I HAVE been doing alot of reading however, and thought it would be the a good time to make some recommendations (as I have done before long ago). After all, that is what I do all day.....
Some of these titles I am currently reading, have read, or have it on my list to read this summer. I hope you enjoy. I have a much larger list on www.goodreads.com it is a great resource to locate good books....when you are not reading my blog, of course...
1. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward:
This was a freebie and available through the library website for Kindle downloads, so I downloaded it. What an incredible find!
A beautifully written story involving a poverty stricken family living on the Mississippi coast spoken from the point of view of the 14 year old girl in the family after the loss their mother. The elements of the story make it compelling..it is just a few days before Hurricane Katrina is about the hit the coast, but the story is about everyday life..pit bull fighting, teen pregnancy,limited food funds, and living without their mother.
The author's prose is detailed, eloquent,colorful, and at times, somewhat disturbing, but these qualities transforms you to their world.
The author won a National Book Award for this..and I understand why.
2.The Dinner by Herman Koch
have you read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn? If you haven't, IT IS A MUST BEACH READ! This title is has the same flavor..full of disfunctional people with many issues. The story takes place at a dinner one evening and as it goes on, more insanity is revealed. it is my kind of book..love to read about characters that are on the edge of evil and insanity.
3.Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
Here another genre I enjoy: abductions.
The book blurb spells it out: a young realtor abducted from an open house, held captive by a psychopath for over a year, her journey of recovery. Partly told as sessions with her shrink, how she dealt with the trauma of her captivity hooked me more than the actual abduction story. Escaping was one thing, getting her life back another. “Maybe I should put up my own flyers: Still Missing”
She was her first novel and she has a new one coming out shortly called "Always Watching".
4. Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.
Out book club just read this and was well liked by most of the group. It is a story of a young couple (Tom and Isabel) who tend a lighthouse 100 miles off the coast of Australia on the island of Janus Rock. One afternoon, 3 weeks after Isabel's 3 miscarriage, a boat washes up to shore with a dead man and his very much alive baby of 2 months. And of course, Isabel sees this as a gift from God..bringing her a baby, which they keep and pass off as their own. As you can guess, it can't end well.
5. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight.
I read reviews of this and am currently reading and can't put it down. Amelia is a 15 year old attending a private boarding school and her mother, a lawyer in Manhattan, receives a call that she has been suspended and she has to come immediately and pick her up. In the time it takes her to get to the school, Amelia (model student, well liked, field hockey player..actually a lot like Maddie) has allegedly jumped off a roof and killed herself. Or did she?
The story centers around her mother reconstructing her daughter's life through the only means she has...email, text messaging, and social media, to find out what really happened.
6.Ma, he Sold me for a few Cigarettes by Martha Long.
After my great visit to Dublin, I have been looking for a good memoir to read-and this one looks like it will fit the bill. Reviews have been stellar:
Born a bastard to a teenage mother in the slums of 1950s Dublin, Martha has to be a fighter from the very start.
As her mother moves from man to man, and more children follow, they live hand-to-mouth in squalid, freezing tenements, clothed in rags and forced to beg for food. But just when it seems things can't get any worse, her mother meets Jackser.
Despite her trials, Martha is a child with an irrepressible spirit and a wit beyond her years. She tells the story of her early life without an ounce of self-pity and manages to recreate a lost era in which the shadow of the Catholic Church loomed large and if you didn't work, you didn't eat.
Martha never stops believing she is worth more than the hand she has been dealt, and her remarkable voice will remain with you long after you've finished the last line.
7. Under the Dome by Stephen King
All I can say is that I am sucked into the TV series and now MUST read the book. Will I fit it into the summer? Not likely...it is 1150 pages. Jesus Stephen..can't you break it into a trilogy???
Happy Reading!!!!
Great suggestions... thanks!
ReplyDelete