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MAUREEN BURNS: Summer Reading List part 1
Hello, fellow readers. My 17th annual 2023 Summer Book List will be in five parts. Yes, that is right. I did say five!
It comes from 45 people, mostly from Greenville and Montcalm County with Florida, Arizona, Olympia, Washington, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids rounding it out.
Though I have never done this before, this year I am dedicating the list to my very dear friend, Carole Cole, who died a couple months ago. Carole was in all 17 book lists, she was on the library board with me and she worked with me on One Book One County. (She used to take the day off work just to attend the kick-off event.) And now, on to the list:
Part 1, we’ll begin with fiction! The most recommended book this year was “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver. It just won the Pulitzer for fiction. Recommended by Maureen Wolverton, “A heart breaking, but necessary read”; Jan Wheelock, “Gritty, funny, depressing, inspiring, absolute must-read”; Wendy Springsteen, “Eye Opening”; Hollie Stephenson, “I felt like I’ve known lots of Demons”; and Gail Walsh (Florida), “After this, I read “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens and it was fun to see how she took so many ideas to write this story.”
The second most popular was “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. From Gerry Tovatt, “My absolute favorite last year”; Jodie Faber, “One of my all-time favorite books”; Char Lothian; and Kim Rath, “Funny, refreshing and smart, I loved it.” GMA book club, hilarious.
Mike Taylor and Susan Draper loved “The House of Broken Angels” by Luis Alberto Urrea. Mike, “Filled with laughter, heartache, love and betrayal. If it doesn’t warm your heart, you had no heart to begin with.” Won Best Fiction. Raucous. Moving.
Marcy Lage (Arizona), Mary Ellen Tovatt, Jan Wheelock and Kim Rath enjoyed “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt. A great read, A+, “I sobbed and laughed.” Kim said, “I almost didn’t read this because one of the main characters was an octopus. Boy, would I have missed out!” Quirky. Feel good, imaginative. 4-1/2 stars.
Margaret Karpus liked “The Displacements” by Bruce Holsinger, “Hard to read at times, but very interesting.” Incredibly fast paced, incredibly scary, powerful.
Sue Draper sent “The Lost Legends of New Jersey” by Frederick Reiken, “Like a good Pat Conroy story, coming of age, family dysfunction, richly layered.” Also, “To Fill a Yellow House” by Sussie Anie. “I loved it, emotionally moving, lyrical, witty, timely.”
Hollie Stephenson shared, “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng. “Just a beautiful story. It will make you more than a little nervous, heart wrenching, riveting.” In Best Book lists of ’22. 4-1/2 stars. Also, “Adult Assembly Required” by Abbi Waxman, “Just for fun, irreverent.”
Dawn Wyckoff sent, “Lucky Turtle” by Bill Roorbach, “Page turner, suspense, thrilling love story. It’s not what you think.”; “Bloomsbury Girls” by Natalie Jenner, “Delightful, 4-1/2 stars.”; “The Girl Who Could Breathe Underwater” by Erin Bartels. “The twists kept me up at night.”
Tom and Sharron Pridgeon shared, “The Devil and Webster” by Jean Haniff Korelitz, “Highly entertaining, riveting.” Also, “The Reading List” by Sara Nisha Adams. Best literature and fiction awards. “A surprise delight of a novel, unforgettable!”
Kim Rath suggests, “Honor” by Thrity Umrigar. “Not a light read, but such a good book! Utterly engrossing. Most dangerous animal in the world is a man with wounded pride.” Reese Book Club.
Mary Ellen Tovatt liked two books by Alma Joshi, “The Henna Artist” and “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur.” Part of a trilogy. “Captivating and compelling best sellers.”
Pam Nichols liked “The Last Chairlift” by John Irving. “An ambitious read in the vein of other Irving hits (The World According to Garp) – ghost story, love story, sex …”
Jodie Faber loved “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell” by Robert Dugoni. Also a favorite last year. (I just began it and the last sentence of the first chapter made me bust out laughing loudly and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be a great read!’) Jodie also loved “A Man Called Ove” by Frederik Backman, 4-1/2 star. Don and I also loved it.
Jane Anderson Beach enjoyed Jodi Picoult’s “Mad Honey,” “Soul stirring.” GMA Book Club.
Jan Wheelock liked, “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick. A sweeping, invigorating novel, perfect for book clubs.
Norm Nickle (Olympia, WA) found “A Gentleman in Moscow” and “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles – absorbing and sophisticated. Many have loved these!
Carrie Daenzer really liked “South of the Buttonwood Tree” by Heather Webber, “Original, fun, interesting and charming.”
Wendy Springsteen loved “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger. “Focuses on loss and the changes it brings, but also the wisdom that can come with it.” Awarded best novel.
Janet Wulf-Marvin said, “The Music of Bees” by Eileen Gavin, “Was a favorite, uplifting!” Will make you call your friends and grab some honey! 4-1/2 stars.
Drea Burns gives us “In Memoriam” by Alice Winn, “A breathtaking book, loved it, the writing is gorgeous, I could feel her descriptions, moving!” Also, “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese, “A masterpiece, huge (740 pages), take your time and read little by little. This novel has it all. I wish it had been longer, it’s that good!” This is a long awaited follow up to “Cutting for Stone. My husband and I loved that one! 4-1/2 stars.
Drea also suggests “I Could Live Here Forever” by Hanna Halperin. “I read it in one day. It held a tension throughout. You know what’s going to happen, but you keep turning pages in anticipation of that boiling pot you know will soon boil over. This was in my top five of the year!”
Next week, part 2 of 5!
