Wednesday 19 June 2013

Shit I'm Going To Be Reading This Summer

Yesterday's Top Ten Tuesday Topic (say it 10 times really fast) was the ten books at the top of your TBR for summer. I already had a post for yesterday (and I'll be DAMNED if I post more than once in a day. Unless it's a readathon day) and also I was going to write this list yesterday but something something lazy.

But it's a whole new day now, and I've decided two things- 1) it's good to have some kind of idea of the books I'm going to read next because otherwise I just finish a book, stare at my shelves for about half an hour, shrug and go and watch something on Netflix instead, and 2) you totally want to know what I'm going to be reading this summer. I can tell. So I picked out 10 books and here they are!
TA DAAAAA! And here are some things about them.

1. Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner- This book seems fun, and also short, and ALSO it's set in Australia (or, the land of perpetual summer) and Kayleigh will be sad if I don't read it sometime soon (I mean, she'd probably be fine. But do I want to risk it? I do not!) Also it's rumoured to be kiiind of like Little Women in certain ways, so I. Am. Sold.

2. Middlemarch by George Eliot- I've been meaning to read this for a LONG time now, and this summer could be it's time? I hope so. Also it's my firm belief that BIG classics are at their best in the summer, read outside with cool drinks and warm weather.

3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- Most of the firm belief from above is based on that time about 5 summers ago when I read the majority of Gone With The Wind in my nan's garden, or, more accurately, when I time-travelled to Civil War era Georgia because that's how amazing it was. I'm trying to recreate that experience this summer, so... Wish me luck!

4. What Maisie Knew by Henry James- The movie comes out in the UK in August, so I want to read this before then. And why do I want to see the movie? No comment.
This is my comment.
5. My Life in France by Julia Child- France! And food! And Julia Child! There's no way this book isn't going to be cheery and excellent and will hopefully let me travel to France in my brain, just like a real summer holiday (note: Nothing like a real summer holiday.) But anyway, I'm excited to read it.

6. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver- I... Don't really know what this book has to do with summer. But dammit, I want to read it and so I shall. I SHALL, I tell you.

7. Eating for England by Nigel Slater- I know for a fact that I have been seduced into thinking this is a summer book because THERE IS ROCK ON THE FRONT COVER which almost guarantees that I'm going to be transported to the seaside immediately. Presumably all the foods he talks about can't be summer foods, but still. It looks awesome. 
(aside: Do places that aren't England even have rock? It's terrible for your teeth but so so so good. Let's see what Wikipedia says about it)

8. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson- For more of that travelling in my mind stuff, this time across the small towns of America alongside everyone's favourite grumpy travelling companion, Bill Bryson! I dunno, my mind just associates Bryson with summer maybe because he fills my brain with fucking sunshine. (That was getting too poetic so I added in fucking. You're welcome.)

9. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen- It's big. It's chunky. I kind of like Franzen's writing in spite of all the things that are wrong with him as a person. Do I need any more reasons? I do not.

10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- I am all out of summer reasons, but I've been meaning to read this for ages (as in, it's been next to my bed for a long time) and so I SHALL. Because crying outside is the best kind of crying, correct? (No.)

So yeah! That's what I'm planning on. I worked it out, because I am the kind of person who does such things, and altogether that's 4694 pages I'll be reading this summer, which is a ridiculous average of basically 470 pages per book. It might literally take every second of summer, but I CAN DO IT (probably. I don't know. Whatever, I might just read some other things anyway.) Anyway! Summer! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE.

38 comments:

  1. Groovy list ;) You're in a for a great summer of reading. I've always meant to read Bill Bryson. I keep hearing such great things. One of these days!

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    1. Bill Bryson is the awesomest and you should definitely read him!! I've read two things today that have said The Lost Continent is not-that-good, but I'm going to give it a good go anyway! (My favourite is A Short History of Nearly Everything, and if you like science AT ALL then I recommend starting there!)

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    2. I really like The Lost Continent! If you're a Bryson fan, I think you're good with any of his travel books tbh. I haven't read a dud yet. :)

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  2. I love that you picked books that make you travel in your brain. Awesome.

    I SHOULD add that Kingsolver book to my list at some point this summer, because I've had it for ages. And it's about growing stuff, which is obviously summery, right? Right.

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    1. Hahaha, I know right? It's to mask my brain from the sadness that I'm not actually going anywhere with, like, my body!

      THAT IS SUCH A GOOD SUMMERY REASON! I didn't even think of that, but yes. Yes indeed.

