Sure Things
Summer Reading Suggestions
Under the weight of Best of Lists
Summer always brings all the "Best of Summer" and the "Beach Reads" lists. I tend to find them all very heavy with bestsellers, books you couldn't miss if you tried. But, what about the less flashy books that although under the radar are gems to be shared and placed on your bookshelf to read again someday? If you are looking for a few good books to read, here are some of my favorites over the last few years.
Heartwarming, quirky debut from Sweden
After Ove loses his wife and is forced to retire before he's ready, he contemplates his options. Unfortunately, the new noisy neighbors and their two children keep interrupting his plans. To call Ove a grumpy old man would be the easy way out. This is a beautiful, sweet story about a cranky old man who begins to find purpose in the second act of his life. In the vein of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, two other sleeper hits I loved. I've randomly suggested this book to friends and relatives of all ages and only heard back positive reviews.
Secret History Lesson
I didn't know quite what to expect from this nonfiction title. I picked it up because it was written by Pete Jordan of Dishwasher Pete, a popular zine back in the heyday of zines. Well, Mr. Jordan is a solid writer. He has penned one of those rare page turning books that almost read like a novel. On the surface, it is a book about the history of bicycling in Amsterdam; but, underneath it is a fascinating look at a culture, a war (WW2) and a mode of transportation. I ended up loving this book and passing it on to my brother-in-law who also loved it and passed it to a friend.
Mystical Mystery
I love this newer series by Sara Gran. Claire DeWitt under the weight of her personal demons manages to solve crimes using both the mystical and muscle. Set in post Katrina New Orleans and infused with the mysticism of the city and guided by the "famous" french detective, Jacques Silette's bible of detection, Détection, the reader is taken on a surprising journey by an unlikely guide. Thank god it's a series.
Quirky, Fun Read
Fantastically funny tale about the world when it is run by global fast food chains and it falls on the shoulders of Neetza Pizza hotline call center employee, a rare book librarian and a cast of other quirky characters, time travel and maybe a little luck to save the world. This is for folks who like funny, quirky, books that earn a boatload of suspension of disbelief in order to succeed and Rachel Cantor succeeds.
Quiet and Totally Satisfying
Stewart O' Nan is one of my favorite authors and I'm not quite sure why he is not more widely read. Last Night at the Lobster is technically a novella; but, in actuality is like a really satisfying, totally delicious slice of pie. All the action takes place on the last day that a Red Lobster is open and it is a quiet and contemplative glimpse into the lives of the workers. I think O' Nan is a master storyteller and he has a diverse backlist of books from the story of a teenage graffiti artist who becomes disabled after falling from a bridge to a nonfiction book about a circus fire. You just can't go wrong with a book by this guy.
Literary Post-Apocalypse?
The Dog Stars is one of the few hopeful post-apocalypse novels and is written in a more literary rather than genre style. The story follows Hig, a nice man who was a general contractor in Denver before the flu and his journey to find some humanity left and create a home. While it is not ACTION PACKED!! it was actually, still a page turner and a book that I passed to my father who never reads sci-fi at all and who later told me it was one of his favorite reads of the year.
Sharp Satire At Its Best
At a time when the streets are burning in Baltimore and Ferguson, Paul Beatty has published a dark, humorous story about race, Black culture, stereotypes, class, marginalization... It pokes at pretty much every one of our collective wounds and is built around a complex and far-fetched plot worthy of Vonnegut.
Quantum Physics and Zen Buddhism
This book is on my "to read" list after three friends recommended it. Telling two parallel stories one about a bullied girl who wants to tell the story of her grandmother a Buddhist nun and the other about a novelist living on a remote island who discovers the diary of a teenage girl. Short listed for the Man Book Prize, this is Ozeki's third novel.
Slightly slapstick
I have not read this. But, I can tell you this: my partner, Anya read this on the couch and I could hear her laughing from the other room. The plot: Adam, a straight, gawky, inexperienced teenager goes to visit his older, lesbian sister in New York City for the summer. Surrounded by his sister's hip queer friends he is mistaken for trans, a boy born as a girl. When he meets the girl of his dreams, he realizes he must keep up the misunderstanding if he has any chance at all. Wacky, slapsticky and sitcom worthy misunderstandings provide the laughs for this quick read.
