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There is no shortage of summer reading lists, but none of those lists include the personal recommendations of Chris Higgins, Ethan Trex and your other _floss favorites. Here’s what we think you should be reading this summer. We hope that you’ll use the comments section to provide suggestions of your own.
Adrift by Steven Callahan
Subtitled 76 Days Lost at Sea, this is the true story of Callahan’s shipwreck and subsequent survival ordeal in an inflatable life raft. Callahan is the only man known to have survived for more than a month in such circumstances, and his first-hand account of the experience is riveting.
While lost at sea, Callahan used the minimal resources available to him—a few items grabbed from his sinking ship, the raft itself, and a lot of ingenuity—to collect fresh water, spear and otherwise trap fish, gather barnacles, plot his position using a sextant made from pencils, and much more. As he drifted, Callahan spotted at least nine ocean liners, but none picked him up.
Callahan’s story is gripping and immediate, full of fear and shocking reversals of fortune, but it’s ultimately a tale of survival and hope—he does make it to the other side, and today he’s a survival consultant and a leading designer of life rafts.
Recommended by Chris Higgins, a daily contributor to mentalfloss.com and a mental_floss magazine regular.
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The Half-Mammals of Dixie by George Singleton
Short stories are perfect for the beach. Even if they’ve got some genuine literary merit, they’re short enough that you can whip through one and then focus on more pressing issues, like how to throw a jellyfish at your friend while making it look like an accident.
Singleton’s short stories in this collection, which are all set in the fictional small town of Forty-Five, South Carolina, often feature quirky characters in darkly comic contexts. While the stories are often laugh-out-loud funny, particularly “This Itches, Y’all,” the tale of a young boy who acts in a head lice documentary and is subsequently ostracized from grade-school society, Singleton doesn’t just play the characters for their comedic value. Instead, he uses his delightfully warped voice to present them affectionately and explore what it means to live in the rural South. The results are often thrilling, and even if you don’t normally like short stories, the blend of humor and emotional depth will suck you in and keep you giggling.
Recommended by Ethan Trex, who writes about business and sports on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He also wrote the cover story for our current Olympic issue.
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We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
I’d highly recommend Lionel Shriver’s novel We Need to Talk About Kevin if you’re looking for a thoughtful addition to your summer reading list. At times almost too painful to read, the novel is built around a series of letters from Eva Khatchadourian to her husband that tell the heartbreaking story of a teenager who commits acts of unspeakable horror.
In the hands of a lesser talent, this story might be just another “ripped from the headlines” tale of pointless violence, but with Ms. Shriver’s sharp eye for detail and thoughtful observations, its characters will stay with you long after you turn the final page. There are no easy answers for the provocative questions that this former journalist and gifted novelist raises. The content might be too intense for some readers, but if you stick with this beautifully written novel, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts.
Recommended by Toby Maloney, who heads up our business development efforts and serves as a handler for our newest mascot.
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Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
Everyone needs to finish a big book during the summer to help them feel productive. At an evenly-paced 614 pages, Tree of Smoke can serve as your “big summer read.”
Johnson’s novel covers two subjects that I find positively fascinating—the Vietnam War and CIA counterintelligence operations in psychological warfare. This sweeping story follows several compelling characters from before the escalation of violence in Vietnam through the termination of war, and beyond. Written in a unique style reflective of the chaotic atmosphere of the times, Tree of Smoke will keep you conning pages when you should be applying more sunscreen and shifting tanning positions. Johnson offers a stirring examination of why war exists at all…just the type of contemplative romp you’ll need between cookouts and trips to the beach.
Recommended by Brett Savage, frequent contributor of high and low culture quizzes.
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Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra &
The United States of Arugula by David Kamp
Sacred Games is like The Sopranos meet Bollywood: the story of a foul-mouthed gangster who gets tied up in something much bigger than himself, and the Sikh policeman trailing him. A phenomenal read, if difficult to get through sometimes with the dialect. I’m sure I missed some nuance in there because the language was challenging. But overall, a wonderful book with a lot of interesting characters.
The United States of Arugula is an interesting wander through American and French culinary history that starts with the immigrant experience and ends with the complete understanding of why “arugula guy” can be such an insult to modern politicians.
