Summer Reads: Fiction Picks
Yes, it's that time of year again! Kick-back on the lounge chair with a cold drink and a hot book! These are just a few of my favourite recent summer reads, a real mix, but all highly entertaining:
Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan: An unemployed web designer finds himself pulled into a mystery when he accepts the night shift job at the titular book shop. This book juxtaposes new technologies (eBooks) and old (dusty old tomes), takes us deep into the world of high tech Google and uncovers an ancient, ultra secret society. I found this book to be a good Harry Potter-like read for adults! Plus the cover glows in the dark. eBook, eAudiobook
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: Ursula Todd is born on a snowy night in 1910, she dies soon after. The same night, Ursula Todd is born and this time lives. So the pattern is repeated throughout the book, Ursula lives and dies over and over again and each time her life takes a different path. She lives (and dies) and lives through both World Wars, marriages, and love affairs that end well and don't. This is a complex and beautiful read. eAudiobook
Inferno by Dan Brown: I was a little let down by The Lost Symbol, but I found this new Robert Langdon book much more entertaining and back on form. Could be the subject matter (Dante, trying to stop a potential viral plague being unleashed on the general population) or the setting (Florence and Venice –sigh!). If you are fan of Dan Brown's books, this will not disappoint! eBook
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler: With the recent movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby still in my mind, I read this wanting to know more about the relationship between the great Roaring twenties icons F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Their tumultuous time together is brought to life by Fowler in great detail as we are whisked from the Southern states to New York, from Paris cafes and literary salons to villas in the South of France. eAudiobook
Tenth of December by George Saunders: Wow! A unique collection of short stories from a master storyteller that are at once deep, creepy, disturbing and highly entertaining. eBook, eAudiobook
The Dinner by Herman Koch: Takes you on a roller coaster ride from start to finish. Two brothers and their respective wives meet at an Amsterdam restaurant one night to discuss a problem. Their sons have done something terrible, and the two sets of paren'ts have to figure out how to deal with it. Unexpected and thought-provoking. eBook, eAudiobook
One thought on “Summer Reads: Fiction Picks”
Thanks for these interesting suggestions! I’ll definitely check these out.