06-20-2015, 12:04 PM | #1 |
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Summertime, and the livin' is easy...
Tomorrow marks the start of summer here, and I'm thinking about books that somehow evoke or capture the essence of summer. I just finished Ray Bradbury's quasi-memoir, Dandelion Wine, and I've also thought of The Great Gatsby and The Go-Between and a few others, but I run out pretty quickly.
I'm looking for novels and memoirs in particular, but I'll entertain any non-fiction book on the topic (not baseball, though - I like baseball, but it's a given). I'm not interested in books typically cited as beach reads unless summer is a theme, and I don't care for chicklit. Given the parameters of no chicklit and no baseball, what do people suggest as good reads about summertime? |
06-20-2015, 12:53 PM | #2 |
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The first book that comes to mind is Maureen Daly's Seventeenth Summer. I listened to the audiobook version of this a year or so ago, and loved revisiting a gentler time.
I associate Herman Wouk's Marjorie Morningstar with summer, because of the summer camp sections. Another suggestion is Megan Abbott's The End of Everything. And there's always Jaws! Or Michael Capuzzo's Close to Shore, about the actual shark attacks that may have inspired Jaws. |
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06-20-2015, 07:04 PM | #3 |
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Don Quixote, USA by Richard Powell. It's set in the tropics, so while not specifically in summer I associate the sunny weather with summer. Anyway its a light fun read.
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06-20-2015, 07:41 PM | #4 |
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When it comes to Wouk, I would recommend "City Boy," a joyous excursion into childhood of the 1920s.
This is a joyful, wondrous novel, and is very funny. Check out the sample from Amazon and see if it has the ring of truth, much like Bradbury's 'Dandelion Wine' delights. http://www.amazon.com/City-Boy-Herma...oy+wouk+kindle |
06-20-2015, 07:57 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
Summer House with Swimming Pool Spoiler:
I've got the book but have yet to read it. And looking at the price I'm guessing that I got it in one of the 90% sales. Last edited by Lynx-lynx; 06-20-2015 at 08:01 PM. Reason: formatting + last para |
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06-20-2015, 09:23 PM | #6 |
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Well, there's the sequel to Dandelion Wine, Farewell Summer.
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06-21-2015, 08:39 AM | #7 | ||||
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I keep running into Megan Abbott as a name and haven't read anything by her, so The End of Everything it is. No horror, though! Similarly to Marjorie Morningstar, I also associate To Kill a Mockingbird with summer. Not all the action happened in the summer, but the main thrust of the story did. Quote:
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Yup, I'll get to it. But I don't want to rush it, especially as I know the tone changes signifiicantly and I don't want to be let down. Going back to the suggestion of Seventeenth Summer, I realize it's not surprising that summer is a significant factor in many children's books and books about children or adolescents. Other children's books that occur to me are the Arthur Ransome, Edward Eager and E. Nesbit books, but I know there must be many, many more. Thank you all, and I'd love to hear more ideas. |
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06-21-2015, 09:51 AM | #8 | |
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Megan Abbott's first few novels were noir, but now her last three have shifted; she's been writing about teenage girls and the dark side of adolescence--but they're definitely not YA. The End of Everything was the first of the teenage ones, followed by Dare Me and The Fever. I think Dare Me is the best of the three, but doesn't fit in with your summer theme. (Of the non-teenage ones, I especially like Bury Me Deep and Queenpin.) If you want to sample her writing, "Cheer," Abbott's short story that evolved into Dare Me, is available online in both a text version and an audio version (podcast; story read by the author). More than you ever wanted to know about Megan Abbott's books, I'm sure! |
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06-21-2015, 12:41 PM | #9 |
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an Italian slant :-) on my TBR list
Alberto Moravia, Agostino, Spoiler:
Niccolo' Ammanniti, I am not scared (Io non ho paura) (don't be fooled by the blurb from Amazon, there are no monsters or nothing supernatural here): Spoiler:
Maria Corti (transl. Jessie Bright", Otranto Spoiler:
Not by an Italian author, but set during summer in Venice: Thomas Mann, Death in Venice: Spoiler:
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06-21-2015, 03:31 PM | #10 |
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I thought of To Kill a Mockingbird also.
Many of the scenes take place when the children are out of school. |
06-21-2015, 07:04 PM | #11 | |
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I offer Robert Drewe's The Bodysurfers (non NY themed): Spoiler:
I read it (whenever I was at the beach if I recall correctly) when it was first published in 1984. I don't have much recall of the stories nor my thoughts about them, sorry (shrug). Last edited by Lynx-lynx; 06-21-2015 at 07:06 PM. |
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06-22-2015, 10:19 AM | #12 | |
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Thank you, Paola! Duly noted and the local library has 'em so I can be a cheapskate.
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I shall definitely look out The Bodysurfers which sounds excellent. |
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06-27-2015, 11:37 PM | #13 |
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How about Rumer Godden's The Greengage Summer? Somewhat similar voice (teenage girl) to I Capture the Castle but not quite as whimsical.
John Mortimer's Summer's Lease I fell in love with years ago though it's really not out of the ordinary...just makes me want to be in Tuscany... ...A Room With a View... Elizabeth Bowen, Heat of the Day. (Okay, I haven't actually read that one. But I intend to!) Something in Provence would be good. Miss M. |
06-30-2015, 06:24 PM | #14 | |
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Will look out Mortimer, which sounds like a lovely read. And I've read some Bowen, but must confess that they all run together. Clearly time to revisit! Thank you; more for the list. |
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06-30-2015, 09:27 PM | #15 |
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Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene: good YA, but despite the title, can't say it feels especially summery to me.
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