photo home-76.png photo about-71.png photo contact-65.png photo press-19.png photo LDV.png photo services-7.png

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Summer Reading List


Now that it is summer time, I have a lot of time on my hands, which allows me to read more than usual. While I am planning on reading, or in some cases re-reading the books from my Penguin Classics Collection later this summer, I am in the mood for something a little lighter right now. I purchased Candace Bushnell's most recent novel, One Fifth Avenue the other day, but haven't really been able to get into it.

What is on your summer reading list? I find that it is usually best to read books that have been recommended by someone else as opposed to judging a book by its cover at the store. What have you read and loved recently? What are you planning to read soon?


26 comments:

Marzz said...

I rec'd an email from Oprah (yeah, we're buddies) listing her 25 summer reading picks. Included are excerpts from each selection. After reading the first chapters of "Admission" and "Yes My Darling Daughter", I ordered them from Amazon and they arrived today! Also on my list is Maeve Binchy's 'The Glass Lake'. We're vacationing at a cottage in Maine in 2 weeks w/o a tv or internet, so hopefully these books keep me engaged between trips to the lobster boats.

spark! (Ada-Marie) said...

Hi Paloma! I love your blog and follow it daily. I read One Fifth Avenue, and it was okay. For fun summer reading, I highly recommend "Love Walked In" and its sequel "Belong to Me" by Marisa de los Santos. I also liked "The Opposite of Love" by Julie Buxbaum. Also on my list, "The Beach House" by Jane Green and "The Fixer Upper" by Mary Kay Andrews (comes out at the end of the month). Mary Kay Andrews is a fun southern author and I think you would love her book "Savannah Blues". Happy reading! Ada-Marie (http://needspark.wordpress.com)

chateaudelu said...

Cop Without a Badge. That is all.

bandelle said...

I have just started reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It was recommended by some other bloggers and I like it so far. Love the photos of dear little Tate :)

Kylie
xxx

bluehydrangea said...

Can't wait to get some good ideas! Just finished "The Help" by Stockett. GREAT book. Next on my list: "Olive Kitteridge" by Strout and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Shaffer and Barrows.

Krysta said...

I am currently re-reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Quite possibly my favorite book ever. The book I recomend to anyone looking for suggestions!

Rebekah said...

just started following your blog: i heart it! Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall is the best book I have read in a long time. I just read the Ex- Mrs. Hedge Fund, which is a fun/fast read for chick lit genre. And Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah is a wonderful story about best freinds. ENJOY!

Sarah said...

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon
The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
The Lighthouse, Virginia Wolfe
The Strain, Guillermo del Torro
Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

Maybe somewhere in there I'll try to get a boyfriend...

Tricia said...

Hi Paloma- Your blog is fabulous! I've been reading One Dead in the Attic by columnist Chris Rose. It's an easy read describing the first four months after Hurricane Katrina. As if the images on the tv weren't enough, this book really details what people went through after that horrible storm.
Happy reading!
Tricia

Brunch at Saks said...

On my reading list this summer is "My Sister's Keeper" as I have heard only great things about the book! Love your blog, as always :)

Things That Inspire said...

I have read many of the books that your readers have listed...I am a big reader in the summer, and am always looking for new ideas!

I have recently read American Wife, and enjoyed it. Just re-read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - I hadn't read it in 20 years! A classic. Summer Sisters by Judy Bloom - definitely a beach book. I loved the Friday Night Knitting Club, and the sequel, Knit 2 - some people aren't wild about them, but I am generally very supportive and not critical of literature! I like anything by Emily Giffin. A Woman of Substance and the entire series is chic lit with substance. I just finished the Guernsey book, and enjoyed it, although it took a while to get into the letter format. I have a few more on my shelf, waiting to be read.

Two more recommendations - Pillars of the Earth and its sequel World Without End (I think that is the name) are two of my all time favorites, particularly if you like architecture. Both books are huge - Pillars has about 1000 pages and takes more than 100 pages to get into it...but well worth it!

Courtney said...

I just finished Trial of Crumbs for the second time. If you haven't read that one, it's a definite. You'd LOVE it!

And I picked up Julie & Julia by Julie Powell this week (the book turned movie come August about the blogger who cooked from Julia Child's cookbook for a year). I also bought My Life in France by Julia Child. Can't wait to dive in!

Lillian said...

I have been re-reading Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver since I first read it 7 years ago. I love it so much and it's just so perfect for summer!

Anonymous said...

oh, one fifth ave is on my list at the library being sent to me, along with julie and julia!

i also just re-read catcher in the rye, and plan on redoing to kill a mockingbird this summer. nothing like reading your favs over and over again!

Haven and Home said...

I am looking for a good one. One Fifth Avenue is on my list...

Marissa said...

I recommend The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss. It's definitely one of my favorites.
And the next book I'm *planning* to read is the Autobiography of Ghandi, but unfortunately I keep picking up and rereading old school murder mysteries instead... Just finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and grabbed up Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie. For some reason they're a little more tempting, and a lot harder to put down.
Oh, and since I'm not sure I've ever commented here before (though I've been reading for a while), hi! I love your blog.

Arianna Belle said...

Have you read Candace Bushnell's Lipstick Jungle? I have a copy of it but haven't read it yet.

Hailey Grace said...

Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver and Time Traveler's Wife by Niffenegger (the movie adaptation comes out on August 13th...finally!)

Jill said...

The Strain (scary)
Oh The Glory of it All (memoir)
The Apprentice (Jacques Pepin Memoir)

Jennifer said...

I'm interested to hear what everyone has to say. I read Trail of Crumbs earlier in the year and agree with Courtney, you'll love it! I'm halfway into My Sister's Keeper and it's ... eh. But everyone says it's great so I'm trying to push through.

For light reads, I love Joshilyn Jackson. She writes about Southern women and their always-complicated relationships. Maybe I can relate or something - ha! - but I'm always entertained and usually finish her books in under 48 hours.

Lucinda -- HA!

Olivia said...

I'd recommend Eat, Pray, Love. It's a nice book and the sections are broken up so small that even if you have like 5-10 minutes only to read, you can get through a quick section! (must be why i'm reading so slowly)

Unknown said...

Wow! Thank you for all of the great suggestions. Arianna, I have never read any of Candace's books, but have enjoyed watching both SATC and Lipstick Jungle.

Olivia, I have read Eat, Pray, Love and it is one of my favorites. It is such a great book!

Lauren said...

Ha ha ha, "Cop Without a Badge."
I'm finally getting around to reading the Twilight series. What a great idea to ask for suggestions...I always get so overwhelmed at the bookstore.

Jaime @ laviejaime said...

I read American Wife too, like Things That Inspire. Highly recommend- Curtis Sittenfeld is good writer.

laviejaime.blogspot.com

beth said...

Something Borrowed, and also Something Blue by Emily Griffin are good quick summer reads--chick lit. Also, as someone else mentioned, Firefly Girls is a good book--especially liked it because I lived in Seattle for 5 years and it brought me back.

la la Lovely said...

Oh... I'm so glad you just posted about those classics again because they are so gong on my bday wish list if they are still available.
I'm reading Sense and Sensibility and then I plan to read some chick lit...
xx Trina