What I Read on My Summer Vacation
The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy by Jill MacLean
A great companion book to The Nine Lives of Travis Keating. And I hear there’s to be a third book about this community of kids living in a Newfoundland outport. Can’t wait.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
I don’t read a lot of mysteries, but this was the June choice for my Book Group. A British mystery by a Canadian writer, it has one of the brightest and funniest 11 year old female protagonists I’ve encountered. Who knew chemistry could be so much fun?
Frankie & Stankie by Barbara Trapido
About 2 girls growing up in South Africa in the 1950s, “as the shadows of apartheid lengthen”. Excerpted in an earlier blog post.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Less depressing than I thought this classic might be.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Yes, I’m one of the millions who have avidly turned the hundreds of pages of this book, the first in a trilogy.
It’s Me, Anna by Elbie Lotter, translated by Marianne Thamm
It took a while to get around to this novel, based on a true story of child abuse, purchased during a trip to South Africa last year. Tough stuff.
Sarah by Margueritte Harmon Bro
Recommended to me by Sharon Fitzhenry when I was working with her on a book earlier this year. (More on that book soon!)
The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller
A satisfying way to help miles on the road pass by.
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
A gripping novel for the road despite Joan Allen’s soporific reading voice.
Articles in the July/August 2010 issue of “Scientific American Mind”
A magazine my daughter kindly left behind at our cottage.
Also, numerous manuscripts, including those submitted for Reading Liberia, for our Nova Scotia writing workshop/retreat, and Brian Doyle‘s as yet unpublished memoir about his adventures and misadventures in education.
That’s just a sampling of the satisfying reads I’ve enjoyed this summer. Hope all my loyal blog readers have enjoyed some good reads too.
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Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best and the award-winning The Man with the Violin. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, non-fiction, young adult fiction, historical fiction, horror, biography, series books, and short stories. She has met with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. She lives in a small town in Ontario.
