Memorial Day Weekend 2017 Reading Roundup

Memorial Day weekend is here (hooray!) and we’re stacking our to-read piles with these major media-recommended books:

Entertainment Weekly — Summer’s Must-Read Books

BOUNDLESS by Jillian Tamaki
Cartoonist Tamaki dazzles with her impressive range in this collection, marrying each short story to a different artistic style. Whether she’s writing and drawing about the pitfalls of technology or ruminating on nostalgia, her work is lush, vibrant, and packed with emotion.

LIFE IN CODE by Ellen Ullman
Ullman, a computer programmer since the ’70s, expands on the themes she covered in 1997’s CLOSE TO THE MACHINE with pieces about what it was like on the forefront of the tech revolution, being a woman in a male-donimated industry, and how the tech landscape has (and hasn’t) changed.

THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING by Grant Ginder
In Ginder’s glitzy beach read, things spiral out of control in the days leading up to a wedding as a charmingly dysfunctional family—brimming with oddball stepsiblings—does everything it can to sabotage the nuptials.

The New York Times — Summer Reading Recommendations, From Novelists Who Own Bookstores

Jonathan Lethem, author of A GAMBLER’S ANATOMY & owner of Red Gap Books, a used and rare bookstore in Blue Hill, ME recommends BROKEN RIVER by J. Robert Lennon
“It’s a tense, surprising thriller, with perverse overtones of the Coen brothers variety, but containing an enigmatic narrative device, a kind of ‘haunting of the point-of-view’ – one which proves, as ever, that the novel can do things nothing but the novel can do. I’m almost ready to reread it.”

Jeff Kinney, author of the bestselling “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series and owner of An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA recommends RADICAL CANDOR by Kim Scott (“Scott’s experiences leading teams at Google and Apple led to this book, which espouses a workplace culture where leaders care deeply about their employees and challenge them to be their best selves.”) and BORNE by Jeff VanderMeer (“The cover alone had me hooked. Is the protagonist a plant? An animal? Something in between?”).

Louise Erdrich, author of LAROSE & owner of Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, MN recommends THE SONG POET by Kao Kalia Yang
“The exquisite story of Kao Kalia Yang’s father, village life, war life, refugee life, then a St. Paul housing project; America’s secret war in Laos; and a people’s history as sung by Bee Yang and remembered in fascinating and poetic detail by his daughter.”

Buzzfeed’s “Thrillers You Will Devour This Summer”

IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND by Michele Campbell
Fans of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn meet your next obsession. Kate, Aubrey, and Jenny were inseparable in college. 20 years later, one of them is found dead. How did it come to this? Alternating between their college years and the present day, readers slowly come to realize that their friendship was anything but perfect. But can feelings that strong really lead to murder, or will everyone assume, as is often the case, that it’s always the husband? Only one way for you to find out…

THE BREAKDOWN by B. A. Paris
Ever since the night she saw the car in the woods and the woman who was killed, Cass has been a forgetful mess. From her pills to the alarm code, she can’t seem to remember anything. As the guilt eats away at her, Cass begins to receive strange silent calls. Is someone watching her? This chilling read will have you checking in the closet and under the bed for months.

GRIEF COTTAGE by Gail Godwin
In the mood for a ghost story? Look no further! After the death of his mother, 11-year-old Marcus is sent to live with his great aunt on a small South Carolina island. It’s there that he discovers “Grief Cottage,” named for the boy and his parents who disappeared from there years ago. While exploring the cottage, Marcus happens upon the ghost boy. Full of curiosity, Marcus begins to court the boy, but is this ghost friendly or following a more sinister agenda?