Recommended by our brilliant designer Terri Dann. Among (many, many) other things, Terri designs all those quiz banners.
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How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes by Will Cuppy
If you are looking to do some light educational reading between dips in the pool this summer, consider Will Cuppy’s How To Tell Your Friends from the Apes. Cuppy (1884-1945), a renown literary critic and satirist who was part of the original New Yorker crew, gives nuanced and annotated descriptions of the difference between humans and our simian counterparts, and indeed digresses wonderfully into mentions of other members of the animal kingdom (most notably in the section “Perfectly Damnable Birds,” which follows the chapter “What I Hate About Spring”).
Imagine Cuppy as a cross between Dave Barry and David Attenburough, with a hefty bit of Wodehouse thrown in for good measure. Take his advice on Tigers: “Tigers live in Asia in nullahs and sholahs. They seldom climb trees, but don’t count on that. Young normal tigers do not eat people. If eaten by a tiger, you may rest assured that it is abnormal. Once in a while a normal tiger will eat somebody, but he doesn’t mean anything by it.”
And what more convincing do you need than the introduction, which is penned by none other than this master of perfectly pleasant pretentious pith, PG Wodehouse himself, who writes, “[Cuppy] says things boldly, regardless of how they may be conflicting with vested interests. ‘What this country needs,’ he says, nailing his colors to the mast, ‘is a good medium-priced giraffe.’ If I have thought that once, I have it thought it a hundred times.” Haven’t we all?
Recommended by Allison Keene, who writes two regular features for mental_floss: ‘Dietribes’ and ‘The Weekend Links.’
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Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
I usually see summer as a time to expand my knowledge. Don’t worry, though, Pessl’s book isn’t a textbook, and there are no equations to be memorized—it’s an impressive novel that’s somewhere between a murder mystery and the movie Mean Girls.
The story, concerning a year in the life of Blue van Meer—whose usually nomadic college professor father has temporarily settled in Stockton, North Carolina, while she finishes high school—starts off as any other teen novel. That quickly changes after a series of inexplicable events, concluding with Blue discovering her family’s past while investigating the death of a teacher. The unexpected conclusion and amusing wordplay throughout makes Pessl’s book a complex and interesting read. While it’s a bit longer than most other summer reading choices (at just over 500 pages), the book is an enjoyable and page-turning read. So, if you’re looking for something you can’t finish in one sitting this summer, Special Topics in Calamity Physics won’t disappoint.
Recommended by Ben Smith, one of our intern all-stars.
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The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America by Thurston Clarke
If you love politics but need a break from the exhaustive coverage of the 2008 race, I highly recommend Thurston Clarke’s meticulously researched book. The day-by-day recap makes you feel like you’re following the story in real time, from the campaign’s humble origins in March through its tragic ending at the Ambassador Hotel.
When I mentioned to a friend that I was reading this book, he said he could save me some time and tell me the ending. But Clarke doesn’t close with Kennedy’s death. The postscript imagines the next ten days of the campaign, June 7-June 17, based on an eleven-page schedule aides had prepared. Clarke calls this artifact “perhaps the most heartbreaking in the Kennedy Library, and there are numerous contenders for that title.”
The postscript will have you asking the obvious ‘What if…?’ questions. But the book also leaves you with a better understanding of how the campaign unfolded, how the assassination affected those who worked for and covered RFK, the mark he left on the country, and why—forty years later—people are still devouring books about those 82 days.
Recommended by Jason English, who’d like to thank his co-workers for agreeing to participate. He encourages everyone to share their own summer reading suggestions in the comments.
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Shhh…super secret special for blog readers.
Comments (29)
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I seriously second We Need to Talk About Kevin. I was riveted the whole way through the book and it remains on my shelf as one of my favorites.
The book I’d recommend for this summer is one I finished a couple of hours ago. It’s called The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. It is a beautifully written fantasy novel that doesn’t rely on being a huge series, but stands alone as a great read. The writer weaves a made up but believable religion into the lives of characters that you’re completely absorbed in, whether or not they’re hero or villain. I couldn’t put it down and will most likely read it again before the summer is up.
posted by Tricia on 6-21-2008 at 4:39 pm
I love summer reading lists… and amazon.com. I just ordered Special Topics in Calamity Physics. Thanks Ben! You had me at ‘amusing word play.’
posted by adrienne on 6-21-2008 at 4:50 pm
adrienne–good to know! I just finished Calamity Physics last weekend on a road trip…it made for great reading.
