Hooray for Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just know I am going to have hours and hours to sit in my sunroom and at Patti and Teri's respective pools and read read read!!
(Yeah, between camp carpool and VBS dropoff and "Mom can you take me to the mall???" Ugh.)
Yet, I am basically a hopeful person. I might be reading in the parking lot of the mall waiting on my teenager but by golly I'll be reading!!!
So here is my list of what I am excited about this summer. I admit I am not as excited with this list as I was with last year's list (oh, maybe I will post that here too!). And it is long,but just think of it as one book per week. That is doable during summer....right??
1 - Camino Island, John Grisham - So excited to be going to meet Grisham next week at my local bookstore!!! He rarely if ever does tours, so this is quite the coup (yea Sally!). Not a bad way to spend the first week of summer - all afternoon in my LBS (Local Book Store) getting a new book signed by a famous author. I have no idea what the book is about, but Grisham does not usually disappoint. Plus, I am going with some book club mates so we will enjoy it no matter what!
2 - The Fix, David Baldacci - Ok, I am very excited about this one actually. This is the third book in the excellent Amos Decker series (Memory Man, The Last Mile). Please go read the first two first. Amos is a character like no other - grumpy, abrasive, sometimes downright mean - but you'll love him. He has an excellent memory for detail due to a brain injury on the football field years ago which stole his pro football career from him. Now he uses his new (and improved?) brain to solve mysteries. His injury also prevents him from feeling emotion, so there's that to contend with, sometimes with a giggle. But his cohorts are super loyal, and his ability to see what others don't during an investigation is becoming legendary. This will be a page turner!!!
3 - The Silent Corner, Dean Koontz - This might surprise those of you new to my book reviews, but I adore Dean Koontz. He is one of my top 5 authors. I once thought it would be fun to try to read all of his books - and then I saw the list. The man writes more than James Patterson. Sheesh. This is the start of a new series starring a formidable but regular woman: Jane Hawk. When her husband suddenly commits suicide, she goes on a hunt for the truth of his life and his death and subsequently gets involved in other "mysterious" suicides and becomes a target herself. It helps that she is an FBI agent. The classic "she stumbled on a dangerous truth" premise gets a twist with the addition of the issue of suicide as a cover. Most of Koontz's books have a supernatural bent which I love (hello Odd Thomas, From the Corner of His Eye, and 47 others or so), but doesn't look like this one is going there. Stay tuned...
4 - Born a Crime, Trevor Noah - Another surprise on my list - an autobiography! Born in South Africa to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, Noah was evidence of the crime of mixed fraternization during Apartheid. His rise to fame as the now anchor of The Daily Show apparently makes for an educational and comic read.
5 - The Girls, Emma Cline - This is a book from last year that I just never got around to. Sort of a cult brainwashes teenage girls story, But a book of choices and a cautionary tale. I am prepared to be scared (did I mention I have TWO teenage daughters???).
6 - Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance - I am late to the game on this one too but after loving Small Great Things back in January, this seems a good counter. My book club is reading it, so I know I will get it done!
7 - Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, Diana Gabaldon - Had to do it. An Anthology of a few "short" stories I have read before and two new ones, Gabaldon fills a few gaps in the Outlander universe about Roger's parents, Jamie's youth, and of course, "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies." Insert smiley face here.
8- The Awkward Age, Francesca Segal - A Sally Book (meaning, my local bookseller, who I obviously worship, suggested it). A British family, a divorce, a new marriage, and two teenage step-siblings. Let the fun begin - complete with British humor which even my British husband might enjoy. If I don't understand something, I'll just ask him. (BTW, going to get a "ruby" does NOT entail going to the jewelry store.....)
9 - Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan - A sweeping family saga that starts with two Irish sisters coming to NY and ends with a huge family and one big secret that could make or break them. Sounds like a beach read for me!!!! Another Sally Book, I was skeptical because I did not really like The Engagements, but I trust Sally. And she says you shouldn't dismiss one "sibling" of a book just because you didn't like the other one. Hmmm. Ironic much??
10 - I let You Go, Clare Mackintosh - Sally Book #3. I don't usually go for a book where a child dies...but in this one the child is not the focus. The focus is on the mother's life afterwards (and maybe prior??), how she flees to a small village on the Welsh coast - but from what is she actually fleeing?? Called a British procedural with a great twist at the end, this one intrigued me.
11 - Into the Water, Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train author is back with another novel of how memory affects the story. Two women end up dead in the local river mere weeks apart; turns out they are not the only ones to lose their lives to the river. The mystery deepens, memories are untrustworthy, and one teenage girl must learn to carry on with her new life. Even the reviews are mixed on this one - yes, a different story altogether; yes, the same great writing; yes, it is fast paced...but maybe not for everyone. I'll let you know!
12 - The Life She Was Given, Ellen Marie Wiseman - Historical fiction, finally!! Another past meets present, but I am a little nervous about this premise. In the 1930's, a little girl named Lilly is not allowed to leave her house, but then she is suddenly "sold" to the circus, where she apparently finds strength and a family to love her. Fast forward 20 years and Julia is a 19 year old who returns to her unhappy childhood home and discovers photos of a young circus girl and goes in search of her story....tragedy and healing, heartbreak and hope all bind together in this one - compares to Water for Elephants said one review!
*13 - For the Baker's Dozen (Reader's Dozen??) I will give you the rest of my list with brief comments:
Since We Fell - Dennis Lehane: a journalist breaks down on air, becomes a recluse until forced by a conspiracy to rejoin the world. Psychological Thriller
The Thirst - Jo Nesbo: #11 Harry Hole, an investigator who in this case hunts a killer who uses Tinder to find his victims. Timely.
Full Wolf Moon - Lincoln Child (love his Pendergast series with his partner Douglas Preston!): just a tiny bit of The X Files here - Logan investigates strange phenomena, and this time it is a mauled body in the woods.....fifth in the series.
A Game of Ghosts - John Connolly: Deaths and disappearances blamed on ghosts?? What the what? I'm in. The FBI dispatches Charlie Parker to find their lead investigator who is working on a case that posits a link of hauntings....
The Identicals - Elin Hilderbrand: Beach Read. Twin Sisters, switch houses, chaos ensues. Fun!
The Little French Bistro - Nina George: I loved The Little Paris Bookshop, here comes another one!
Not Dead Yet - Phil Collins - my favorite musician's memoir!!
And maybe, just maybe, another run at The Prince of Tides. RIP Pat.
And there you have it!! I will be back in September to see how well I did. It is hard to write a description of a book I haven't read yet, so I am interested to see how my approach here compares to the actual experience of reading them. Comment below if you plan to read any of these as well!!
Happy Reading!!!!
Rawles
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