Now I'm not going to lie, all of the summaries of these books came directly from Amazon, but I wanted to make sure that I did them justice. Now that it's officially summer time, I at least feel like I have more time to read and relax. As a result, I have a pretty big list of things I want to read which I wanted to share my planned reading list for Summer 2015.
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
The third book in the Outlander series, I've already started this book and I'm at least 60% of the way through it right now. But I added it to the list because it's a loooooong book and I've been reviewing the books in the series as I've been reading them, so expect a ChelsReads book review when I'm finished.
The Summary
Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.
Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite—or forever doom—her timeless love.
The Dude and the Zen Master by Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman
Another book I've started and not finished, I'm at least close though. So far, it's really good. I'm not super into new-agey literature but I do love The Big Lebowski (also Jeff Bridges. Apparently my grandma used to babysit him when his dad was filming Sea Hunt) so when I saw this in a bookstore in Healdsburg on my birthday, I immediately ordered it on Amazon for half price. The idea that The Dude is somehow some kind of spiritual guru is a wildly interesting concept to me so I couldn't resist. This will be another ChelsReads post when I'm finished with it.
The Summary
Zen Master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who are “simple and unassuming,” and “so good that on account of them God lets the world go on.” Jeff puts it another way. “The wonderful thing about the Dude is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out.”
For more than a decade, Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and his Buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue and remarkable humanism in a book that reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world.
What I was Doing While You were Breeding: A Memoir by Kristin Newman
I really can't remember who recommended this but I know I saw it on Instagram and was intrigued. As someone who's never been 100% into the married with kids life and also 100% interested in traveling the world, this completely appealed to me. It's going to be the perfect summertime read for me, I think.
Kristin Newman spent much of her twenties and thirties buying dresses to wear to her friends' weddings and baby showers. Not ready to settle down and in need of an escape from her fast-paced job as a sitcom writer, Kristin instead traveled the world, often alone, for several weeks each year. In addition to falling madly in love with the planet, Kristin fell for many attractive locals, men who could provide the emotional connection she wanted without costing her the freedom she desperately needed.
Kristin introduces readers to the Israeli bartenders, Finnish poker players, sexy Bedouins, and Argentinean priests who helped her transform into "Kristin-Adjacent" on the road–a slower, softer, and, yes, sluttier version of herself at home. Equal parts laugh-out-loud storytelling, candid reflection, and wanderlust-inspiring travel tales, What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding is a compelling debut that will have readers rushing to renew their passports.
The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Chelsea, didn't you talk about this in a favorites post like two years ago? Yes, yes inquiring readers, I did. At that point, I'd read the first few chapters and really did like the book. However, I got sidetracked and never got around to finishing it which means that I'll be finishing it up this summer.
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness." The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash? Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? With engaging wit and surprising insights, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions.
Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children about two years ago and saw the second book at Sam's Club one day while shopping for snacks. Needless to say after loving the first novel as much as I did, I can't wait to give this one a try.
September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them—but she’s trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom. Like its predecessor, this second novel in the Peculiar Children series blends thrilling fantasy with vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.
Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by L.A. Meyer
I'm not going to lie, I came across this book by accident when I was looking for Blue Tattoo the book about Olive Oatman on my local library's website, but being that I love all things piratical, I decided that this was going to definitely be worth a read.
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas.
There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life--if only she doesn't get caught. . . .
I figure this will take me through the summer and at that point, I'll have a whole new reading list. What are you planning to read this summer?
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