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Bibliophiliac is the space where one passionate, voracious reader reflects on books and the reading life. You will find reviews, analysis, links, and reflections on poetry and prose both in and out of the mainstream.

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. Franz Kafka

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

It is the most wonderful time of the year. My time is unstructured, and I finally am able to read for the sheer pleasure of it. While I have a list of books I want and need to read to prepare for the next school year, today's list will focus on books that I plan to simply read for pleasure.

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I heard about this book from Andi at Estella's Revenge, and I'm starting this one as soon as I finish Henning Mankell's The White Lioness.
2. Sidetracked by Henning Mankell. A Swedish mystery.
3. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo. I haven't read anything by Nesbo yet, but he's another Swedish mystery writer. I don't know what it is about Swedish mysteries, but I love them.
4. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. There's been so much buzz about this book, I just have to read it.
5. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
6. Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III. I have to have at least one short story collection.
7. Jumbo by John Sutherland. This non-fiction book has been on my TBR pile for awhile....part of my obsession with elephants.
8. He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope. I've read all the Barsetshire novels, and all of the Palliser novels, and last summer I read The Way We Live Now, considered Trollope's finest novel. He Knew He Was Right sounds as if it will be rather dark, so I might have to follow up with Phineas Finn, one of my favorites.
9. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. I can't believe I haven't read this yet. I absolutely loved TransAtlantic, and I'm looking forward to reading all of McCann's books.
10. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I need to get some classics in, and this one is on my Classics Club list. Since I loved The Ladies Paradise by Zola, I'm going to try to squeeze in Germinal this summer too.

What's on your TBR list for the summer?

22 comments:

Unknown said...

I am hoping to tackle The Name of the Wind this summer too! I am not a big fantasy person, so we shall see.

Anonymous said...

I would have put Americanah on my TBR for summer except I am something like number 30 on the list at my library for that one--doubt I'll see it before the fall! I have The Way We Live Now hanging around and am hoping to read that in the fall as well. Let the Great World Spin is very good--I hope you enjoy it!

bibliophiliac said...

@Rachel Reads--Fantasy is a little outside my comfort zone, but I'm ready for something different...

bibliophiliac said...

@evening readert-I couldn't resist buying Americanah. The Way We Live Now is wonderful. I'm looking forward to Let the Great World Spin...I've heard so much about it, all of it good.

Carola said...

I really enjoyed The Name of the Wind :)

Nice list! Dickens always seems somewhat intimidating to me... but I might pick it up for the Classics Club too :)

Lindsey said...

Americanah is a great choice! I've been hearing so much about it lately. Perhaps I can fit it in this summer, too!

bibliophiliac said...

@Carola-Dickens really isn't scary at all! His books have so much humor, and his characters are delightful.

bibliophiliac said...

@Lindsey-I'm really looking forward to Americanah... especially since I'll be teaching American lit next year. I'm trying to read as many immigrant stories as I can.

Lisa said...

Dirty Love arrived in my mailbox and I had no idea it was short stories! Might be able to work it in soon after all!

Leila @ Readers' Oasis said...

Americanah is on my list, too! I'm going to listen to the audiobook. I forgot to include the AJ Fikry book on my list... but I DO want to read it.

LBC said...

Americanah is sort of on my short list. I've checked it out from the library, but will probably have to turn it back in before I get to it.

Unknown said...

Great list! I really would like to read A storied Life of A.J. Filkry too, it looks so good.

Happy Reading.

Natalie @ Natalie Hearts Books

bibliophiliac said...

@Lisa--Andre Dubus III is the son of a well-known short story writer. I will be very interested to see what the stories in Dirty Love are like. Have you read ADIII's memoir Townie?

bibliophiliac said...

@Leila-I almost never listen to audio books. I feel as though it is a totally different experience from reading on the page. Maybe I am missing out?

bibliophiliac said...

@LBC-That's the only flaw with borrowing books from the library! I either return the book unread or end up with fines.

bibliophiliac said...

@Natalie Hearts Books-A Storied Life seems to have been written for people like us!

Unknown said...

Sounds like a great summer of reading! I finally have some time to get to reading again now too and I am looking forward to it!

The Relentless Reader said...

Ahhh, unstructured reading time is the BEST thing.

Fikry is an absolute delight and I hope you love it. Hooray for Dickens too, he's one of my all time faves.

Have a great summer of reading :D

bibliophiliac said...

@Kathy Brady-Have fun with your summer reading!

bibliophiliac said...

@Jennifer Hartling-Can't wait to read Fikry. And Dickens is a perennial delight.

bermudaonion said...

I haven't read Nesbo yet either but I really want to - I think I'd enjoy his books.

My sister reviewed The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry for me but hasn't passed the book along to me yet - I may have to wrestle her to the ground to get it when I see her next week.

bibliophiliac said...

@bermuda onion-Hope you don't really have to wrestle your sister to the ground! lol.