Summer Reading List

More daylight, warmer evenings, and a more relaxed pace of life all lend themselves to making summer the perfect time to read booksuponbooks. I do love to make lists, especially to-do lists, but this summer I'm not going to make a list of books to read beforehand [I already have that, and yes, am still working on it!]. Rather, I am going to keep a list of the books that I've read this summer. This way I can feel both accomplished, and I can remember, one day far in the future when I'm too old to remember things, which books I have actually completed versus thought about reading.

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So far, I have read practically all of A. Lee Martinez's books. He writes satirical fantasy books, meaning they're comedies, more often than not commenting on a part of our normal society, that are set either in an entirely fantastical world or in the mortal world but focus on a supernatural addition. My favorite books are the ones that are set in the mortal world but introduce an element of the extraordinary in humans' everyday lives. I like these for no other reason than it makes me feel like it could happen to me, and that makes living everyday life just that much more exciting. (That's the same reason I happen to like Harry Potter so much.)

Here's the beginnings of my list:

1. Divine Misfortune
2. Monster (one of my favorites)
3. Too Many Curses
4.The Automatic Detective
5. A Nameless Witch
6. In The Company of Ogres (the other of my favorites)
7. Gil’s All Fright Diner

(above all by A. Lee Martinez)

8. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (This is the Chicago Public Library pick of the summer. Read it. It's pretty good, but in the same fantasy/otherwordly vein as A. Lee Martinez books.)

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and currently: Water for Elephants (no, I have not seen the movie).

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What are you excited to read this summer?