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  3. EATING FOR ENGERLAAAAAAAND! Definitely a good summery book. He even has an entry for summer foods, with this gorgeous comparison between hot Mediterranean colours (roasted peppers, aubergines, marinated lamb, yummy sauces) and our pastel shades (salmon, cucumber sandwiches, scones and cream). I think he conveniently forgot strawberries and tomatoes there, but whatever. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ THIS BOOK WITHOUT FOOD NEARBY.

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    1. Oh goody! YOU MADE ME BUY IT, so its success with my brain lies with you! Also I kind of wish I hadn't read that comment without food nearby because YUM FOOD!! Haha

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  4. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!

    Also, we totally have "rock" here in Australia but we don't call it rock. I don't actually think we have a specific name, it's either rock candy, hard candy etc. And until you mentioned it being tasty I absolutely thought you were talking about a natural rock and I was SUPER confused.

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    1. Hahahahaha, YOU WIN OK KAYLEIGH?! God, the things I do for you!

      I feel like rock candy is a different thing though? Do you have actual sticks of rock like from the seaside? DO YOU? I see how that rock/rock thing can be confusing though. Because yeah. Weirdest name for a food ever.

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    2. Nope, I looked up rock on wikipedia and it's the same thing. Maybe YOU have a different thing called rock candy, but not us.

      It's like rock cakes, I always imagine them as exactly like Hagrid's terrible cakes and I can't imagine anyone every wanting to make them. Even though I know they're not supposed to be like Hagrids.

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    3. remove the capitalisation from you, it makes the sentence really weird and kind of antagonistic. Which it is not meant to be!

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  5. All your food books are making me hungry. *searches for closest edible thing to nom*

    Bill Bryson! He is the best. And even though Lost Continent isn't my favorite of his, I did enjoy it. It reminded me a lot of the road trip vacations my family used to take when I was a kid.

    HAPPY SUMMER!

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    1. I hope you found something good to eat, man!

      Bill Bryson is the ACTUAL best. Someone else on THIS EXACT DAY said that she was kind of meh about The Lost Continent too, so now I'm like 'uh oh...' but I'm running out of Bryson anyway, so this'll have to do! Shit man, it's in the US so I'll be fine ;)

      HAPPY SUMMER TO YOU TOO! I'll be happier when I can actually SEE the sun, frankly, but yeah. It'll get here (probably)

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  6. EVERYONE LOVES PILE OF BOOKS PICTURES

    Also, Seven Little Australians, the spine intrigues me. I have read ONE book set in Australia (Picnic at Hanging Rock), and while the accent bugs me, the book was excellent. So.

    MIDDLEMARCH

    And ahahahaha the rock on the front cover. That is grand.

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    1. I KNOW RIGHT?! It's like our porn.

      Obviously I will report back on Seven Little Australians, but Kayleigh says it's good and I trust her! I still don't get your non-liking of the accent but it's possibly because you didn't grow up watching Neighbours (an Australian soap) so I'll let it go.

      Do you even know what rock is though?! I am concerned that no one does! CONCERNED INDEED!

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  7. Woot! Gone with the Wind, I'm re-reading it this summer! Love Bill Bryson and Middlemarch has some fantastic characters.

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    1. Whaaaaaat Melissa! We will be like book twins! I'm waiting until it looks like we're going to get some properly sunny days to read GWTW, then I'm just camping out in my garden until I'm done.

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  8. Gone With The Wind, yay! I reread it on honeymoon in the baking sun and you're right, it's so perfect for summer.
    Enjoy all your books :)

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    1. Oooh, I'm glad you think so too! I was wondering if it was just me and just BECAUSE I read it in the summer. It's weird too, because I ALWAYS watch the movie at Christmas. Ah, traditions. You make no sense.

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  9. Madam, you've just decided me to finally read Middlemarch this summer, too. FINALLY. Maybe we'll accidentally end up reading it around the same time so we can discuss via Twitter.

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    1. I'm almost sure that will happen because HAVE YOU SEEN HOW BIG IT IS?! (Ooer!) But no, yeah, that sucker will probably take us all summer. :D

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  10. Yesterday's Top Ten Tuesday Topic (say it 10 times really fast).

    Hahaha, I thought this EXACT SAME THING. Although that probably still doesn't make us cool, does it?

    I'd love to read #2 and #3 this Summer as well, although I didn't put them on my list. Maybe I'll finally be inspired to do so if I see you've bitten the bullet as well.
    *cough* Read-a-long! *cough*

    Ugh, I can't wait to see what you think of #10. I've read so many reviews that you practically need sunglasses to read, they glow that much. I just don't GET IT.

