Fun in the Sun: Nic’s 2013 Summer Reading List

Ah, summer… ’Tis the season of lazy, hazy days when sprawling poolside with a tall lemonade and a good book is the perfect pursuit. I don’t know about you, but when winter is in its death throes, I find myself building my summer to-be-read pile as eagerly as I plan my first pedicure paint color. Now, with Memorial Day in the rearview mirror, the summer season is upon us. So, without further ado, here are my top five picks for reading, Summer of 2013 style:

5. The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

“What?” you say. “Non-fiction in the summer? Nic, what happened to fun-in-the-sun reading?” But what could be more fun than the war-time tale of a secret city in the mountains, populated exclusively by women, hired to work in a mysterious complex of factories and labs without any idea of how their jobs relate to the jobs of their colleagues? Well, the entire tale is true. We’ve all heard of Rosie the Riveter, but the ladies of Atomic City, hidden deep in the American countryside, were building bomb parts and no one knew it—until now. So this summer, I’m going to celebrate the untold achievements of the women who came before me by reading all about their hush-hush role in winning my freedom and yours.

4. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

I’m an enthusiastic Chandler fan, but somehow, I’ve never read this winner of the 1955 Edgar® for Best Novel. Many, including Chandler himself, have said this novel is his best work. Others say it’s his worst. So, I realized, I should decide for myself. After all, Chandler’s work is foundational to my own. If we’re writers, we’re following in the footsteps of others who’ve paved the way. Why not read the work of an author who blazed the trail you follow? For me, that’s Chandler and his Edgar®-winning work.

3. The Other Woman by Hank Phillippi Ryan

I first met Hank Phillippi Ryan at a champagne reception in San Francisco. My first manuscript was up for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® while her debut novel was on the short list for the Golden Heart’s® big sister, the RITA®. She probably wouldn’t remember me among the nervous writers who clutched a champagne flute that day, but I certainly remember her first novel. This year, it came as no surprise to hear her latest book won the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark Award. This summer, I plan to enjoy Hank’s latest novel as much as I enjoyed her RITA®-nominee.

 

2. The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
Summer is the perfect time to find a new love and that’s why I’ve got my eye on this debut novel from doctoral student, Suzanne Rindell. Kirkus is calling it a cross between a Hitchcock film and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous work. So if you’ve got a crush on Jay Gatsby, and if you want to flirt with a fresh mystery about a Flapper-era police stenographer caught in the middle of a murder case, make a date with this book.

1. London Falling by Paul Cornell
A veteran of the writing team that brought us the return of Dr. Who, Paul Cornell says he faced a genre identity crisis when it came to writing this book. And which of us writers can’t relate? Cornell believes Urban Fantasy—and maybe some Paranormal Romance—is rapidly becoming the new Horror. As a result, London Falling straddles genres. But with its new take on two cops combating evil on London’s dark streets, I can’t wait to get my hands on it, no matter how the booksellers decide to shelve it.

Now you know what I’ll be reading this summer. When you visit the pool, if you see a woman with There’s Something About Cherry on her toes and one of these books in her hand, that’ll be me. Feel free to stop by and say hi. In the meantime, tell the Rockville 8. What’s on your summer reading list?

Forever Young

“Getting old,” my 83 year-old neighbor once assured me, “is hell.”

Though I’m less than half her age, I’m beginning to see her point. A click in the knee after too many stairs, a crick in the back after a morning of gardening . . . All these things are catching up with me. Are they catching up with you, too?

The way I figure it, everybody gets old and nobody likes it. Sure, with age comes wisdom, but wisdom can be hard to spot when you look in the mirror or have to tote the laundry down to the basement. And it doesn’t matter how many years you actually have on you. At the relatively young age of twenty-six, weren’t you already complaining how you couldn’t eat a plate of Grandma’s pasta without going to the gym the next day?

If my father-in-law describes himself as old, that description might be accurate. A career military man who signed up for service before World War II, he’s in his nineties, now. And life is taking its toll. We go to visit him often and when we do, we take him out for ice cream, or to count ducks from his deck. We also be sure to play lots of Big Band music when we’re gathered in the living room. After all, Big Band was the soundtrack of his youth.

Recently, while Jo Stafford’s lilting voice sang about love and happiness over soaring strings and peppy horns, I turned to my father-in-law. I said, “I heard that soldiers, airmen, and sailors loved Jo Stafford’s songs so much, you boys called her GI Jo. Is that true?”

Like Atlas, he shrugged and I could see all the cares of old age weighing on his shoulders. “I guess.”

“Did you like her?”

When I asked that question, an amazing thing happened. My father-in-law’s spine straightened. His eye brightened. Again, he said, “I guess.”

But this time, he let loose with a twenty-year-old’s mischievous chuckle—and in that moment, he was young again.

Many things can put us in touch with our younger selves. Particular music, certain movies, and of course our favorite books can turn back time in a heartbeat. But I think the bottom line here is that our younger selves haven’t left us. We’re still young in our hearts and minds no matter how much we age. And if we want to feel young again, maybe all we need to do is remember that—and listen to a little Jo Stafford.

Now it’s your turn to tell the Rockville 8. No matter your age, what makes you feel young again?