Summer 2016 Reading List - reposted

For almost 3 years, I wrote book reviews for a local neighborhood magazine which is now out of print.  Here is the article I wrote last summer, detailing the books I wanted to read.  I read 8 of the 12 (marked with *) and still have one of those I missed in my stack (Before Versailles) and one on my Kindle (Cyberstorm).  Maybe I will get to them this year.......

(previously published)

Happy June!!!  Summertime means more time to relax in my sunroom and read lots of books, right?  So I always have a few that I have saved for this special time of year. Here are the books I am looking forward to reading this year.

*Redemption Road  by John Hart

                One of my favorite “local” authors, Hart lived in Greensboro until recently, and in his previous books he has mentioned Charlotte!  I have read all his books and he never disappoints.  I did not even need to know what this one was about before ordering a signed copy from the bookstore. (Thank you Liz for picking it up for me!)  I can hardly wait, this one might not make it to proper summertime…..

*The Nest  by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

                This was next on my stack until Redemption Road usurped it.  This has been a big buzz book this spring.  This is the story of four siblings who must work out their equal inheritances face a crisis with their older brother, threatening the inheritance that they’ve all planned for and already spent as well as their relationships with each other.

*Queen of the Night  by Alexander Cree

                My big historical fiction pick of the summer, this one is set in 1882 Paris and focuses on an American Opera singer looking for her big mark on opera.  When she is finally offered an original show of her own, the story mirrors her own secret past.  Who knows her secret and who would put her in a show about it?  History and Mystery, yes please.

*Over the Plain Houses  by Julia Franks

                 Set in the North Carolina mountains in the late 30’s, this is the story of a USDA agent, Virginia Furman, who is sent there to help the locals modernize their homes and farms.  There she meets Irenie, wife of a fundamentalist preacher.  Irenie is intrigued by the newcomer and begins to second guess her own life and crumbling marriage.  A tale woven with an older than old belief in black magic and an older way of life, this one comes to a dramatic and violent end as the husband chases his demons amidst the possibilities of the future.  Sounds like a good ole Southern mountain people read!

*The Passenger  by Lisa Lutz

                This is the book that Sally handpicked for me.  I just love that she knows her customers so well (or maybe all that tells me is that I am in my local bookstore too much…..??  Nah!!!).  A modern identity mystery, this is the story of Tanya, who must go on the run after her husband falls down a flight of stairs and dies.  Why does she run?  Well, her name isn’t really Tanya and she just doesn’t want to explain.  This one is supposed to be quite a page turner as “Tanya” goes across the country, changing her identity with each move, trying to stay ahead of anyone who might be chasing her.  Of course, running from your past only lasts so long and in the conclusion she will be forced to face it.  Fast paced and being compared to Gone Girl and Girl on a Train, this one will most likely keep me up at night! (edit - now in paperback!!)

Before Versailles  by Karleen Koen

                This one was published in 2012, and has been on my shelf ever since, so it is time!!  Koen is an excellent historical fiction author and wrote a trilogy that is one of my favorites (Through a Glass Darkly, Now Face to Face, and Dark Angels). Here she tackles Louis XIV, and his life before he became King.  The back of the book says: “Meticulously researched and gorgeously brought to life by New York Times bestselling author Karleen Koen, Before Versailles offers up a sumptuous, authentic exploration of a time that forged a man into a king.”  This will be one to delve into, perfect for that long plane ride this summer!

*In a dark, dark wood  by Ruth Ware

                When London based writer Nora gets an email from her estranged college friend, she thinks maybe this is the reconciliation she thought would never come.  She’s been invited to celebrate Clare’s upcoming wedding!  Nora goes to attend Clare’s bachelorette party (or, Hen-do as they call it across the pond), and, well… things go wrong.  Really wrong.  Billed as a dark creepy thriller, but with mixed reviews online, I picked this one up on Sally’s recommendation – plus Reese Witherspoon has picked it up to make a movie so you know you gotta read the book first!  Maybe not as dark as the title suggests, but hopefully worthy enough to keep me interested.  (If you want dark, check out Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates.  You’ll see the end coming, but that was one book that made me nervous reading it!! Or, better yet, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (shudder).)

