The Best Summer Reads for Adults

Рет қаралды 4,720

Жыл бұрын

Summer reading isn’t just for kids! If you’re heading out on vacation, to the beach, or just lazing on your couch with some lemonade this summer, here are some great books to enjoy. Expand for more information. 👇
Links 💻
Information About the E.M. Forster Readalong: • Video
Queer TBR Tackle Info: • The 2023 Queer TBR Tackle
Further Viewing 🎥
My Video About Lonesome Dove: • Is Lonesome Dove the G...
My Video About Beloved: • Can America Reckon Wit...
My Video About Fanny Herself: • Discover This Hidden C...
My Video About Train Dreams: • Do Book Prizes Owe Us ...
Titles Mentioned 📚
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, Honorée Fannone Jeffers
Beloved, Toni Morrison
A is For Alibi, Sue Grafton
The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen
A Great Deliverance, Elizabeth George
A Room With a View, E.M. Forster
Fanny Herself, Edna Ferber
The Man Who Loved Children, Christina Stead
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deesha Philyaw
Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger
The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories, Eric LaRocca
Foster, Claire Keegan
Train Dreams, Denis Johnson
Passing, Nella Larsen
Pictures at a Revolution, Mark Harris
The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean
The Deviant’s War, Eric Cervini
The Charm Offensive, Alison Cochrun
The Geek Who Saved Christmas, Annabeth Albert
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Fannie Flagg
Rubyfruit Jungle, Rita Mae Brown
Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
War Trash, Ha Jin
The Woman in the Dunes, Kobo Abe
A Place For Us, Fatima Farheen Mirza
Some Tame Gazelle, Barbara Pym
The Guncle, Steven Rowley
Camp, LC Rosen
The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, Matt Cain
My husband made a cookbook! Check it out here:
www.blurb.com/b/10189765-my-m...
But wait, there's more!
Email: supposedlyfungreg-at-gmail.com
Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile...
Instagram: / supposedlyfun
Twitter: / supposedlyfun
Website: supposedlyfun.com/

Пікірлер: 85

@paulablazer5244 Жыл бұрын

I smile 😊everytime you hold up “Love Songs…” My favorite read

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

It's such a good book!

@AvAlanchian Жыл бұрын

Hey that’s my line 😂

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

@@AvAlanchian 🤗

@pancakeday4866 5 ай бұрын

Wow, soooo many good recommendations. Will definitely be looking into some of these. Elin Hildenbrand is my summer go to. Just one book about Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket puts me right in the mood for summer. I also love stories that take place in New England in general, particularly at boarding schools or secondary schools/college (The Secret History, Bunny, Prep). Those tend to set the mood for September when my reading leans toward the gothic/horror (Something Wicked This Way Comes & We Have Always Lived In The Castle!)

@cozycomfy589 Жыл бұрын

Never thought I would like Lonesome Dove, but loved it. Then bought the DVD and it followed the book and had great actors. Highly recommend this book.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I was curious about it since my grandfather called Lonesome Dove his favorite book, but I wasn't convinced I was going to like it. I'm glad I tried it because I loved it!

@cozycomfy589 Жыл бұрын

@@SupposedlyFun I'm 76 and never read a western before. You'd love the mini series.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

The miniseries is great--they did a fantastic job with casting.

@loriroemer1122 Жыл бұрын

I recently purchased Lonesome Dove, and I plan to start it in August. I was going to recommend Elizabeth George, and then you pulled out the book! I love that series.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I hope you enjoy Lonesome Dove as much as I did. I'm looking forward to trying Elizabeth George.

@pbeck610 Жыл бұрын

84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff, is a extremely good epistolary. It is worth the read. The Poisonwood Bible is an excellent book.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

84, Charing Cross Road is such a good book!

@runrgrl35 2 ай бұрын

Just finished “Ella Minnow Pea”. Loved it …was fun but also made you think 😉 For a summer read, just picked up “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett”. Love you videos and recommendations. Hi to Teddy🐶 and Joel😊

@lonesomedovecall822 Жыл бұрын

A Summer Reads recommendation for you: "Sugar" and its sequel "This Bitter Earth" both by Bernice L. McFadden. I think these are right up your alley since I know you enjoy multi-generational, messy family dramas/sagas. And they're not that long either - "Sugar" is 229 pages; "This Bitter Earth" is 276 pages. I rarely recommend book sequels because, usually, the sequel isn't as good as the first book (IMO) but, in this case, WOW!, the sequel is even better!!! I'd encourage purchasing both of them at the same time because if you're anything like me, upon finishing "Sugar" you're gonna wanna start the second book immediately!!! Fantastic books; I highly recommend both!!!

