Ten Summer Books To Spark Your Brain.
By Karen and Erica
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The Paris Novel, Ruth Reichl. Not exactly light-hearted, but set in Paris, and full of adventure. Gorgeous, lustrous writing, especially when the subjects are food or clothes.
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James, Percival Everett. Huck Finn but from the perspective of Jim. Brilliant. (Everett also wrote Erasure, a book that was the basis for the amazing and funny film American Fiction.)
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The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak and Herosim at the Dawn of the Civil War, Erik Larson. His non-fiction account of events preceding the Civil War, as Lincoln is elected. Not without its critics. We found it fascinating and scary.
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Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson, Sally H. Jacobs. What a story. What a star. Without her would we have tennis as we know it, or Venus and Serena?
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The Women, Kristin Hannah. An emotional and eye opening novel of war. As young women we saw the Vietnam war on TV, and experienced its domestic repercussions, but we had no idea that the combat nurses who served in the war zone were disbelieved and devalued when they returned. Read it with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s An Unfinished Love Story for a layered picture of that fractured time.
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Deep Past: A Novel, Eugene Linden. An international tale of smart elephants and climate crises, geology and discovery, evolution and betrayal. Perfect for summer.
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How to Tame A Fox (And Build A Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution, Lee Alan Dugatkin and Lyudmilla Trut. Did you ever want a pet fox for a companion? After you read this you will. Evolution again, but for real. Riveting.
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Shogun, James Clavell. Yes, it’s been around for a while, and yes, there’s a new show, but the book is just perfect for the beach. Engrossing and entertaining.
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Phantom Orbit: A Thriller, David Ignatius. An informed thriller about China, and Russia, and science, and the U.S. As often happens in such books, it is a race against Doomsday. The author is steeped in current events, and his novels reflect what he thinks about the world. Unnerving.
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Lies and Weddings: A Novel, Kevin Kwan. Why? Because you must. Crazy Rich Asians, again. Sort of.
What’s on your list for beach reading?
Translated from the French by Valerie Perrin, Fresh Water for Flowers is epic. A story of love and loss in several compelling narratives.
If you’ve ever driven or walked on a road (ha ha, yes of course, who hasn’t), you must read Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of our Planet by Ben Goldfarb. Not exactly a "beach read", Goldfarb has written a remarkably readable and entertaining book, despite its dense data, that will have you considering daily the consequences of roads on the other species sharing our planet.