Summer Reading 2011

I don't know why, but my reading speed seems to accelerate during the long and sunny summer days.  Perhaps my metabolism is more efficient making everything I do go a little bit faster or perhaps it's just that I tend to pick lighter reads.  In any case, my pile of books melts away like a snow pile in July!

Here is a selection of my Summer Reading for 2011.  Please note that the links will take you to amazon.com where you can also get Kindle ebooks.

The first book I tackled (or should I say, sunk my teeth into) was Dracula in Love by Karen Essex. It's the classic tale with a twist as it is told from Mina's perspective. It's always easier to read dark, foggy, gothic dramas when the sun is shining and I quite enjoyed it!

I know that the original classic, Dracula by Bram Stoker is a free Kobo ebook which gives you the perfect opportunity to read them both and compare.

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett before the movie actually came out. I thought the book was great and so I waited quite a while before seeing the movie as I didn't want to be disappointed.  As it turns out, the movie won all kinds of awards but I have to say that the book was better still.

I finished A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five in a flash (though with it's multiple, dark, twisting plotlines and over 1000 pages I wouldn't exactly call it light reading) having started the series earlier this year on the recommendation of a friend. All I have to say is GRRM better not die before finishing the last two books of the series ;)

Looking for a little more magic I turned to  the New York Times bestseller The Magicians: A Novel and it's followup The Magician King: A Novel by Lev Grossman.

If you like fantasy these books will probably appeal to you as they are sometimes referred to as "Harry Potter for adults". Grossman has a great "turn of phrase" and I loved his contemporary references.

I am hoping that there will be more in the series because I'm invested in these characters and there are a number of things that just need to be made right for them!

Update: Title Revealed for Lev Grossman’s Third (and Final?) Magicians Book.  Woohoo!  Looks like fans are going to get our wish with The Magicians' Land!

Wow!  The Passage: A Novel by Justin Cronin is a page turner for sure!! I got a lot less sleep because I just had to read one more chapter before turning in for the night. It begins in 2018 as all hell breaks loose when a human engineered virus turns the majority of the population into vampires (and not the Edward & Bella kind). It then fast forwards 100 years to the post-apocalyptic world where the remaining humans are trying to survive.

It's the first book of a trilogy with the second installment due October2012.

So that was the Summer of 2011! I would love to hear what you think of these books so please feel free to comment.

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