Summer Reading List

I'm writing this list from the tailgate of the the summer reading bandwagon. It's just twelve books, so you should be able to keep up. While some are definitely "beach reads", you'll find no Patterson, Grisham, or Roberts here. What you will discover is a highly technical, rules-oriented reading list, designed to benefit, who else, me.

The rules are: for each month of the summer (that's 3, retards), I'm choosing one book for:

• Pleasure (comedies, memoirs of the humorous self-deprecating variety)
• To keep in touch with my Genre (Horror, Urban Fantasy)
• Exposure to the Literary ghetto (NY Times notables)
• Okra's Book Club (my response to that other O's choice)

What, what, what, what? Okra's Book Club, you say? Hell yes, and it's an idea that's been a long-time coming. At the end of each month, Okra and her dear friend (and not lover) Kale, will swing by to lead a spirited discussion about that month's selection.


Now, on with the list:

June
P Island of the Sequined Love Nun by Christopher Moore
G Dead Witch Walking (Rachel Morgan, Book 1) by Kim Harrison
L A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans
O Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

July
P Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster
G Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher
L The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
O The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

August
P There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble by Laurie Notaro
G The Scent of Shadows (Sign of the Zodiac, Book 1) by Vicki Pettersson
L The Effect of Living Backwards by Heidi Julavits
O Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

So that's the rundown. What do ya think? What's on your list? Might you join Okra? RSVPs gladly accepted.