Road Novel Like No Other
I loved this novel. It's funny and charming and despite the main character's loser qualities, you never stop rooting for him. It is a touching story about a man who begins to find some redemption even though he really isn't even functional enough to look for it. And it's really a fun and refreshing story even though the plot sounds a little cheesy: plucky young man with disability and his caregiver, a man trying to live again after a devastating tragedy help each other and then go on a road trip where they meet an ex con, his pregnant girlfriend named Peaches and a teen runaway. This is one of those books I could recommend to my friend who only reads YA, my dad who loves a good story and my friend who only reads "literary fiction."
Unique NYC Memoir
This is an unusual memoir about a woman who begins volunteering on a historic fireboat only to end up ditching her web design career to become the first and only female engineer of a fireboat. Dulong's memoir isn't just about her transition from a desk to an engine room. It is an ode to working with your hands. It is a history of the Hudson River. And because the John J. Harvey, her boat, was used to rescue people on September 11, it is yet another story of that tragedy. Highly readable for a wide variety of readers.
Loved This Book
This book is a beautiful meditation on loneliness. Each character carries a loneliness with them that in some cases is debilitating. I was really quite moved by this book. It was not over written which is a danger when covering big topics like grief, love, loneliness, loss. And yet, for portraying two characters who are vastly different struggling with such an emptiness in their lives, the author has given us a believable measure of hope. Even Arthur, 500+ pounds and stuck in his house by choice, experiencing a depth of loneliness most people never even get near, is not a pathetic character. He is a lovely man quite alone but still willing to reach out and grab onto a buoy.
Guaranteed Laugh
This is the first in Lisa Lutz's Spellman mystery series. The Spellmans are a family of private detectives with the stories focused on Izzy Spellman, the 28 year old daughter. Part Nancy Drew and part Get Smart, this series is wacky. At one point, the parents hire Rae, the youngest daughter to follow Izzy to see who she is dating. They are constantly spying on each other and setting traps for one another all the while solving mysteries. I laughed out loud several times and the good news is that there are 5 more after this one.
Re-imagining History
James McBride stirred up a bit of controversy with his re-imagining of John Brown's antislavery crusade told from the perspective of a runaway slave who poses as a girl to survive. Part history, part adventure and part exploration of identity, Mcbride hits a home run with this novel which won the National Book Award.
Another Great YA Novel
This one is hard to explain. It is structured around the plates from Audobon's Birds of America plates. It is about a boy who is abused by his father, loves baseball, is lonely and poor, worried about his brother who returns from vietnam and is trying his best to fit in and find community. On the surface, that sounds like a lot of "teen issue" books; but, in the hands of Gary Schmidt what you end up with is a brilliantly written story that is about so much more than a kid with problems. I made my father read it and he loved it!
And One Last One, for Your Visiting Nephew Who Doesn't Read
I bought this as a gift for my friend's 10 year old. He likes being read to but resists reading himself. He's a weird kid who is either drawing cartoons or playing minecraft which probably just makes him normal. This book kind of blew my mind, partly because the art is fantastic and all done in ball point pen; but, also because it's such a great story about a group of friends working together to accomplish a goal. Plus, I love quirky and this book delivers quirky! It's hard to sum up other than some odd, not human characters want to open up their own automotive garage and decide to create a lowrider and enter it into a competition. They hope to win the grand prize and use the money to open their own garage. Basically, that's the plot. But when they find rockets in the junk yard and attach them to the car, things get a little outer spacey! You just have to trust me on this one. It's awesome.
Oh, okay, a few more
The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit. A great place to begin your love affair with Solnit who weaves philosophy, personal history and storytelling to get us thinking about memory, loss, empathy and so much more.
New York in a Dozen Dishes. The former Village Voice food columnist Robert Siestema has written a charming book about New Yorkers and our culinary history. I'm half way through and have really been enjoying his view which includes history, his personal stories and the food, of course, delicious descriptions of the food.