I think a couple of these choices (at least How to Tell Your Friends from Apes) might show up in my next Amazon order as well!
posted by Ben Smith on 6-21-2008 at 7:08 pm
My suggestion is the book I’m currently reading for my book club–The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Set during WWII Germany, it follows the growing years of Liesel, a foster child living with a family who takes in a Jew during the war. While an interesting story in and of itself, what makes me come back to this book time and again is Zusak’s writing style, which is amazingly poetic, and his use of Death as the story’s narrator.
Zusak has a way of giving voices and words characteristics that just perfectly enhances the situations the characters are in. For example, when Liesel and Max (the Jew who is living with her family) first meet, this is the description:
“The stranger reached out, his bed-warmed hand taking her by the forearm.
‘Please.’
His voice also held on, as if possessing fingernails. He pressed it into her flesh.”
Even the intangible becomes touchable in Zusak’s books. I love it!
The book is a bit hefty at 552 pages, but the flow of the book allows a fairly quick read. Trust me–you will enjoy this book immensely. And speaking of Zusak, check out his other book–I Am the Messenger. You will fall in love with his writing from the start.
posted by nutmeag on 6-21-2008 at 7:27 pm
There are two more books I think some of you may like. Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje, which got this review from the San Francisco Chronicle: “Brilliant. . . . Divisadero plays whimsically with chronology and memory, with fantasy and historical fact.” It’s intricate and very interesting; I loved it.
Now, I’m outing myself as a crazy person right here on the _floss. The second book is Snuff, by Chuck Palahniuk. If you’ve ever read anything by him (or have seen Fight Club), you know he writes nauseating and bizarre (not to mention, improbable) stories with really weird characters. Again, from the San Fransisco Chronicle: “Chuck Palahniuk is the likeliest inheritor of Vonnegut’s place in American writing.” While I’m not sure I entirely agree, I can promise that I enjoyed it, although the book isn’t for everyone. Read up on it to find out for yourself.
posted by adrienne on 6-21-2008 at 8:41 pm
I just finished The Unresolved by T.K. Welsh. It’s a young adult book that is anything but young, it tells the story of the General Slocum disaster which was the worst disaster to happen in NYC until 9/11. A novel that touches on racism, love, anguish and redemption, I loved it and loved learning some history at the same time.
What I don’t love is my daughter snickering at me since this was her book first.
posted by gracie on 6-21-2008 at 9:15 pm
Totally read The Book ThIef. It is almost indescribable how good it is. I work as a Young Adult librarian and I recommend it to older students all the time. I had one kid complain that it just wasn’t long enough, she wanted to keep reading it forever.
As far as my summer reading list, I decided to start/finish The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. First book was terrible, the rest have been great thus far.
Also, for a lighter, funner summer read try The Ranger’s Apprentice series. It’s a cool fantasy series for those still pining over the loss of their beloved Harry Potter. Of course, it is for younger readers.
posted by Scott on 6-21-2008 at 11:09 pm
Oh, Oh. I came up with a great summer read. Just thought about it.
Read Candy Freak by Steve Almond. It’s a nice light read about independent candy makers in America. Plus, it is absolutely hilarious.
posted by Scott on 6-21-2008 at 11:12 pm
Adrift was absolutely riveting when I read it a few years ago. I think I tore through it in a two days.
If you enjoyed Adrift, you will love A Journey for Madmen:
This book lead me to the heartbreaking book The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, and the uplifting book The Long Way.
posted by Wil Wheaton on 6-22-2008 at 12:29 am
this is one of those articles to bookmark for the comments as well as the blog itself!
any recommendations for long plane or car rides (humor is good when you’re confined for hours at a time)?
posted by pc on 6-22-2008 at 3:59 am
@ pc: How We Are Hungry, by Dave Eggers. It’s a compilation of short stories–some funny, some scary, some sad sad sad. Eggers is a great stream-of-consciousness kind of author, and his work is both hilarious and insightful.
@ Wil Wheaton (seriously!?): I was in love with you when I was young. Wesley Crusher was the smartest, cutest boy in any universe. :D
And now I’m done hogging the comment portion of this blog.
posted by adrienne on 6-22-2008 at 4:44 am
Probably everyone already read it, but I still love it so much, I had to include it here.
