So Misguided

Working in the publishing industry means that people like to talk to me about books. I, of course, like to talk about books so this is never really a problem. But this summer I have been stumped twice when asked about good novels. I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction lately and I suppose I haven’t been paying attention to what good novels people are reading this summer.

If you’ve got a good novel on the go, let me know what it is.

Here’s the list of what I’ve recommended so far:

Kids
Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book
Bruce Hale’s Chet Gecko series
Terry Griggs’ Cat’s Eye Corner trilogy

Fiction for Adults
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Time in Between
Daniel Isn’t Talking

Here’s the novel I started today. So far I think it is going to be a very good book.

The Garneau Block by Todd Babiak

I’m reading Here They Come by Yannick Murphy. It’s really good so far, especially in the way it’s told - from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl in 1970s NYC… basically, it’s about her life with the sweaty hot dog vendors, her mother who thinks life would be better back in France, the summer heat…

I stopped reading fiction about 2 years ago and just picked up a book that was recommmended by a friend. It’s called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It’s told from the perspective of nine year old Oskar Schell who lost his father in 9/11. Oskar is precociously funny…touching. If he was my kid I might kill him but so far it’s a great read. Another book that I haven’t read but was recommended by the same friend is called the History of Love by Foer’s wife Nicole Kraus.