. I've often wondered what it would be like to live off-grid. Doesn't really seem possible these days. I'll definitely check this memoir out!
I read Matt Perry's memoir, Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing
He was self-aware, painfully, unabashedly but, ended the book on a positive note. Clearly, fooling himself one more time, sadly.
And Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. From the insides of an organisation that runs on the strength of animals and freaks, friendships and hatred, love and death, the horrible juxtaposes with the sublime, to make a fantastic read. It's a movie and a broadway show too, though I'm not sure I'll give it a watch
Thanks for sharing, Shobna! It's really sad what happened to Perry. I remember there being Water for Elephants movie, but didn't realize there was a show, too. I just looked it up and it's a musical?! Apparently, it's still in the theater. I will likely skip it, too, but will definitely check out the book.
I didn't review it. I read it way before the newsletter. I believe I did review South and West, way back when. Now that I think if it, maybe I am conflating these books?
Two of my favorite reads this summer came from you—novels I otherwise would have never discovered. Just finished “Pisti, 80 Rue de Belleville.” Wow, what fun—loved it. My literary dinner would include Estelle Hoy, Roberto Bolano and Walt Whitman. Another favorite read was Pedro Paramo. Thanks so much, Mike, for finding such great reads.
This is the nicest and most wonderful comment I could have received! I'm overjoyed that you enjoyed these novels, Brian! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Been reading Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, so far my favourite read of 2024 (even though it was published a few years ago). Brings back memories of Glasgow…. And oh poor Shuggie, what a crappy family
Matt Riordan’s “The North Line” pulled me in. Adam needs to make a lot of money over the summer so he can stay in college back East. He goes west to Alaska and its fishing industry, where he finds danger in the cold waters, in the coming strike among other fisherman and his Captain who’s hellbent on making a buck in the harsh, frontier environment. Well written with rising tension throughout the book.
Thanks, Geoff! Sounds like a gripping read. Glad you enjoyed it!
If we were villains. Dark academia. So much fun!
Thanks, Susan! I just looked this up and it seems to be quite a fun and sinister read. It reminds me that I need to get more murder mystery/thrillers into the mix.
It’s a fast read. Lots of Shakespeare and I’m still thinking about the ending.
The Great Alone. A troubled family in the 70s moves to a small island in Alaska. Even though it was a dark book, the descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness were beautiful. (Check trigger warnings before reading)
Thanks, Andriana! Looks like an intense book. But I also love books that can make a place come alive in your mind, almost as if you can see it.
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray and Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Thanks, Julie! Both of these novels look really interesting. I've been meaning to read TJR for a while now, starting with 'Daisy Jones & the Six.' I see that Malibu Rising is being adapted for TV, too. I need to read her stuff
I finally got around to A. S. Byatt's Possession and loved it. It's about two British academics who happen upon a discovery that changes the scholarship around two 19th century poets dramatically. They decide to investigate this without telling their colleagues and bosses which complicates matters and a relationship with each other blossoms in the process (also complicating matters). Meanwhile, everyone is feeling hemmed in by social, and especially gender, expectations. I couldn't put it down for the last 100 pages!
For non-fiction, I loved What God Hath Wrought by Daniel Walker Howe (a doorstop about the US between 1815 and 1848 but gripping, really) and The Big Picture by Ben Fritz (relive the Sony email hack of 2014 and hear about why the movie industry is the way it is now).
Thanks for sharing, Keke! I read Possession last summer and adored it, too! It's so good! I've been telling everyone to read it since. The Daniel Walker Howe book reminds me of 'The Year of Decision, 1846' by Bernard De Voto, another fascinating book about an oft-overlooked time in U.S. history.
Ooo The Year of Decision looks really interesting, I'm adding it to my TBR list. Thanks!!
This has been the summer of Siri Hustvedt for me. I loved The Sorrows of an American -- it had just the right mix of lyricism and erudition to completely pull me into the narrator's inner world. In The Summer Without Men I enjoyed Hustvedt's play with 18th-century-inspired narration. Both novels translated the author's love for art into an interesting perspective on crafts and secret amateur tinkering that reveals hidden depths. The earnestness of the fictional amateur art amused and amazed me. I had a great time in both of these novels.
I’m also a fan of Hustvedt’s “What I Loved.” It’s been years since I read it and am considering giving it a re-read.
I love that novel. I read it a couple of years ago after a "false start" with The Blazing World. I think that What I Loved prepared me for understanding Hustvedt's approach to the interplay of art and psychology, so I call my attempt to start with The Blazing World a false start. Initially, I just bounced off that novel. Upon rereading, I like it more, but I still think that it's largely enjoyable as a next encounter with this author.
Leo, the narrator of What I Loved, makes a reappearance in The Sorrows of an American. I was ridiculously excited to meet him again, from a different perspective -- as someone being looked at rather than doing the looking.
