Not a summer book per se, but a core summer memory. I turned 14 and my mom handed me her well thumbed paperback copy of Gone with the Wind. I curled up on a comfy chair and got lost in that world (and developed a huge crush on Rhett Butler).
Fun question! The World According to Garp -- right after it came out. I love John Irving - think that was my introduction to him, and have read every book of his since. Garp was hilarious, political, insightful. Irving is a national treasure and a feminist!!!
Well, that’s an impossible question!🤣I look forward to all the responses. Under pressure I will say IQ84 was a fantastic summer read that got me back on track after a very long reading slump. Loved it!!
Forever and always Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. Travelling circus screams summer to me and I can't count the number of times I've read it in the late summer sun
My favorite summer read as a teenager was This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart. A beautiful actress in Corfu, falling in love with a handsome and mysterious stranger, trying to solve a murder mystery, AND saving a mystical dolphin? Swoon!
As an adult, I still like to get swept away during the summer and Arabian Nights or The Odyssey both fit that bill quite nicely.
I’m a retired teacher, so I used to read really long books in the summer when I had extra reading time. One recent summer I read The Eighth Life. Didn’t move from the couch for days…. Now I read all the books all the time.
No. Idea. I don't necessarily remember when I've read a book or what books I read in what season. I am currently reading Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess and really, really enjoying it (I don't think the title really fits the book, but the blurb hooked me right away.)
Hands down, The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell. The audiobook was fantastic! I loved it!
If you're interested, here's my GR review on why I loved it. I apologize for the long comment but I think that happens when you ask what book grabbed us. : )
"I listened to the audio book narrated by Andre Stojka. To be honest, I expected it to be a reading of dull, dry scientific notes pulled from John Wesley Powell's log book. But instead I found it to be an absolutely enthralling experience. This may have been a result of the wonderful narrator whose voice was jovial and pleasant and as of full enthusiasm as though the words were his own. And the words! John Wesley Powell paints spectacular word pictures of the landscape, the geology, the dangers, the hardships and the joys that he and his men encountered on the expedition as well descriptions of Indian cultures, social dynamics of the clans, and re-tellings of a few Indian fables. At times I felt as though I could be sitting 'round the fire with him, completely captivated as he recounted the colorful tales of his grand adventures (and he with only one arm!). Highly, highly recommended."
Definitely will be reading the new Gabriel Allon adventure! And I almost always re-read "An Embarassment of Mangoes" by Anne Vanderhoof. It reminds me to get out of my comfort zone, to say "yes" to adventures, and that we are all more alike than we are different.
Not a summer book per se, but a core summer memory. I turned 14 and my mom handed me her well thumbed paperback copy of Gone with the Wind. I curled up on a comfy chair and got lost in that world (and developed a huge crush on Rhett Butler).
Same. I remember at about the same age, lying on my bed one summer, reading GWTW, and crying(sobbing) at the ending.
Such a shattering ending!
The Shellseekers. I've wanted to summer in Cornwall ever since!
Such a great book, April
I ditto Pam's comment :)
Fun question! The World According to Garp -- right after it came out. I love John Irving - think that was my introduction to him, and have read every book of his since. Garp was hilarious, political, insightful. Irving is a national treasure and a feminist!!!
A Prayer for Own Meany is my favorite of John Irving.
Yes indeed. His anti-war novel. Irving really is something.
Agreed! The audiobook is fantastic as well. The narrator truly captures the characters.
Well, that’s an impossible question!🤣I look forward to all the responses. Under pressure I will say IQ84 was a fantastic summer read that got me back on track after a very long reading slump. Loved it!!
Impossible!!!!
Pride and Prejudice! I've read it for several summers since I was a teenager.
Blood and Money! I read this is in the summer of 1980 while laying out at Barton Springs in Austin, TX and listening to K98 on a transistor radio 😊
Forever and always Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. Travelling circus screams summer to me and I can't count the number of times I've read it in the late summer sun
Mine is also my guilty pleasure- Elin Hilderbrand novels!
I’m reading The Blue Bistro right now, while vacationing on the Cape. A perfect match!
I read 2 out of order than decided to start reading them in order od publication. I just finished The Island. The Blue Bistro was so good!
My favorite summer read as a teenager was This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart. A beautiful actress in Corfu, falling in love with a handsome and mysterious stranger, trying to solve a murder mystery, AND saving a mystical dolphin? Swoon!
As an adult, I still like to get swept away during the summer and Arabian Nights or The Odyssey both fit that bill quite nicely.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
I’m with you on the Daniel Silva books. Otherwise whatever comes up on my library holds. Right now reading Atmosphere!
I’m a retired teacher, so I used to read really long books in the summer when I had extra reading time. One recent summer I read The Eighth Life. Didn’t move from the couch for days…. Now I read all the books all the time.
Trying to make the rest of us envious? :)
Sorry! I love retirement, but it is not without guilt!
No guilt necessary :) You have literally earned a retirement that lets you read to your heart's content.
No. Idea. I don't necessarily remember when I've read a book or what books I read in what season. I am currently reading Welcome to Murder Week by Karen Dukess and really, really enjoying it (I don't think the title really fits the book, but the blurb hooked me right away.)
Not sure what my *favorite* summer read is, but I did have three 5 star reads in a row a few summers ago:
Lessons in Chemistry
The Midnight Library
To Be Taught, if Fortunate
I was completely immersed in and transported by these books. It was delightful.
Hands down, The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell. The audiobook was fantastic! I loved it!
If you're interested, here's my GR review on why I loved it. I apologize for the long comment but I think that happens when you ask what book grabbed us. : )
"I listened to the audio book narrated by Andre Stojka. To be honest, I expected it to be a reading of dull, dry scientific notes pulled from John Wesley Powell's log book. But instead I found it to be an absolutely enthralling experience. This may have been a result of the wonderful narrator whose voice was jovial and pleasant and as of full enthusiasm as though the words were his own. And the words! John Wesley Powell paints spectacular word pictures of the landscape, the geology, the dangers, the hardships and the joys that he and his men encountered on the expedition as well descriptions of Indian cultures, social dynamics of the clans, and re-tellings of a few Indian fables. At times I felt as though I could be sitting 'round the fire with him, completely captivated as he recounted the colorful tales of his grand adventures (and he with only one arm!). Highly, highly recommended."
I will put this in my TBL (to be listened..to)
Definitely will be reading the new Gabriel Allon adventure! And I almost always re-read "An Embarassment of Mangoes" by Anne Vanderhoof. It reminds me to get out of my comfort zone, to say "yes" to adventures, and that we are all more alike than we are different.