It’s summer reading time! I always have so much fun putting this list together, and figuring out where to find the books—at the library, on Kindle, or if I need to track down an out-of-print title in hard copy. As always, I put down the first few titles on paper months ago, but wondered for quite a while if I would be able to think of enough for a proper list, until it all fell together quite suddenly in the spring months—which is also the way it usually works.
A Summer in Bath by Meredith Allady
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
Mary’s Neck by Booth Tarkington
Bob, Son of Battle by Alfred Ollivant
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
Meet Me In St. Louis by Sally Benson
Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West by Christopher Knowlton
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray*
Up On the Rim by Dale Eunson
Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker
Marion’s Faith by Charles King
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Gotham Rising: New York in the 1930s by Jules Stewart
The Searchers by Alan LeMay
America Moved: Booth Tarkington’s Memoirs of Time and Place, 1869-1928
The Wreck of the Mary Deare by Hammond Innes
Thunder on the Right by Mary Stewart
* = re-read
I guess you could probably surmise from this list that I like classics, I like history, and to a certain degree I like variety.
What’s on your summer reading list?
image: “On the Terrace” by Johann Hamza
Constance Metzinger says
Holy smokes, that’s a lot of books to read over the summer! Only four of those titles are familiar to me, so I’ll be hunting down some plot summaries because the other titles are intriguing. I think I’ll be exploring some serials from The Strand magazine this summer instead of novel reading. Did you read Trollope’s “Lotta Schmidt and other stories”? His short stories sound interesting.
Elisabeth Grace Foley says
Actually, I’ve never read any of Trollope’s short stories (aside from one Christmas story, “Christmas at Thompson Hall”), but I’ve read a lot of his novels—the Chronicles of Barsetshire (six books), which I loved, plus The Way We Live Now. I think he’s perhaps the most underrated Victorian English author—I prefer him to Dickens now!
Annie says
My reading list is a mix of history, mysteries/thrillers, obscure vintage books, a western, a book on law, a couple of theology books, and of course a P. G. Wodehouse novel. 😉
I’ve not read a single book on the list above, nor have I read anything by Trollope. Yet. But I heartily intend to when I come across one!
I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these if you decide to write reviews!
Elisabeth Grace Foley says
That sounds like a delicious recipe for a summer reading list! All genres I enjoy (except perhaps law…which I will admit I’ve never thought of trying. 🙂 )
Sarah says
Trollope is on my list, thanks to you! I’m starting with the Barchester Series soon.
Elisabeth Grace Foley says
Ooo, hope you like them!
Tarissa says
I’ve just started Moby Dick. This one is going to take until the end of summer. 🙂
Elisabeth Grace Foley says
Even if it does, you’ll have done better than I did with Moby-Dick! I never could get all the way through it. 🙂