Summer Reading List

New Books

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and Alison Anderson
Written by French novelist and professor of philosophy Muriel Barbery, the book centers on Renee Michel, a concierge for an upscale apartment building.  Michel is brilliant, but keeps his intelligence secret until it is discovered by the precocious, emotionally unstable daughter of a tenant, Paloma Josse.

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg
Uber-geek Simon Pegg's memoir about a British fanboy who grew up to live the dream.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
Rebellious librarian Lucy Hull begins by helping a young patron sneak books past his strict parents and ends up in a madcap caper to help him escape from their stranglehold.  As she helps Ian Drake strike out on his own, she must confront her own troubled past.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
At the tender age of nine, Rose Edelstein discovers she can taste the emotions of the person who prepared her food.  Through this strange, unexpected power she learns her family's deepest, darkest secrets.


The Mystery of Lewis Carroll by Jenny Woolf
A biography of the author of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (real name: Charles Dodgson) that promises to dispel the many strange rumors and myths that surround the eccentric writer.

The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God, & Other Stories by Etgar Keret
A book of unusual short stories, including "Kneller's Happy Campers", the source material for the independent film Wristcutters: A Love Story.

Rereads

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The classic story of tortured scholar Humbert Humbert's infatuation with his landlady's underage daughter, Lolita.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

The strange tale of the demise of the Lisbon girls, as told by the neighborhood boys reflecting on their past in adulthood. 

What are you reading this summer?