SUMMER READING ROUND-UP
Following the lead of another blogger (The Book Stop), who got it from another blog, I set myself the personal challenge of reading 20 books between June 1 and Sept. 1. In my June 3rd blog post, I listed ten of the twenty books I intended to read. How did I do? Overall I met my goal of twenty books and I read 8 of the 10 titles I listed in June. The breakdown of genre is 14 novels (six were historical novels), three memoirs (two political ones), two nonfiction titles, and one book of short stories.
I liked most everything I read, but Westover’s memoir was amazing, Manhattan Beach fascinating, but a bit too long; Lincoln in the Bardo weird but so inventive; and Bad Blood, a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat tale of lies and hubris. I also enjoyed the immigrants’ stories in The Leavers (timely), the political dramas shared so very differently by Comey and Dorey-Stein, and the spare and exquisite prose as represented by Strout, Egan, Halliday, and Ford. Very hard to pick a favorite.
What was the best book you read this summer? Or your personal favorite? So much good literature and juicy political commentary available now.
Here’s the complete list. Titles are linked to the blog post with my review.
- We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
- The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
- Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
- Educated by Tara Westover
- Pachincho by Min Jin Lee
- Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
- The Heart is a Shifting Sea by Elizabeth Flock
- Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
- My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- .Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
- From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
- The Leavers by Lisa Ko
- The Address by Fiona Davis
- Lilli de Jong by Janet Benton
- The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jeffries
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
- A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
- Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
- This Time Might Be Different by Elaine Ford
Note: Header image is from www.readersdigest.co.uk
