If you’re looking for a good book to read while sprawled out on the grass this summer, perhaps a book with a bit more gravitas than the usual summer fare, pick up The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. The almost haunting cover image of a one-room schoolhouse is what drew me to it, and while the saying goes “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” it turns out that this story is centered around that schoolhouse, and the people whose lives revolve around it.

The basic plot involves the Milliron boys: Paul, the wise beyond his years narrator; Damon, the rebellious middle child; and Toby, the young boy who wants to explore everything around him. They have recently suffered a terrible loss in the death of their mother, and still suffer daily as they eat what their struggling-yet-determined father calls “cooking.”

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The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud

When I first put down this novel, I felt used. While the plot moves quickly and quietly, the novel is definitely character-driven. I had invested time and emotion in getting to know these characters. Yet, I felt nothing but disgust for them, perhaps a little pity. What a waste. But wait! I changed my mind.

All three of the main characters are just over thirty, well-educated, entitled, and failing at life. There’s Marina, living at home with her parents, working—or rather, thinking—endlessly on a book she’d already promised a publisher. Danielle, Marina’s best friend, as a documentary filmmaker, chooses subjects based on how they may affect her love life. Julius, a reviewer for the Village Voice attempts to fool people into thinking he is as rich in money as he is in influence. The friends have a sense that they deserve more but don’t seem willing to do much for it, as if great geniuses should never have to support themselves with lowly jobs and as if they are the only people that ever felt that way. Read more…

At first, Persepolis looks like your run of the mill graphic novel. Let me tell you, it definitely is not. Marjane Satrapi does a wonderful job documenting what her life was like growing up. I began reading it and quickly couldn’t stop. It sucks you in and Satrapi has created a book full of wonderful illustrations and interesting commentary.

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With TV shows that recommend extreme cosmetic surgery for those who are struggling with their looks and our nation’s obsession with whether or not Janet Jackson gained a few pounds this week, The Flawless Skin of Ugly People could not have come at a better time.

The quirky novel, by Doug Crandell, tells the story of Hobbie, a man suffering from severe acne, whose life is defined by his looks. He secludes himself in the North Georgia Mountains while his obese girlfriend suffers a similarly depressing existence. When she suddenly disappears during a stay at a weight-loss clinic, Hobbie’s life is turned upside-down.

Crandell’s story is sure to touch anyone who’s ever felt ugly at one time or another. (And is there anyone who hasn’t?) It questions the true meaning of beauty and our tendency to equate self worth with the way someone looks. The book explores these challenging topics while still remaining really easy to read. Read more…

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon

In 2002, Michael Chabon, fresh off the huge success of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, his dynamite novel about superheroes, Nazis, and how to draw a comic book punch so good it leaves your jaw sore, announced that he was bored. Bored with contemporary fiction. Bored with the way the literary establishment views certain kinds of fiction—adventure stories, ghost stories, detective stories, and pretty much everything else with an exciting plot—as being trashy and beneath the notice of serious readers. Somebody ought to do something about this, he said. Somebody ought to show everyone that you can write serious fiction that is also exciting, fiction that has something to say but also has a great story to tell. Read more…