Summer Reading thread

I'm in the middle of Oh The Glory Of It All by Sean Wilsey. A very engaging, well-written memoir of growing up in an exceptionally disfunctional & wealthy San Francisco family in the 80's. The telling of the story is rather over-the-top - like the story itself. But the author is so likeable and funny it works.

More memoirs -

Read Ruth Reichel's Tender At The Bone Reichel was the restaurant critic for the NY Times through the 80's; she's now the editor of Gourmet. Terrfic book - an account of a 50's/60's childhood in a very different but no less disfunctinal family than "Oh The Glory..." & a great account of the discovery of the pleasures of food and cooking. I liked it alot. But I think the author's voice could become seriously irritating (sometimes too much is just too much) which is why I think I'll forego her numerous subsequent works.

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. As fabulous as the title :)

Running in the Family by MICHAEL ONDAATJE. Growing up in Sri Lanka. Extraordinary, one of my favorite books. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Like Kristine, I loved Kingsolver's <u>The Poisonwood Bible</u>.

Also for Africa-lovers - No Mercy: A Journey Into the Heart of the Congo by Redmond O'Hanlon (non-fiction).

O'Hanlon's travel writing is a pleasure, smart and funny. His <u>In Trouble Again</u> and <u>Into the Heart of Borneo</u> will either cure you of wanting to travel down the Amazon or send you off to book a trip - both, probably.

Funny, I read mostly fiction & there's not a novel to be found on this list. Well, you know what they say - so many books, so little time - and I agree with them :)

Carolyn
 
Wow, do I hate posting after that list.

But, anyway, yeah for Harry Potter. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait and am taking my son this year as he's old enough to go to the midnight party.

Just finished reading Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe to him as the movie is coming out in December and he can't see it until he's read the book. Currently reading Charlie & Chocolate Factory for same reason.

As for adult fiction, have read two enjoyable mystery series lately. One by Carolyn Haines set in Mississippi Delta that is more cute and entertaining; the other by Lyn Hamilton about an antique dealer in Canada who solves archaelological mysteries: good stories, well written and somewhat of an armchair traveller's series as they take place all over the world. Magyar Venus was the best.

And most recently Serpent in the Garden, a mystery set in 18th century England. No bodice ripping.

And one book I highly recommend to everyone, Gerald Durrell's My Family & Other Animals. Wonderfully charming auto-biographical book about a British family that expatriates to Corfu.
 
That Michael Ondaatje book looks really interesting, thanks for posting it Carolyn. I've heard him interviewed & found him fascinating. 'Anil's Ghost' was utterly heartbreaking, too.

re: Africa lovers, have you read West With the Night by Beryl Markham?
 
Well, I've got my list made out and I'm all ready to hit the library!

I started the <I>Harry Potter</i> series because I had so many of my 5th graders reading the books, and parents started asking my opinion, so I started the 1st one and I couldn't read just one.

I read Douglas Adams's <i>Restaurant</i> and <i>Hitchhiker's Guide</i> ages ago after the BBC (I suppose?) mini-series come out. I keep meaning to re-read them but lack the time.

LOVED <I>Fashion is Spinach</i>! It's one of the best books by a designer that I've read. I also liked <I>Quant by Quant</i> and Schiaparelli's book, <I>Shocking Life</i>.

I think I meantioned this one last year, but for a fantastic view of life in Savannah, GA, you've got to read <I>Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil</i> by John Berendt. It's very different - darker - than the movie, and great fun.
 
I remember when that book was out (midnight in the garden...) and the title struck me as very allegorical. never picked it up yet though. Oh...is that "darker than a movie" about Georgia in a positive light? :) probably doesn't sound like the GA welcome center would be passing it out.
 
