Thursday, August 30, 2018

My How I Did with My Summer Reading List 2018

UPDATE - At the start of summer I chose (10) books I planned to read and from that original list, I ended up reading 7 of them (highlighted below). I did have a great summer and read 29 books from June 1- today - 8/30/2018)

Did you make a summer list? If so, how did you do?


I've been meaning to post my summer reading list since Memorial Day but the month of June sort of got away from me.  I have been busy reading and listening to a variety of audio books as well.  Here are (10) books that caught my eye this summer. (a few of them have been on my list for a few years).


  1. Baby Teeth; Zoje Stage -  4/5 - no review yet We Need to Talk About Kevin meets Gone Girl meets The Omen...a twisty, delirious read that will constantly question your sympathies for the two characters as their bond continues to crumble.”―Entertainment Weekly
  2. 84, Charing Cross Road; Helene Haniff -  - 5/5 - loved it "84, Charing Cross Road will beguile and put you in tune with mankind... It will provide an emollient for the spirit and sheath for the exposed nerve." -- The New York Times
  3. Clock Dance; Anne Tyler -  4/5 - no review yet "A bittersweet, hope-filled look at two quirky families that have broken apart and are trying to find their way back to one another . . . The cast of sharply drawn characters dominates in ways both reflective and raucous across a series of emotional events.”
    Publishers Weekly
  4. The Dry; Jane Harper - A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.
  5. The Outsider; Stephen King - 4/5 - An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories. (completed 4/5)
  6. The Other Mother; Carol Goodman - 3.5/5 - “An atmospheric and harrowing tale, richly literary in complexity but ripe with all the crazed undertones, confusions, and forebodings inherent in the gothic genre. Recommend this riveting, du Maurier–like novel to fans of Jennifer McMahon.” — Booklist (starred review)
  7. Made for Love; Alissa Nutting - From the exciting and provocative writer of Tampa, a poignant, riotously funny story of how far some will go for love—and how far some will go to escape it. 
  8. The House Swap; Rebecca Fleet - 3.5/5 - " She may not know exactly who is in her house. But she knows why they are there.  A house swap becomes the eerie backdrop to a chilling look inside a broken marriage filled with tantalizing secrets."
  9. Something in the Water; Catherine Steadman - “With unreliable characters, wry voices, exquisite pacing, and a twisting plot, Steadman potently draws upon her acting chops. . . . A darkly glittering gem of a thriller from a new writer to watch.”Kirk's Reviews (starred review)
  10. Moonglow; Michael Chabon -  read 200+ pages but DNF “A wondrous book that celebrates the power of family bonds and the slipperiness of memory….A thoroughly enchanting story about the circuitous path that a life follows, about the accidents that redirect it, and about the secrets that can be felt but never seen, like the dark matter at the center of every family’s cosmos.” (Ron Charles, The Washington Post)
Do any of these appeal to you?  Have you posted a list of your own?

20 comments:

  1. I'm impressed! I quit making reading lists several years ago because I never stuck to them.

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    1. I know, I get off track too, but does anyone really care? LOL

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  2. Great job! I made a list but as usual didn't stick to it.

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  3. It's good that you stuck to your list. It seems that the reading was (mostly) good, based on your ratings. I have been reading a book a month, but I have been editing and re-editing my year's list as I go along and new books come to my attention that scream "Read Me". ;-)

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    1. Carmen, that's the problem I have - too many books scream "read me." LOL

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  4. Good job!! I'm planning to read Clock Dance soon.

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  5. I also really enjoyed King's The Outsider. Great list you've got there. I had a great summer of reading as well.

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  6. Hooray for your summer reading! I still haven't read We Need to Talk About Kevin, so maybe I'll do that before trying Baby Teeth. I loved re-reading 84, Charing Cross Road (last year?) and The Dry was a very good read.

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    1. I liked "Kevin" story more, Baby Teeth was shocking but family was as strange as her IMO.

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  7. You did pretty well. I am afraid to take a look at my progress.

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    1. Thanks, I probably would have read these without the list LOL

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  8. fantastic. Something in the Water is quick and good: https://wordsandpeace.com/2018/06/07/book-review-something-in-the-water/

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  9. Sorry I missed this post the other day. Good planning makes for good reading, is my motto. It looks like it worked for you! I am at the end of an endless request list at the library for Clock Dance but look forward to reading it.

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