When the summer arrives with a gentle breeze carrying the sweet scent of sun-opened flowers—perhaps honeysuckle or butterfly bush—do you really want to be inside working? Or is laying on the grass reading a captivating book a much better reward for your recent diligence? A story that transports you to foreign places, different mindsets, new language. Scenes from places you have never been. A vacation without the hassle of airport security. And in winter a book is a cozy companion transporting you away from the blizzard storming outside.
Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.— Groucho Marx
Here are reads I’ve enjoyed recently—some are new releases and others were written awhile ago. It’s a mixed bag of genres— some are humorous, others travel memoirs, and a few are emotionally fraught and spiritually redemptive.
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shack
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (same author as Bel Canto)
Euphoria by Lily King
A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
The Miniaturist by Jesse Burton
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #8) by Louise Penny
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (follow-up and also very funny)
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
Please send me your favorite reads, too. A good book is a nutritious, tasty meal and fine reward after all that spring cleaning and bill paying.
“Mischling” by Affinity Konar is written as if a the tangled wood of reality had passed through the gaping jaws of inhumanity and survived. Gripping and beautiful and extraordinary on every level. Perhaps save this for a colder season, or for those whose conscience leads their travels to bear witness into places we cannot forget… 2016 publication.
“Mozart’s Starling” by Lyanda Lynn Haupt provides insights to the music and the maestro we thought we knew too well. Any trip to Vienna will be enhanced with this 2017 publication.
“The Alexandria Quartet” by Lawrence Durrell could only be written with the political insights of a foreign service officer in a land among people he loved, admired and sought to understand. Start with any of the four novels, although “Justine” is the traditional first,” and watch a master interweave each character’s motivations through the winding alleys of Egyptian politics and religious intrigue. First published in 1962, I’ve yet to find a bookstore who didn’t stock it.
Ah! And one more for those travelling to India, “Sleeping on Jupiter” by Anuradha Roy is in paperback and gives a rare inside/outside view of the tourism culture – from spiritual to site-based tourism – within an intense emotional plot arc filled with fascinating characters. Listed for the Man Booker Prize, it was published in 2015.
Pamela— you just expanded my must read list with fantastic titles. Many thanks~