Lilac & Ivy

If you’re anything like me, you use summer to catch up on reading. I’m always looking for recommendations and thought I’d share five of my favorite books. They’re books I could reread every few years, something I don’t do very often.

It was while reading The Bean Trees that I discovered Barbara Kingsolver’s gift for descriptions both physical and emotional. So as not to spoil the plot, the basics of it are that a woman, Taylor, finds herself caring for an orphan Indian child in Tucson, Arizona. There she discovers the wonders of motherhood, risk-taking, self-discovery and the crazy town of Tucson {a place 90 miles from where I grew up.} The book pulls at your heartstrings in a beautiful way and the scenery will make you think of the West in a completely different light.

This collection of columns, originally published in The Arizona Republic {where I also used to work as a writer!}, is downright hysterical. Following her daring exploits from teenager to adulthood, each story in The Idiot Girls’ Action Adventure Club will have you laughing and relating at the same time. Be warned: You’ll want to call your closest girlfriend and rehash your now comical teenage angst years in depth. Each story is short {3-4 pages} and it’s an easy read-perfect for taking on the road or to the beach.

The second I finished The Time Travelers Wife I wanted to begin rereading. This book follows Henry who has a disorder that makes him suddenly disappear without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. He marries his wife Clare and then minutes later finds himself transported and meeting her as a child, then again as an old woman after he’s passed. Don’t be worried, this book is only a small part science-fiction and large part wonderful, beautiful love story. It switches back and forth from Henry and Clare’s point of view as well as jumps in time, but, it’s actually really easy to read. It’s one of my top three books.

Part historical fact, part answers to a love mystery, Loving Frank, examines the life of famed archictect Frank Lloyd Wright and his longtime mistress Mamah Cheney. Their affair became the stuff of headlines when they left their families to live and travel together. But, this isn’t just a love story. Instead, it focuses extensively on Mamah and the restrictions she encounters due to being a woman in the early part of the 20th century. The author does a great job of recreating Frank’s overwhelming personality and the toll it had on everyone he loved.

Set during the Civil Rights era and all the racial tension it harbours, The Secret Life of Bees follows Lily and her African American nanny, Rosaleen, as they go on the run and end up in Tiburon, South Carolina. Searching for clues about Lily’s mother, this book is a beautiful coming of age story weaving a mystery with wonderful Southern charm.

So tell me, what are your recommendations?
Images: Amazon

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 6:35 am and is filed under Read. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.