@AntisocialAuntie 9 ай бұрын

I know it's fall now, but thank you for the list! I put a few of these titles on hold at the library! Lots of love from the Pacific Northwest 🧡

@myreadinglife8816 11 ай бұрын

I am really enjoying the Detective Lynley series by Elizabeth George. I hope you like it too when you get around to it.

@SupposedlyFun 11 ай бұрын

I'm looking forward to trying one!

@ht6743 Жыл бұрын

New Claire Keegan work arrives late this year! Looking forward to reading more from her.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Oh wow! Unfortunately, I have my most anticipated books for the second half of the year coming on Monday and I somehow missed it. 🤪

@a_bookish_gemini 11 ай бұрын

YES! End of August I believe.. so excited for it.

@vomittux Жыл бұрын

I can't wait to read Lonesome Dove. I've been waiting on my boyfriend who keeps setting it down and dusting it back off in hopes of reading it haha. I sent him your video to hopefully motivate him!

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I hope it helps!

@gamewrit0058 10 ай бұрын

29:40 The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott. "Part of the joy is seeing how it spins out in the rest of the narrative." That's how I felt about a novella I just finished reading, Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher! Adding The Rain Heron to my tbr.

@TheLeniverse Жыл бұрын

It's so funny that the first book you bring out is Lonesome Dove. I just started that. My summer reading isn't really all that different from my reading the rest of the year. If I'm at the beach, then yes, I'll need a cheap, second hand paperback where I don't mind if it gets damaged, and the contents have to be... not taxing, easy to focus on, easy to get back into after a nap. Other than that I just read like usual. I do like having something seasonal though, and this year I have Summer by Ali Smith (yes, I read Spring during the spring etc.) As I was watching your video I thought about recommending Passing and Quicksand by Nella Larsen, but you already had them. They are really powerful and definitely better read in summer than in the gloom of winter. Fried Green Tomatoes is on my loosely planned tbr for the year, so I might try to fit that in during the summer. And I would never roll my eyes at Annabeth Albert, but I just won't do Christmas in July. 😆 I'll save that one for December. Summer is a good time for a Lily Morton or Jay Hogan though (adult readers only).

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I applaud your dedication to the seasons. I like to blur the lines. 😉

@Nina_DP Жыл бұрын

Fabulous list, Greg! Thanks for putting it together.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@athertonca Жыл бұрын

The Kinsey Milhone series by Sue Grafton is so nostalgic for me. I have read all of the series and it’s worth a reread. I just finished Better Living through Birding by Christian Cooper and it was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! A memoir by a smart, kind, Black, gay Harvard alum and avid birder who was thrust into the spotlight after a run-in with a malignant Karen in Central Park. That incident is a small part of the book. His life story and observations are rendered so thoughtfully. Highly recommend!

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Oh wow, I didn't know that man had written a memoir! How interesting. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

@Elizabeth-Reads Жыл бұрын

I love these selections, Greg! So different from the typical beach reads. I’m currently reading Lone Women, by Victor LaValle, which I think would fit the bill. I don’t read Westerns, and I don’t read horror, but the horror is light, and the story of a Black female homesteader is so fascinating to me. (Who knew that lone Black women were allowed land back then? I had no idea!) Found family, women learning how to fend for themselves in sometimes brutal conditions, and an engaging mystery with information doled out at perfect intervals to keep interest. Highly recommend.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I've gotten some mixed feedback on Lone Women, so thank you for sharing your thoughts on it.

@gamewrit0058 10 ай бұрын

7:30 I haven't read Sue Grafton in a while and might pick this one up. I vaguely remember sleeping in the livingroom with the light on the night I finished K is for Killer, but I don't remember the book itself. 😅

@readandre-read Жыл бұрын

This list has it all! So many good ones here. I finally got a copy of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies and I just need to get to it. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is one of my all time favorite stories. I read a couple of books in June that fit your categories: Lavender House, a noir style mystery with all queer characters and A Month in the Country for great short novels.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I listened to Lavender House on audio when it was released! I think it's the same author who wrote Camp. I hope you love The Secret Lives of Church Ladies as much as I did.

