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Summer, in my mind, is most marked by an abundance of two things: vegetables and books. I know most people think of sand and sun and water. But not me. I’ll take my veggies and the time to read as much as I can manage, thankyouverymuch.
It’s been a good year for books, overall. But this summer has been truly lovely. Even though the temperatures have only just now reached that uncomfortable high that keeps us indoors more often than out, we’ve already enjoyed some great reads that we’re more than happy to recommend for your summer TBR pile.
I just finished The Road from Gap Creek. Robert Morgan’s sequel to Gap Creek follows the same family into the Depression, WWII, and beyond. It was an emotional read for me, and one that I still find myself mulling over in quiet moments. The characters are so well written that they feel like family members, people you expect to see again at a reunion or, heaven forbid, a funeral. I liked both of these books enough that I’ve got a hold on The Truest Pleasure at the library. Maybe I can sneak it in before fall cuts back on my reading hours!
Because I am a glutton for punishment, I also read Mary McGarry Morris’ The Lost Mother last month. This book is as heavy and dark as it’s title suggests, but I felt a kinship with the narrator and in the end, I felt like the book was somehow cathartic to my current ruminations on motherhood in general. Recommended, but with the disclaimer that you will need more than one box of tissues and a set jaw to get through some of the heartache here.
I just picked up The Story of Edgar Sawtelle at the library today. It comes highly recommended by a good friend whose tastes run parallel to my own. I read exactly three pages this afternoon waiting for my kids to finish making their own selections from the library shelves and I can’t wait to get back to it once bedtime rolls around.
And here’s a peek at the week I have planned ahead via my library cart: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, Can It & Ferment It: More Than 75 Satisfying Small-Batch Canning and Fermentation Recipes for the Whole Year, and The Farmstead Egg Cookbook. In other words: it’s pickle time, and our hens are laying more than enough eggs for us to sell, with so many for our own use that I need more ideas!
Speaking of those selections, John Mark picked up Leepike Ridge and The Dragon’s Tooth today. He is currently obsessed with N.D. Wilson novels, and these were the next on his list. Last month, he blitzed through Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle, Outlaws of Time #2: The Song of Glory and Ghost, and Outlaws of Time #2: The Last of the Lost Boys, all by Wilson. He also finished four I Survived titles, the best of which, he reports, was The Great Molasses Flood of 1919.
Birdie spent June reading the Mandie Collection (Volume 3), assembled classic stories by Lois Gladys Leppard. Mary Hannah was also a fan of Mandie, so it’s been sweet to hear her reporting the same details of stories I recall from more than a decade ago. She also fell in love with Heather Vogel Frederick’s Pumpkin Falls Mysteries. So far she’s read Absolutely Truly and Yours Truly. Her last book of the month was The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glass. I forgot to put a hold on the sequels and had prepared her for disappointment before we walked in to the library this afternoon, but she found copies on the shelves and left feeling like the Lord has smiled on the hot days ahead.
Phineas has been knee-deep in Lego building guides: Totally Cool Creations, Build It! Volume 1, and Awesome Lego Creations with Bricks You Already Have. He’s about to exhaust our library’s supply of these books. What we do next to keep him in building plans is anyone’s guess.
Simon and Jude’s favorite books from the past month have been Flat Stanley (time to make and send another Stanley in the mail, I think!), The Little House, Blueberries For Sal (because we’ve had so many of our own blueberries to enjoy here at the farm!) and two of my personal favorites from my own childhood: Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi and The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward. I’m especially relishing these afternoons of stacks and stacks of picture books. These two are the perfect age for some of the best books ever written, in my humble opinion.
Now that July is here, we’ll be spending even more time buried in books. We shy away from the hottest days of the Southern summer, managing our farm work early in the morning and late in the evening, and find indoor diversions for the bulk of the afternoon. If you happen to have any must-reads to share, we’d love to add them to our own To Be Read lists.