These precious last few days of summer (school starts back in less than 3 weeks) are the perfect time to settle in with that last book you wanted to read. Me, I spend my whole summer looking for something perfect.  My favorite thing in the world is to read books set in the season I’m currently living.

In the fall and winter, I like to read about cozy fireplaces, and blizzards and storms and the crunch of the leaves or the quiet of the snowfall. In the summer, I want to read about warm breezes and the sound of crickets, the scent of meadows, and long horizons of farmland.

I have no problem shifting from brilliant classic to current thriller.  It’s like a light dessert after a heavy meal. Or getting to eat a treat after my vegetables.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, I also like to cover my books. You can see a bit of that here.

So here’s a list of some of the books I read this past summer.  I haven’t found a bad one in the bunch:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Maybe you read this in school. I certainly did not, and I cannot imagine anyone teaching it now.  Just way too controversial, though it is brilliant in its capture of a time and place.  I sank right into it and laughed out loud at some points. Some may have difficulty wading into the mind of a young boy, but…I truly did not. I entered and never left until I was done. Mark Twain is a genius. At many other times I was sickened and appalled by the norms and lifestyles of the times. It is mind-blowing as an adventure story, and Hemingway famously said “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.'”  I agree. From this book comes Indiana Jones and every other Hero’s Journey that followed. If you’ve never read it, jump aboard the raft and travel the Mississippi with Huck. You won’t regret it. And you learn a bit about true friendship.

Gideon’s Sword  and Gideon’s Corpse by Preston and Child

This is a series I started with the most recent book, “The Pharoah Key.”  I bought it in hardback, and I got about 10 pages in when I decided to put it down and go back and start with the first book in the series and read them all through in order. Wow. Is all I can say. Start with Gideon’s Sword, and buckle your seat belt.  This is like watching an action flic.  I cannot say this is great literature, but man, it’s fun to read.  Some of it is a bit on the gory side, but they are thrillers. You can never imagine how our hero is going to get out of his next scrape. This author partnership will never win any awards for their character development of women, but still…fast-paced page turners. Reading this duo is like riding a roller coaster. Hang on.

Howard’s End by E.M. Forster

Now for something completely different. I found this book by wandering through the Classics section of Barnes and Noble.  I’ve been trying to read as many of them as possible, and I now have gotten through all the low-hanging fruit and am venturing into some of the (in my opinion) lesser known classics. It was this or “Moby Dick” and frankly, after reading “Mutiny on the Bounty” in high school, I’m not sure I ever got back my sea legs. At any rate, this is a novel about hyper-intellectuality vs. blind pragmatism and industry. Beyond that, you’ll have to read it, as it also has a sub-layer of willful obtuseness and the last thing I ever expected…brilliant feminism.

I hope you are enjoying these warm days. September will be here in no time. If you have a minute, share what you’ve been reading. I’m always ready for another adventure.