Chris,

Actually the GA Tourism Board probably WAS passing out <u>Midnight...</u> and might be still - the movie based on the book made Savannah, GA a star - a real tourist destination. A handful of Hollywood people bought 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) homes there too in the wake of all the hub-bub. I spent quite a bit of time in Savannah WAY before that - between '69 - '79. We had a house in Hilton Head when there was practically nothing there but sea oats and egrets - when it rained we might drive over to Savannah to have lunch. A main historical attraction then was the birthplace of Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts:)

I should've mentioned this before I recounted my childhood - <u>Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil</u> is a <i>great</i> read - lots of sex, booze, architectural and mid-century American music history and a plot so bizarre it couln't not be true.

In addition, it's such a perfect book for Summer I think I'm going to read it again - I'm so glad you mentioned it Lizzie!

Carolyn
 
It is a good book, I really enjoyed it - love that area of 'southern gothic'... And yes, it made Savannah, Georgia a high profile tourist destination internationally, for a certain paperback-buying market, when it hadn't been before.

L

ps. is Schiaparelli's book still in print?
 
Isn't it wonderful to find kindred reading spirits?

Carolyn, I am reading Tender at the Bone right now and just love it. Her description of the way a chocolate souffle tastes and feels was brilliant.

Michael Ondaatje was the author of The English Patient, one of my all time favorite movies.

Poisonwood Bible - I read this several years ago when Oprah recommended it. I had a difficult time with it, because I felt so angry with the father in this story. It was all tied up with my childhood anger with my own father, who moved us around alot when I was growing up.

I just picked up Midnight in the Garden yesterday at my thrift, along with a bunch of other good books. Someone had dropped off a load of trade size paperbacks and most seemed to match my taste in reading. I really prefer the trade size, as they are easier to read in bed.

My recommendation for you all is Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. It is not intense reading, but a wonderful romp through 30 years (68-98) in the lives of a group of neighbors who form a book club. The reader gets to enjoy the club's views on some great books like "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", "The Accidental Tourist", "My Antonia" and the like. Not only is it a great read, but you have a list of other great books to read when you're done. I loved it.

Jody
 
Living with Scarves by Lorraine Hammett is a good book. No real involved text, but you can spend hours and hours with 100s of ways to tie scarves that you never thought about before. Today I am learning how to tie a men's tie without needing my husband's help. And I am learning how to make several types of halter tops for my mannequin.

It's a few years old, so of course the Olivia Newton John "Let's Get Physical" knotted headband is in there.
 
No, Schiap's book is long out of print. I bought my copy on eBay years ago, and it is in terrible condition, and I still paid about $30 for it.

Thanks for the <I>Angry Housewives</I> title. I've put it on the list. I loved <I>Accidental Tourist</i>, btw.
 
I finally officially dove into "With Lawrence in Arabia" and what struck me most right off the bat is as always with stories of the 1800s and early 20th century...is British children sure had a lot of independence back then. Granted, many stories revolve around well off and perhaps related to very minor royalty families who could afford to go to exotic locales, boarding schools, et al, but the whole "sending your 12 to 14 year old off on a train to see the world for themselves" idea would be quite shocking for today's parents.

Young Ned Lawrence's parents (Thomas Edward Lawrence, so he apparently went by his middle name) wanted to get the fanciful ideas of wanting to go to the east on archaelogical digs out of his system so they send him on over there to "get it out of his system" at i think about age 14.

Certainly, growing up reading similar such stories gave me an unrealistic view myself of accomplishment standards as a young preteen...feeling that one doesn't quite measure up if one hasn't written a critically acclaimed novel by 16 or something as all of these young people in british stories seem to do. So if you have any sort of accomplishment insecurity, don't read anything like that.
 
So far this summer, let's see.
Novels and such
The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
And Never Let Her Go - Ann Rule ( I love true crime)
Second Time Around - Mary Higgins Clark
Birth of Venus - Sarah Dunhant
King of Torts - John Grisham
Trace - Patricia Cornwell (reading now)
The Longest Cocktail Party: An Insider's Diary of The Beatles - Richard Dilello (next up)

And a bunch of how tos on Dreamweaver, Website Development, Band management and Marketing
 
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