Question 3: You said in your first “Questions” blog post that this was the summer of reading novels. So what novels have you read this summer?
I rarely read fiction so it has been a different reading summer for me. I haven’t read a ton but I have read consistently. I read every single night before bed, and sometimes I allow myself a small chunk of reading time during the day. I always take my book with me when I go out to a store or a restaurant or anywhere I might have to wait in line or wait for someone to show up. If I have waiting time, I want to read. Even if I just read a page or two, it’s still so much more grounding than looking at my phone to kill time.
These are the novels I’ve read since May, in this order:
My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
Nothing to See Here - Kevin Wilson
Anxious People - Fredrik Backman
A Man Called Ove - Fredrick Backman
The Deal of a Lifetime (novella) - Fredrick Backman
Run - Ann Patchett
The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
Olive’s Ocean (read aloud to Story) - Kevin Henkes
The Man with the Silver Saab (#3 in The Detective Varg series) - Alexander McCall Smith
The Secret Life of Bees (currently reading) - Sue Monk Kidd
My favorite of the books above was The Invention of Wings, my second favorite was Anxious People, and my third favorite was Run. My least favorite, by far, was Nothing to See Here.
I would love to read some more novels by Sue Monk Kidd, Ann Patchett, and Fredrick Backman. If anyone has read others by these three authors, I would love to know which ones you liked. I already read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett last year and loved that one.
P.S. My favorite fiction writer of all time is Alexander McCall Smith, and I have read 68 of his novels. I read my first AMS book the year Bauer was born (2005), and I think I am caught up now on all his series except for one. I actually don’t know why I haven’t read that one series, but that just means I have more good novels in my future. And if you haven’t read his books yet, so do you!