I don’t think anyone will soon forget the winter of ‘15. All of the endless days inside provided a lot of time to think about summer and with that, summer reading. I took a look at some of the fabulous titles that would be published in May and June and came up with my ideal line-up. I contacted the authors and luckily everyone was able to join in on June 24th. That’s how the hottest lit party of the RI summer reading season was born!
It’s all about the joy of summer reading. What comes to mind when you hear someone say “summer reading?” I checked in with the authors who will be joining us and here’s what they had to say:
“Am hugely hoping to find another book that perfectly encapsulates summer in the way Emma Straub's The Vacationersand Helen Walsh's The Lemon Grove, did for me last summer.”
“Summer reading means the sand between my vibrantly painted toes, a Bloody Mary in hand (three olives, please), and the promise of steamers dunked in butter for dinner. Summer reading means Judy Blume. Through the ages,Summer Sisters is a book I¹ll revisit again and again."
The phrase ‘summer reading’ is reminiscent of the lists of improving books that we were required to read over the summer for school instead of the books we actually wanted to read. I remember being forced to read The Old Manand the Sea in 7th grade, which put me off Hemingway for years. How much more enthusiastic would I have been if James Clavell's Shogunor Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (two favorites of my adolescence) had been on my list? One of the beauties of becoming an adult is that, with rare exceptions, we can read what we want when we want. Fortunately, I gave Hemingway a second try several years later and was hooked. Maybe they should have started me off with The Nick Adams Stories instead?”
“The thing I love best about being the author of ‘summer novels’ is that my readers tend to save my books for a special time, and often it's an annual ritual. They wait and read my book on their favorite beach or their certain lounge by the pool. Reading my novels is their cue that summer has arrived. There are also people who save my novels for the last day of summer, or even for the dead of winter so they can be transported back to Nantucket, back to memories of outdoor showers and sand in the sheets.”
“For me, summer has always been about stepping outside ordinary life and disappearing into another one. It’s the one time of year when you can spend an entire guilt-free day reading on a porch swing or a beach chair, and I love finding an engaging, intelligent, transportive book that makes me look at the world a little differently when I’m done.”
I also checked in with a couple of the businesses that are partnering with Reading With Robinon this very special event.
"When I think about summer reading, it conjures up images of relaxing, slowing down and catching up. Although I work in a career that is year round, and not seasonal, I take more time in the summer to sit outside on the deck, slow down and read more. Reading allows me the ability to disconnect from the hustle and bustle and immerse myself in various styles of books, from The Italian Affair, a true favorite that takes me away, to theSteve Jobs biography. I love summer, and the reading that comes along with it."
“Summer reading is about the beach! Sand in my shoes and sand in my books. Summer was always a time to tackle the big thick tomes. Reading without worrying when I might finish the book, but rather just being with my book. Some of my favorite summer reads as a young girl were taken from the stack of books that was always on my mom's nightstand : Valley of the Dolls, The Source, Goodbye Columbus, Marjorie Morningstar, The Caine Mutiny and The Diary of Ann Frank.”
Summer Reading With Robin will be donating the proceeds from this event to B’s Mobility Ride. To learn about Benjamin and why we are raising funds, please watch this wonderful video put together by my friend, Kate De Petro.
There will be a silent auction during the cocktail hour from 6-7pm. I have so many incredible auction items, including an exclusive opportunity to bid on having a character named in an upcoming novel. All five authors are participating in this.
In addition, as the event’s official outfitter, Zuzu’s Petals of East Greenwich, Barrington and Providence is offering TEN PERCENT off of your purchase and TEN PERCENT to the cause beginning Monday, April 27th and ending on Monday, May 4th. Mention that you are “Reading With Robin” for 10% off of your purchase. (think Mother’s Day, graduations, wedding showers, weddings..)
The summer reading memories of my childhood take me back to Smithtown, Long Island and the library where I so enjoyed spending time. Whether reading, talking quietly or luxuriating in the air conditioning, I could not get enough of that very special place. Oh, and the books!
What’s one of your favorite summer reading memories? Please comment in the section below and you’ll be entered to win a pair of tickets to the not-to-be-missed event of the summer season!
ROBIN KALL is Rhode Island’s own book maven. From author interviews to events with best-selling authors, Robin shares her love of books wherever and whenever possible. You can connect with Robin on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, or on her website, which is updated constantly with all new author interviews and bookish information. Reading With Robin is on AM790 Fridays from 4-5pm and on I Heart Radio.
Coming up this Friday, April 24thth Robin’s guests will be: Lisa Scottoline author of Every Fifteen Minutes and David Baldacci author of Memory Man.
Related Slideshow: Reading with Robin - Best of 2014
One of the things that I love about a Jane Green novel is that I am immediately drawn into the story, its characters and their relationships.
