Once Upon A River, by Bonnie Jo Campbell
One of the most talked-about new releases of the season, this novel will be sure to get you some jealous looks from your fellow literary beachgoers. More importantly, it’s an adventure story that will keep you pinned to your towel. Sixteen-year-old Margo Crane, armed with her trusty rifle, “only a few supplies and a biography of Annie Oakley,” sets off on a river journey through the wilds of rural Michigan in search of her mother. Margo has repeatedly been touted as the female Huck Finn, which means you’ll probably want to be her best friend.
Comments (24)
[...] Skippy Dies by Paul Murray and Role Models by John Waters deemed “Highbrow But Still Beach-Appropriate.” [...]
I often find myself in ferocious defense of The Secret History, one of my favorite novels of all time. I think it’s the perfect definition of the Highbrow beach read – intelligent, “literary,” utterly compelling and plot-driven. I give this book to everyone I know.
Immortali by Anne Lewington (of course, I wrote it). An easy literary read with sex, murder, intrigue and heresy, set in 16th Century Venice – and the real identity of the Mona Lisa. Recently listed in New York Times survey of books teachers would be reading in their summer break.
Read Cutting For Stone…it’s amazingly entertaining AND definately intelligent enough.
A Visit from the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan) and Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami) – Both page turners and both FABULOUS!!!!
LUCY by LAURENCE GONZALES
lucybook.com
The Secret History is such a good book. Ahhh the scintillating Camilla!
This may be the first time that John Waters has ever been described as “highbrow.”
Waves? Seriously?
You know bemused means confused or bewildered, right? Perhaps the author means “amused”?
Pussies…we don’t go to the beach to read…we go there to SURF…
If we are talking about Donna Tartt, her second novel The Little Friend is an engrossing murder mystery with terrific characters and incredibly accurate dialogue – I don’t think it got good reviews; I found it on the free shelf at my library, I consider it a great find…check it out.
I’ll add my support for The Secret History. A wonderful book. Donna Tartt only puts out a new book every 10 years, so the next one is due in 2012 (and in fact, it’s been announced she’ll be releasing a book next year). The Little Friend was less amazing, but it is still filled with a lot of emotional power.
‘The secret history’ is my fave book. I’ve just finished ‘skippy dies’ which is brilliant. Can’t beat a good book!
So many books, so little time…which is why we created our 10-question summer quiz to get you personalized recommendations. Right now it’s all fiction titles, but check it out and see what you think of the titles! http://www.justtherightbook.com/quiz
One of my all time favorites, inside and outside academia. Love her sense of humor and dead-on observation. Read this leasurly, pick it up and put it down, as a good summer read should.
“Swamplandia!” is a straight from the drawing board regional telling. The fact that the title blares out in a exclamation point, “Look at me!” does the novel no favors. There is only so much one can be interested in when colorful, for the sake of it, characters go about the business of living by the codes and credos of the provincial. This work is more a very long short story. In the end, when I pick-up a novel, I want to read a novel.
Ugh, is this what made my mom decide she should give The Waves a try? One of the most difficult works this English major has ever read? I had to explain to her that it *might* be a bit much for beach reading.
Ya, The Waves? Seriously? I think it’s a curious joke to put that on this list. Must be.
Perfume, the Story of a Murderer.
I’ve just finished reading The Secret History. Seriously folks, the dialogue was a little over the top. She made a bunch of undergraduates come across as 19th century toffs. It is difficult to put down. But I still found its resolution a little disappointing and I didn’t really find any of the characters endearing enough to sympathise with (or care if they all lived or died).
[...] on a beach towel atop your mattress with a fan angled towards you, the books on Flavor Pill’s 10 Decidedly Highbrow But Still Beach-Appropriate Summer Reads should certainly keep you entertained. The list includes a variety of authors and genres: ranging [...]
How about BOOK___Days You Wish You Could F**ck Someone Up , by Author Raymoni Love available through barnes & Noble
I loved both of Donna Tartt’s novels. I used to work at in a bookshop and I kept “The Secret History” on a recommended reading shelf with my review. Every couple of weeks a customer would come in saying how much they loved it (some of which had been turned off by the heavy prose at first).
[...] of magazines and websites have summer reading lists. There’s a pretty good one here from flavorwire, which includes Skippy Dies which I told you to read a few weeks ago, and Donna [...]
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