The Summer Reading List, reviewed
Last week former President Obama published his summer reading list. This is an event many indie booksellers look forward to — not just because the list always means a surge in sales, (although that is nice) — but because they find the list, well, interesting. This is a group of people who are unapologetically nosy about what other people are reading, so much so they have turned it into a career. “What are you reading?” is a phrase that comes second only to “You’ve got to read this!”
What do they think about the books on Obama’s summer reading list? Read for yourself:
Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen
“In the stories of Land of Big Numbers, change makes its presence known in slow-healing wounds, funny and awkward adjustments, subtle joys, and plain yet devastating loss. Te-Ping Chen portrays contemporary China with a balance of affection and blunt candor.” – Cat Chapman from Oxford Exchange in Tampa, FL | Buy from Oxford Exchange
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
“This book will make an incredible addition to the Katrina literature canon. Nguyen shines a spotlight on the strength and depth of Vietnamese immigrants, a New Orleans community that’s rarely given enough credit or context for their contribution to this city. ” -Caroline Bergeron from Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, LA | Buy from Garden District Book Shop
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
“Terrifying, eerie and dripping with suspense, Leave The World Behind haunts me. Trust me, this novel is begging to be discussed. All I can say here is: Flamingos? And teeth?! Rumaan Alam leaves his reader with more questions than answers (about ourselves, race, class, our culture, life) and I am here for it. This one is a genre bender – definitely literary fiction, but also science fiction and mystery/thriller.” – Jessica Nock from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
“Georgia in the days immediately following the Emancipation Proclamation, Harris’ characters display the best and the worst responses to the new order. Brutal yet hopeful, this one’s a slow burn until you realize you’re so caught up in the story you can’t possibly stop reading.” -Jamie Fiocco from Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Flyleaf Books
More bookseller reviews at SBR:
Read This Now | Read This Next | The Bookseller Directory
In this issue:
Bookseller Buzz: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Reviews of A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam, After the Ink Dries by Cassie Gustafson, Books Promiscuously Read by Heather Cass White, City Problems by Steve Gobler, Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom by Sangu Mandanna, The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix