Top 10 Tuesday: Summer Reads Freebie

May 23: Summer Reads Freebie

The Broke and the Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday . My day job (teaching) gives me time to really catch up on reading in the summer. So I have a list of books about a mile long. But I’ll only share the top ten. These tend to be books I’ve been intending to read forever but will finally have a chance to get to and appreciate. But they’re also books that are being released this summer.

1.  A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara- I’ve seen this recommended everywhere for a long time. Often when that’s the case I find the book itself a bit disappointing. But there are the rare cases that I find the praise is deserved. A 700 page book that’s frequently described as “tragic” and “traumatic” is a bit much to handle while working, but that’s what summer reads are for.
2. Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker- I will just because it’s Jane Eyre fan fiction but even aside from that it’s supposed to be good. And Jane Eyre fan fiction tends to be good. Check out Wide Saragasso Sea by Jean Rhys or Jane Steele by Lyndsey Faye to see what I mean. They’re totally different for the original novel, and completely different from one another, but very much worth reading.
3. The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff- I read Groff’s Fates and Furies this year, and I loved her writing. This one of her other novels. I also plan to check out Arcadia and some of her short fiction.
4. The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel- I’ll admit that the Flowers in the Attic references appealed to me. 12 year old Fran still lives in me somewhere.
5. The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor- For some reason I love the story of the Cottingley fairies. This novel imagines it with a duel timeline story (something else I love).
6. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss- I loved The Name of the Wind, the first in Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy. This is number 2. I haven’t read it yet, because it’s long (993 pages), but summer is a great time to dig into something long, and absorbing.
7. Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon- I’m an Outlander addict. The wait between books in this series is painful. Its made slightly less painful by the fact that the TV series is very good. But the new season of that doesn’t premiere until September.  So how to make it through the bleak and bitter droughtlander? Well, fortunately author Diana Gabaldon gives fans the “bulges” to enjoy. These are novellas that she writes either about secondary characters, or character backstory.  They’re not as absorbing as the main series of course, but it keeps us addicts sane(ish) until the next book is released.
8. The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett- This is third in Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles series. I think the series is definitely worth reading (based on the first two books) but they’re not easy reads. We don’t really get inside the character’s thoughts much, so it’s often a while before we understand what’s going on and why.  The main character is a brilliantly educated polygot who often makes references that I don’t get right away. So it takes some effort to get into. Over the summer I have the time and mental space for that.
9. The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer- Blame the Outlander comparison for this one! But it actually looks good independent of anything else, and I love historical fiction combined with paranormal/sci-fi stuff.
10. After Anatevka: A Novel Inspired by “Fiddler on the Roof” by Alexandra Silber-  Alexandra Silber is an actress and singer who played the role of Hodel in the 2007 London revival of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. In 2015 she played Hodel’s older sister Tzeitel in the Broadway revival of the same show. In this book she extends her creative reach to imagine the lives of the characters after the events of the musical. I’m interested to see what she does with it. Will her focus be primarily on the two roles that she’s played or will it extend elsewhere? I’m a big fan of Alexandra Silber’s blog, London Still. She’s pretty awesome. In addition to being an actress/singer/novelist, she’s written three modern language adaptation of Greek tragedies. She also teaches musical theater at Pace University, and elsewhere.

Well is there anything that I should add to the list?

 

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