Books for Your Summer Reading List: What’s on My nightstand?
We’re hot into summer now. Yes, it doesn’t officially arrive until the 20th this year, but we humans pretty much consider the start of June as the start of our summer. In Upstate NY and surrounding states, on the East coast, summer vacation starts right around the date of the summer solstice, but no one pays that any attention. As soon as it’s warm enough to open the pools, we declare summer officially here.
With summer comes more leisure hours. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a solopreneur, a small business owner, or gainfully employed in a J-O-B (I don’t even like to say the word out loud but some of you have one so…it must be mentioned), summer means slowing down. Taking Fridays off. Doing fun activities on the weekend.
This is the start of the much anticipated and longed for season of “the beach.” All that sand and water and warm breezes. (Not my thing but I’ve discovered it is the thing for so many of you)
I remember afternoons at the beach with my small family. My mother and dad (step-father, but I did not know it at the time) and my younger brother and baby sister. Playing in the sand. Putting my toes in the water – that’s all, just my toes – no idea why I disliked water, but I did – and squinting as the sun beat down on my curly head.
It was not my cup of tea. The whole outdoors thing wasn’t for me, as I talk about in this Lipsticking blog post. I played along but I couldn’t wait to get home. Away from the noise of the sea gulls and the kids laughing and parents shouting to one another. I craved the quiet of my room and a good book. I was nine.
Good Books Are Made for the Beach
I understand now that the beach can be quite rewarding and relaxing, if you bring a book with you.
I doubt my mother would have allowed me to bring my book to the beach back then. It would have singled us out and she was all about fitting in.
Today, I don’t do beaches. But if I did, I would do them with a book. And, I understand, a good many people are of the same ilk. A good book, a chair on the beach, a cold drink, and life is good all summer long – possibly through September, depending on where you live.
I felt a need to share the books I’m reading, have read recently, or plan to read and think you might like to read also. Books I have on my nightstand creating a rather lopsided pile. I promise I will not go into the entire bookcase next to my bed, full of books I have yet to read.
I feel I am in good company as I see many people ascribing to this concept…
Tsundoku (積ん読) is the phenomenon of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one’s home without reading them. The term is also used to refer to books ready for reading later when they are on a bookshelf. The term originated in the Meiji era (1868–1912) as Japanese slang.
It’s making the rounds of social media and I think I need it on a poster.
I’ll share fiction books first as I suspect a good many of us prefer to escape into the imaginative other worlds our fiction authors create for us when we are sitting on the beach with our big sunglasses, digging our toes in the warm sand (and for MORE books to read, visit this blog post from last year)
Fiction comes in all shapes and sizes, of course. So, while all of these books are books relevant to my taste in surrounding myself with imaginary characters and places here on earth or somewhere far away in the known or unknown universe, they are sure to spark a flame in many of you, or someone you know. In other words, do share. It’s the nice thing to do these days.
My recommendations for your fiction reading this year
#1 The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. This book is so superb I do not exaggerate when I say it was a page turner. Based on true facts about WWII, the story is so alive, you immediately feel you’re there with the women of Bletchley Park. With them as they bruise their fingers and smoke cigarettes and dream of better lives. This Amazon description is so spot on I cannot do better:
1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.
And what’s more, the book shares true insight into the Rose Code and the women who worked at Bletchley Park, at the end of the book. True life turned into a novel, but dripping with intrigue, mystery, fear, and emotion. The exact kinds of things you read a book like this to experience. And yes, it is an experience.
#2 The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes. Another WWII novel written from facts gathered by the author. It’s no coincidence that this book is compared to The Rose Code. They both exude that authenticity and insight you expect from a novel written about events that happened in your or your parents’ lifetime. I wasn’t yet born, but I feel connected to it through all of the historical works I read about it. If you, too, were not yet born, I promise, this story is not so far removed from historical perspectives of any generation. I refer you to the Amazon description once more (and budding writers, take note of these descriptions, this is how you grab the first time reader…)
Berlin 1933. Following the success of her debut novel, American writer Althea James receives an invitation from Joseph Goebbels himself to participate in a culture exchange program in Germany. For a girl from a small town in Maine, 1933 Berlin seems to be sparklingly cosmopolitan, blossoming in the midst of a great change with the charismatic new chancellor at the helm. Then Althea meets a beautiful woman who promises to show her the real Berlin, and soon she’s drawn into a group of resisters who make her question everything she knows about her hosts—and herself.
