Good to have lots of recommendations for summer reading!
There’s a touching love story at the heart of Penelope Lively’s new novel “How It All Began”.
Garland, I noticed “Once upon a River” in the thread about college summer reading for incoming freshmen. Now I’m doubly interested.
I just finished wolfing down “Bring Up the Bodies,” Hilary Mantel’s sequel to the amazing “Wolf Hall” (which won the 2009 Man Booker Prize). It’s the second book in her planned trilogy about the life and career of Thomas Cromwell.
“Bodies” is considerably shorter and less sprawling than Wolf Hall, since it concentrates on the events in 1536 leading to the downfall of Ann Boleyn, but I loved it every bit as much as the first book, and, in some ways (perhaps because it’s a little tighter) even more. I can’t believe I have to wait another couple of years for part 3!
By the way, I read “Alas, Babylon” when I was 11 or 12. It scared me half to death.
A couple of reviews:
[Hilary</a> Mantel’s “Bring Up the Bodies” and Thomas Cromwell : The New Yorker](<a href=“Invitation To a Beheading | The New Yorker”>Invitation To a Beheading | The New Yorker)
<a href=“‘Bring Up the Bodies,’ by Hilary Mantel - The New York Times”>‘Bring Up the Bodies,’ by Hilary Mantel - The New York Times;
Dragonmom–I noticed that too–I think it’s because the college that chose it is Kalamazoo, and the book takes place on the river near near Kalamazoo.
Donna, I’m about halfway through Bring up the Bodies and am also loving it as much as Wolf Hall. The way she uses language is just brilliant.
I CAN’T WAIT to get Bring Up the Bodies! On a long library waiting list, alas. I thought Wolf Hall was one of the more absorbing works of historical fiction I’ve ever read. I agree with Booklady that it’s superbly written.
Yes, some of Mantel’s turns of phrase are so wonderful that I want to read them over and over again.
Just finished a collection of short fiction by Daphne Du Maurier with a forward by Patrick McGrath. Really enjoyed the collection and also McGrath’s analysis of her writing was just fabulous. I re-read his forward after finishing the book.
Just started the Shoemaker’s Wife. 100 pages in and I am hooked.
I recently read “A Dead Hand”, by Paul Theroux, which my husband had gotten from the library and we both loved it (the reviews are mixed).
It is a quasi mystery that takes place in Calcutta, and involves an interesting love affair between the story teller and another character. Their relationship and the descriptions of Calcutta are the most interesting parts of the book, and not the mystery, and it is well written.
However, I did not figure out the mystery until it was revealed at the end of the book, and I usually am able to, half way through a book.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Finally got my hands on Bring On the Bodies. WOW!!
D knows I like Jon Kraukauer and David Roberts and other mountaineering writers, so she recommended [Buried</a> in the Sky – A Book by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan](<a href=“http://buriedinthesky.com%5DBuried”>http://buriedinthesky.com), and I’m really loving it.
I just finished that book. Loved it.
I also loved Anna Quindlan’s “Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake”.
People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry, a journalist who spent ten years covering the story of a young British woman who was murdered while working as nightclub hostess in Tokyo. It got rave reviews and was frequently compared to The Executioner’s Song and In Cold Blood. I don’t think it was that good, but it was a worthwhile read - much better than you usually find in the true crime genre. It was a fascinating look at the Japanese justice system, and honored the victim’s memory by portraying her as a full human being.
For those that bit the bullet and read Hunger Games, I just finished Divergent and really enjoyed it a lot… the two remind me of each other, but this is a relatively new book and I think I like it better. I guess it’s going to be a trilogy but only two books are out so far. I think the author is Veronica Roth…?
As I read the second book in that series, I am also reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King… I’ve never read a Stephen King novel but I am enjoying this one quite a bit.
^ Emaheevul07, my daughter just finished Divergent and loved it. She’s about to start the second book.
After you finish 11/22/63, you might enjoy reading the CC Book Club discussion from February: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1258379-11-22-63-february-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1258379-11-22-63-february-cc-book-club-selection.html</a>
Wow… I was just blown away by “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” by Siddhartha Mukherjee. This is truly one of the best books I have ever read. It is not a doctor’s memoir (although there is an element of that), it is a beautifully written book of the twists and turns of discovery in the battle of humanity against cancer. I avoided this book for some time; it was a NYT Best Book in 2010, but I thought it would be depressing and mostly one doctor’s view of cancer. I was wrong. It has some bleak moments, for sure. But it also is an amazing story of individual brilliance, intransigence on the part of doctors and private corporations, and the fits and starts of human progress. And I laughed out loud quite a few times. I can’t recommend this book enough. I post all the time out here about good books I read, but in my opinion this is a GREAT book. 
By the way, I know I am behind, I am sure this book was discussed out here a year or two ago. But I just had to post.