Recent (Summer) Reads III

There is something about summer that warrants easy living.  We dine on light, cool meals thrown together casually.  When the sun comes out and the air warms, we abandon responsibilities a little easier  and when we read, we want something we can drift in and out of yet the plot keeps our attention and can be picked up when left for days or even weeks.

Speaking From Among The Bones by Alan Bradley
I've been following this series for several years now and the main character, Flavia de Luce, keeps me coming back.  A child prodigy of sorts, Flavia solves mysteries in her small English village and this novel keeps one guessing throughout.  In fact, there's quite a cliffhanger leaving me anxious for the next instalment.  The writing is poetic and Bradley does a wonderful job at drawing you into Flavia's world of chemistry and mystery.  I'd recommend you start at the first novel in the series if you're looking for a little mystery in your summer reading.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
New York in the late 30s, working class women with an eye for more and a tangled story of friendship and romance make this a great read for the summer.  The main character, Katie, is smart and self aware and I love that she goes against the grain, becoming a spinster of sorts.  In my books, this was the perfect book to devour in the sunshine (or for that matter, in the rain.)  The author also created a playlist full of jazz to pair with your reading - I'd suggest a cocktail too, preferably a martini.

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
Italy in the early 1900s to America in 1950s, this is a love story that spans two continents and several decades as two young Italians try to make their way in New York City.  Sometimes the story felt slow with pages of narrative over a single encounter yet other times, years or even decades would pass between paragraphs.  I started to lose interest half way through - as the plot progressed, many events came together far too neatly and too quickly.  I finished it feeling a little 'meh.'  It wasn't a waste of time but I was happy to be done with it and ready to move onto something else.

What has graced your summer reading list?

{PS. Recent Reads 1 & Recent Reads 2 & Why I Read}