"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, June 2, 2014

TTT: Ten books I hope to read on vacation this year

The Top Ten Tuesday topic is ten beach books. Going to the Washington Coast in the summer can be a cold, windy affair so it isn't always possible to spend a lot of time sitting in the sun reading, more likely one would be hunkered down behind a wind block watching kids fly kites or dig in the sand. Because of this I amended the list to be Books I'd like to read on vacation:

Italy Trip (When we head to Italy later this month, I'll find it best to read short stories when traveling by train or after a long day of sightseeing)
  1.  Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx (My husband gave me this book over ten years ago after I read Shipping News and loved it so much.)
  2.  Speaking with the Angels by Nick Hornsby. (I bought this book one day when I had to kill time and it was for sale on a discount table. The title of one of the short stories caught my eye, so I bought it, read that story, and haven't finished it. If I end up leaving it behind, no loss since it cost a big $1.)
  3. Imagined London by Anna Quindlen. (Ms. Quindlen is a favorite author. This little tour guide of the fictional city of London intrigues me. It is very short. Good for the flight to Italy or the trip home?)
  4. Vintage Munro: Nobel Prize Edition by Alice Munro. (I've not read any short stories by this award-winning author. This collection is short---a qualification---and spans her prodigious career.)
Camping Trips (Any books that I can grab, shouldn't be too serious)
  1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (YA. I've been hearing good things about this book.)
  2. Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (I'll miss the book club where this book is discussed but I still want to read it.)
  3. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (Another YA selection. My students were big fans of his 2013 book, Winger. Hope this one is just as good.)
Family Vacation to Boise and then Central Oregon (Better select some good audiobooks for the long car trip. Then once we arrive at the resort there is plenty of lazy time around the pool to read whatever I want. It would be a good time to catch up on my upcoming book club selections.)
  1. America: 1927 by Bill Bryson. (This is my top choice for an audiobook selection for the car trip because my husband is very interested in the book, too, and I think Bryson is a wonderful narrator of his own work.
  2. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen (This might be another audiobook I'll look for the trip. Don prefers listening to nonfiction and it seems like every summer we find ourselves listening and learning at the same time.
  3. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. (I own this upcoming book club selection so I won't feel too guilty if a splash from the pool gets it a little wet.)
I bet my list of books doesn't match too many other lists out there. What will you read on vacation this summer?


10 comments:

  1. Oh! (giant pang of envy) Italy! We were going there last summer...until we had to buy a new roof. We were going there this summer...until my son decided to get married. Next summer?

    Here's my Best Beach Bag Books!

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  2. I listened to In the Garden of Beasts on audio and I'd recommend it. The narrator was clear with just the right amount of inflection to keep things interesting. Enjoy Italy!

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  3. We listened to an Erik Larsen audio on a road trip a few years ago and it was a big hit with both myself and my husband!

    I am super jealous of your trip to Italy, btw :)

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  4. I loved Bryson as a narrator. I'd forgotten about America: 1927. I'll have to go check it out. Imagined London sounds really intriguing. I've got We Are Liars on Hold at the library but I think I'm 10th in line so it might be awhile. Great list!

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    1. I know. I love Bryson as a narrator, too. I find his delivery spot-on!

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  5. Great picks! I've heard great things about Garsshopper Jungle, so I'm hoping to read it this summer too. It just seems so unique!
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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  6. I enjoyed In The Garden of Beasts, although I consider Devil in the White City to be much better. Anything by Erik Larsen is a page turner or in your case, a CD replacer? :) I got Invention of Wings on Lucky Day; as you instructed me, I looked on-line at when they were due at the Summit Branch and went up there after school. So, thank you!

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    1. Oh good. I am so glad that you had a Lucky Day and got Invention of Wings! We are reading The Garden of Beasts with my other book club so I might as well listen to it. I don't expect I will like it as much as The Devil in the White City, though.

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  7. Thanks, Anne! I was looking for a good "beach bag" book!

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  8. What interesting lists! And fabulous vacation plans, I am jealous since all my travel this summer is dance-related (though it does include a week in NYC so I can't complain). I checked out 8 YA books from my school's library. I just finished Muckers and am just beginning And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

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