Completely different kind of book - but I loved Tina Fey’s Bossypants. Laugh out loud funny at times.
Just finished Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan. This year’s Pulitzer Prize winner. A can’t-put-it-down novel that’s funny, moving, smart, experimental in a totally accessible way, innovative, exhilarating and a complete pleasure. Recommended!
I think the smartest thing Amazon has ever done was institute the free sampling for the Kindle. I’ve sampled manyl of the books recommended here and have bought several after reading the sample. Thanks to everyone for their ideas and thanks to Amazon for making it so easy to try them out.
Katlia–thanks for the recommendation. I liked “Look at Me” but I c ouldn’t get into “the Keep.” I will look for Visit from the Goon Squad–your description souonds right up my alley.
Just returned from trip to East Coast. Started & finished UNBROKEN on plane…fascinating/haunting/powerful.
There is an interesting website about the guy in the book, with great video.
google Louis Zamperini dot com
I also love Maeve Binchy. I’d recommend “Circle of Friends” to start, the first one I read and still my favorite (not wild about the movie version, though.) It’s best to read her books in order of publication, since many of them have overlapping characters and follow a unified timeline.
I also adored “Unbroken”.
Conversations with Power, by Brian Till. He toured the world as a young college student interviewing world leaders and asked really good questions which they surprisingly answered.
I’m just finishing Water for Elephants. Wow.
Next up: Catch-22. Somehow I missed this when everyone else was reading it back in the day. D is reading it now and recommended it.
I agree with MommaJ, I would start with Circle of Friends.
If you like historical fiction, I am reading Manhunt by James Swanson. It is about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and is captivating. I am really enjoying it.
I also found “Unbroken” fascinating–it’s not something I would have thought I’d enjoy–I read it for my book club–I learned so much about World War II and the plight of Japanese POWs, as well as of the resilience of human spirit. It was written by the same author who wrote “Seabiscuit.”
I have been reading Unbroken too. I bought it for my son on our Kindles and I am the one who is reading it. Not the type of book I can’t put down, but I keep picking it up, IYKWIM
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is really good!
Hey readers, it’s summertime! What are you reading?
I finished Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards and liked it WAY better than Memory Keeper’s Daughter, though I thought it could use a little more editing.
Just finished Geraldine Brooks’ new one, Caleb’s Crossing. I know there are a lot of fans on here of Year of Wonders, March, and People of the Book. This one is also excellent, about the English settlement on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1660s and the relationship with the native tribes. It is a fictionalized account of a real story, about a native american who graduated at that time from Harvard. The main character, Bethia, is a wonderful narrator.
Also loved Vivaldi’s Virgins, historical fiction set in Venice, about the orphans who learned music under the great composer. Delicious!
Eagerly awaiting Ann Patchett’s new novel, State of Wonder, on hold at my library!
Just finished Alice Hoffman’s The Red Garden. Very much a summer reading book.
dbwes- I also thought Lake of Dreams was much better than Memory Keepers Daughter.
Currently reading Sarah Addison Allen books. So far I like the Peachkeeper the best.
Enjoyed Night Road by Kristin Hannah, but cried my eyes out. So glad I wasn’t reading it on my lunch break at work.
^^^
I’m starting The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen today. Good to see the positive remark.
So far, Allen’s Garden Spells has the tiniest edge over her The Sugar Queen as my personal favorite - well, depending on my mood. Then again, on second thought, maybe not. (Evidently my mood just changed. 
)
FallGirl, I just finished Night Road last week. I thought it read quite a bit like a Jodi Picoult book except she tied things up a little more neatly. As a parent of a HS senior, I related to the Mom in the story, but (fortunately) the kids were not so much like my own. I tend to read “gentle read” books in the summer.
liked Addison’s books, all of them! Liked Lake of Dreams better then Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Started 2030 on my Kindle but I had just downloaded the sample and I was on a plane- interesting so far.
I just finished *Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet<a href=“CC%20June%20book%20club%20selection%20:”>/I</a> ). Lovely.
Tawni O’dell’s Fragile Beasts was a pleasant summer read. John Sandford seems to have revived a bit–enjoyed his latest book in the “prey” series–Buried Prey. I have a huge stack of books to work through this summer…I spend too much time golfing to get much read!