Some book ideas for lazy, hazy summer days of reading

By Lynda Rego
Posted 7/15/16

Summer’s here with flowers, sun and long days for lazy afternoons of reading before a later dinner hour. Here are some ideas for those lazy days at the beach or lake or a quick break in the …

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Some book ideas for lazy, hazy summer days of reading

Posted

Summer’s here with flowers, sun and long days for lazy afternoons of reading before a later dinner hour. Here are some ideas for those lazy days at the beach or lake or a quick break in the yard or on the porch. Sit back, crack open a good book and enjoy!
“At Home: A Short History of Private Life” (2010) by Bill Bryson. How have I missed this man’s books? This one is a comprehensive look at life as told through the rooms of the 1851 rectory where he and his family live in Norfolk, England. Each room is a chapter that takes us through the lives of people in England, with some of America and Europe thrown in. Learn about sex and marriage through the centuries in the bedroom, childhood and workplace laws in the nursery, architecture in the hall, and food and diet in the kitchen. It’s funny, irreverent, educational and just plain fascinating.
He also includes how a lot of our language came about. If history was like this in school, everyone would have enjoyed it a lot more. As he puts it succinctly, “Private life was completely transformed in the 19th-century – socially, intellectually, technologically, hygienically, sartorially, sexually, and in almost any other respect that could be made into an adverb.”
“Sense & Sensibility” (2013) by Joanna Trollope. Trollope has brought her prodigious storytelling skills to a reimagining of one of Jane Austen’s most popular books. Set in the world of iPods and cell phones, the story of Mrs. Dashwood and daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret and their adventures after Mr. Dashwood dies, takes some unexpected twists and turns, while still remaining the classic we all love
It’s a little odd to hear Edward Ferrars referred to as Ed, Elinor as Ellie and Col. Brandon as Bill, but the basic plot takes the Dashwood women on a quest for a home, employment (Elinor is an architectural student), security and love. The book also is part of The Austen Project, which is pairing six contemporary writers with Austen’s six novels. Each writer is taking one book and making it their own. Next on my list is “Eligible” by Curtis Sittenfeld, the update of “Pride and Prejudice.”
“The Lost Art of Mixing” (2013) by Erica Bauermeister is kind of a sequel to “The School of Essential Ingredients,” although I don’t think the first is necessary to enjoy the second. Some of the same characters return and Bauermeister’s lyrical style remains the same, with gorgeous descriptions of food, her relatable characters and how their lives intertwine and come together by the end of the book. This isn’t about Lillian’s cooking school, but her life, some of her former students and a few new characters.
“She had built her restaurant out of scents and tastes and textures, the clean canvas of a round white dinner plate, the firm skins of pears and the generosity of soft cheeses, the many-colored spices sitting in glass jars along the open shelves like a family portrait gallery. She belonged there.” But, she’s also adept at creating a family from the people who come into her life, including Al, her accountant, whose book about rituals will affect everyone; Chloe, who has risen to sous chef; a former student, Isabelle, who is slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s, and Finn, a new dishwasher.
“Claire Marvel” (2002) by John Burnham Schwartz is one of the most vivid love stories I’ve read. His writing is just so sumptuous. Julian Rose is a graduate student at Harvard when he shelters under Claire’s umbrella in a rainstorm. It’s the beginning of a relationship with problems born of their totally different personalities, family history and Julian’s inability to make decisions and step forward. But, it’s also a vivid love story that takes place in Boston and in France over a number of years. And, it will remain with you long after you’ve finished reading it. I hate to include much of the plot, because part of the allure of the book is not knowing what’s coming next.
“The Last Bookaneer” (2015) by Matthew Pearl. Based on historical facts, the story takes place in the 1890s. The author came across information on 19th-century publishers who hired agents to get “manuscripts that were fair game under the laws.” The term bookaneer first was used in 1837.
Intrigued, he took that fact and came up with a group of book pirates who operate worldwide and take advantage of the lack of copyright laws on either side of the Atlantic, allowing American publishers to pilfer British manuscripts and vice versa. The trick is “to publish first and cheaply.”
But, copyright laws are being tightened and times are changing. The two top bookaneers are after the final manuscript being written by a dying Robert Louis Stevenson on one of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific. Masters of disguise, they will lie, cheat, bribe, extort and steal to acquire what they want. This is a fascinating look at a period in history and what might have been going on behind the scenes in the publishing world.
“The Secret Keeper” (2012) by Kate Morton is one of the Australian author’s better novels. It’s set in England. At the age of 16, Laurel Nicholson sees her mother, Dorothy, kill a man and the police are told it was in self-defense. Fifty years later, in 2011, Dorothy is in the hospital and her four daughters are there for her. Laurel is now a famous actress, but that long-ago day was always a question in her mind. Her brother was a toddler and vaguely remembers that something happened.
Laurel realizes she knows nothing of her mother’s past before her marriage or of her life during the war. With Dorothy near the end and having some lucid days and many not so much, Laurel is determined to discover the truth of the man who came to their house and her mother’s secrets. The chapters alternate between the past and the present, the daughters’ memories and what happened during the blitz in London. It’s a very good mystery.

Visit Lynda Rego on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lynda.rego where she shares tips on cooking, books, gardening, genealogy and other topics. Click on Like and share ideas for upcoming stories.

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