Your summer reading fix
BOOKS | Get your summer reading fix on. The time is now.
Summer’s the best time of year for books. Whether you’re vacationing or just taking advantage of the longer days, reading is arguably easier in the hot season. The question is, what to read?
Forget about slogging your way through those titles you haven’t gotten around to yet (they probably suck anyway). Pick up something new, instead! Here’s my guide to get you started.
What to read if you love camping and wilderness adventures
You heart trees and love humping around a tent like a big, bipedal turtle. As a kid, you counted your mosquito bites, ate s’mores and were introduced to the wonders of the outhouse by night. If you’re wild for wilderness, these books are for you:
Sleepaway: Writings on Summer Camp edited by Eric Simonoff.
Stories, essays, and cartoons about everything from nudists to avoiding having a bowel movement. Authors like Margaret Atwood and David Sedaris wax nostalgic.
The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
Truth that’s stranger than fiction. It’s about obsession, the environment, the logging industry, and the rise and fall of the Haida nation.
Skinny by Ibi Kaslik
Between sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, and anorexia, it’ll remind you of exactly what you’re not missing in the city.
What We Ache For by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
New-Agey non-fiction that says the creative process is essential to human nature. Take to the trees and reflect.
What to read if life is a highway (and you’re gonna ride it all night long)
Exhaust gets you high. You hanker for diner food and the conversation of truck stop nomads. You find nothing as soothing as a windshield bug massacre. And even if you don’t, you know a great mix and a few friends will take you far. If you’re a road tripper, read on.
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Four characters on choices, circumstance, and their own morality. It’s about regrets and second chances.
Mr. Muo’s Travelling Couch by Dai Sijie
Mr. Muo is trying to introduce psychoanalysis to 21st-century China. He’s also on a wife-hunt that will see him lose a tooth, his virginity, and his faith in Freudian insight.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Don’t be fooled by the dry title. It’s about gallivanting around Europe in search of Dracula.
Ladykiller by Charlotte Gill
Seven short Canadian stories. In one, a couple plots against a noisy baby. If you’re childless, I’m sure you’ll be able to relate.
Dose cover page, June 24, 2005
What to read if life’s a beach and then you … lie … in the sand
You worship the gods of sun, sand, and surf. You think fake-and-bake is for lightweights and alpine skiing for freaks. When life hands you lemons, you squeeze them into your hair. If you’re all about the Hawaiian Tropic, bask in those cancer-causing rays with these.
Nobody Does It Better (a Gossip Girl novel) by Cecily von Ziegesar
Vapid rich kids engage in all kinds of debauchery. This is the seventh series instalment, so there’ll be no shortage of fluff if you feel like consuming more.
Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way by Bruce Campbell
Former hottie star of Army of Darkness, and author of the memoir If Chins Could Kill, now pushing-elderly Campbell writes a version of himself as this novel’s aging hero.
Ugly Americans by Ben Mezrich
The subtitle kind of says it all. This is “The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions.” Bad cowboys. Bad.
Twins of Tribeca by Rachel Pine
This roman a clef is about the behind-the-scenes machinations of the movie biz. And specifically about working for the Weinstein brothers (who seem like lunatic monsters, no lie) at Miramax.
What to read if you’re cemented to the concrete jungle
You think smog just makes you stronger and country-lovers are practically begging for West Nile. That, or your soul-sucking company wouldn’t let you get away. Urbanite, we’ve got you covered.
The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks
Enter a parallel universe where two brothers are the only people left with the capacity to change the world. And they’re being hunted.
The Friend Who Got Away edited by Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell
True tales of friends loved and lost. This book is strangely haunting, and will leave you musing about your own platonic past.
Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham
A ranging story about progress and social decline, this book sets three characters in NYC during the Industrial Revolution, the Roaring ’20s, and the 22nd Century, respectively.
The Third Secret by Steve Berry
In the spirit of The Da Vinci Code comes this Vatican-centred, international conspiracy thriller about the history of the catholic church and the future of religion.
Hot titles, coming soon
Not to worry, even if you’re a real reading speed demon, you won’t tap the well. Here are some new titles to watch for, late in the season:
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling | Raincoast Books.
Have Your Poo Rolled Away By Dung Beetles And 99 Other Things to Do Before You Die by New Scientist Magazine | Anansi.
Lifeguard by James Patterson | H.B. Fenn.
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella | Random House.
Miss Elva by Stephens Gerard Malone | Random House.
And finally, four writers weigh in
Writers aren’t often social creatures. Many hole up in their basements, praying to the muses, and muttering to themselves.
Sure, they’re weird, but when you want the best info you go to the source. We coaxed four of these elusive beasts out of their caves for quotes.
[These interviews have been separated into full Q&As. Check each out via the following links.]
A version of this piece was was published as a cover story in Dose, under the headline “Summer reading fix”, June 24, 2005. See clipping below. The aforementioned cover appears above.
More about books and authors, here.
Published in Dose, June 24, 2005.