Summer Reading

LUCY BURDETTE: we are a little late on this​,​ but s​ince two​ full​ months of summer remain​,​ I think it’s a good time to talk about our summer reading​--i​n case ​anyone is desperately in need of a book for vacation. I’ll start… Having recently returned from Scotland, I decided to take Diana Gabaldon's ​OUTLANDER, the first​ whopping book​ in her blockbuster series.

I also took Deb’s older book, ​NOW MAY YOU WEEP​ because it to​o​ was set in Scotland. As it turned out, the tour was so busy that I didn't do as much reading as I'd expected. So I'm enjoying Gemma's journey to Scotland now.

And as always,​ ​​I love finding great foodie books.​ I recommend t​w​o memoirs, one by food writer and novelist ​Ann H​ood, ​KITCHEN YARNS,​ and SAVE ME THE PLUMS, Ruth R​eich​l’s newest memoir about her time at the helm of ​G​ourmet magazine. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: What did you think of Outlander? That book is amazing, and Diana Gabaldon is a treasure For me.  Lots of advance copies this summer and recently--Denise Mina's fabulous CONVICTION, (which is out now) and the terrific new Ann Cleeves THE LONG CALL!  I also read THE STRANGER DIARIES, which  I adored, and my new love Carol Goodman, who I am so far behind on and the only good part is getting the fun of catching up. Her new THE NIGHT VISITORS is great.   You HAVE read Angie Kim's Miracle Creek, haven't you? Brilliant.  I know I have left some out...ahh.  Cannot wait to hear what you're all reading!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I've got Ruth Reichl's SAVE ME THE PLUMS, too, Lucy, and so far I'm really enjoying it. Also, I treated myself to the new Kate Atkinson, Jackson Brodie novel, BIG SKY, so I'm sort of switching back and forth between these two. I've just finished the first two books by British writer Roz Watkins, which I highly recommend. The first, THE DEVIL'S DICE, was short-listed for the Gold Dagger in the UK. The second is DEAD MAN'S DAUGHTER. They are set in the Peak District and the protagonist is a female DI named Meg Dalton. Fans of Vera and Elly Griffith's Ruth Galloway will love these.

And, one of my big summer projects is rereading quite a few of my own books. In the Kincaid/James WIP, I'll be dealing with some characters and situations from earlier books, and I need to get in the zone!

HALLIE EPHRON: I just finished reading an advance copy of Deb's A BITTER FEAST. I was glued to it for three days. It is the PERFECT combination foodie book/brilliant mystery novel with great characters. I am hoping two of her characters, chef Viv and her moody teenage daughter, will be back in future books. Much of the story takes place in a restaurant kitchen (specializing in gourmet Irish cooking... I know, sounds like an oxymoron) with such fascinating detail. Short of running a restaurant herself, I have no idea how Debs managed the feel of authenticity. Then there were the thick juicy ins and outs of the plot. Sorry, It's not out until October but you can order it now.

JENN McKINLAY: I've been on a women's fiction bender since I'll be rolling into that genre next summer with the book that has yet to be named (you can picture my agonized face here). There is some fantastic writing happening in female centric fiction these days. Notably, I enjoyed Sonali Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, multicultural and a gender twist on Austen, and debut author Evie Dunmore's Bringing Down the Duke, a historical about suffragettes that is so smart and fun. On audio, I've been listening to Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, other than it is fascinating and he has a nice reading voice. We need to do a few hundred more miles on the treadmill together.

RHYS BOWEN: I’m writing this from a river boat in Europe so I haven’t had too much time for reading lately. However I also read Debs’ A Bitter Feast and thought it was one of her best with such a feel for the Cotswolds and lots of lovely food. I’ve been in Venice so on a Donna Leon binge and currently re-reading Rebecca as it will come into my next Georgie book.

​What about you? What have you read and loved, and what are you looking forward to?​