@Silverauram Жыл бұрын

A summer read for adults who are fans of epic medieval fantasy; I suggest "Castle of Calamity: On Death's Door" by Robert A. J. Strife.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation.

@Europa1749 Жыл бұрын

I have several books of short stories. I like to throw one in my bag when I go out.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

They're great for reading on the go.

@sarahrossin9992 Жыл бұрын

I love the Kinsey Millhone series so much! I need to re-read all of them now. I recently read A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George and really enjoyed it. Another series I just read the first one of is the Cork O'Connor series by William Kent Krueger, first book is called Iron Lake. Not summer vibes, though, at all, it takes place in Minnesota in December! But really liked that book too.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation!

@triciapearce8545 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for so many brilliant recommendations. I wonder if you have read any of Ann Weisgarber's books? I think she has only written three. I first discovered The Personal History of Rachel DuPree and loved that one. The Promise and The Glovemaker were also excellent 👍❤️

@SupposedlyFun 11 ай бұрын

I have not read any of her books! I'll have to look her up.

@marciajohansson769 Жыл бұрын

I DNF'd the Poisonwood Bible years ago. I can't remember why but am wondering if I should give it another chance. I have enjoyed reading books you have recommended so far so maybe I should try again??? I now have to write down the recs until I have read some the books I have purchased ( a lot!). My collection includes A Place for Us and at least 6 other books on this list!!! So many books so little time for sure. Some day I hope you listen to Beloved narrated by Toni Morrison. He voice! I was overwhelmed and totally drawn in by her narration which totally added to the telling of this amazing story. Great video. Hope you, Joel and Jamie are doing well.( I always worry about my grammar when I post... Average at best in English comp lol. )😆💜🌺📖

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I've dedicated myself to reading Morrison's books in physical form first so I can spend time with the words, but I want to circle back and do audio for some of them. Her voice is spellbinding. I hope you like A Place For Us! I definitely loved Poisonwood Bible but it's okay if you didn't like it. 🥂

@LouiseReader 11 ай бұрын

It's winter in Australia of course, but I'm still interested in most of your summer reads. I have Ella Minnow Pea on the TBR, maybe I'll pick it up, it'll be a quick read. And I really want to read/reread all of Barbara Pym, I was fondling some gorgeous new Virago editions of her in a shop the other day. I haven't bought them - yet. They didn't have all her titles though, and I'd love a matching set. We're hopeless aren't we, booksy folks?

@SupposedlyFun 11 ай бұрын

We definitely are hopeless, but in the best possible way. 😊

@AmalijaKomar Жыл бұрын

Like your list. Read about half of this books and all of them are important and good. Love Banana Fish and think that is amazingly good written. Salinger is a strange man. Think that he almost went mad when he sow those people from a concentration camp in Germany. I think that he was a good writer.

@a_bookish_gemini 11 ай бұрын

I’ll be doing my own version of BookTube’s “Hot-a-thon” in August so I’m hoping the books I plan on reading for that have a strong heat or summer vibe. Here’s my list: Book set in - Africa Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo - India A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - Mediterranean The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak - Latin America One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Australia The Secret River by Kate Grenville - set during the summer anywhere else The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

@jennisrandom42 Жыл бұрын

Out East by John Glynn is one I would recommend for summer as well as Fluke by Christopher Moore. Pretty much anything beach or ocean related works for me.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations!

@wsmith4020 Жыл бұрын

The Trail by Ethan Gallogly is a good read if you're into hiking and the outdoors.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation.

@wsmith4020 Жыл бұрын

Last Summer Boys by Bill Rivers was fun too.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thanks--I'll check that one out, too.

@davidnovakreadspoetry Жыл бұрын

Maybe you need the sailboat to get into _Woman in the Dunes._ 😂

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I mean, it definitely didn't hurt. 😂

@user-yg6ft1iu1i Жыл бұрын

Been meaning to get to The Man Who loved Children. If you are into Short stories Antarctica by Claire Keegan is very good and I’m starting Shelf Life Chronicles of a Cairo Book Seller by Nadia Wassef looks like a fascinating memoir.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

At this point I would read anything by Keegan. Thanks for the recommendations!

