The summer reading season is almost here – for reference I’m defining summer as June through September – and I’m looking forward what precious little beach reading time I’ll have come July. Here are a few of the highlights from the upcoming season. For more recommendations – and because she gave me the idea – check out Shannon’s list over at River City Reading.
01. The Spark and the Drive by Wayne Harrison. St. Martin’s Press, July 15th. “By an award-winning writer of short fiction, a devastatingly powerful debut novel of hero-worship, first love, and betrayal.”
02. Cry Father by Benjamin Whitmer. Gallery Books, September 16. “In the tradition of Cormac McCarthy and Larry Brown comes a haunting story about men, their fathers, their sons, and the legacy of violence.” *Local (Colorado) Author*
03. The Way Inn by Will Wiles. Harper Perennial, August 26. ” Up in the Air meets Inception in this smart, innovative, genre-synthesizing novel from the acclaimed author of Care of Wooden Floors—hailed as “Fawlty Towers crossed with Freud,” by the Daily Telegraph—that takes the polished surfaces of modern life, the branded coffee, and the free wifi, and twists them into a surrealistic nightmare of infinite proportions”.
04. Never Mind Miss Fox by Olivia Glazebrook. Little, Brown and Company, August 19. ” Glazebrook’s darkly suspenseful tale of a family in crisis reveals how seemingly ordinary lives can contain extraordinary acts of destruction. Told with intensity and penetrating emotion, Never Mind Miss Fox is a compelling tale of vengeance, justice, and what it really means to make amends.”
05. The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero. Doubleday, August 12. “A mesmerizing novel…what begins as a gothic ghost story soon evolves into a wickedly twisted treasure hunt in The Supernatural Enhancements, Edgar Cantero’s wholly original, modern-day adventure.”
06. The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sherl. August 6. “A novel that will capture you with its wit, its hopefulness, its anxious twists and turns, this love story is ultimately about finding happiness and accepting our fleeting existence. A love story about love stories.”
07. Season to Taste by Natalie Young. Little, Brown and Company, July 15. “Dark, unexpectedly funny, and achingly human, Season to Taste is a deliciously subversive treat. In Lizzie Prain, Natalie Young has created one of the most remarkable and surprising heroines in fiction.”
08. Ancient Oceans of Central Kentucky by David Connerley Nahm. Two Dollar Radio, July 21. “A jaw-droppingly gorgeous, mysterious, and lyric exploration of childhood, personal loss, ghost stories, and small-town life in rural Kentucky.”
09. Evergreen by Rebecca Rasmussen. Knopf, July 15. “From the celebrated author of The Bird Sisters, a gorgeously rendered and emotionally charged novel that spans generations, telling the story of two siblings, raised apart, attempting to share a life.”
10. High As The Horses’ Bridles by Scott Cheshire. Henry Holt and Co., July 8. “An urgent, electric debut novel about inheritance, belief, and a father and son divided by a dangerous prophecy; the arrival of a bold new voice and “a great new American epic””.
What books are you looking forward to this summer? Anything I should be sure to check out? I know more than a few of you are excited for Written in My Own Heart’s Blood and Armada…
flannel and folklore 
Think I should read Never Mind Miss Fox (because before I was married, I was a Miss Fox).
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Yes, I bet. 🙂
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I’ve only heard of two of the books on your list! But i’m interested in quite a few more. I haven’t even looked that far ahead to see what my summer has in store for me reading-wise.
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I looked ahead that far specifically for this post, otherwise I’d have no idea what was in store for September. I’m never that organized.
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Excuse me while I frantically add Ancient Oceans of Central Kentucky to my list. There are several others here I’m ridiculously excited about, including High as Horses Bridles, Never Mind Miss Fox and Cry Father (thanks to your comment on my post!)
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I’m so excited for Cry Father, but I was immediately shot down on Netgalley. It was very sad. Ancient Oceans sounds like it has major best book of the year possibilities for me (at least with the premise).
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Wait, wait, wait…I just have to add this. The Way Inn says “Up in the Air meets Inception”? TAKE ALL MY MONEY.
