Reading time: About 4 minutes (faster if you skim)
Looking for some recommended books in time for summer reading? Here’s my semi-annual roundup of books I’ve read this year.
I aim to read 52 books every 12 months, and my habit is to post a complete list of the names of them for you twice a year. Here is a description of the 24 books I’ve enjoyed so far this year. Yes, I’m a bit behind, but I’m confident my summer reading will take me to 52 books by December. (If you want to learn how to read more, check out my post on the topic or my video.)
I give you this list close to the North American summer solstice to help you with plans for your own summer reading. I list my top five non-fiction reads followed by my top five fiction ones. After these highlighted titles, I’ll name the other books I’ve read in each category, in order of preference.
Please note I don’t generally read sci-fi or fantasy. I pass no judgment on those who do; my tastes don’t usually run in those directions.
TOP 5 FICTION TITLES:
- Tóibín, Colm. Long Island. An intricate study of character, this book also has a propulsive plot: Will the main character return to her husband who has fathered a child with another woman?
- Haigh, Jennifer. Rabbit Moon. A story about the ties of marriage and family, in the face of a tragic accident. Exceptionally well written.
- Winman, Sarah. Tin Man. Sad and beautifully written story about the lives of three characters whose paths cross in heartbreaking ways.
- Aoyama, Michiko. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library. Charming book offering stories about a bossy but sensitive librarian who is able to help her patrons with the “perfect” reading recommendation. Very Japanese.
- Moore, Liz. The God of the Woods. Well-written thriller about a missing camper at a summer camp. Would be an extremely engaging vacation read.
Do you have any fiction titles you can recommend? Please name them in the comments section, below.
TOP 5 NON-FICTION TITLES:
- Green, John. Everything is Tuberculosis. I’d had no idea that tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the world, even though we know how to cure it. A fascinating (and humbling) read.
- Brady, Fern. Strong Female Character. This memoir of a Scottish comedian who happens to be autistic is highly readable and often very funny.
- Woolever, Laurie. Care and Feeding. Well-written memoir about the horrors of the restaurant industry.
- Wynn-Williams, Sarah. Careless People. I don’t use Facebook anymore, but I encourage anyone who does to read this memoir written by a former employee. The bad behaviour of this company is even more shocking than I’d imagined.
- Foster Wallace, David. Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays. Wallace was a terrific non-fiction writer, and I had intended to read his essay on the lobster for years but just never gotten around to it. Read it if you don’t want to eat lobster anymore.
Do you have any non-fiction titles you can recommend? Please name them in the comments section, below.
BOOKS BY MY CLIENTS:
- Dvorak, Sue. Apparently: This Is What Parenting Feels Like. The mother of six grown children, Dvorak offers a compelling and often very funny look at the happy/sad, frustrating/joyful and confident/doubtful aspects of parenting.
- Estes, Fred. Design Thinking: A Guide to Innovation. This clear and easy-to-follow book explains each of the steps in the six-step design thinking process used for challenging assumptions, solving problems and leading to innovation. It’s a wonderful follow-up to the author’s earlier work, Teen Innovators.
(I put these two titles in alphabetical order, by author, so I wouldn’t have to play favourites with people I know well.)
OTHER FICTION (in order of preference)
- Chee, Alexander. Edinburgh. The plot, which addresses suicide and childhood abuse, will make this book difficult reading for some. But the writing, especially the figurative language, is hugely impressive.
- Kushner, Rachel. Creation Lake. The plot for this book about a 34-year-old female secret agent — designed to echo “noir” novels — left me cold. But the writing was absolutely magnificent. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and became an instant New York Times bestseller, so other people clearly liked this book more than I did.
- French, Tana. The Hunter. I’m a huge fan of Tana French but didn’t find this book up to her usual (very high) standard. It was also overly long.
- Nunez, Sigrid. The Vulnerables. I found it very hard to get into this very short book, which I wouldn’t call a novel because not enough happens. It’s well written, but it certainly won’t grab everyone. (I much preferred her earlier novel, The Friend.)
- Hanff Korelitz, Jean. The Sequel. The story — about the widow of a bestselling author who becomes a bestselling author herself — has some good in-jokes relating to publishing, but I felt as though Korelitz lost control of the plot. Or at least the ability to make it interesting enough.
- Mellors, Coco. Blue Sisters. Another book with rave reviews (from publications like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar) that struck me as over-hyped. Some lovely figurative language but big swaths of text that sounded more like typing than writing.
- Hannah, Kristin. The Women. I enjoyed the plot of this book — an interesting look at the women who served in Vietnam as nurses, via historical fiction. But I found the writing to be too immature.
- Harris, JB. The Immigrant’s Wife. Historical fiction set in Boston in the early 1900s. The story is a bit predictable.
OTHER NON-FICTION (in order of preference)
- Garten, Ina. Be Ready When the Luck Happens. I enjoyed reading this book, though not because I’m an Ina Garten fan (I’ve never read one of her cookbooks or seen any of her TV shows). But I’m a serious cook who has edited several cookbooks, and I’m always intrigued by the stories of professional cooks.
- Blasey Ford, Christine. One Way Back. A memoir by the woman who spoke out against the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. As if the original assault weren’t bad enough, what she had to put up with after her testimony is shocking.
- Chin, Curtis. Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. This book is framed as the story of a second-generation Asian son growing up in the restaurant business, but it’s more the story of a gay man coming out to his family and friends.
- Klein, Naomi. Doppelganger. This book was based on a smart concept — having the same (unusual) first name as another famous person and therefore getting mixed up with them all the time. And Klein knows how to string a sentence together. But, sadly, I found much of the book to be rather boring…
If you liked this post, you’ll also enjoy a link to all such columns over the last 15 years.
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What are the best books you’ve read so far this year? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the comments section, below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by June 30/25, I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the related posts links, below. You don’t have to join Disqus to post! Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. (It’s easy!)
