nut free nerd

I love planning my summer reading. It reminds me of summers spent in and out of my local public library with their summer reading program, eagerly filling out book bingo or tracking the number of pages I read to get a little trinket.

My library’s reading program would always have a theme–like the ocean, outer space, the safari, etc. This summer I’d like to challenge myself to read more of the books that I own physically. I have a bad habit of buying books that I’m really excited to read and then saving them for… what exactly?

Here are some of the books that I’m hoping to read this summer.

The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal and Silvester Mazzarella. To me, summer is synonymous with reading Tove Jansson. I adore her novel The Summer Book and have reread it nearly every summer for the past several years. This summer I’d like to dive into some of her short stories. NYRB, which publishes this collection, says that this is the “first extensive selection of Jansson’s stories to appear in English.” (here) There is something so nostalgic and lovely about Jansson’s writing that feels perfect for warm summer evenings and cool(er) summer mornings. I can’t wait to read this collection.

Moomin Adventures: Book Two by Tove Jansson & Lars Jansson. Again, more by Tove Jansson. I read the first volume of Moomin Adventures several months ago and it was such a calming, funny, comforting read. Summer can sometimes feel very busy and even a bit overwhelming at times, so I think this will be a great one to curl up with before bed.

House of Fury by Evelio Rosero, translated by Victor Meadowcroft. I picked this one up on a total whim when I was browsing in a bookstore recently, but the synopsis on the back of the book totally had me hooked. This book takes place on a single evening in 1970 in Bogotá and is supposed to be haunting, poetic, and even a bit fantastical. This is quite different from my other summer hopefuls, but I think this could be a great page-turner to bring along while doing some traveling.

The Feast by Margaret Kennedy. First published in 1950, The Feast is described as “A hilarious and ingenious upstairs-downstairs tragicomedy from postwar England, set at a doomed seaside resort.” (here) This book was recommended to me by a friend, so I knew I had to give it a go this summer.

What are you hoping to read this summer? Have you read any of the books that I’ve mentioned here? I’d love to know.

Take care xx