The Color of Water, by James McBride. It’s fictional non-fiction, but at its best. McBride traces his and his mother’s pasts – her a Jewish woman who married a black man, he the son of said woman. Riveting. His prose is clear and striking and I was hooked from the first few lines.
Best yet, each chapter is short, so you don’t need to shoot through the whole book in one sitting.
posted by Anna on 6-22-2008 at 6:18 am
I love book lists – several of these are going on my wish list today!
I am currently sucked into a science fiction series, which is very odd for me. It is the Ender’s Game books by Orson Scott Card, and they are fantastic. I believe the books are about 20-25 years old, but my family just discovered them and they are being quickly read and passed around all of our family and friends. The books are difficult to describe, so I’ll use this quote lifted from the New York Times’ Book Review:
“. . . an affecting novel full of surprises that seem inevitable once they are explained. The key, of course, is Ender Wiggin himself. Mr. Card never makes the mistake of patronizing or sentimentalizing his hero. Alternately likable and insufferable, his is a convincing little Napoleon in short pants.”
Also, if you are looking for a humorous read, anything by Jasper Fforde is excellent. I prefer the Thursday Next series over the Nursery Crimes series, but they are all great reads.
posted by Nicole on 6-22-2008 at 10:09 am
This book is about 5 years old, but I must suggest to everyone to read “Freakanomics.” It is totally apolitical and strictly sticks to numbers, but it has changed my views on public education as well as abortion. Heck, even forced sterilization!
posted by tommy on 6-22-2008 at 10:57 am
Thanks adrienne, I have that book but haven’t read it in a while, I wouldn’t mind digging it up again. I also enjoyed Egger’s aptly named A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which is also worth a re-read.
posted by pc on 6-22-2008 at 8:41 pm
Someday I’ll get Heartbreaking Work… under my belt. This summer, I’ve started Up Country, Nelson DeMille’s sequel to The General’s Daughter. A fascinating, very different story of that character sent on a mission to Vietnam to solve a 30 year old murder. 700 pages long, and well-researched. Pretty good so far, and no residue of the way Travolta played this character.
bizarre Dickensian Name Recaptcha: Tageblaft Millbrook
posted by Johnny Cat on 6-22-2008 at 9:15 pm
I highly recommend Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. I randomly came across it in the bookstore, and once I read the first chapter I was hooked!
It is a beautifully written first book that is also incredibly heart-warming and comforting.
In short, it’s about a teenage girl who is killed by a hit-and-run driver and goes to “Elsewhere”. The book follows her life there.
I also highly recomment all three of the Peter and the Starcatchers books by Dave Barry (yep – THAT Dave Barry!). Fun and action-packed!
posted by Dawn on 6-23-2008 at 2:10 am
Dawn: Elsewhere is really good! And my brother has been bothering me to read Dave Barry’s books for a while now…
How funny! My book club read is Special Topics in Calamity Physics. I haven’t started it yet (I’ve only just polished off two of my summer reading books for English next year–The Red Tent by Anna Diamant and The House of The Spirits by Isabel Allende–and read only one book for pleasure so far this summer, Rameau’s Niece, utterly delightful fluff! Unsure about Anna Karenina, which I also have to read… hm)
pc: I really enjoy reading murder mysteries on plane rides. They make the time pass more quickly, I’ve found. Agatha Christie’s my favorite (a.k.a, least dull) but Arthur Conan Doyle’s pretty good, as are the Perry Mason mysteries (forgive me… I forget the author’s name!) Also, if you want humor, I’m picking up David Sedaris’s new book for my trip to Alaska tomorrow. It should take me at least one leg. :D
reCaptcha: booked 90. Booked 90 what?
posted by Allison on 6-23-2008 at 6:44 am
Adrienne – I also recommend Chuck Palahniuk’s Haunted. It’s his freakiest story, I think.
