Summerland: Glimpse into the Real Nantucket

Summerland 

By Elin Hilderbrand

Genre: Women's Fiction, Popular Adult Fiction

Summer isn't summer without the latest Elin Hilderbrand read and a vicarious vacation to Nantucket!

Review: The real Nantucket, the year-round islanders are at the center of this novel. Zoe, a chef, and her twins Hobby and Penny are the golden children of their high school. Penny a gifted singer, Hobby a gifted athlete. The whole island is shocked when Penny drives off the road at high speed, three friends in the Jeep, including boyfriend Jake and friend Demeter. The book follows three island families as they deal with the accident and resulting events, told from rotating character's perspectives. This novel was fast-paced yet I felt very connected to the characters and their emotions. 

Song to Read by: "Next in Line" by Walk the Moon

The Disturbing and Truly Unputdownable Book

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Genre: Popular Adult Fiction, Thriller


Review: Gone Girl came highly recommended from many sources. What happens when an emotionally stunted former magazine writer, Nick, and a "Amazing" Amy get married, the recession hits, and they lose their jobs and move to Missouri? This book takes us there, divided into three shocking sections. After section 1, a super crazy twist occurs. The novel is expertly plotted, with unpredictable twists and turns, unique characters, and incisive social commentary. I don't want to say more for fear of revealing too much. Just read it! This is one book that can't be explained. 


Also recommended by Gillian Flynn: Her first novel, Sharp Objects. 


Author website:http://gillian-flynn.com/

Adventure on the High Seas

The Cat's Table

By Michael Ondaatje

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction


Review: Ondaatje's most autobiographical novel yet. The poetic language expected from the author of The English Patient, Anil's Ghost, and Divisadero doesn't disappoint. The story is a strange mix of the adventures of three boys on the Oronsay, a ship traveling from Sri Lanka to England, along with reflections on interpersonal relationships and quirky characters. The structure of the storytelling was interesting. Interludes into the present-day as the main character looked back to his three-week high seas adventure. Overall, this book is more about savoring the language for me, than enjoying the plot. Not my favorite by him, but worth reading.


Favorite Quote from the Book: "We all have an old knot in the heart we wish to loosen and untie."




Song to Read by: "Southampton" from the Titanic soundtrack, by James Horner

Returning to a Modern Classic: Bel Canto

Bel Canto

                          By Ann Patchett

This book cover is the Vintage Modern Classics edition.

Genre: Literary Fiction


After reading State of Wonder, I had to return to Bel Canto to re-read and savor a book that I first devoured in two days, many years ago. 


Review: A Japanese tech magnate loves opera and travels to "the host country" in South America to hear Roxanne Coss sing at a birthday party in his honor. Terrorists take over the party, in search of the President, who is not present. The ensuing plot follows the shifting relationships between the guests and the terrorists, tracing three loves stories: love of opera, a translator and a soldier, and an unlikely couple. The writing is amazingly beautiful, yet the plot moves swiftly. The story is told with psychological precision.


Bottom Line: Read it. Re-read it! Well-written thriller. Literary Masterpiece. 


Song to Read By: Renée Fleming - Mozart - Ch'io mi scordi di te?

Easy, Breezy Beach Read

Summer Breeze

by Nancy Thayer

Genre: Popular Women's Fiction

Review: Make this the first beach read of the summer! I read half the book in one night. This book has the balance I've been waiting for--each young woman is searching to find the balance between love and career in their lives. The characters weren't standard--there was more depth to them--Bella searches for meaning by opening an art gallery, Morgan balances motherhood and yearning for her biosafety career, and Natalie blossoms as an artist. Near the end, the plot gets tied into some neat little bows, but that's okay. This book is better than most beach reads!

Author Website: http://nancythayer.com/ 

Song to Read by: "Shiver" by Walk the Moon

Astonishing, Heartbreaking Prose

Autobiography of a Face

by Lucy Grealy

Genre: Memoir


Review:After reading the description, I thought this book would be too sad to read, yet it was honest and clear-eyed. Lucy Grealy was a brilliant writer, a solemn child, daughter of an Irish immigrant. The story begins with a fateful game of dodgeball and follows Lucy through her life, chronicling the way she negotiates with herself, reinventing concepts of beauty and identity again and again. This book is about waiting for your life to start, yet struggling to live your life at the same time, a life no one could ever imagine without experiencing it. 

Note: Read this book as a companion to Truth and Beauty.

Song to Read By: "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons

To Be Sung Underwater

To Be Sung Underwater

by Tom McNeal

I love both covers. Paperback above, hardback below.

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction


Review: Well-written is an understatement. I found myself writing phrases in my journal, relishing the poetic language. However, I still cared about the characters the most. This is the story of Judith and Willy, and how Judith's great love at 17 didn't fit in with her life plan, and her resulting choices. The setting, Nebraska, becomes a celebrated landscape of buttes, pines, and prairie. I also admired the novel's structure. Part 1 goes back and forth in time, Part 2 is the past, Part 3 is the present. Ingenious.


Savor this novel on a slow summer afternoon.


Song to Read By: "To Be Sung On the Water" by Samuel Barber, title derived from this song, sung by a woman's choir


Author Website: http://www.mcnealbooks.com/