Whether you've stayed in Raleigh for the summer or traveled home somewhere else in the state, country, or world, summer is the best time to throw all your worries and inhibitions out the window for a couple hours at a time (or perhaps the whole summer) and settle down by the pool, on the beach, in your bed, or in your favorite little alcove by the window, with a good book.
There's nothing like the feeling of the binding on your fingertips, and all the time in the world. Whether it's an old favorite, or a new one whispering your name through the cover, to be able to sit for hours at a time with a cup of tea or a cool glass of lemonade and lose yourself… there's nothing like it.
So without further ado, below are my picks for your perfect summer book list. I have read, and highly approve of all of these selections. Happy reading!
Love Letters of Great Men and Women by Ursula Doyle (Romance/Non-Fiction)
Blurb: From the private papers of Jane Austen and Mozart to those of Anne Boleyn and Nelson, "Love Letters of Great Men and Women" collects some of the most romantic letters in history. Taken together, these love letters show that perhaps little has changed over the last 2,000 years. Passion, jealousy, hope and longing are all represented here -- as is the simple pleasure of sending a letter to, and receiving one from, the person you love most.
Thoughts: This book is the perfect addition to candles and a warm bath on a cool summer night. As a closet romantic, it's nice to know that you're not so different from some of the most influential people in the world. When we put people on a pedestal, we start to categorize them as superheroes... people that cannot possibly have the same weaknesses and the same hopes and dreams that we do: to find love. Doyle reminds us that in the end, we're all just people. People that want to desire and love, and be loved and desired in return.
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende (Classics/Fiction/Magical Realism)
Blurb: In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.
Thoughts: Of all the books I was ever required to read as part of my IB Higher Level: Literature A course, this is one of the books that has stuck with me indefinitely. House of Spirits can be described as the female version of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. The length and complexity of detail seems daunting at first, but once you give it a chance, Allende draws you in to a wonderful world of love, tradition, and revolution spanning across four generations of Trueba women. However what stood out the most to me, was the interweaving of magical realism within the novel, the portrayal of magic and the supernatural as acceptable in the natural world.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusack (Historical Fiction)
Blurb: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and share her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
Thoughts: If you're looking for an emotional roller coaster... look no further. I still remember the discussion with my girlfriends three years ago: what books have made you cry? This one came up multiple times, and after finally reading it I can tell you that you they were not wrong. Far from it. Zusack's novel, narrated by Death of all things, recreates Nazi Germany from the ground level. We see what Liesel sees, and feel what she feels; and it's through Liesel, that we take away some major lessons from the novel: a lesson on hope, kindness, and taking this for granted.
Can You Keep A Secret? By Sophie Kinsella (Fiction/Romance)
Blurb: Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets: Secrets from her boyfriend: I've always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken. Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Secrets she wouldn't share with anyone in the world: I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is. Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger… Until Emma comes face-to-face with Jack Harper, the company's elusive CEO, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her...
Thoughts: On a much lighter note, Kinsella's novel takes much after her many other novels such as the critically acclaimed Confessions of a Shopaholic. Additionally, if you're a fan of Meg Cabot and her novels, I would highly recommend Sophie Kinsella next. Lighthearted, funny, witty and as equally as awkward as I am (which is rare), she has created a character that all college women can relate to on a spiritual level. A romantic comedy in literature form, the novel combines the perfect doses of make ups, break ups, girlfriends, and of course men, together making the perfect novel to accompany your Friday night glass of wine.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (Fantasy/Adventure)
Blurb: When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.
Thoughts: Much like Harry Potter, which I would've added to the list if it already wasn't so well known, I read Eragon for the first time in the fourth grade, and have read it annually like clockwork till this very day. It's one of those timeless contemporary fantasies that never get old, that whisk you away in to a world with evil kings, farm boy heroes, and mystical beasts brought to life, a world that is equally as wonderful and beautiful as it is terrifying. As the first book of a four book cycle, Paolini hooks you from the very first page, devouring the words on the page and allowing your mind and your imagination to dream.
The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, Book #1) by Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling (Mystery/Fiction)
Blurb: A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide. After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator.
Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.
Thoughts: Althought I didn't put Harry Potter on the list because I figured it speaks for itself, I've done my part by continuing to provide my tribute to JK Rowling with her novel The Cuckoo's Calling. Though her name has changed (under an alias), the quality of her writing is as excellent as ever. I'll admit that at first, I was skeptical about Rowling writing anything other than Harry Potter, it seemed too flawless to even try and compare to. However, as someone who spends an unhealthy amount of time watching TV shows like Castle, Bones, and Flashpoint, I was quite intrigued with the plot line and story surrounding Private Investigator Strike.
Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, Book #1) by John Flanagan (Fantasy/Fiction)
Blurb: They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice.
What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied.
Thoughts: Last but not least, and because you can never get enough historical fiction or fantasy, here we have it folks. Flanagan's first novel to a twelve novel adventure first captured my attention in middle school, and had me addicted and on the edge of my seat, waiting for each progressive novel to be released the following year. I'll admit straight up that this is probably a children or pre-teen book, but so are so many timeless books we still read (cough, cough, Harry Potter). Why it continues to grab my attention though, is because rather than dragons or wizards or any of your run-of-the-mill fantasy topics, Flanagan's novel remains quite realistic, and focuses instead on rangers. Definitely a new take on fantasy, and a very imaginative read.
