10 Books On My Summer Reading List

Summer is here! It means evening walks, sweet corn, sun tea and bare feet -- not to mention reading in my amazingly comfy hammock!

Today for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, we get to talk about our summer reading plans! I did really well with my spring to-read list; I read all 10 books (two of which will definitely be on my best-books-of-the-year list) as well the three books I didn't get to from my winter list, and I'm really proud of myself!

It's been a while since I've read a good mystery or historical fiction novel -- or for that matter any really superb up-all-night page-turner -- so I've got both those genres on my list. I'm also planning to read a graphic novel (my first true one!), a YA title and a non-fiction book this summer.

I've got plenty of new summer releases on my radar too. You can see those in last week's Top Ten Tuesday post about the new books I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the year. Almost all of them come out this summer! (A couple of the must-read-ASAP books from that list are "Wicked Charms" by Janet Evanovich and "Armada" by Ernest Cline.)

Do tell: Have you read any of the books on my to-read list? What books are are on your radar this summer?

Bonus:

I won (I won something!!!) this book from Goodreads last month and I'm hoping to get it read this summer, too. The cover (a beautiful rainbow eucalyptus tree) just evokes a summery feeling, so it should fit right in!

Book Review: "The Marauders" by Tom Cooper

"The Marauders" by Tom Cooper
First published in 2015
304 pages
My rating: 3 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
This gritty little oddball of a book, set in Louisiana during and after the BP oil spill, had promise but didn't quite come together for me. It was a fairly interesting story, but I was left wondering what the point was.

The Long Of It:
Five different stories and a handful of kooky characters come together in this quirky and slightly dark tale, which is set in a Louisiana bayou against the backdrop of the horrific BP oil spill of 2010.

Jeanette, Louisiana, is a small shrimping community on Barataria Bay. The swampy bay was once a hideout for pirate Jean Lafitte, and Lindquist -- one of our narrators -- has spent his life toting around his trusty metal detector and searching for the Lafitte's fabled buried treasure. He's the town outcast; not only is he hell-bent on finding gold, he's also missing an arm and is never without his Donald Duck Pez dispenser fully stocked with Oxycontin and Percocet.

We've also got Wes Trench, a 17-year-old who works on his father's shrimping boat and has a tragic Hurricane Katrina story; Cosgrove and Hanson, two hapless criminals who embark on a ridiculous money-making scheme; the Toup brothers, twins who've got a whole island in the bay covered in marijuana plants; and Brady Grimes of BP, who has the unenviable task of convincing Jeanette's residents to accept a meager settlement for their trouble rather than following through with a claim.

Unbeknownst to our motley cast of characters, their stories are all vaguely interconnected. Alligators, guns, drugs, prosthetic arm thefts, shrimping boats and pirate booty are involved.

Cooper's writing is readable, creative, funny and metaphor-filled, but -- though I read it quickly -- it was never quite a page-turner for me. And Cooper's characters seem a bit forced at times; they're maybe a bit too much the stereotypical quirky weirdos. "The Marauders" errs more on the side of a character-driven novel (and a setting-driven one), which I often struggle with because I want plot, purpose, meaning and resolution to my books. Cooper's cast held my attention, but I wanted a firm conclusion for our five disparate stories and I didn't feel I really got that.

For the first 3/4 of the book, I expected it to earn a solid 4 stars. But, while I could glimpse themes of family, forgiveness, belonging, home, sense of place, and tradition amongst the moronic antics of some of our characters, it just wasn't enough to satisfy me. Cooper did a really nice job of evoking a vivid setting and creating some intriguing nutcases, but I wanted more: more about their pasts and futures, more about the oil spill, more to show me why I should care about their stories, and more something to beef up the plot.

My Etsy Wish List: June

It's time again for me to share some awesome Etsy finds with you! Since my last Etsy post, I did a bit of shopping and ordered two necklaces, one bracelet and one pair of earrings -- all gorgeous -- as well as some customized mason jar mugs for a wedding present. Oh, how I do love Etsy! Do you have a favorite Etsy shop? Do tell!

