We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I feel like I’m the last person in the book blogging world to have read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It was all the rage two summers ago, if I remember correctly. Some people loved it, some felt it was predictable, others merely jumped on one bandwagon or the other. It was kind of an ‘it’ book of the moment – one I knew I’d read, but maybe once all the hub-bub had died down.

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer Reading List

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Ah, summer. It doesn’t feel like summer in Scotland these days, but according to the calendar, it is indeed summer. The program for the Edinburgh Book Festival has come out, so that means most of my summer will be dedicated to reading in preparation for it, with a few others thrown in for good measure.

UK edition

1. Villa America by Liza Klaussman. It’s Klaussman, so I’m going to read it anyways, but she’s also coming to Edinburgh! I’ve been waiting to read this for a while, and for once it is available in the UK before it comes out in North America.
2. In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume. Enough said. And she’s not coming to Edinburgh.
3. Bradstreet Gate by Robin Kirman. It’s described as a campus murder for fans of Tartt, Eugenides and Wolitzer. Yes please!
4. The Way Things Were by Aatish Taseer. He’s coming to EdBookFest and I’m interested. Besides, he learned Sanskrit to write this book and I love me some Sanskrit.
5. The Mark and the Void by Paul Murray. Loved Skippy Dies and he’ll be at EdBookFest.
   

   

   

   

    

6. Man on Fire by Stephen Kelman. Will be appearing at EdBookFest with Paul Murray. And I will likely read Pigeon English as well because it’s already on my desk.
7. The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan. Big buzz in India and I’m so glad it’s also being published in the UK.
8. The Incarnations by Susan Barker. She’ll be at EdBookFest and I think this book is going to be BIG.
9. The Ecliptic by Benjamin Wood. I saw him at EdBookFest when he was promoting his last novel, The Bellweather Revivals. Loved him, loved the book and he’ll be back in Edinburgh this summer.
10. This is my wild card. Let’s keep it a mystery for now.

Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch

The Dinner by Herman Koch (review) was one of my favorite books of 2013. It was controversial and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. I was recommending it to everyone and anyone who would listen. So it should come as no surprise that I went into Summer House with Swimming Pool with pretty high expectations. It was good. It wasn’t great, but it was a solid good.

Summer Reading List

What you should read this summer. Just a quick list of suggestions to help entertain you this summer. Links go through to my original reviews.

1. Tigers In Red Weather. This is a book about summer. Tennis and cocktail abound. The tale spans 30 years and recounts the troubles and turmoils of a family as they return each summer to Martha’s Vineyard. I could not put it down.

2. The Rosie Project. Ah, The Rosie Project. Romantic comedy at it’s best. I laughed a lot, his book down. It is a literary page turner with great character development and unexpected twists.

3. Seating Arrangements. I read this back before I started the blog, but it continues to stay in my mind. It is a social satire set over a summer weekend wedding. The guests are of the upper crust, but they are not behaving as such. There is a little (inadvisable) sex, a little love and perhaps a hint of scandal!I was fully invested in the characters and I loved the adventure. It will make your heart go pitter patter.

4. The Dinner. I have been recommending this book to just about everyone I know. I could not put it down. It is about a problem that may tear apart a family and the lengths parents will go to to protect their children. My mom’s reaction to it was completely different than my own, but neither one of us could put it down.

5. Brain on Fire. A piece of non-fiction for a change. A true story about Cahalan’s month long descent into madness and how her doctors finally figured out what was going on. The author will be at the Edinburgh Book Festival, so that is just one more reason to read it if you are in Edinburgh!

6. Amity and Sorrow. A story about a set of sisters and their mother on the run from their father a leader of an ultra conservative Christian cult. If that wasn’t enough, one of the sisters is causing an awful lot of trouble. This book was harder to put down than I imagined it would be. The author, Peggy Riley, will also be at the Edinburgh Book Festival.

7. Golden Boy. I cannot say enough great things about this novel. Like The Dinner, I have been recommending this book to everyone. The author dangles little pieces of the story on each page making it impossible to put down. The story focuses on a high school golden boy and his troubling journey of self discovery and his own sexuality.

8. Born Weird. This is a really quirky and fun book. It involves a cross Canada journey to reunite a family of five siblings before their Grandmother passes away. In and of itself that may not seem to gripping, but Kaufman weaves together a funny tale of adventure and sibling rivalry.