I come from a family of readers. As a kid, we usually spent family time shopping at the mall on Saturdays. My dad was a good sport; he often joined me, my mom and my sister on these excursions with a book in his back pocket. He’d walk from store to store with us and pull out his book at each stop. My father still carries a book in his back pocket just in case and has been know to read a book a day on vacation – something my husband just didn’t understand about me until we went on vacation with my whole family and everyone had their nose in a book. So, I guess you could say that I come by my love of reading and writing naturally. I’ve read some great books this Summer! If you’re like me and looking to escape the Summer’s heat or enjoy a world far far away, here are my top contenders for Summer 2011:
- A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One - I picked up the first of this 5 part series this past Winter when I learned that HBO had made it into a mini-series. HBO rarely picks wrong. If you like lords and ladies and kingdoms far far away with lots of intrigue, this series is for you. I’ve finished the first 2 books so far.
- The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine - I’m a closet foodie. If I had the time to have another blog, I’d write one for my husband about our dining exploits around the world. I’m a little bit of a nerd, ok well probably more than a little bit, and I like to know the history behind things like wine, the gourmet food movement in the U.S., the history of the tomato (I told you I was a bit of a nerd), etc. I knew there were high stakes in the world of oenology (the study of wine and winemaking), I just had no idea to what extent!
- South of Broad: A Novel - When my friend Lybra heard I was going to Charleston, she insisted I read this book. Hands down, one of the best books I’ve read all year – just a really well told story.
- The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel – If you love windswept moors, bleak houses and strange families, this book is perfect. It’s a masterful, deliberately old-fashioned story of secrets, ghosts, sexual obsession, murder, madness–you name it.
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - One of the better love stories I’ve read in ages. At one point on our flight to Italy I was crying so hard (I a sentimentalist; I tear up very easily) my husband got worried that something was really wrong and forced me to look at him and tell him why I was crying. He’s seen me tear up before at movies, a picture, books – you name it – just never like this over a story. A real tear jerker.
- Douglass’ Women : A Novel - My friend Davia finished this book while we were on vacation last week. It so intrigued me – a story told from the viewpoint of the 3 women in Fredrick Douglass’ life: his wife, his white mistress and his daughter. See . . . gotcha, right? I bought it on the spot. It’s next on my reading list.
- Murder of a Medici Princess - After touring all around Italy and spending time in the Florence (the city built by the Medici’s) visiting The Uffizi, The Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, the Ponte Vecchio - all apart of the Medici empire – I needed to become fully ensconced in their world. So, I’m making my way through a long list of books about the Medicis, various Popes and Italy in general. There’s nothing like a little royal intrigue!
So tell me dear readers, what are you reading this Summer? Have you read any of the above? What say you?
(oh, and yes, I generally read 2 or 3 books at a time . . .)
