NPR.org has several lists of recommended books for your reading pleasure this summer.
The 10 Best Summer Cookbooks of 2009 (recommended by T. Susan Chang)
1. Cooking Know-How by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
2. The Flavors of Asia by Mai Pham
3. Memorable Recipes to Share with Family and Friends by Renee Behnke
4. The Modern Vegetarian by Maria Elia
5. Preserved by Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton
6. Real Cajun by Donald Link
7. Soak, Slathered, and Seasoned: A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill by Elizabeth Karmel
8. The Spice Kitchen by Michal Haines
9. Tacos by Mark Miller
10. Vefa's Kitchen by Vefa Alexiadou
Best Fiction For Every Kind of Summer Day (recommended by Glen Weldon)
1. Cecil and Jordan in New York by Gabrielle Bell
2. The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
3. Genesis by Bernard Beckett
4. The Manual of Detection by Jedidiah Berry
5. Woodsburner by John Pipkin
The Five Best Novels of Summer (recommended by Jenna Crispin)
1. Castle by J. Robert Lennon
2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
3. Follow Me by Joanna Scott
4. The Good Parents by Joan London
5. The Scenic Route by Binnie Kirshenbaum
For Summer Sleuths: Best Mystery, Crime Novels (recommended by Maureen Corrigan)
1. Awakening by S.J. Bolton
2. Black Noir: Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction by African-American Writers edited by Otto Penzler
3. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
4. The Shanghai Moon by S. J. Rozan
5. The Way Home by George Pelecanos
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
New York Times -- A List of Books for the Summer Reading Season
The New York Times provides a list of books published in May that will kick-off your summer reading season. They say "if May's books are any indication, the beaches of America will be dark and chilly this year."
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Lake Overturn by Vestal McIntyre
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Stone's Fall by Ian Pears
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Lake Overturn by Vestal McIntyre
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Stone's Fall by Ian Pears
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith
Friday, May 29, 2009
What to Read This Summer -- from New York Magazine
New York Magazine gives us a reading list for this summer: "Could this be the summer we finally bury the notion that a beach read must be mindless to be fun?"
May books:
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
How to Sell by Clancy Martin
The Food of a Younger Land edited by Mark Kurlansky
June books:
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
Just Like Family by Tasha Blaine
Fordlandia by Greg Grandin
July books:
NYPD Confidential by Leonard Levitt
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
August books:
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
May books:
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
How to Sell by Clancy Martin
The Food of a Younger Land edited by Mark Kurlansky
June books:
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson
Just Like Family by Tasha Blaine
Fordlandia by Greg Grandin
July books:
NYPD Confidential by Leonard Levitt
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
August books:
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The 13 Hottest Summer Reads
According to Sara Nelson of The Daily Beast website, the following are her picks for the summer's beach-reading musts. Nelson is a critic for The Daily Beast and the former editor in chief of Publishers Weekly. She is the author of the bestselling So Many Books, So Little Time.
1. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
This is the second book in a trilogy that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. "It is: riveting, unputdownable, a sure bestseller."
2. The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
This book is about Mark Zuckerberg, "an unpopular nerd at Harvard, who invented Facebook (the social-networking site) one night in his dorm room, and by age 25 was a billionaire several times over."
3. The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis
"This debut about three generations of strong women in late 20th century Uruguay ... is a high-end, Euro Danielle Steel story full of sex, politics, and family."
4. Satchel by Larry Tye
This is about the pitcher born Leroy Paige who at 42 lead the Cleveland Indians to the World Series.
5. The Bolter by Frances Osborne
"The author is the great granddaughter of Idina Sackville, a Jazz Age femme fatale. Osborne recreates her ancestor's life and loves, from England to Kenya and back again."
6. The Slippery Year by Melanie Gideon
A memoir written "without sounding whiny and overprivileged" by a women who is "forty-four years old, married with children and has a satisfying work and social circle."
7. Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones
This autobiography is written by the daughter of "James (From Here to Eternity) Jones. It is a cut above the rest, thanks to Jones' dry wit and some fantastic literary anecdotes."
8. Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga
"The stories in this collection exhibit the author's characteristic subversive sensibility and pointed prose."
9. My Judy Garland Life by Susie Boyt
"This debut memoir from a Financial Times fashion writer and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud is a cross between a fan's notes and a heartfelt story of a lonely British girl who found more love and inspiration in one movie star than in anyone closer to home."
10. Queen Takes King by Gigi Levangie Grazier
"A novel about a high-flying New York real-estate executive whose divorce will "trump" even the more scandalous ones we've seen in real life."
11. Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa by Mark Seal
"The Vanity Fair editor pens this tale of the conservationist Joan Root. While Root came to prominence as a wildlife filmmaker in Africa with her husband Alan, her story really began after their divorce -- and was soon cut short by her shocking murder."
12. Israel is Real by Rich Cohen
"Cohen's book is about the people and politics that have shaped the young nation."
