Everything I've Read This Summer

I know it’s August 8th, so we have a little summer left.

But like it or not, there’s not a lot.

I’ll be an empty-nester in six days. I have a new teaching job that starts in ten. Cross country (I’m a coach) starts in nine. And, I’ve finished eight books this summer. That’s a little low for me, but I’ve also abandoned quite a few. Last year, I invited more serendipity into my reading life by keeping my Libby (that’s the library app) hold list filled with random books I heard about everywhere—on podcasts, on Instagram, in the newspaper. Sometimes, the books were for me, and sometimes they weren’t.

I like the Libby practice, and I’ve kept it going. I’ve read stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise, which is good. And then, sometimes I don’t like the books I try on a whim. I don’t keep track of books I don’t finish, and I don’t publicly pan them. No one needs that kind of negativity.

I’m just going to tell you about the eight books I’ve finished and the two I’m reading now! I’ll also say I read two bangers in May, including Yesteryear, which is the book of the year by most accounts, and This Story Might Save Your Life, which Dan and I devoured in audio form in a single-day road trip. Yay May!

Ok! Here’s what I read in June, July, and August in the order I read it:

So Far Gone by Jess Walter. This has a little of The Road to Tender Hearts magic with a much darker tone and some much darker plot points. Still, it’s a family trying to be a family (and on a road trip) after a lot of life happens to them. Topics include religion, radicalization, rock and roll, tech addiction, parenting, and opting out. It might be for you, and The Road to Tender Hearts likely most definitely is. According to my spreadsheet, I read that last June, and it was great.

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing. This is a super enjoyable and sometimes silly thriller featuring an old-lady grandma serial killer. What’s not to like? My favorite Samantha Downing novel remains her debut, My Lovely Wife, but I’ve read almost her entire catalog. You don’t do that if you don’t like a writer!

The Fountain by Casey Scieszka. Yep, yep, yep!! Heartwood vibes (I read that in March and loved it), but the main character and her brother are mysteriously immortal. They recover from every injury and sickness with crazy speed, and they’ve been alive for almost 200 years, though both appear to be in their late twenties. Besides that one sci-fi element, it reads like contemporary fiction and is propulsive, thought-provoking, and fun. The main character returns to the place where she stopped aging to see if she can find the source of her immortality. Complications ensue.

Land by Maggie O’Farrell. This one also has a little sci-fi to it. A grove of trees and a mysterious well with a heavy history change the course of a family, headed by a Tomás, who is helping the British map Ireland in post-potato-famine times. Everyone is trying to make something of themselves and some want to be independent. But, also there’s family and duty. The writing is stunning, and the story is sad. This was heavy for summer, but this is how my Libby experiment goes: the bestseller arrives in my Kindle when it arrives, and I have 21 days to read it. I’m glad I read this one. O’Farrell can really write.

Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest. I meant to read a bunch of YA this summer, but it’ll be a school-year plan instead. I did read this wonderful book about a kid falling in love, navigating senior-year friendships, and applying to college. Her complication is that she uses a wheelchair and needs school to be accessible. She also just wants to be in love with the college she chooses, like everyone else.

Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder by Julia Zarankin. Ok, so I’ve been wondering if I should take up bird watching. But actually, I do not think I should do that. As everyone always says when I mention it, “But you hate birds.” So, yes, other hobbies will suffice. If you are a birder or want to take up birding, this might be for you!

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane. This is another heavy read for summer, but it’s oh so beautiful. Everyone told me to read it when it came out in 2019. But, they also said it was so sad, and I didn’t want to be sad right then. I came across it again, I put it on hold, and it arrived in my Kindle. We’ve been over this: I had 21 days to read it. It didn’t take that long because I became utterly obsessed with the characters and the families and the dynamics and the love and the losses over a couple of generations of Italian-American cop families. Do it, do it. Even though it’s sad, it’s also fantastic and wonderful. It has Hello, Beautiful vibes, if you want a read-alike.

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis. This is a dual-timeline 1936/1978 novel featuring Egyptologist Charlotte Cross, and in the later timeline, teenager Annie Jenkins, who solve the disappearance of a famous artifact from the Met. They also solve a mystery from Charlotte’s past that has haunted her and prevented her return to The Valley of Kings for most of her life. So entertaining. I will be reading more Fiona Davis, for sure.

Those are the books I finished! Now, I’m about 70% of the way through The Calamity Club, this summer’s 650-page historical bestseller by Kathryn Stockett of The Help fame. I’m enjoying it. It surely has a meandering plot, but the characters are fun and engaging. On Kindle I’m in a book I couldn’t get from the library, for some reason, called The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. I bought it. It’s the first in a mystery series, and as it happens, I’m looking for a new series. This could be it. The detective is a reclusive archeologist, and I like her so far.

I have two open spaces on my Libby hold list at the moment (the max is fifteen holds). Any recs?!