Reading List: Summer 2016

We are headed on a family travel adventure to Ireland and Scotland and I've had a great time building a summer reading list for myself! I have a feeling a few of you are reading/listening more than usual and might have some other ideas for me as well!


On my Shelf:
  • Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks- #1 best seller in Northern Ireland Travel Guides... the dude makes a drunken bet to hitchhike around Ireland with  a fridge... I had to get it! Gonna crack into it on the plane!
  • Raven Black (Shetland Island Mysteries Book 1) by Ann Cleeves- Jill made me promise I'd read these... we aren't going to Shetland on this trip, but I might as well be prepared for a future one! Plus, once I finish I can watch Shetland on PBS, right?
  • A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman- I liked the reviews I read... I bought it... I think that is all I know!!
    Just Finished:
    • My Brilliant Friend: Neapolitan Novels, Book One by Elena Ferrante- Historical Fiction set in Italy in the 1950's... I feel mixed about this, I finished it which means I didn't dislike it, but it also didn't totally spin me in its web.
    • Me Before You by Jojo Moyes- Don't judge... everyone needs a little trash in their lives!
    • The Moonlit Garden by Corina Bomann- NO idea how I stumbled across this gem but I really enjoyed it. There was history, mystery and a little love! Perfect bedtime reading : )!
    Listening: 
    •  The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova- 26 hours of vampires and historical fiction... need I say more?
    • City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg- I've been listening to this on and off, something about it is a little too close to home (tortured teens and young adults in NYC in the mid-80's)... I like it but get depressed everytime I listen to it!
    • The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood- I heard I am going to like the second book in this series even more than I liked the first one? How is that possible?
    Listened: 
    • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert- I am not a "self-help" reader and avoided this book on creativity like the plague, but I have to say I am really glad I listened to it.... I pretty much agreed with 90% of what Elizabth said, and therefor felt validated and great about myself, isn't that what a self help book is all about?
    • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood- Like 12 people told me to listen to Oryx and Crake this spring.... THEY WERE SO RIGHT! Already onto book #2! Taking them slow as the story line is so good and I don't want it to ever be over!
    • Power of One by Bryce Courtenay- a friend suggested this as her favorite book of all time, I'm not sure it's my favorite, but it is up there! The girl and I listened together and were able to discuss, which made it even more interesting.
    • Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari- this book taught me what Tinder is, and why I don't need it!
      Knitlandia Book Around Update: The book is onto the 5th reader.... and is making its way around the world, I believe it is about to leave the US and go to Belgium and Chile! Kinda awesome, right? I might suggest a book around with Round Ireland with a Fridge... let's see if I love it first!

      Also, can someone remind me next year to not schedule vacation right when the peach tree ripens?


      What are you reading/watching/listening too?  I know I'm going to blow through this list and be looking for more! Let's help keep each other entertained!

      Comments

      1. When we took a bicycle tour in Ireland many many years ago, I read Round Ireland with a Fridge on the way home. I know people thought I was crazy, that book had me laughing out loud the whole way home!

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      2. Have fun, by the way - beautiful countryside!

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      3. I read Round Ireland (with a fridge) last year. It was fun. Not great literature, but a funny story told by an engaging writer and with some interesting characters thrown in. You certainly start rooting for him AND the fridge to make it home. Like Elaine I laughed out loud more than once.
        Other than that I'm reading mostly gardening books!

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      4. Spent 10 days in Ireland a few years ago. Can't wait to go back.
        BTW - calling a book set in the 1950s "historical fiction" made me (and I'll bet a lot of nelkinites) laugh - and feel ancient! I was born in '49, so grew up in the 50s........does that make ME historical?? Lol!!

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      5. Hi Laura-I had mentioned that I'd love to give Knitlandia its Chile-based read... I'll be in Syracuse for 2 weeks in August--so if it's at all possible to get my hands on it then, it would save some postage!

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