Summer Reading

Summer is here! Sending the girls off to dance in 36 degree heat convinced me of that. And my hair has adopted its charming humid weather frizz. So we may as well wind down and think about the good stuff. Not Christmas! Just kidding...Arwen has taken over the decoration and the sparkly tree has put me in a surprisingly festive mood. No, I am referring to the long days of lounging about with a book and a cool drink or three.  That's my favourite thing about summer. The laziness :)

Let it not be said my reading list is as lazy as my physical self. Summer, the only thing that can work is my brain, so I may as well make the most of it.

Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver - top of my list. As with Mantel, I enjoy that Kingsolver works on an ambitious scale. Lacuna didn't grab me 100% but I admired the attempt.

The Ordering of Love - New and Collected Poems by Madeleine L'Engle. Never read a L'Engle poem in my life. Hopefully the spirituality contained therein is of the Mary Oliver variety, because if it's churchier, I won't last out the book.

Light in August by William Faulkner - a re-read for no particular reason other than seasonality. And rigour.

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene - How I ever missed giving this to Lucy to read - she who has read every war novel written for children - I do not know. We shall remedy that this summer, although the book is too young for her now.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - a re-read for a particular reason. I love this book. Reading it is like inhabiting the breath of summer, of memory, of childhood.

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - not sure why. Just felt in the mood. Another re-read.

There are two books of the amusing variety coming out in January, both of which I plan to read. Ian Rankin has a new one - I read these not so much for plot but for the main character - my favourite city, Edinburgh.
And a new Flavia de Luce mystery is being anticipated by both Lucy and I.

Absolutely had to choose this picture. Notice the frizzy hair ?