A Sunday Seven for Summer Reading

What I’m Reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and The Devil’s Company by David Liss

What I’m Working On: Expanding the plot (mostly in my head right now)

Since in my job, I deal with selecting and advertising summer reading, I thought I might post some of my summer reading (or at least what I want to read).

Today’s list will be a Sunday Seven. I hope to post ten more Tuesday (a Tuesday Ten).

1) Something by Ernest Hemingway. I’m leaning towards The Sun Also Rises or A Farewell to Arms. Every summer, I try to read one of “those” books that everyone has to read at some point in time. Sometimes, it’s something I’ve read before (like last summer – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens) or something I haven’t. This year, the choice is easy as we’re taking a family vacation to Key West. We’ll be staying near Hemingway’s house so it seems appropriate to read one of his great American novels. Plus, I actually like Hemingway. Of course, I could read a pirate story, too, since we’re taking a day trip to the Dry Tortugas, but I can’t think of a good one. (And, no, I’m looking for something other than Treasure Island.)

2) I wanted a good summer series and I got it. Inhaled it. The Ivy League Novels by Diana Peterfreund. She’s the smart girl’s beach read. (And, wow, what memories and flashbacks. I totally identified with protagonist, Amy Haskel.)

3) I’m hitting Jodi Picoult pretty hard this summer. Two of her books are on my favorite high school’s “book club” list for summer. Preliminary data indicates that these will be widely read, so I thought I’d better read them, too. I’ve already finished Nineteen Minutes and as soon as my number comes up on the library wait list, I’ll be reading My Sister’s Keeper.

4) I’m midway through Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Same reason as #3. (This is my second time to read it. The first was at least 5 years ago.)

5) I also read the first two books in Melissa Marr’s addictive YA fairy series and I plan to read the third ASAP. It’s called Fragile Eternity and is supposedly the darkest yet.

6) I downloaded Color of the Sea by John Hamamura to my Kindle. Last year I read The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng. It was probably my favorite book of the year (and I read over 60 books). I’ve heard good things about Color of the Sea and I’m hoping it’s a “read-a-like” for The Gift of Rain.

7) The Places Between by Rory Stewart rounds out my seven. In January 2002, Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan. This is his story. The book was recommended to me as a potential community book for my fav high school in the summer of 2010. I can never start too early when it comes to selecting those community books. It took months to select this summer’s book – The Translator by Daoud Hari.

Thanks for reading. More Tuesday!