Actually, this post would be more accurately titled, “What I’m doing on my summer vacation…” As you read this, I’m 4,644 miles away in the picturesque French village of Verrines (pop: about 200). When my wife and I decided to take a trip to visit my paternal grandparents, one of the first things I did was start making a list of books to take. Having the right books on vacation is of critical importance. This is not a decision to be made standing in an airport newsstand. After careful consideration, the books I’ve taken with me are:
The Big Short by Michael Lewis — Probably the best nonfiction writer in the world. He made baseball front office management and football offensive line play interesting and engaging to non-sports fans. When Joe gave it his thumbs-up the other day, it made the vacation list. I prefer taking paperbacks on vacation (for obvious reasons), but I’m making an exception for Michael Lewis.
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Airships by Barry Hannah — One of the humbling things about working in a bookstore is the constant realization of how many great writers I’ve never read. The sad reality is that it’s often not until a writer’s death that I’m motivated (to my great shame) to move him from the “To read in the future” category to the “To read right now” category.
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Gilead by Marilynne Robinson — I read Housekeeping (see Ellis’s review) in college and while I enjoyed it, I think the experience was somewhat impoverished by the necessity of absorbing the “pertinent” information for exam time. I wanted to take another shot, and figured this was a good time.
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The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein — I think I too quickly dismissed this book as just a dog novel, but multiple recommendations from car buddies convinced me it’s worth a read. It didn’t hurt that I found out the author is a former Spec Miata series driver. Pat reviewed this book back in 2008.
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The Lost City of Z by David Grann — After reading a great new book about cave divers (review coming next month — watch this space), my appetite for a good “adventury” book was rekindled. I skipped this book when it first came out, but good reports have continued so it made the vacation list. It also made the 2010 Indies Choice Book Award list.
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Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter — I finished Michael Connelly’s Nine Dragons the other night and needed something to fill the void until his next Harry Bosch novel comes out. Stephen Hunter was here in January to sign I, Sniper and I really enjoyed his talk. Joe recommended Hunter’s Bob the Nailer series highly and it was Joe who got me reading Michael Connelly, so it seemed like a safe bet.
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