Technically I've already got my summer reading planned out (well, sort of anyway), but I'm always open to distractions. I don't seem to have many sources (paper sources that is) these days to find forthcoming, soon-to-be-published books, but I did come across a magazine at work from one of our vendors that has given an early Summer preview. I found a few titles that I'll be keeping an eye out for.
When You are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris - I've never read anything by Sedaris, but I've heard he's very funny. I could use some humor in my life. This is a new collection of NF stories. Isn't the title great?
Stealing Athena, Karen Essex - "The Elgin Marbles have been displayed in the British Museum for nearly two hundred years, and for just as long they have been the center of a raging controversy. In Stealing Athena, Karen Essex chronicles the Marbles’ amazing journey through the dynamic narratives of Mary Nisbet, wife of the Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to Constantinople, and Aspasia, the mistress of Perikles, the most powerful man in Athens during that city’s Golden Age."
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - I first read about this book here, and was pleased to see it's being published in the US as well! Why does the title make me think of Southern (US) literature? It's actually set in 1946 Britain.
My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike, Joyce Carol Oates - Since reading one of her short stories not too long ago, I've been wanting to read some of Oates's fiction. This novel is based on the true story of an unsolved murder.
The Sand Castle, Rita Mae Brown - "Feisty Southern sisters Juts and Wheezy, of bestselling author Brown's Six of One trilogy, are back and as irascible as ever. The story unfolds in a single summer day in 1952, when the two make a day-trip to the beach accompanied by Jut's seven-year-old daughter, Nickel, and Wheezie's grandson, eight-year-old Leroy, whose mother has recently died".
The Creator's Map, Emilio Calderon - "Unable to set aside painful memories of the Spanish Civil War when they learn of the murder of an old acquaintance, Jose Maria and his wife, Montse, remember the early days of their romance during their incarceration at the Spanish Academy in Rome and their unwitting involvement in an underground Nazi effort to acquire a mystical artifact for the Fuhrer." This is translated from Spanish.
Settlement, Christophe Hein - "Provincial Guldenberg is still reeling from World War II when a flood of German refugees arrives from the east, Bernhard Haber’s family among them. Life is hard enough—Bernhard’s father has lost an arm and his carpenter’s income. But added to this injury comes an accumulation of insults, as the upright town turns hostile toward the newcomers. After a string of mysterious losses—from the killing of the boy’s dog to the unexplained death of his father—Bernhard is set on extracting revenge. Rich with psychological insight, Christoph Hein’s acclaimed novel tells Bernhard’s story across nearly fifty years, chronicling his remarkable rise from victimized outsider to Guldenberg’s most prominent burgher." And this is translated from German.
Losing Ground, Catherine Aird - This is a detective series that is new to me, but the premise of the mystery caught my eye--two detectives are called in to investigate the theft of a valuable painting from an old manor house just before the estate goes up in flames. During their search for the thief they discover a "grisly pile of bones". Nothing like a grisly pile of bones to capture a reader's interest, eh?!
A Royal Pain, Rhys Bowen - I've not yet read her first mystery Her Royal Spyness (I'm waiting for the paperback, which is out in July), but I've noted her next in the series. They look like fluffy fun.
What am I missing? It seems like with Summer not too far off that there should be loads of new books being published. There always seems to be one or two 'big' books that are much talked about, but I've yet to hear about what it is this year. Of course just reading blogs tends to keep my wishlist nice and long these days.