It’s summertime. Break out the books.
Or not.
I’ve actually been compiling this list for ages. But then I received an iPad 2 and haven’t been able to put it down. Now that my MacFamily is complete I shan’t extol the virtues of the ipad – you got it, you get it, right? But I will tell you it’s been one helluva reading experience. And my list keeps on growing. And growing. And growing.
So, without further ado, some great reads – on screen or on paper:
This is Where I Leave You – Jonathan Tropper. Guy’s marriage ends. Then his dad dies. He goes home to be with the family…Rev up the laugh track because this is one seriously funny book. I would read passages out loud – to my man and myself because I couldn’t get over how hilarious it was. Tho’ I did shed a tear or two, too…
A Visit From the Goon Squad – Jennifer Egan. A motley group of characters at the fringes of the music biz. What could be better? While some of the characters may leave you cold, their stories will not. Skipping in and out of lives, back and forth through years, this is a brilliant novel – no wonder it won the Pulitzer prize!
Father of the Rain – Lily King. A daughter’s relationship with her alcoholic father as it unfolds over 40 years. It’s a mesmerizing journey: from a seemingly idyllic coastal childhood in 1970’s New England to the fallout of her parents’ divorce in the 80’s of her adolescence to dealing with her demons as an adult. Perfect pitch, resonant writing, fabulous book.
Your Voice in My Head – Emma Forrest. The memoir of a brilliant, bipolar, transatlantic pop-culture journalist and screenwriter, this was one book I really wanted to love. It took me longer than I expected, but the searingly honest, brutally funny account of the author’s highest highs and lowest lows got me hooked.
The Imperfectionists – Tom Rachman. Set in Rome at an English-language newsroom, this incredible literary debut follows the newspaper from it’s start up to its demise through the eyes of its staff. With interconnecting characters and stories stories set both at their desks and in their lives, you won’t be able to put this one down.
Bloodroot – Amy Greene. Another group of interconnecting stories, this one admittedly gets off to a slow start, but once you’re in, you are in. At the heart of it is an Appalachian family in rural Tennessee. As much about the place as the people, this is a cinematic, beautifully written book.
The Year we Left Home – Jean Thompson. Changing perspectives with each chapter, this is an engaging portrait of an Iowa family over 30 years. Sometimes bleak, sometimes tragic, always engaging. Don’t let the locale fool you – this one goes way beyond the farm.
Cutting for stone – Abraham Varghese. A nun dies in childbirth delivering twin boys. Their father disappears. After literally being separated from birth, the boys grow up in an Ethiopian hospital, raised by the doctors who adore them and the rest of the staff. When war breaks out, they are forced to be separated once again. Their story, peppered with incredible characters will take you around the world, and back again.
Freedom -Jonathan Franzen. Yes it lives up to the hype. ‘Nuff said.