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07
Books for Your Beach Bag: Hardcover Edition
2011 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
View from my poolside reading spot. Mexico, Oct. 2010
The interweb is all atwitter with summer reading lists, as it is at this time every year, and that makes me happy because summer seems to be the season in which even people who don’t read decide to go book shopping, and what’s not to like about more people reading? But these lists, they also make me a bit twitchy because what about those of us for whom summer does not equal lighter fare? I want my books meaty and complex year-round. Think of this new feature as summer reading for the rest of us.
Three Stages of Amazement by Carol Edgarian (Scribner, March 2011).
I read Three Stages of Amazement while traveling in April, and I can’t recall the last time I was so completely engrossed in a novel. Edgarian’s searing portrait of a grieving couple whose shared ambitions and desires to provide for their family have pulled them in conflicting directions cuts straight to the emotional quick. She pulls no punches and plays no tricks—she doesn’t have to. This is a beautifully rendered story about the trials of marriage, they ways in which we silently destroy the ties that bind, and what can happen when we attempt to salvage the pieces that remain.
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (HarperCollins, June 2011).
What have I been doing all these years not reading Ann Patchett? This is my first experience reading Patchett, and it is infuckingcredible. State of Wonder is about a woman doctor who goes off to the Amazon in search of another woman doctor in a brilliant, unapologetically contemporary novel inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Patchett’s mastery of language is downright swoonworthy, and this mesmerizing fever dream of a novel is the perfect antidote to the recent angst surrounding certain asshole male writers’ claims about female writers’ scope and talents. If I didn’t suspect Patchett of being a classy lady, I’d suggest “Suck it, Naipaul” as the epigraph.
The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert (Unbridled Books, April 2011)
It’s not often that a book can be accurately described as having something for everyone, and The Coffins of Little Hope is one such rare book. Schaffert creates intimate small-town life and the scandal the surrounds the disappearance of a young girl (whose existence is still a point of debate) while simultaneously examining our obsession with death and the role that stories and storytellers play on stages both large and small. The characters are believably quirky, the voices authentic (the town’s octogenarian obituary writer narrates the novel), and Schaffert’s wry observations and sense of humor permeate every page. And did I mention that the local newspaper has been secretly printing pages of the highly-anticipated final installment in a beloved young adult book series? See. Something for everyone.
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I’m right there with you. I started and did not finish Patchett’s BEL CANTO, but I loved her memoir, TRUTH AND BEAUTY. STATE OF WONDER is at the tippy-top of my want list!
Andi´s last [type] ..Snively Saturday and Tag Line Switcheroos
I haven’t read Bel Canto – I’m such a procrastinator when it comes to reading the older books on my shelf. I absolutely loved State of Wonder too! I was surprised that I liked it so much because it was slow moving and atmospheric (things that can sometimes turn me off), yet I couldn’t put it down.
Alyce´s last [type] ..What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Which one of the three books do you love most and would recommend? I can’t decide which one I’d like to start reading, all three sound very interesting!
I’m so excited to read State of Wonder!
Meg @ A Bookish Affair´s last [type] ..Booking Through Thursday 6- Own or Borrow
I absolutely agree- beach read does not mean lazy read for me. I really enjoyed State of Wonder- read Bel Canto!
Christine @ BB´s last [type] ..Proud
Karina, it totally depends what you’re in the mood for. COFFINS if you’re looking for literary but not as heavy, THREE STAGES if you’re in for contemplation of relationships, STATE OF WONDER if you want to soak up gorgeous writing and atmospheric setting.
[...] you like your beach books a little meatier than the average fluff, check out Rebecca’s summer reading list. I can’t wait to read Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder, which is getting awesome [...]
I’m really excited to start State Of Wonder — like you, I’m sure I’ll wonder why it’s taken me so long to read Patchett!
Meg @ write meg!´s last [type] ..Book review- ‘Friendship Bread’ by Darien Gee
Thanks for the breakdown Rebecca! Now I have a better sense of what I should read.
[...] Bangor Daily News (Maine children's books) Bleacher Report (books for Boston Celtics players) The Book Lady's Blog (hardcover fiction) The Book Lady's Blog (paperback fiction) Booth Reviews (suspense novelists) [...]
[...] STATE OF WONDER, by Ann Patchett, is the best book I have read in a long, long time. Everyone. Is. Talking. About it. [...]
So glad you mentioned COFFINS – one of my favorite books of the year. Just so damn witty and brilliantly written.
Alex George´s last [type] ..Starting Over – Again