Summer Book List: My Fifteen Favorite Fiction Picks

Several of you have mentioned that it’d be fun and helpful to have a  list of favorite picks in the fiction department.  I’m sure that I’m forgetting some, but this is off the top of my head, books that stand out to me as goodies from the last few years.  These are in no particular order, but I see the first seven as the most remarkable and impacting reads.  If you’re looking for pure fun, start with #9 or #12.  Deep and impacting? Start at the top.  All links are to amazon, but your local library is the place to go! Happy reading!

1. The Hawk and the Dove Trilogy (Slow at first, but stick with it!  The story of a Benedictine monk in an English monastery in 1303: Deals with issues of humility, community, and the marginalization of our sick and handicapped.  Must read. I bought this one.)

2. Ella Minnow Pea (This book fascinates me. A story of a fictional island that restricts the use of certain letters because of foolish superstition.  First off, the way it’s written is absolutely genius. But the implications are fascinating as well. You have to see it for yourself.)

3. Year of Wonders (This one tore me apart: Seventeenth century England, during the Plague. A small village, when infected, chooses to quarantine themselves entirely in order to avoid spreading the deadly disease.  It is horrific, heroic, inspiring and disturbing all at once. My only warning is that the end is stupid. If it had ended on page 272 it’d be great, but for some reason she adds this ridiculous ending. Ignore it.)

4. The Help (Current bestseller. It’s the story of three women, set in 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi, and how their lives intersect. Civil rights in a whole new light.  Couldn’t put it down. It’s long too, so be sure to understand that your family will be severely neglected for a while during this one.)

5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. (I’ve always said a novel in letters could never be done. At least not well.  I was sooo wrong. This is amazing. Set in 1946, a story set in London and Guernsey island at the end of WW2.   Humanity, frailty, love … it’s fabulous.)

6. Still Alice. (Another recent bestseller.  This is a heartbreaking, but beautiful and insightful look at the progress and effects of early-onset Alzheimer’s.  The author is a neuro-scientist, and uses her years of studying this devastating disease to inform her writing.  Gripping: I think I read it in one sitting.)

7. Lowlands of Scotland Series: Thorn in my Heart, Fair is the Rose, Whence Came a Prince.  These are the story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah, set in 1764 in Scotland.  I think these should contain a warning label because they will seize you emotionally. I became obsessed, sneaking up to bed early to read, staying up until the middle of the night carrying my book around to sneak in moments when I could.  Carry kleenex. Powerful stuff. BTW there’s a 4th in this series too but I could never get into it for some reason.)

8. The Secret Life of Bees. (A coming-of-age story set in the 1960s.  I haven’t seen the movie, but this book is great.)

9.The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. (I don’t even remember how many are in this series, but you must read them all. They are all wonderful.  The perfect light book for a summer afternoon.  Mma Ramotswe will become your new best friend.  I love her so much.  Set in modern Botswana, this “traditionally built” African woman sets up shop as the No. 1 Ladies detective in her country.  Amazing.  This author, Alexander McCall Smith, also has a 44 Scotland Street series–I’ve read one–, and an Isabel Dalhousie series.  I’ve read several and like them as well, but Mma Ramotswe takes the cake.)

10. Pride & Prejudice: Read it again for the first time.

11. Anything by Rosamunde Pilcher.  (The Shell Seekers is her most popular, and probably my favorite, but the lady doesn’t have a bad novel in her. They’re all delightful. No real challenge or redeeming value but well-written; the woman’s just a born story-teller.  Enjoy these by the pool sipping lemonade.)

12. The Rumpole series. (Again, I don’t know how many are in this series but I’ve read every single one and am begging for more.  Not sure everyone will share my love for this odd British humor: Rumpole is a short pudgy aging British barrister who is rather unremarkable, who carries in his pocket a copy of the Oxford Book of English Verse, and is married to a woman whom he refers to as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.  I love my Rumpole!)

13. An American Childhood (Annie Dillard is a literary genius, so brace yourself for some mental mastication.  Such richness in this book though. The part about her rock collection wore on a bit, so I skimmed that part. Her insights into children and adolescents is amazing.)

14. The Things they Carried (I haven’t read this since my very first fiction writing course at OSU, so my memory is fuzzy, but it made an impact on me.  This looks at the blurred line between truth and reality in the Vietnam war, in which the author served.  It inspired some of my own writing. Pulitzer Prize finalist.)

15. A Year in Provence (This is Peter Mayle. I read a lot of his books and liked some and didn’t like some, can’t remember all which ones.  This is a light read about spending a year in the south of France.  He’s funny. Another light read.)