Good Reads for Summer?

[MaryH]

Originally Posted by iheartbisou

Another great book is Emily Hahn's memoir "No Hurry to Get Home". She had an amazing, adventurous life and was a women very ahead of her time. I read it years ago when I moved here because of her life in Shanghai (right before WWII broke out)..but all of the chapters of her incredible life were great. Highly recommended!

Thanks, Andrea. I will add it to my ever-growing list! A great book written by a woman definitely ahead of her time was "My Brilliant Career" by Miles Franklin who was born and raised in the Australian Outback. The book was written in 1896, first published in Scotland in 1901, Miles Franklin's full name was Stella Maria Miles Franklin, and she was 16 years old when she wrote the book. Stunning! The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway was a great memoir of a brilliant, very progressive woman.

[iheartbisou]

Originally Posted by MaryH

A great book written by a woman definitely ahead of her time was "My Brilliant Career" by Miles Franklin who was born and raised in the Australian Outback. The book was written in 1896, first published in Scotland in 1901, Miles Franklin's full name was Stella Maria Miles Franklin, and she was 16 years old when she wrote the book. Stunning! The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway was a great memoir of a brilliant, very progressive woman.

Thanks! I'll add these to my lists too. Both sound good!

[harrysmom]

As summer is ending , I wanted to add my last summer reading book to this list before I begin to tackle the numerous books about teaching reading that I want to re-read before my new job starts in a few weeks.

I just finished reading Letters to my Daughter by Maya Angelou. I had never read any of her work before and when I saw this book, I decided to pick it up. I don't know what I expected, but this book was not at all what I thought it would be. It was a collection of very short stories... some only a page... about Angelou's life. Angelou doesn't have a daughter, so these are stories she wrote for all women about experiences that she had. She writes in a very clear, direct style that I found very easy to read. I finished the book and I enjoyed reading it. I knew very little about Angelou when I started reading, but I realized as I read, that my preconceived ideas about this woman were all wrong.

Now on to the mountain of reading texts....lol.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Debbie

[CheriS]

Mary H. - Since I'm relatively new to the board and still trying to absorb as much info from all corners of it as possible, I was incredibly impressed earlier today with your devotion and handling of the immunization issue / drama, which you handled admirably. I just finished my most recent book, so when I saw that there was a list of suggested books (even if it was a "summer" list) I wanted to see what others were reading. With maybe one exception, almost every book on your "all time favorite" list are also on mine (yes, I also liked The Shipping News - although I wasn't terribly fond of the movie) Olive Kitteridge, Water for Elephants, A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Secret Life of Bees... and on and on. Have you read "The History of Love"? I was surprised with everything else that it hadn't made your list. My surprise book of the early summer, I read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" for the first time, and it went close to the top of my list.
One of the features on the Kindle I had enjoyed taking advantage of is the ability to download the first section to preview read it before buying it. Can you do that with the nook?

[jodublin]

[QUOTE=Ladysmom;1789766]I just finished The Help. It's the best book I have read in along, long time.

The Lovely Bones is wonderful, too.

I have just started the help ,love the book .

i read the lovely bones a while ago , alice sebold's book LUCKY
is memoir of her rape as a college freshman ,it's called lucky becouse
she was told she was lucky to be alive ..

yesterday i bought THE PREIST ..about a irish serial killer , i just need a 30 hour day so i can read it .

[Bailey&Me]

I don't know if these books have been mentioned before or not...but I love the Emily Giffin books (Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Love the One You're With, etc). I'm reading Baby Proof by her right now and really liking it. Also, if you like chic lit type books, check out Marian Keyes. She is hilarious! I started reading chic lit when I was in college because I wanted something light and funny to read to give me a break from school reading...and got hooked to Marian Keyes books. Love her!

[Snowbody]

I have to say that I absolutely love that this thread has over a hundred posts...all in the name of good reading. I think we might have to keep it going even though the summer is over to keep getting great book suggestions. It's the SM Book Club, but we read at our own pace

I just finished "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave which Mary sent me. I liked it a lot, especially the style, but it had some very sobering moments. I'm now reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and love the story being told from the dog's perspective. Great writing and mindset concerning that, but also deals with some sad material. I'm about half way through.

[uniquelovdolce]

pillars of the earth is very good , but u are so right , its one of those books you need time to read , understand and ponder , so u can grasp everything . i really did enjoy it though .

Originally Posted by MaryH

Okay, we are well into summer now. Anyone have any book reports? I finished The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, liked it very much, sad but heartwarming, too, and interesting because the book is narrated by the dog. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery was really good, funny, witty (borderline sarcastic), but sad, too. The author is French, the translator did an outstanding job in the translation. Home Safe by Anna Berg (a freebie when I bought my Nook) was a pleasant, light read. Not a WOW book for me but a good beach or bedtime reading book. I started The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett but put it down and will save it for the snowy days of winter. I liked what I read but it's the kind of book I need to spend time with, not just 20 minutes here and there. The next week or so is going to be crazy with no time for reading but a week from Monday I'm doing a quick trip to California, out on Monday, home on Thursday. I don't really love long daytime flights, don't feel like sleeping, get bored and antsy. But, thank you Andrea, I'm kind of looking forward to the flight so that I can read Lost on Planet China. I read the first couple of pages in the bookstore today and think I'm going to love it. I didn't buy it yet because I'm afraid I'll ignore everything I need to do this week and just sit and read. So I'll download the ebook next Sunday night and hope that it keeps me entertained on the flights to and from. I saw Stephen King's Under the Dome today but that book is HUGE. The airline would no doubt try to hit me up with a charge for excess baggage if I tried to bring that on the plane.

[Snowbody]

Just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain that I think several of you recommended. I liked it a lot since it was written from a dog's perspective. Very interesting and parts were very amusing yet a sad story as well. I'm happy I read it. Now reading "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Hoping now that I got a major part of work done, to read more. My summer was totally insane.

[Bonnie's Mommie]

I've read some great books this summer - and count me in on the 'feel and smell' of a book! I can't imagine getting a kindle or nook. I'm currently reading The White Queen by Phillippa Gregory (her book, The Other Boleyn Girl, I couldn't put down). Have also read The Historian but gave the book away so don't recall the author. And, The Witch's Trinity was a fabulous read, by Erika Mailman. I've got The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to look forward to.

PS - I didn't read through this entire post so if some of these are repeats I apologize. I did see Suzan's recommendation of Phillipa Gregory - definitely agree!