Etsy shop: HAWKHOUSE
Price: $50
My birthstone is opal and I've been keeping an eye out for just the right piece of opal jewelry for a while. I don't ever wear rings besides my wedding and engagement rings, but these are pretty enough that I just might consider them! I love the rustic copper edging -- it perfectly sets off the beautiful opal! The shop offers a larger size too, but I'd most likely go with this smaller option.

Etsy shop: happyment
Price: $34
I already ordered one pair of earrings from this shop and I LOVE them. They're my new favorites and I've gotten compliments every time I've worn them. I will definitely be ordering more from happyment, and I've been eyeing this pretty mint-green pair.

Etsy shop: AbbeyPark
Price: $34.64+
I'm always looking to add more long necklaces to my jewelry collection. This one is stylish and classic -- and reasonably priced.

Etsy shop: Stampede1
Price: $12.50
This shop has lots of hand-stamped metal products -- bookmarks, magnets and picture clips. I'm not sure a bookmark is worth $12.50, but I like them nonetheless.

Etsy shop: HitherRabbit
Price: $38+ (depending on name length)
What a fun, funky pet portrait! I love the idea of framing it with an embroidery hoop.

Etsy shop: WonderFlies
Price: $4.50
Again, kinda pricey for a bookmark, but this shop has several options with wine and coffee stains. Possibly a DIY idea? (P.S. How could it possibly cost $2.50 to ship a paper bookmark?! Highway robbery, I say!)

Etsy shop: LaDaDesigns
Price: $50+

For the Harry Potter addict in your life! I doubt I would ever wear this enough to justify the price, but how cool is it?! This design features "Daily Prophet" clippings and the shop also has a Marauder's Map option.

13 Upcoming 2015 Releases I'm Excited About

It's the middle of 2015 already! Crazy, huh? So how's your reading year going? I've had a terrific year so far. I've read almost all 4- and 5-star books and I'm well on my way to reaching (and even surpassing) my goal of 65 books! I've been gripped by some really awesome reads this winter and spring, and I'm hoping the summer and fall will bring just as great of a bounty.

There are lots of promising new releases coming out in the next few months, and for this week's Top Ten Tuesday list hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, we're talking about the 10 new books we're most looking forward to for the rest of 2015. (P.S. This list was originally 10 books long and then I realized I forgot two, and then I discovered a new one! I didn't have the heart to leave any off -- so we have 12!)

Release date: today! (June 9)

A few months ago I read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and I was thrilled to see that Annie Barrows has a new book coming out. This one is way, way longer than "Guernsey" but I definitely want to give it a try. It's also historical fiction and set in West Virginia, 1938.

Release date: June 23

I love Janet E., and I especially like her new-ish Wicked series. I'm really excited for "Wicked Charms," the third installment.

Release date: June 23

This book sounds fantastic and right up my alley! I've already got it requested from the library so hopefully I'll get it soon after it comes out!

Release date: July 2

I'm so intrigued by this book! It sounds like it'll be a fun and magical adventure. Also, I'm curious why there's a slightly sinister-looking octopus on the cover!

Release date: July 14

I just recently read (and loved) "Ready Player One" and I was so psyched when I found out Ernest Cline has another book coming out! (P.S. I like this cover so much better than "Ready Player One"!)

Release date: July 28

This book has gotten a lot of hype and I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Release date: July 28

"The Paris Wife" was one of my favorite books of 2012, so I'm looking forward to McLain's latest. It's about another real-life woman, the extraordinary-sounding Beryl Markham in 1920s Kenya.

Release date: August 4

Well, I've read every single other book in the Meg Langslow series so of course I'll be reading this one too. It's a Halloween mystery, so I'll save it for September or October.

Release date: September 22

"Let's Pretend This Never Happened" was ah-maz-ing and so, so funny. I think "Furiously Happy" will still be laugh-out-loud humorous, but it's about Lawson's battle with mental illness so it will likely have some more serious moments too. I love the crazy-eyed raccoon on the cover -- he fits just perfectly with the title.