@marjoriedybec3450 Жыл бұрын

Here is my list of books I think would make great summer reads. Positively 4th Street (NF), My Antonia (classics), Out of this Century (autobiog), Me (autobiog), A Year in Provence (memoir), Vanity Fair (big classics), Paris to the Moon (memoir), Mill on the Floss (big classics), The Paris Wife (historical fiction), The Rainbow Comes and Goes (biog/essay/interview), Ninth Street Women (big NF), Miracle and Wonder (biog/essay/interview), and the poetry of Billy Collins.

@marjoriedybec3450 Жыл бұрын

PS. Sadly Julian Barnes, aka young Geo Emerson, was found dead on 6/27/2023 in CA recently. He was 65. Reading or watching Room with View would be a poetic tribute. He played the son in the movie and the role of the father Emerson in a radio broadcast of the book.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the suggestions!

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

It's an awful thing. I didn't know he had played the father in a radio broadcast.

@marjoriedybec3450 Жыл бұрын

@@SupposedlyFun I know, I didn't know that either until I read an obit about him. Sad.

@annegibson6072 Жыл бұрын

Good morning. My idea is to read some of the classics I have not read. First I need to finish Heroine by Mindy McGinnis. I have a friend whose granddaughter who had a horrific accident and now we're dealing with this. I am also reading Pilgrims Progress. I am really enjoying it. I want to read Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost. I also have copies of David Copperfield and Don Quixote. Unfortunately I live where it can be very humid and now we are dealing with smoke so I may be in quite a bit.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I'm so sorry about the situation you are dealing with. ❤️

@annegibson6072 Жыл бұрын

@SupposedlyFun Unfortunately she was 16 and was taking drugs and drinking and thought she could fly from a roof

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

Oof. I'm so sorry!

@shyathena34 Жыл бұрын

I liked Nine Stories though Salanger is a bit problematic for me. If you are looking for a great story collection I highly recommend Men Without Women by Haruki Murakam. I have a love hate relationship with mysteries but a good one is Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. It's a little predictable but a lot of fun. Have a great day! i

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I think Salinger's work is still worth reading, especially understanding that he is a very difficult person to like, but I totally understand anyone who would rather stay away. Thank you for the recommendations. Interestingly, I have a difficult time reading Murakami because of his portrayal of women--but I understand why people really respond to his work. Happy reading!

@hegeste Жыл бұрын

Elisabeth George is really good, and perfect for summer reading! My favourite crimeauthor next to Minette Walters😀

@melissachapman7027 Жыл бұрын

I have been trying to get through Lonesome Dove since November. I’m only on about page 150 and I’m just finding it sooo tedious. What am I doing wrong?? I thought I’d absolutely love it - I live in the CA desert and grew up on horses. I thought this was up my alley and I am just forcing myself through it. But I don’t want to give up.

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. There's nothing saying that you have to like every book out there--and just because I loved Lonesome Dove doesn't mean everyone will. If it's not giving you joy, there's nothing wrong with putting it down. But if you want to keep at it, maybe switching to audio would help?

@melissachapman7027 Жыл бұрын

I often like Pulitzer winners and I like western movies so I’m extremely frustrated that I don’t like it. I’ll try the audio before I throw in the towel - thanks! PS - recently read my first Elizabeth George and I loved it

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

@@melissachapman7027 I hope the audio helps, but try not to feel too frustrated if it doesn't. It happens! I definitely need to try Elizabeth George at some point.

@bobbykeniston7240 Жыл бұрын

A whole lot of great titles on this list! I also have a copy of "The Man Who Loved Children" that I keep telling myself I want to read. Maybe this is the summer to do it. Loved "Train Dreams", and Denis Johnson's "Jesus' Son" is great collection of connected stories (I likened "Night of the Living Rez" to that book, in a very positive way).

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I read Jesus' Son when I was about 20 years old and LOVED IT. I feel like I should reread it but part of me is afraid it wouldn't resonate the way it did then. I should just get over it and try.

@bobbykeniston7240 Жыл бұрын

@@SupposedlyFun I should note that I haven't reread it in quite some time, and it is true how certain books hit you differently at certain times in your life. I really should read more of Johnson, though. I haven't tried his National Book Award-winning book "Tree of Smoke".

@SupposedlyFun Жыл бұрын

I started reading Tree of Smoke not long after it was published, but I had the flu and it made the experience feel like a wild fever dream--so I put it down. Unfortunately, I never got back to it somehow.