@pc – highly recommend “Mortified” to amuse yourself in transit. It’s a collection of notes and diary entries from 8th graders, with commentary by their grown up selves. I laughed out loud through the whole thing.
posted by The Other Adrienne on 6-23-2008 at 9:21 am
Everyone must read (or listen to the audiobook) David Sedaris’s new book “When You Are Engulfed In Flames.” It is hilarious and worth reading if you love biting humor.
posted by Joni on 6-23-2008 at 9:55 am
For my summer reading, I’m going through all the books I got second-hand and haven’t read yet. Right now I’m 1/4 of the way through “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White. It’s the best mixture of tragedy and comedy that I’ve ever come across. Even in the first second (The Sword in the Stone), the hilarity is tempered by an undercurrent of foreboding.
“The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck is next on my list. Onward!
My reCAPTCHA: Turkish Marshal. I like the images that conjures up.
posted by Joanna on 6-23-2008 at 12:10 pm
Whoops, that’s “… even in the first *section*”, not “second.” *blush giggle*
posted by Joanna on 6-23-2008 at 12:13 pm
@pc for long rides…not a novel/story-type book, but Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader (there are probably 25 or more versions now, all with unique content in each) contains hundreds of pages of interesting background stories to things you might not give a second thought to otherwise, facts & tidbits, etc… a lot of the same types of info on mentalfloss, so if you like this site/magazine, you’ll love the book (you just have to be okay with carrying a book meant for the bathroom out in public)
posted by Julie on 6-23-2008 at 3:40 pm
LOVED The Book Thief. Raved about it to teacher and librarian friends. They all loved it. It is the first book that made me cry. A wonderful gift.
Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Hirsi Ali’s autobiography is told in roughly two halves–her childhood in muslim Africa and Saudi Arabia, and her escape to Holland where she eventually became a member of parliament. It is a fascinating look at a different part of the muslim world, but also carries a profound thesis about how the liberal West perpetuates radical Islam in the name of tolerance. It is a book for conservatives and liberals alike.
posted by Wendy on 6-23-2008 at 9:02 pm
I’m just now starting the new David Sedaris book.
Since a few people mentioned Eggars, I have to recommend “What is the What.”
It’s about one of the Lost boys of Sudan. It gives a new understanding of the cause of the conflict, and beyond that it is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius. The life story of a real refugee, told with such empathy. It’s amazing-definitely a must-read.
Oh, and a portion of the proceeds from each sale of the book goes to a foundation for Sudanese refugees- so buy it if you can!
posted by Beth on 6-23-2008 at 11:37 pm
Love this thread, even though I already have 248 unread books on my shelves…
I also enthusiastically endorse “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” The book was gripping and extremely well-done. I was skeptical of the premise at first, but it was simply amazing. One of my all-time favorites. (I enjoyed Lionel Shriver’s other works to varying degrees, particularly “Game Control,” but this is her masterpiece.)
Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Unconsoled” is a long book that makes for good summer reading, if you can bring yourself to put it down. (I couldn’t.) Ishiguro’s writing is positively sumptuous — I heard his “The Remains of the Day” likened to a donut (defined by what’s *not* there) and couldn’t come up with a better analogy if I tried.
posted by Marina Martin on 6-24-2008 at 4:03 am
Wow, you’ve got great taste in books, Ben! I just found a copy of “Special Topics in Calamity Physics” in the used section of my local bookstore, and I decided to pick it up, because of your recommendation! It’s great so far!
posted by Ed on 6-25-2008 at 2:39 pm
@ The Other Adrienne – just finished Mortified, and also laughed out loud repeatedly. The poem about fried chicken, written by an overweight/overzealous child, took me at least an hour to recover from.
Currently reading Freakonomics, but check out Thunderstruck by Erik Larson… or any of Larson’s books, actually. Meticulous research and attention to detail, coupled with a thoroughly engrossing writing style, makes for a fantastic non-fiction read. Love all his books, and revisit them often.
posted by Megan on 6-27-2008 at 12:47 pm
Everyone who read this list must have gone straight to Amazon. I ordered 4 of the recommended books myself and found that a bunch of the titles mentioned here showed up as “Customers Who Bought Items in Your Shopping Cart Also Bought . . .” Funny.
I second the recommendation of “Sacred Games.” It was a tough read; I made frequent reference to the Glossary but am sure I missed a fair amount also. I’m sad about how the cover was changed in the paperback version. If I were to judge a book by it’s cover, I’d prefer the hardback version.
posted by Ms B on 7-11-2008 at 2:31 pm