Summer is Here!

As today is Memorial Day and it is typically considered the start of summer by many people, I figured I would throw up a quick and dirty summer reading post - be it beach reading or some high brow lit, summer is as good of time as any to get some reading done. What I am looking forward to? What is scheduled to be released that looks good? Here are my picks, what I am looking forward to, and an observation or two for some summer reading...

OK, first up, the book you should take to the beach with you - Flipping Out by Marshall Karp. In my review I am pretty sure I told everyone to read it, but now that you are heading for a weekend of sand and relaxation, I believe this is the best new book out I can recommend for such purposes (but if you hate the beach, as I do, give it a shot anyhow). Other possibilities include (books I have not read, but seem to fit the bill) James Petterson’s Swimsuit, The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly, The Devil’s Punchbowl by Greg Iles.

In need of a comic book instead? If you have not tried Fables yet, you need to so. As I patiently wait for Volume 12 to be released, you can buy yourself Volume 1: Legends in Exile and start from the beginning, but prepare to be hooked! Besides that I highly recommend DMZ by Brian Woods and Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (pick up the big ass compendium edition to get a whole lot of story in one place). Both series are highly addicting and readable.

What book coming out this summer am I looking forward to most? That’s an easy one - Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. I am a total geek for Pynchon and this book looks to be more accessible than some of his work. I will most likely buy this book the instant it is released and then sit it on my nightstand for a couple weeks trying to psyche myself up to be baffled, stimulated, confused, inspired, and entertained.

How about some summertime Speculative Fiction? I know I will be reading plenty within the genre this summer... I am currently reading The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick. Other books that are catching my eye for this summer - Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, The City & The City by China Mieville, The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson, and The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

And to end on a light note - what am I NOT looking forward to? The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown... I read Brown’s Angels & Demons, and to be quite honest, I didn’t enjoy it (even though the subject matter was fascinating). Seriously, I hope it pulls people into the bookstores and is good for the industry, but I always have trouble understanding how certain books become a phenomenon and other much more worthy books and writers get missed and thrown to the remainder rack... oh well, it's summertime! Get outside, enjoy the weather, and read some books!

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