When Gabby first met Elliot she knew he was the man for her. After twenty years of marriage she has never doubted her love for him. But now their daughters are growing up and Gabby feels the time slipping away. She is feeling restless for the first time in her life and then she meets Matt. It is tempting, to say the least, to have the attention of someone who sees Gabby differently than she has been seen in some time and timing, of course, is everything. Jane will be here at the end of January for a very special event. See below for details.
An Italian Wife is a mutigenerational story of an Italian-American family. It’s the story of Josephine Rimaldi complete with all of her joys, losses and passions, spanning over seven decades. The novel beings in turn-of-the-century Italy, when fourteen-year-old Josephine is forced into an arranged marriage who is about to depart for America, where she later joins him. She goes on to be a traditional Italian wife giving birth to seven children. The last, Valentina, is conceived in passion, born in secret, and given up for adoption. An Italian Wife is Hood’s most passionate novel to date.
This book is just gorgeous. Chris tells a story in such loving and compassionate detail that I am always in awe of his storytelling.
Closer Your Eyes, Hold Hands is the story of Emily Shepard, a homeless teen living in an igloo made of ice and trash bags filled with frozen leaves. Half a year earlier, a nuclear plant in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom has experienced a cataclysmic meltdown, and both of Emily’s parents were killed. Emily’s father was in charge of the plant and the meltdown may have been his fault. Despite Emily’s dire circumstances, her resilience, smarts and sense of humor remain. Chris’ daughter, Grace Experience, beautifully narrates the audio version.
Oh, the Picoult novel. Need I say more? Leaving Time was my favorite book of the year. I fell in love with the mother-daughter journey and the beauty and majesty of the elephants that surround them.
For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Jenna refuses to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child and searches for her mother online and reads over and over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Jenna hopes the journals will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.
As a fan of Picoult’s books for over twenty years I thought I would finally be able to spot the “aha-twist” moment. It was not to be. So well done!!
This was the perfect summer treat of a novel. Bittersweet has the perfect blend of suspense, drama and characters behaving badly. Mabel Dagmar is on scholarship at a prestigious East Coast College. She is quite ordinary and is surprised to be befriended by her very beautiful and affluent roommate, Genevra Winslow. Ev invites Mabel to spend the summer at Bittersweet, her cottage on the Vermont estate where her family has been holding court for more than a century. Mabel moves right in and wants it all. The boyfriend, access to wealth and what she’s wanted most of all –the sense that she belongs. Of course nothing is ever as it seems and Bittersweet it is.
These next two are debut novels and there is nothing I enjoy more than a fabulous debut. I’m looking forward to whatever is coming next from both Ted Thompson and Pamela Moses.
I met Ted over the summer when he was part of a debut novelist panel at Bryant Park in New York City. As he read from The Land of Steady Habits I knew this was going to be a book for me. And it was. This happens to be the only book in my line-up with a male protagonist.
Anders Hill is entering his early sixties and by all accounts seems content in the “land of steady habits” –a nickname for the affluent part of Connecticut where he resides. So what’s a content man to do? He abandons his career and family for a new condo and life. He might not have thought this through well enough. With his identity no longer wrapped up in his position or marriage, Anders turns up at a holiday party full of his ex-wife’s friends and is surprised to find that the world he rejected may be just the one he needs.
I picked up this book by the book jacket alone. Then I read a little about Pamela and learned that she is a Brown grad and that The Appetites of Girls takes place largely in Rhode Island and more specifically Brown University. Stir in a coming of age story complete with four suitemates who could not be less alike and voila! You have just my kind of a read. College brings four young women together – Ruth, Francesca, Opal and Setsu where their stories and appetites collide. Despite their differences, they remain close to each other through the years and guard a well-kept secret.
Never Too Late-Your Roadmap to Reinvention by Claire Cook
Known to Reading With Robin listeners as the first interview each June with novels such as: Must Love Dogs, Life’s a Beach and Time Flies, Cook steps outside of the novel-box with this motivating, thoughtful book about making your dreams and goals a reality. In her unique and humorous storytelling style, Claire gives her readers cutting edge tools to get where they want to go. Sharing her own stories about her writing career complete with its successes and failures you will be greatly motivated to get going on your own plan. You might be tempted to put down the book and get started but don’t! You won’t want to miss a single word. This is from Claire-
"If you or anyone you know is planning to reinvent your life in 2015, there's still time to order the paperback or download the ebook of Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention (without getting lost along the way), the #1 Amazon Bestseller in Women's Personal Growth! Here's the link
And mark your calendars for South County Hospital Healthcare System's Women's Wellness Day on September 19. I'll be giving the keynote, and I can't wait!"—Claire Cook, USA
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