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    1. Ohhhhh Hanna. I'm THIS CLOSE to just sending my copy of TFioS to someone else, you hate this book so hard. Also, because it's meant to be super-weepy and I have a tendency to hate super-weepy books just for being mean and giving me a headache and making everything hurt. *sits down on a beanbag and awaits Laura's verdict with great interest*

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    2. HANNA! Of course we are cool, don't be silly!

      I feel like I had a burst of enthusiasm yesterday believing I could read BOTH GWTW and Middlemarch in the same summer, but maybe I can? Maybe?!?! Also apparently everyone is reading the things I'm reading, so... informal readalong, perhaps?

      I really want to read TFioS because, yeah, everyone LOOOOVES it, EXCEPT for bloggers that I really super trust (one of whom is youuuu, obvs) and that concerns me. So I reckon I can probably read and get rid of and that'll be just fine. ELLIE- I will let you know what you should do. Obvs.

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  11. They have rock in Japan! Apart from I've never seen it sold as a big long stick, it's always cut up into little bits. Which I think is better anyway, because I always get bored eating rock in England.

    My friend lives near this place where they make it out in the shop, so you can stand and watch and they give you free samples, and it's delicious! I don't know what it is, but rock here is a million times nicer than any rock I've ever had in England.

    Mmm, rock! I should go visit my friend again, hehe.

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    1. Whaaaaat, why are you telling me that Japanese rock is better than English rock? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME TO MOVE TO JAPAN?! (You are doing a really good job of making it sound awesome, just so you know!)

      You should definitely go visit your friend though. And I should go to the seaside!

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    2. Hehe, you should move to Japan (but then maybe leave again after a year or so.. not because I'd want you to go, but because the wow Japan!!! effect wears off after a while)

      Japanese rock is better than any rock I've had in England, but I might have just had very very bland rock.

      You should go to the seaside! But try not to eat the rock for about 10 minutes and then put it down somewhere and come back later to find that it has dust and hairs and stuff stuck all over it like I used to. (I would come back a week or so later though, so it's probably my own fault.)

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  12. "it's good to have some kind of idea of the books I'm going to read next because otherwise I just finish a book, stare at my shelves for about half an hour, shrug and go and watch something on Netflix instead" I do this even when I do have another book picked out. Because I go through a "what if I don't FEEL like reading this other book right now?" whiny conundrum every time.

    Hooray for Bryson and if you need someone to read The Corrections with, I will join you on that journey because I clearly will not be reading it unless forced.

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    1. Ugh, we suck. We are the worst at reading/not avoiding Netflix. Damn us!

      Ok, so I'm reading GWTW with Melissa and Hanna, Middlemarch with Megs and Hanna and The Corrections with you?! Actually... yeah, I could do that! One book per month of summer :)

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  13. I totally forgot that Julia Child wrote that memoir! *chucks in TBR mountain* Thanks!

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    1. You're so welcome! Ah, my life goal, bringing books to people who reeeeally don't need more books to read... Hehehe. (That should be like the mission statement of book blogging...)

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  14. Fab-looking list. I think I need to pick out a chunkster or two myself for this summer. Although I may get jealous of all the places I'm not going if I read anything with exotic locations!

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    1. Yeaaaaah, that is a worry! But I think I'll be ok. As long as it's at least a bit sunny. Otherwise I'm just going to be whiny and annoying and stuff haha

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  15. You have some beasts on there. In a good way though.

    Also, how did I not know there is a film of What Maisie Knew coming out?! Have I been living under a rock?! It's likely. I'm kicking myself because it's on my classics club list and I could have organised to read it before. Le sigh. By organise, in case you're wondering, I mean psych myself up for the pain of reading James. Dear god that man bores me to tears. And yet I put it on my list so who's the fool here?

    ANYWAY. Brilliant list, chunky classics are best for summer. Enjoy :)

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    1. THEY ARE BEASTS AND THEY WILL KILL MEEEEEEE! (No, I'm sure I'll be fine!)

      Ok, the deal with What Maisie Knew is that *I* know it's a movie because I have this Alexander Skarsgard obsession and follow this tumblr and stuff and know his every movement and he's IN that film so yeah! But it's an indie film, I think, and probably won't be in many cinemas so I'll get all pissed off and that'll be fun! Also POOR JAMES- I have only read The Europeans and The Turn of the Screw by him (and both are short) but I liked them both!

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  16. I know tons of people hated The Corrections, but I sort of loved it. Seriously dysfunctional people, but so well-written.

    I need to read Middlemarch. I probably won't get to it this summer, but maybe soon after.

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  17. It's weird that rock is traditional in Denmark. Australia I can see, cause it was (is?) a colony...but Denmark?

    Also if I felt I had time for re-reads I would totally re-read Gone With the Wind

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