Release date: September 29

I loved "Me Before You" and I'm excited to see where life has taken Louisa!

Release date: October 6
I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to own this new full-color illustrated edition of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"! I was super-excited when the box-set with the new cover art came out a couple years ago because I loved seeing another part of the story depicted artistically. What am I going to do with a whole entire book of Harry Potter pictures?! I'm just a little miffed that this book isn't being released on September 1st -- which fortuitously happens to fall on a Tuesday this year. I can't be the only one who thinks that would be perfect!?

Release date: October 13
One of my favorite literary heroines, Lady Emily, returns in a mystery set in the south of France. This is the tenth Lady Emily book and I've loved them all. I also like how the books are released every October -- the perfect time for a cozy-ish historical mystery!

Release date: October 20

Kate Morton's "The Secret Keeper" was one of my favorite novels of 2013 and I've been meaning to read more of her books ever since. I am going to make it a point to read this one! And it comes out exactly a week before my 30th birthday. Hopefully we'll be taking some kind of fun getaway, so perhaps I'll be reading this sitting on a beach or relaxing by a river in the mountains surrounded by colorful leaves!

Book Review: "The Dud Avocado" by Elaine Dundy

"The Dud Avocado" by Elaine Dundy
First published in 1958
260 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
You'll fall in love with our humorous and heartfelt narrator, a young American woman whose goal is to live life in Paris in 1955.

The Long Of It:
I'd never heard of "The Dud Avocado" until a co-worker at the library raved about it -- and between her good review and my total curiosity over the title (and my love of avocados), I knew I'd have to give this semi-autobiographical novel of debauchery, self-discovery and coming of age in 1950s Paris a try.

American Sally Jay Gorce is 21 and alone in Paris for two years on her rich uncle's dime. Her singular goal is to experience all she can. She says yes to everything: she loses her virginity (item number-one on the to-do list), she drinks and drinks and drinks, she dances, she dyes her hair pink, she carouses with artists and film directors and bullfighters, she stays out 'til dawn, she breaks hearts and gets hers broken. She's finally free, and she's glorying in it.

But, as tends to happen, something occurs to disrupt Sally Jay's quest for adventure. The mess she's in forces her to take a good, hard look in the mirror and evaluate who she is and who she wants to be. Her coming-of-age tale comes full-circle.

Sally Jay is a fabulous narrator. She's naive, irresponsible, selfish and trying way too hard to be sophisticated, but she can also be surprisingly observant, self-aware and relatable. And she's totally hilarious. I saw my own 21-year-old self in her and I bet you'll see flashes of yourself too.

"The Dud Avocado" was a rollicking good time (who wouldn't want to live vicariously through a fun and beautiful 21-year-old cavorting her way through post-war Paris?) splashed throughout with unexpected moments of utter truth. It was a fast and fun read and I encourage you to check it out. Nearly every page has a quotable passage, so have your pen and paper ready!

15 Wonderful Reads Becoming Movies (Or TV Shows)

 This week the ladies at the Broke and the Bookish have assigned us to talk about movies -- specifically, books we'd like to see adapted for the screen. But there are already soooo many books I love that are headed for theaters or TV sets that I decided to talk about those instead. Some are theater-ready while others have just had the movie rights purchased -- but they will hopefully all be awesome as the books they're about! (And fingers crossed that the ones in pre-production will actually become movies!).

Coming Soon:

 Release date: November 25, 2015

 I am soooo excited about this movie! The book was phenomenal and the movie should be just as good -- funny and intense and gripping! When I read the novel I pictured Mark Wahlberg as the main character; Matt Damon is the star of the movie and -- seeing as they kinda look alike -- I'm pretty pleased with the casting! (P.S. If you haven't read this book yet, do it!)

Release date: November 18, 2016

Another movie set in the Harry Potter-verse!!!! Who even cares what it's about; I'll be seeing it (while wearing my Gryffindor scarf) along with legions of other fans. It's rumored that Eddie Redmayne (of "The Theory of Everything") will be playing Newt Scamander.

