By Heidi Simmons
The solstice has passed and it is officially summer! At this time of year, it seems appropriate, maybe mandatory, to make a reading list. Something about this warm season says relax — and reading does exactly that. It is great to enjoy a good book in a cool shady place or while you catch a few rays. It is that time of year where you can indulge in a long, well-written book and not feel rushed.
Chose a novel or a nonfiction read from either the bestseller list or revisit the classics. Whether you get through one or a dozen tomes, the beauty of summer reading is: it doesn’t matter. Unless of course you are an AP or Honor student.
Here are some suggestions:
From the current bestseller list in hardcover:
Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. (Little Brown, 784 pages) A 13-year-old boy, abandoned by his father, survives an explosion that kills his mother. Orphaned, he is taken in by wealthy friends and grows up troubled, clinging to a painting that reminds him of his mother.
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Scribner, 448 pages) At a mid-western job fair, a stolen Mercedes drives through the line killing and injuring dozens. When the driver threatens to do it again, a retired cop sets out to catch the mad motorist.
China Dolls by Lisa See (Random House, 400 pages) Three young Chinese-American nightclub performers in San Francisco forge friendships while WWII serves as a political backdrop. See spoke about working on this book when she attended the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival last January
Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst (Random House, 272 pages) Set in pre-WWII Europe, a Lawyer gets caught up in a clandestine operation to supply weapons for the Spanish Republic’s army battle against fascism.
Bestsellers in paperback:
Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (Random House, 720 pages) The first in a series of five books (also the title of an HBO television series) follows the families of seven kingdoms fighting for power and control.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown, 432pages) When a wife goes missing, the woman’s diary is used to find her killer which points to her husband. Or was it all a set up to manipulate the media and affect public opinion?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Penguin Young Readers, 336 pages) This young adult novel is crossing over to mature readers as well. The movie adaptation is also in theaters now. The story is about a teenage girl who has given up all hope after a cancer diagnosis. And then she meets a boy in a cancer support group for kids and learns to live and love.
Bestsellers in nonfiction:
Capital in the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Piketty (Harvard University Press, 696 pages) This book explores the dynamics and history of the factors that drive wealth in America.
Think Like a Freak by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt (HarperCollins, 288 pages) From the writers of Freakonomics, the authors look at creative ways to solve problems in a wide variety of subjects with fascinating global examples.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (Viking Penguin, 416 pages) In 1936 nine working-class rowers from the University of Washington captured the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics. Brown will be a speaker at the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival 2015, January the 21 through the 24.
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell (Little Brown, 336 pages) Gladwell answers the questions about what makes the best, the brightest, the most famous and the most successful excel.
Best selling classics:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (Barnes & Noble, 640 pages) A young man who has it all – a good job and a beautiful fiancé is resented by a foe who conspires against him and attempts to destroy his life.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Barnes & Noble, 400 pages) This gothic love story between flawed and complicated human beings casts a strange spell with people you both love and loathe.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Barnes & Noble, 448 pages) France and London are the two cities faced with political unrest between the have-and-have-nots, but it cannot stop love.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin (Barnes & Noble, 432 pages) Five daughters seek love in the complicated class system in England’s countryside.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville (Barnes & Noble, 752 pages) American sea captain Ahab goes on a deadly search for the white whale that took his leg, taking his crew down with him.
Part of what makes summer so fun is the opportunity to leisure read. Take some time and find a story to get lost in. Maybe you have an AP or Honor student who must read a classic over the summer? Why not join them and read it too. It makes for lively dinner conversation. No worries if fiction isn’t your thing, non-fiction is equally entertaining. Make summer vacation 2014 memorable by what you read.