Oh but there is so much more. There is Paris in 1936 and New York in 1944. And two other women who play a very big role in the unfolding of this amazing story. A story about books, writing, libraries, and how one woman uses her love of books to help the war effort.
“Through the quiet power of books, she believes she can help counter the tide of fascism she sees rising across Europe and atone for her mistakes. But when a dear friend decides actions will speak louder than words, Hannah must decide what stories she is willing to live—or die—for.”
A must read. Riveting to the very end. I promise.
#3 The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon. So you have discovered now that I read a lot mystery. I love a good mystery. I feel connected to each and every one because oftentimes our very lives are a mystery to each and every one of us. We think there is something mysterious about a locked chest in the attic. Or we feel a cold breeze and wonder, “Ghost?” Dead relative haunting us because…????
This is a great beach read. Quick and focused, for me. Amazon tells us,
West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter.
Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister.
All is well and good until Alice vanishes. Oh I love the word ‘vanishes’. So much more powerful than disappears. We might be tempted to say disappears, were we the ones writing that description. But vanishes gives us a whole new perspective, doesn’t it? Enjoy.
#4 The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé. I hope you will indulge me with patience as I do share a preponderance of books about libraries. It’s one of my many virtues. Loving libraries, I mean. I suggest it should be yours, also, if you are a reader or a writer. In this book, which I have yet to read, we visit Victorian England. A place I love visiting, in books. I would never want to visit or live there in real life. This story, Amazon tells us, is…
A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where we she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can’t be contained.
1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence’s father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.
Intercepting her father’s latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield’s library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.
I can’t wait to hunker down with this one. Can you say Gothic without a shudder? I know I can’t!
#5 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I am deep into this book right now! It was recommended to me by a client. I’m so struck by the scenic imagery of the Congo, where the book’s story takes place, and the deep research the author had to do to give someone like myself who has never visited Africa a true sense of the land and the people.
We’re talking the Belgian Congo in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A time I remember well as I was a teenager then. Of course, I knew nothing of the Belgian Congo. I only knew what was happening here, in America. This is helpful, because as the girls in the book talk about life back home, in the states, comparing it to their strange life in the Congo, the teenager in me relates. And, I feel bereft a bit. I feel that I never got a chance to experience anything outside of the little bubble I lived in, in Upstate NY.
The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it — from garden seeds to Scripture — is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.
My version does not showcase that this was a NY Times bestseller when it was first released, in 1998. I think it’s much better than Where the Crawdads Sing which as such a hit a year or two ago. Perhaps I’m being unfair to compare them, they are not in the same genre, after all. But, to me, my time – and yours – is better spent reading The Poisonwood Bible.
Let’s talk about nonfiction books now.
Three of these books are at my elbow, on my desk, as I write this. The other two sit in my bedroom. One I am reading now and the other is in line for next month.
No sense guessing which ones I’m talking about. I’ll tell you. I’m friendly that way.
#1 Writing That Gets Noticed by Estelle Erasmus is a book every writer needs on their bookshelf. Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published is the subtitle and the book delivers.
Amazon is no help in sharing a description here, so let me wing it. This book is for writers looking to improve their writing skills – essayists, novelists, and nonfiction writers who understand the power of emotional writing. “Part 3: Pitch Clinic” may have great appeal for new writers looking to get noticed by approaching relevant publications to pitch a column or article to them. Erasmus goes into detail on how to make sure your pitch is going to the right person and how it will ultimately be successful if you follow her advice.
Wherever you are in your writing process, this book is a genuine guide to becoming all that you can be.
#2 From Book to Bestseller by Penny Sansevieri is one in a long series of books designed to help you understand book marketing and how to market your work on your own. Penny is a marketing expert from A Marketing Expert and brings more than 20 years of knowledge to her work.
This book is about book sales. Sansevieri, a good friend, BTW, will help you understand your author brand, learn how to pitch Bookstagrammers (book folks on Instagram), learn how to build a useful social media presence, and “consistently sell more books.”
I want you to have this book because the first section is about building your platform and if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, YOU NEED TO HAVE A PLATFORM. Fiction or nonfiction, writers need to have a platform before the book is published.
Sansevieri teaches you how to do that in 51 very valuable pages. No doubt you will be highlighting and making notes in the sidebar throughout. (Write that down: highlight and write notes in sidebar!)