13. South of Broad by Pat Conroy
"Save this novel from the author of The Prince of Tides for an end-of-summer beach weekend to enjoy the flawed, sexy, melodramatic Conrovian characters."
1. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
This is the second book in a trilogy that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. "It is: riveting, unputdownable, a sure bestseller."
2. The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
This book is about Mark Zuckerberg, "an unpopular nerd at Harvard, who invented Facebook (the social-networking site) one night in his dorm room, and by age 25 was a billionaire several times over."
3. The Invisible Mountain by Carolina de Robertis
"This debut about three generations of strong women in late 20th century Uruguay ... is a high-end, Euro Danielle Steel story full of sex, politics, and family."
4. Satchel by Larry Tye
This is about the pitcher born Leroy Paige who at 42 lead the Cleveland Indians to the World Series.
5. The Bolter by Frances Osborne
"The author is the great granddaughter of Idina Sackville, a Jazz Age femme fatale. Osborne recreates her ancestor's life and loves, from England to Kenya and back again."
6. The Slippery Year by Melanie Gideon
A memoir written "without sounding whiny and overprivileged" by a women who is "forty-four years old, married with children and has a satisfying work and social circle."
7. Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kaylie Jones
This autobiography is written by the daughter of "James (From Here to Eternity) Jones. It is a cut above the rest, thanks to Jones' dry wit and some fantastic literary anecdotes."
8. Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga
"The stories in this collection exhibit the author's characteristic subversive sensibility and pointed prose."
9. My Judy Garland Life by Susie Boyt
"This debut memoir from a Financial Times fashion writer and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud is a cross between a fan's notes and a heartfelt story of a lonely British girl who found more love and inspiration in one movie star than in anyone closer to home."
10. Queen Takes King by Gigi Levangie Grazier
"A novel about a high-flying New York real-estate executive whose divorce will "trump" even the more scandalous ones we've seen in real life."
11. Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa by Mark Seal
"The Vanity Fair editor pens this tale of the conservationist Joan Root. While Root came to prominence as a wildlife filmmaker in Africa with her husband Alan, her story really began after their divorce -- and was soon cut short by her shocking murder."
12. Israel is Real by Rich Cohen
"Cohen's book is about the people and politics that have shaped the young nation."
13. South of Broad by Pat Conroy
"Save this novel from the author of The Prince of Tides for an end-of-summer beach weekend to enjoy the flawed, sexy, melodramatic Conrovian characters."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Stephen King's Summer Reading List
Stephen King helps you plan your summer reading schedule by listing his top 7 favorites:
1. Shatter by Michael Robotham
"Gideon Tyler, the deranged villain of this exceptional suspense novel, is a devil so persuasive he's able to talk his victims into killing themselves."
2. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
The first book in Stephenson's Baroque Cycle -- you will find a "stirring account of how rational scientific thought was born......with swashbucling pirates ... and a smart and beautiful young woman liberated from slavery."
3. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
"Here's the best spy novel I've read that wasn't written by John le Carre.
4. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
"His most sentimental, absorbing, delightful novel...and yes, you will like it."
5. Drood by Dan Simmons
"Simmons is always good, but Drood is a masterwork of narrative suspense."
6. Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
You will "fall head over heels in love with the hard-boiled detective novel, which is narrated by the P.I.'s smart mongrel sidekick."
7. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
"It's a legal/medical thriller, but at bottom it's a story about the American heart of darkness; a small-town marriage under stress."
Read all King's comments about each title at the Entertainment Weekly website.
1. Shatter by Michael Robotham
"Gideon Tyler, the deranged villain of this exceptional suspense novel, is a devil so persuasive he's able to talk his victims into killing themselves."
2. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
The first book in Stephenson's Baroque Cycle -- you will find a "stirring account of how rational scientific thought was born......with swashbucling pirates ... and a smart and beautiful young woman liberated from slavery."
3. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
"Here's the best spy novel I've read that wasn't written by John le Carre.
4. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
"His most sentimental, absorbing, delightful novel...and yes, you will like it."
5. Drood by Dan Simmons
"Simmons is always good, but Drood is a masterwork of narrative suspense."
6. Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
You will "fall head over heels in love with the hard-boiled detective novel, which is narrated by the P.I.'s smart mongrel sidekick."
7. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult
"It's a legal/medical thriller, but at bottom it's a story about the American heart of darkness; a small-town marriage under stress."
Read all King's comments about each title at the Entertainment Weekly website.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Aspiring Writers Get Advice from James Patterson
Thriller author James Patterson holds the record for time spent on the New York Times bestseller list. Patterson has sold so many books that it is estimated that one in three U.S. citizens have read one. Now he's offering advice on how he does it.
Patterson's method is simple: "I'm always pretending that I'm sitting across from somebody. I'm telling them a story, and I don't want them to get up until it's finished."
Read the full article at Writer's Digest magazine.
Patterson's method is simple: "I'm always pretending that I'm sitting across from somebody. I'm telling them a story, and I don't want them to get up until it's finished."
Read the full article at Writer's Digest magazine.
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