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You’ll be happy to know, regarding throwing all our money at an author, that Donald Ray Pollock is reportedly writing a book. It’s set in 1917, that’s all I know, but it is enough.
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I know, right! And then mix it with Fawlty Towers! I’m a goner!
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I don’t think I’ve heard of any of these. I’ve been so focused on my current reviews and the two reading challenges I’m in to look at the up-and-comings! Thanks for some ideas. I’m going to have to out together a list of summer reads. I already have three YA series on the list, so I can have them back to my classroom by next fall.
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I am in the worst kind of reading funk that it’s helped me to look ahead to what might cheer me up. I hope you’ll get to one or two of them!
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I hadn’t come across Ancient Oceans of Central Kentucky or High As The Horses’ Bridles – added to the list!
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These lists are the worst that way…like you didn’t already have enough to read, right?
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All of these books sound fantastic! 😀 Thanks for sharing these with us *goes off to add them on GoodReads*
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You’re welcome. Happy reading! 🙂
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Great list! I haven’t heard of some of these, so time for some investigating. My addition–I am intrigued by The Fever, which comes out in June. I read a late draft 1.5 year ago of your #6 selection, The Future for Curious People. I remember enjoying it mostly for “the future” part, which felt like a younger cousin to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Normally, cutesy love stories aren’t my bag, but this one wasn’t saccharine laced. I think you’ll like it.
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The Fever looks good. I haven’t picked up that authors previous books because they all sounded a little “mean girls”. It’s pretty rare that I pick up any type of cutesy love story, so I was intrigued by this one. I hope it’s decent, though I don’t have a copy yet. I liked how the cover didn’t scream romance. I think I originally added it because the premise reminded me of Carol Shields’ The Republic of Love, which I enjoyed.
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I haven’t read any Meg Abbott, so I’m pretty unfamiliar with her. I’m curious to know what you make of “The Future..” When they showed me the cover, I thought it was a good choice and earlier when Algonquin picked it up, that was a good sign. So, I’m sure the plot has minimal “cutesy-ness.”
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You know I’m salivating over the new Gabaldon, but this list just gave me more things I want to read!
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You were who I was thinking of when I wrote that. I’ve only read the first 2 (plus half od the third) and I’ve enjoyed them. I CANNOT wait for the show, I don’t know how I will watch it, but I’m excited.
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Ancient Oceans, The Future for Curious People and Evergreen are on my list thanks to this! Excited for the new Chris Bohjalian, and the new Jodi Picoult, a galley of which will be coming in the summer. Also Alias Hook (thanks Shannon) and We Are Not Ourselves
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I am so excited for Ancient Oceans and The Future for Curious people. It looks like it is going to be a good summer reading season.
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I haven’t heard of any of these! GAH!! You and Shannon with your lists! Too many amazing books! 😀
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That’s why I’m here! (And Shannon too, I expect.)
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Fawlty Towers crossed with Freud? You have my attention. 🙂
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Right!? Sold. I love anything Freudian, which I imagines speaks volumes about me… 😉
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I think I’d like to add every single one to my wishlist!
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I like the sound of all of these, but there are at least 5 that I’m extremely excited about. It’s going to be a good summer, not to put any pressure on the authors.
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Looks like a great summer of reading! Love the cover of The Future for Curious People — looks vintage and futuristic at the same time.
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I still need to read Rasmussen’s The Bird Sisters! I’m glad she has more for me to look forward to.
I am most caught by The Curious People one and Season to Taste. I so rarely know about upcoming books; I have too much troubles trying to read recently releaseds. Although, I’ve done better lately with reading books in the year they are published. But then I seem to fall right back into classics…
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I’m incredibly excited for Cry, Father and really love the sound of The Supernatural Enhancements.
I’m so damn excited for Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. I keep trying to get around to doing a re-read of An Echo in the Bone but it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m looking forward to Mr. Mercedes as well. The Book of Life comes out in July! Really need to read book 2 before that happens. 🙂
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I just got back from a Random House summer reading presentation and am so excited to have gotten ARCs for Summerhouse with Swimming Pool, China Dolls, and The Sleepwalkers Guide to Dancing.
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