#3 The Power of Human Connection by Kody Bateman. This was a gift from Barbara Duran who kindly sent it to me after we had a 1-to1 call to learn a bit more about each other. If there is one way to cement my admiration of you, it’s to send me a book.
To be frank, Duran is a senior manager at Promptings, formerly, Send Out Cards, a relationship management company that helps all of us stay in touch with our clients, prospects, and family. I recommend you try it out.
Let’s talk about the book, however. The subtitle grabs you right away, How Relationship Marketing is Transforming the Way People Succeed. With a foreword by Ivan Misner, Ph.D., one expects big things from this book. And it delivers. This is a cross between a “using tech to connect” and “reach out and touch someone today.” Bateman instructs us on how to focus on the relationship part of marketing, which is where your success really sits.
In Chapter 5 “It’s Not Who You Know,” Bateman tell us, “It’s not who you know, it’s who you get to know that matters.” The list there is longer than this sentence but I want to leave you with this sentence. Who you get to know…and, I might say, how you get to know them. Oh, you might read Sansevieri’s book for that part.
#4 On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser. If you buy no other book on this list (and I get nothing if you do buy, I have no affiliates with any of these authors), buy this book. And read it.
I encourage you to read it even if you’re writing fiction. The insight from Zinsser is remarkable, but only because I’m still a novice learning how to write well. Yes, I help you write well, but in order to do that, I have to study people like Zinsser.
The very first passage I highlighted in this book is this on p. 5:
…two of the most important qualities this book will go in search of: humanity and warmth. Good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reading reading from one paragraph to the next, and it’s not a question of gimmicks to ‘personalize’ the author. It’s a question of using the English language in a way that will achieve the greatest clarity and strength.
I aspire to be as good a storyteller as Zinsser. To be as good a teacher and writer. I underline and highlight and sometimes laugh out loud and I realize, that is what I want for myself and for all the authors I work with. To deliver that experience to the reader. Of laughter, knowledge, emotion, fulfillment. The kind of understanding that sneaks into your soul and whispers in your ear as you read, “He gets me. He really gets me.”
#5 The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr. I am devouring this book. I had to put down Zinsser’s book to read this book because a client is writing a memoir and I wanted to learn more about that particular kind of writing.
I am so glad I did. I am so fixated with this author and her style of writing. Truth is, the cover alone can sell this book. That font. That style of title…and…NO SUBTITLE! Because no subtitle is needed. Karr is the author of The Liar’s Club: A Memoir which I know I must get next, but which bears noting here because all writing is often thought of as a legal chance to tell lies.
What do you do for a living? someone might ask.
I tell lies for a living, you might answer.
Because you’re a writer. But wait, nonfiction is not supposed to be lies. And memoirs especially have no business being lies. But there is an invisible truth that winds itself through all of our work, be we novelists, memoirists, or nonfiction writers, and that truth is that we make stuff up. All the time.
Because, as Karr notes in The Art of Memoir, we can’t possibly remember everything we want to say or write about. We can’t possible, as a species, remember word for word the conversation between our mother and Aunt Harriett that day at the grocery story when they were having words over the lettuce and Aunt Harriett threw a banana at our mother. We will remember that the banana hit her in the face and burst and that she retaliated by throwing a carton of milk at Aunt Harriett (which also burst and made a much bigger mess than the banana).
Of course we remember that. The words? Not so much. But if that story is germane to our writing, we must, by necessity, make the conversation up (after consulting cousins and other relatives, who won’t be much help because, after all, they weren’t really there, they heard about it second hand from Mom or Aunt Harriett).
Whew! This is why I saved this book for last. This book pushes us to delve into our deepest selves, to explore why we’re writing a memoir (or anything else, I think), and how authentic are we prepared to be?
Read it. It will inspire you. I promise.
As a final note, I want to share one more book in the nonfiction world. The Writer’s Voice: Techniques for Tuning Your Tone and Style by Anne Janzer. This is a workbook. Part of the Writer’s Process series. It’s a large, oversized book to write in. I wish it was spiral bound but that’s tricky these days in the world of print-on-demand. But because it’s softcover and flexible, writing in it isn’t hard.
As will so many books on writing, Janzer opens with a discussion on ‘voice’ and how to build yours. On page 5, she shares The Muse, the Scribe, and Your Voice, a few paragraphs designed to help you understand voice as it applies to writing.
Do share some of what you’re reading this summer in the comments. I have a few books stacked up on my bedside table, to be read this summer, but I’m willing to add a few more. Maybe you can recommend one.
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