For some of us, summertime is an excuse to read something light or more frivolous than we usually would. For others, it’s an opportunity to devote time to delving into a serious tome, perhaps one that’s been languishing on the shelf. I view it as a chance to do both—indulge in lighter fare and stretch my brain with something more challenging, usually a nonfiction title. When I was working fulltime, Maine was my time for extended reading. Now I have more available time, but I still see Maine as a gift for long spans of reading, whole mornings or whole afternoons.
Before leaving home, I load up my Kindle with new books, pack a few paper books in my luggage, and, don’t tell my spouse, even mail myself a box of assorted novels and nonfiction to await my arrival. On the day we arrive at our rental house, a priority is to assemble all the books I’ve brought or mailed and put them in stacks on the living room end table with another stack in the bedroom. There’s something very appealing about having all those choices laid out from which I can choose what to read next!
Here are some titles I’m considering. More to come in a future post.
Flying Shoes by Lisa Howoth. A first novel about an unsolved murder in Mississippi in 1996.
Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris, 1932 by Francine Prose. A novel about a lesbian and cross dresser that seems appropriate reading given today’s ongoing conversation about gender and gender roles. On the “2014 100 Notable Books” list from the New York Times Book Review.
Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini. Chiaverini has written several historical novels set in the time of the Civil War as well as a series of books about quilters. Lighter fare and this will be my first of hers..
Muse by Jonathan Galassi. A new short novel about the world of publishing.
Ashley’s War by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. Nonfiction account of women on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2010.
The Secretary by Kim Ghattas. Published a couple of years ago, this is a reporter’s account of traveling with Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. Timely given her candidacy.
WHAT I’VE READ RECENTLY
What is it like to work in the White House? The Residence by Kate Andersen Brower is a quick read based on interviews with butlers, seamstresses, housemaids, valets, and other White House staff from FDR and Truman to the present. For the most part, the closer you get to the present day, the more restrained the staff are in their comments about the President and First Family, but you still get an intriguing glimpse of that enclosed world. Each family has its own distinct personality and its own preferences and some families were definitely friendlier to the staff.
