Daunt Books Marylebone High Street
Those who don’t read books are currently page-turning into the night. And, I can see how that is a good thing. The shocking yet thrilling 2012 best seller (let alone trilogy) 50 Shades of Grey has brought about a reading revolution. I have read it and, while I can see what the fuss is about, I do not feel the urge to finish the trilogy by the pool this summer.
However, while influenced by the 50 Shades reading addiction, I thought I would share with you three less shocking yet highly enjoyable novels as alternative summer reading material.
The Weekend (Peter Cameron)
I bought this book in Chicago back in 1996 when Little Brother was living there. The upstate New York tale of three friends who are brought together as they mourn a dear friend is brilliantly written and full of tension. It is out-of-print over here in the UK but Amazon fixes that.
Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog (Jamie Ivey)
An utterly delightful relocation book written by an old school friend’s banker-turned-novelist husband. I was up half the night catching up on their adventures as they have made the most idyllic life for themselves in Provence. Now I’m obsessed with dogs, truffles and seeing my old friend again.
And, finally, taking a trip to my ‘friends’ at Daunt Books (Amazon only fits a certain need), I asked Adam there for his recommendation in this battle against 50 Shades blog post.
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (Jonas Jonasson) is set to be the next bestseller. Without spoiling the story, Allan Karlsson is reaching the ripe old age and wants to avoid his party. If this book is half as good as I have heard, it will become the real publishing success story of the year. And at least it’s well written.