Thanks, Mil! 'What I Loved' has been on our shelf (twice) for a million years, and I've always wanted to read it. Maybe once Donna is done with her re-read, I'll finally get to it!
Does it have to be a book about summer? If not, mine’s Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. It’s a very hopeful book.
Hi Jam! It doesn't have to be a book about summer. I was curious about books folks loved that they read during the summer. I've been meaning to check out Emily St. John Mandel, especially since people seemed to really be into 'Station Eleven.' I'll definitely give 'Sea of Tranquility' a look!
yes yes please! I would love to know what you think on those two books.
Horse by Geraldine Brooks even if crushed by the character’s death at the end. James by Percival Everett and The Many Daughters of Afong May by James Ford.
Thanks for sharing, Sylvia! James is very high on my list--I'll probably pick it up when it's out in paperback. And after seeing American Fiction, I'm definitely interested in reading more of Everett's work. Horse and Afong May both look really interesting. I'll have to check those out, too!
After watching Ripley on Netflix (so good) I read The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and loved it. Ripley Underground is up next for me.
Thanks, Becky! I haven't seen the new Ripley, but I recently rewatched the movie with Matt Damon. I hadn't seen it since it was in theaters, and it held up! Everyone in it was really good! It made me want to read the Highsmith novel, and now I'll have to keep an eye out for it in the second-hand shops.
The new Netflix version is really good. Very noir. Follows the book closely and the acting is superb. Give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.
OK! Will do!
Madness by Antonia Hylton: an eye-opening non-fiction read about a segregated asylum in Maryland. She weaves in the conditions at the asylum with the sociocultural changes of the times. Well-paced writing & a great work of investigative journalism. My favorite summer fiction was Quarterlife by Devika Rege: a sharp observation of the class, caste, religious structures that shape Indian society -- along with considering what this means as a post-colonized state. It made me uncomfortable... in the way that only a good book can.
Thanks for sharing these, Pratiksha! They both look really intense and interesting. It doesn't seem like Quarterlife is out here yet, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that. And I definitely want to check out Madness, too.
Thanks for starting this thread! It's interesting to note everyone's favorite reads. The dark academia recs are going on my TBR for sure!
I'm glad you're enjoying the thread! I love to see what everyone else is reading. I find so many good books that way!
Me too!
I read Madness a few months ago — really stuck with me.
Technically it was The Details by Ia Genberg. Just fantastic. I was reading through some recent International Booker finalists for a guest post I was doing; and it caught my eye. Glad it did.
But for the ending that knocked me over of a book that is much less prestigious, The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. Powdered wigs and fortune telling and courts of law and MURDER!
Thanks for sharing these, Susan! You remind me that I need to get more murder books into the mix. I just picked up 'Out' by Natsuo Kirino and was taking a long look yesterday at 'Time of the Flies' by Claudia Piñeiro, which was also a Booker finalist. 'The Details' and 'Square of Sevens' look really interesting, too!
a LONG look at 'Time of the Flies'?!? Music to my ears Mike!!!
Yes! The story looked really interesting and the cover design was striking. I'm a sucker for bright colors and murder lol!
I picked up Out because I saw a woman on the train reading a copy that had this cool pink and gray design. Not even 15 minutes later, I was at the neighborhood bookstore for an event and the book was on display there as a staff pick, and then the same woman walked in. All this I interpreted as signs from the universe to read the book. When people ask me how I select the books I review, and I tell them it's based on the universe/vibes, they look at me strange, but how could this experience be anything but lol?!
I totally get this. I used to read books based on carefully constructed lists and themes of my own design (too many years of school and grad school and being used to syllabi) but lately I’ve been going with my gut and it’s kind of magical??? I feel like it’s like tarot cards or something. Why did I pick up this book… something subconsciously drew me to it. Well that and/or I promised someone I’d do it next under pain of death.
I have had a good reading summer. I loved 3 but will go with The God of the Woods by Liz Moore which has been all over social media and book review best of lists. It is set in a summer camp and a girl goes missing 14 years after her brother went missing on the same piece of property. Set in Maine, with class issues at its heart, I really enjoyed it.
Hi Kate! I'm glad you had a good reading summer, too. 'The God of the Woods' sounds intense. I somehow missed all the social buzz about it, but I'll definitely check it out!
I also read and loved her book Heft which might be more up your alley. A smaller, quieter book, I read it 10 years ago and loved it!
OK! I'll check that out, too!
It's my book of the summer! And, Mike, I think it might be in the venn diagram of our tastes.
OK in that case this book has my complete and undivided attention!