*Lies and Other Acts of Love  by Kristy Woodson Harvey

                Let’s lighten up the mood now, shall we?  Whew.  Here is your Beach Read of the Summer!!  Billed as a new voice in Southern Fiction, Harvey wowed with her first book Dear Carolina.  Here she tells the story of two women, grandmother Lovey and her granddaughter Annabelle, as they weave their lives through lies big and small.  I am interested to see how the use of “little white lies” can make or break relationships, despite the good intentions that birthed those lies.  This one got excellent reviews on Goodreads (if you are a reader and not on Goodreads, I will come over immediately for an intervention and tutorial), and is a welcome addition to my stack of books.  I don’t read a lot of “chick lit” but I am reminded of Liane Moriarty’s books from the description of this one, and I LOVE her books.  She even has one titled Big Little Lies….I am seeing a theme here!

*A Thousand Acres  by Jane Smiley

                Another one that has been around for a while, this was a gift from my mom who recently met the author, ironically enough, with a group that included my neighbor Mary!  Small world.  This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012 and tells the King Lear-ish story of a farmer who decides to retire and divide his one thousand acre Iowa farm between his three daughters.  Problem is, the youngest daughter balks, the father gets angry, and events spiral from there.  Touted as not only a great character study but also a great study of the American farm life.  “A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity,” states the back of the book.  (Who writes this stuff?  I want that job!!!!)

CyberStorm  by Matthew Mather

                Here is my science fiction add to the summer list.  After my experience with Breakthrough, I am trusting my Discover Sci-Fi emails and have downloaded this title on my Kindle.  I also grabbed it for $0.99, so that was a no-brainer (and also the reason I somehow have 19 titles on my Kindle still to read).  It is currently listed at $4.99.  Here is how Discover Sci-Fi describes it:  “Now in development for film by 20th Century Fox, award-winning CyberStorm depicts, in realistic and terrifying detail, what a full-scale terrorist cyber attack against present-day New York City might look like from the perspective of one family trying to survive it.

“Mike Mitchell, an average New Yorker working to keep his family together, finds himself fighting just to keep them alive when a string of disasters shreds the world around them...the Internet and communication networks go down...a deadly viral epidemic rages across the country...then a monster snowstorm cuts New York off from the world. In the chaos, rumors fly about a foreign attack, but even this becomes unimportant as Mike and his family struggle to survive in the wintry tomb of a doomed New York.”

Now, just a warning here, last time a “foreign attack” was mentioned, they weren’t talking about the Russians, they meant foreign to our planet.  I haven’t read this one yet of course so I am not sure here, just a disclaimer!!!

Chasing the North Star  by Robert Morgan

                Another historical fiction novel recommended by Sally, this book is set in 1850 in South Carolina and tells the story of one man who ran away from slavery and headed north, chasing the titular star.  He is of course followed by those who would capture him, but he is also followed by another desperate soul, Angel, who sees her freedom in his flight.  Author of Gap Creek, Morgan is a well hailed writer and painstakingly meshes historical fact with characterization and gives us a wonderful story of perseverance.

Two if by Sea  by Jacquelyn Mitchard

                I might be the only person on the planet who didn’t like The Light Between Oceans.  Yes, it was beautifully written but my problem was with the story itself.  Who could pretend a baby was their own? That is just too big a secret even on this list of books with lots of secrets.  So when I first heard the premise of this book, I thought, “Oh no, not again, I can’t do it.”

Here’s the story: American ex-pat Frank Mercy (seriously with the foreshadowing??) is a former Police Officer who loses his wife and her family in a tsunami in Brisbane.  During the aftermath, he is volunteering to save others and barely manages to save the life of a little boy, pulling him from a submerged car.  He skips the Red Cross red tape and takes the boy home to his Midwestern farm where his family has raised and trained horses for generations.  Soon, amid coincidences he cannot explain, he begins to believe the little boy has unusual telepathic powers, and that other people may be after him.  Frank and his new girlfriend struggle to hold on to the frightened boy and keep him safe while building their own new relationship, and the story moves from Australia to America to a quiet English village.  This book is getting a lot of buzz.

And there you have it!  Twelve books for the twelve weeks of summer.  Bring on the reading glasses, sandy beaches, back porch swings, or comfy sofas and let’s read!!!