Reading List :: Summer

Do you get any extra reading done in the summer?  I must admit that my summer had fewer books than I would have liked … maybe it was because there weren’t many long vacations, just lots of short getaways.  Long trips (with long flights) usually help the count.

I am a sucker for spy novels, so when the new Daniel Silva book in the Gabriel Allon series, Falling Angel,  came out, it was devoured immediately.  I also got in a few trilogys – some to remain nameless (and terribly written, by the way) – and a late entry to the Hunger Games, which I did totally enjoy.

Just read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, with just about everyone else it seems, and really enjoyed it.  I had no clue what I was in for — just a recommendation from a friend — and was hooked. Another one that sucked me in, where again I was going on nothing but a friendly recommendation, was The Leftovers by Tom Perotta.  It seems to have received a lot of traction last year, so I was late to the game, but thankfully good books don’t age.

Have you heard of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick?  I hadn’t and currently cannot put it down.  Surprise, surprise, a friend recommended it and I am in so deep.  I am fascinated and awed by the strength of the people, and cannot recommend this book highly enough!

But to round out a true summer reading list, perfect for one last trip to the beach, is Apron Anxiety.  I first followed the author Alyssa Shelasky through her blog, and bought the book as soon as it was published.  It follows love and loss, by way of the kitchen (with recipes too) — which, as we know, makes it perfectly at home with me.

Any books you read this summer that you couldn’t put down?  Any recommendations that you haven’t gotten to yet, but are hoping to tuck into come fall?  Send ‘em my way — suggestions from friends are obviously my favorite!