For as long as I can remember, reading has been one of my most favorite pastimes. If you ever spot me on a beach, I will undoubtedly have my nose buried in a book (and my stomach sucked in as best I can…) Heaven on earth for me is lying on a sandy beach around 5pm with family, friends, the setting sun and a good book. If you have any books you can recommend please send me a note at [email protected] or comment below.

I have held out hope that someday I would open a bookstore with my good friend and Greenwich resident Polly Hanson. If this dream ever comes to fruition, you all will be the first to know.  In the meantime, since we are in the high season of Summer Reads,  I thought I would share an abridged list of some of my favorite books. I say abridged because I have not included the classics or many of the top rated books of the last few years (unless they are my total favs) as I know there are more comprehensive lists than this one! So, in no particular order, some oldish and some new and hopefully a little something for everyone.

• Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
• Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
• Shogun by James Clavell (and all those that followed)
• The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 
• Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
• Into the Woods by Tana French
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
• The Charm School by Nelson DeMille
• Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• The Kitchen House: A Novel by Kathleen Grissom
• Carry On Warrior by Glennon Melton
• Rules Of Civility by Amor Towles
• A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Many Lives & Loves of Josephine B. by Carolly Erickson (and all those that followed)
• The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (your husband or significant other will thank you…)
• A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
• The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein
• 1812 by David Nevin
• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
• A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

 

Again, this list is in no way complete and many great reads aren’t on it.  If none of these float your boat, pick up To Kill a Mockingbird, Atlas Shrugged or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn they never disappoint no matter how many times you have read them.

Happy summer to you all!

Cheers!
Betsy