Release date: 2016

I loved this book and I'm fully prepared to love this movie. The casting is spot-on: Emilia Clarke (Daenerys on "Game of Thrones") and Sam Claflin (Finnick from the Hunger Games movies) are starring. Squee!

Release date: September 2, 2015

Robert Redford plays Bill Bryson in this humorous memoir of an Appalachian Trail hike. The book inspired me to possibly, maybe, kinda think about hiking the AT one day. It would definitely be an experience!

Release date: January 15, 2016

Something to look forward to in the middle of next winter! I recently read and enjoyed this book, the first in a trilogy. I think Chloe Grace Moretz is a great choice to play Cassie. Too bad this is filmed in Georgia, not here in the Dayton, Ohio, area where the book is set. :(

Release date: March 4, 2016

This is one all-star filled cast, with Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris O'Dowd and more. The book was unique and fun, and I'm sure the movie will be good too! (P.S. The movie has a slightly shortened title: "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiars.")

Release date: 2015?

It sounds like this movie is all filmed and ready to go, but there's no specified release date. I'm looking forward to the screen adaptation of the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who find an abandoned baby.

In the Works:

Bonus!
 

I haven't read either of these books (and I definitely intend to read "Into Thin Air" eventually) but I'm looking forward to upcoming screen versions of these non-fiction tales.

I planned to read "The Astronaut Wives Club" until I saw the horrible reviews, many of which focused on the poor writing (which is a HUGE sticking point for me) and I decided not to bother with it. But the story is intriguing and I was excited to see that it has been turned into a TV show on ABC that starts June 18. I love stories set in this time period and, even though it looks a tad cheesy, I will absolutely be checking this show out!

And the story Jon Krakauer tells in "Into Thin Air" has been turned into a movie called "Everest" staring Jake Gyllenhaal. It goes to the theater September 18, and while I'm not sure it's worth my $10 to see there I will definitely watch it when it comes out on DVD.

Book Review: "Our Endless Numbered Days" by Claire Fuller

"Our Endless Numbered Days" by Claire Fuller
First published in 2015
382 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
"Our Endless Numbered Days" is an absorbing book about a girl who spends almost a decade believing she and her father are the last people on earth. Interesting premise, good little read.

The Long Of It:
You're a little kid and your dad -- your hero -- takes you out on a wilderness adventure. After a long journey you make camp in an isolated little valley between a river and mountains. A bad storm comes and the next day your dad goes to scout out the situation.  He comes back sobbing and gasping and tells you the world is ruined and that you're the only two humans left on earth. Because he's your dad and you're 8 years old, you believe him.

That's how Peggy Hillcoat comes to spend 9 years living in a shack in the forest with her father, never setting eyes on another soul, living off squirrels and rabbits, and wearing shoes made of rotten animal skins.

The pretty cover of this novel is reminiscent of a children's picture book -- and in a way that's fitting because even at 17 Peggy is as naive and innocent as a young child -- but I think it does the book a bit of a disservice. This story is not light or whimsical. It's engrossing and fascinating in an almost voyeuristic way, it's dark, and it's unsettling.

Your curiosity about this unusual girl will be aroused immediately as 17-year-old Peggy starts to tell us her almost unbelievable tale. Why did Peggy's survivalist father decide to trek out to the middle of nowhere, set up camp and concoct such a massive lie? Why didn't Peggy ever figure out the truth? How did she finally make her way back to London? What happened to her father? What about her mother, whom Peggy believed dead along with everyone else? So many questions -- and you'll be happy to know they're (almost) all answered eventually.

Fuller is a talented writer and an imaginative storyteller. I found the book to be a bit predictable, but then it wasn't meant to be a mystery but a deeper portrait of love, lies, little heartbreaks, memory, bravery and the will to live. "Our Endless Numbered Days"   -- a perfect title, by the way -- is a quick read and is unlike anything else you'll come across this year.