I've been all over the place -- reading R.L. Stine for my 10-year-old, to reading 'The Power Broker' by Robert Caro, to reading 'Better, Faster, Farther' by Maggie Mertens (which is great!). Lately, I've been feeling the pull to read more fiction again, after not reading it for a long time leading into this year -- it won't be on anyone's "best of" list, but I loved John Grisham's 'The Guardians' 😃
Thanks, Terrell! I read The Power Broker a million years ago and really loved it. I've been meaning to read Caro's LBJ series, but that would take me months and that doesn't jibe with my newsletter schedule. There's no problem with loving books that aren't on any best of list. my favorite book of the summer is so obscure you can't find it anywhere let alone on a best-of list. But it will be on my best-of list at the end of the year, for sure. Long-story short, read whatever you like!
I haven't gotten through nearly as many books this summer as I expected (the reader's lament) but I read The Troop by Nick Cutter, which was gripping and had me wondering what on earth could happen next. And because I read a lot of horror, I also give high marks to The House on the Borderland by W.H Hodgson.
One of my great reads this summer was A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent and Mary Price. From 1965, the Prices gathered recipes from gourmet restaurants around the world and each has a story of dining in that restaurant and who they were with, meeting the chefs, etc. It's conversational and witty and so very hi-brow.
Oh wow! 'A Treasury of Great Recipes' sounds amazing! I have to find it. I hear you, Jennifer, about not getting through as many books as we'd like. That's my constant lament as well. And yet I keep buying them and stacking them up!
Same! I have an enormous stack ready for Fall 😉
This is my favourite kind of thread!
You Are Here by David Nicholls - so funny and heartwarming. Saw him being interviewed by Dolly Alderton in London when it came out and I swear everyone in the audience was a bit in love with him as they left.
Long Island by Colm Toibin I listened to this read by Jessie Buckley and it was such a beautiful treat to drive to. So achingly human. Could not turn it off for the last hour - like a thriller. 10/10.
We are Experiencing a Slight Delay by Gary Janetti - Gary is an Instagram favourite and scriptwriter (Family Guy, Will and Grace) and this is a slim volume about travel in his life. So funny and true. I rarely laugh out loud when reading but his Cunard voyage alone and his sojourn in London at the Covent Garden Hotel are comedy gold.
I'm glad you're enjoying the thread, Cindy! So many interesting books have been mentioned, it seems everyone has had a great summer of reading. Thanks for sharing these! You remind me I should listen to more audiobooks!
“The Summer Book” by Tove Jansson. Sweet, strange, very funny, and short. A perfect summer book, especially if you like islands in oceans, rustic “camp” life, and interesting people and beautiful places. Also “Paul takes the form of a mortal girl” by Andrea Lawlor- an bildungsroman exploring gender, place, and general coming-into-selfness. And of course “All Fours” by Miranda July- the perimenopause book of the year.
Thanks for sharing, Ann! 'All Fours' might be the book of the summer, it's everywhere! I enjoyed 'The First Bad Man' and had been looking forward to reading the new novel, but will probably wait for paperback. I also have been interested in Lawlor's book, I keep seeing it in bookshop displays. And I've been wanting to read Jansson for a while, but have been unsure where to start. Maybe I'll try that one next summer!?
The Way of the Hermit by Ken Smith
Thanks, Cynthia! This book looks really interesting. I've often wondered what it would be like to live off-grid. Doesn't really seem possible these days. I'll definitely check this memoir out!
It’s a fabulous book!
I read Matt Perry's memoir, Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing
He was self-aware, painfully, unabashedly but, ended the book on a positive note. Clearly, fooling himself one more time, sadly.
And Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. From the insides of an organisation that runs on the strength of animals and freaks, friendships and hatred, love and death, the horrible juxtaposes with the sublime, to make a fantastic read. It's a movie and a broadway show too, though I'm not sure I'll give it a watch
Thanks for sharing, Shobna! It's really sad what happened to Perry. I remember there being Water for Elephants movie, but didn't realize there was a show, too. I just looked it up and it's a musical?! Apparently, it's still in the theater. I will likely skip it, too, but will definitely check out the book.
I really loved the Ministry of Time and the Shamshine Blind.
Thanks, AI! Both novels look really good!
Recency bias but: Joan Didion’s Democracy was 🔥
Thanks, Abra! I read that book a while back. Glad to see it holds up!!
Did you review it? If so I will look for that because now I am so curious what others think of it.
I didn't review it. I read it way before the newsletter. I believe I did review South and West, way back when. Now that I think if it, maybe I am conflating these books?
Two of my favorite reads this summer came from you—novels I otherwise would have never discovered. Just finished “Pisti, 80 Rue de Belleville.” Wow, what fun—loved it. My literary dinner would include Estelle Hoy, Roberto Bolano and Walt Whitman. Another favorite read was Pedro Paramo. Thanks so much, Mike, for finding such great reads.
This is the nicest and most wonderful comment I could have received! I'm overjoyed that you enjoyed these novels, Brian! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Been reading Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, so far my favourite read of 2024 (even though it was published a few years ago). Brings back memories of Glasgow…. And oh poor Shuggie, what a crappy family