Here’s the book I mentioned and a few other novels set in NYC that I absolutely adored. And if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them, based in NYC or otherwise.

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

And here’s the rest of my (pretty optimistic) summer reading book pile:

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I’m reading The Grapes of Wrath right now. Somehow I missed that one in high school and figured now was a good a time as any. Actually, there are quite a few classics that I missed in ye’ olde formative years. So I’ve decided to add some of those to my reading list. To help me decide, I’ll refer to this list NPR put together of the best 100 novels of the last 100 years. I love a good list, don’t you? Here’s the top 25:

1. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
2. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
5. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
6. The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
7. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
8. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
9. Humboldt’s Gift, Saul Bellow
10. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
11. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
12. U.S.A. Trilogy, John Dos Passos
13. The Untouchable, John Banville
14. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
15. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike
16. All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren
17. American Pastoral, Philip Roth
18. Beloved, Toni Morrison
19. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
20. Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham
21. Light in August, William Faulkner
22. My Antonia, Willa Cather
23. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
24. A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines
25. Rabbit, Run, John Updike

I’m sad to say I’ve only read three of the top 25 (four, once I finish Steinbeck. Which will be in about 4 months as it is super long!) How’d y’all do? And what is your favorite classic novel?

First of all, magazines are crucial beach or poolside reading. And after the fall of so many greats recently (Cottage Living, Blueprint, Domino), it’s extra exciting and fun to stumble across new ones.

But we shouldn’t forget the old standbys..

And sometimes you just want some brain candy…

But nothing is better than a good book. Here’s what’s on my nightstand waiting patiently to be read.

What are you going to read this summer?

These are the last four books I read. Here they are, patiently waiting to find a new home. They were all great but I loved Beach Music the most. An epic tale that spanned generations and was set in my favorite region (and where I am from) the south. It’s excellent and would make a terrific beach read (and not just because it has the word “beach” in the title). I can’t wait to attack my next Pat Conroy delight this summer. But for now, I’m reading To Kill a Mockingbird again. It’s like hanging out with an old friend who you haven’t seen in awhile and then you are instantly reminded how much you like them. I’m trying to ready myself for this nifty event in honor of the book’s 50th Anniversary. It is truly a masterpiece and if you haven’t done so recently, you should re-read it soon. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

Beach Music: A Novel

P.S. Also don’t forget to enter the City Light Photography giveaway! I’ll choose one lucky winner tomorrow night.

P.P.S. Losties, what did you think of last night’s episode?! I’m still reeling.

p.s. sorry for the ridiculous load times if you want to try to watch them directly from Trailer Addict go here and here.

p.p.s. also if you haven’t read either of these you should do so ASAP – they’re really pretty fantastic.
The Lovely Bones: Deluxe Edition
The Road (Movie Tie-in Edition 2008 of the 2006 publication)

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

A heartbreaking memoir of a girl who grew up with the craziest parents ever. This story is a testament to how resilient kids can be, because there are some pretty horrible moments. But she writes about her upbringing beautifully and she is never asking for pity. Her story is one you will not believe.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

A college freshman tells the insane story of her senior year in a new town with her ecclectic and scholarly father. It is a commitment of sorts at 528 frickin’ pages and to be fair the beginning is a bit slow. But once you’re into it, you will find yourself way into it. I was deeply depressed to see it end. (Also – bonus point for a lovely book cover).

Water for Elephants: A Novel

A wild, wonderful tale of a young man whose parents die tragically during the Great Depression. With no money to continue to pay for veterinary school, he joins a traveling circus to work with the animals. It’s a romantic page tuner, and one of the coolest most original stories I’ve ever read.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel

Oh man, this is a good one. A smart and unique 9 year old whose father dies in the World Trade Center collapse. His father leaves behind a mysterious key and the young boy goes on a quest all over New York City to find the lock that the key will fit. It’s heart wrenching and tragic but also funny and beautiful. You will absolutely fall in love with the little boy.

The Dive From Clausen’s Pier: A Novel

At a Memorial Day picnic, Carrie’s fiance dives into shallow water and paralyzes himself. Carrie, who was not happy in the relationship leading up the accident, now must figure out how to find happiness. She feels pressure to remain by her fiance’s side but she also long to leave her hometown and strike out on her own. The characters are complex and I found the story to be incredibly relatable.

The Road (Oprah’s Book Club)

While it is a haunting, dark and vivid portrayal of a post-apocalyptic world, it is also an enduring story of a father’s love for his son. It is frightening and powerful, the kind of book you stay up reading until 3am. Reading this was an incredibly intense experience for me.  The characters, the story, the imagery and the writing style all stayed with me for a long time. You have to read this!