Get a cup of whatever you enjoy drinking, a pencil and piece of paper (or whatever you use to keep track of things you want to remember), and be prepared to make a list of at least three or four books for the summer, and beyond.

Free to print out this post and also to pass it on to others.

Here it is – a list of 100+ books that 42 MillersTime readers have enjoyed over the last few months.

I’ve put a star (* ) after the titles of books that have been mentioned more than once.

Many thanx to all of you who sent in titles, comments, etc.

Finally, I’ll do this again at the end of the year. So if you’re memory is as bad as mine, it might be worthwhile to keep a list of what you’re enjoying the most from now until the end of 2011.

    The “Summer List

1. Micah Sifry:

Matterhorn * by Karl Malantes – fantastic, gripping Vietnam war novel

2. Dave Stang:

These are classics:

Plotinus, The Enneads, J. Dillon, ed.,New York 1991;

Erasmus, The Praise of Folly, tr. by Hoyt Hudson, Princeton,1941;

Bacon, Novum Orgnum, tr. by Perer Urbach, Chicago, 1994.

These are some of the most stimulating books I have encountered in a course I am taking entitled, Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition.

Res Ipsa Loquitur.

3. Richard Miller:

To The End of the Land by David Grossman (too much to try to summarize in a sentence or two but one of the best books I read last year) -- (6/1/11 - Note:  Neither my wife  Ellen nor my daughter  Elizabeth liked this book, and, in fact, they both quit reading it part way through!)

The Invisible Bridge * by Julie Orringer (terrific characters and story set in Hungary largely during WWII - a different kind look about that time period)

Washington, A Life * by Ron Chernow (not the guy you learned about in elementary school - book won 2011 Pulitzer recently)

Fifty-nine in ’84” Old Hoss Radbourne, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had by Edward Achorn (great book to read in the off season and/or when your team ain’t doing so hot)

4. Max Shapira:

The Jewish Confederates by Robert N. Rosen. While rather tome like, (it) is quite interesting, particularly in this 150th year anniversary of the start of The War Between the States.

5. Ellen Kessler:

Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine. Entertaining story about the lifestyle changes for the mother and her two adult daughters resulting from a divorce, with a poignant ending. A bit contrived (as a divorce lawyer, I know it is not realistic) but entertaining.

Also just read Great Expectations with my 16 year-old grandson who is reading it for school. I had never read it, but it was a pleasure for me (although my grandson was less enthusiastic!).  Dickens is really entertaining and some believe GE is his best work.  (The Associate Editor of Time wrote the forward for the Barnes and Noble edition).  If you want a different universe and a good story, GE is it.

6. Kate Latts:

The Invisible Bridge * by Julie Orringer. Just read it and really enjoyed it. It takes place in Europe, mostly Hungary during WWII. Having just been in Hungary, you and Aunt Ellen would enjoy it, I think.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. LOVED it.

7. Bill Plitt:

I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish

The author is a Palestinian physician who lost his three daughters an," January 16th 2009. His story is powerful "as a man who despite his own losses continues his belief in humanity and it's potential for human good."  I heard him speak along with several friends this past winter at the 6th and "I" Synagogue and was caught up in the recounting of his life's journey which is much broader but inclusive of the tragic moments which unfurled that dark day. I found his strong drive to become a physician as a little boy in Gaza under extreme circumstances, a story of hope and reconciliation.

The Monks of Tibhirine by John W. Kiser. Is an account of events leading up to the murder of seven Trappist Monks of the Notre-Dame de l'Atlas in Tibhirine, Algeria, in 1996.  While their deaths were tragic in some ways, their lives were not lost completely in vain, in my opinion, as the story reveals a wonderful relationship between the Monks and their Muslim village community. This portrayal of humanity at its finest has a particular relevant message for us given the present tensions in that part of the world.

The book served as the foundation for the current movie "Of God and Men," and its author, John Kiser, lives in Virginia.  If you see the movie, which is only the last chapter of the story, and found the portrayal riveting as I did, you must read the book to learn of earlier experiences of the Monks and the people of the village that came to know them.

8. Eric Lantzman:

Life, Inc by Douglas Rushkoff.  It is a lot of liberalism, just so everyone is warned.  I am concerned I would offend your conservative friends and family. (wink, wink)

9. Ellen Miller:

The Invisible Bridge * by Julie Ottinger

India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking * by Anand Giridharadas

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

Matterhorn * by Karl Malantes

10. Leslie Lieman-Sifry:

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand * by Helen Simonson

Audio book/CD, Read by Peter Altschuler. A bloody delightful theatrical experience! Not a word wasted. Absolutely enjoyed.  Issues of race, class, age and religion are tackled (with wit) when an English Major, of old-world decorum and class, and a Pakistani woman with a Muslim family meet.

The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer

Although Richard recommended this a while back, especially to men over 30, I must add a recommendation for all.  As a woman way over 30, I enjoyed J.R. Moehringer’s writing and attention to detail (both physical and emotional).  A revealing memoir of a hard knocks life on the north shore of Long Island, NY.  Perhaps I was drawn to the love he expresses for his mother :)

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls

Speaking of a hard knocks life, meet Jeannette Walls's grandmother who was born in Texas, 1901.  Given the lives we often take for granted in 2011, Wall’s portrait of her true-grit, resourceful, hard-working grandmother reminded me of what women like her carved out for the rest of us.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Audio book/CD. Various readers. The entire book is written as letters to/from the main character, Juliet Ashton, a writer, to/from a number of people in London and the island of Guernsey just after WWII.  Wonderful development of different voices/characters in the audio book, but probably a great read as well.

11. Judy White:

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.  Master storyteller & builder of suspense.

God Never Blinks by Regina Brett.  Essays lightly written with good advice for living.  Both Mike & I enjoyed it.

The Shelter of Each Other and Seeking Peace by Mary Pipher.  I love anything by her, and these are no exception.

Peace Meal by Anna Badkhen.  Stories by an intrepid war correspondent from the trenches of the worst current conflicts.  Different from most war reporting because she gets to know women and families and shares meals with them even during the worst of times.  Includes recipes.  Highly recommended.

Test Ride on the Sunnyland Bus by Ana Maria Spagna.  A sleeper, awarded prize for best nonfiction creative writing by our local literary magazine.  Those who remember the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s will especially enjoy it.  Mike and I took turns reading it to each other while traveling through the deep South.  Three interlocking themes, one being the author's search for the truth about her deceased father's part in desegregating the Tallahassee public buses.

Little Princes by Conor Grennan.   Wonderful book about his work to reunite trafficked Nepalese "orphans" with their families.  Reminiscent of Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, but Grennan is more humble and a better writer.  Incredible story.

12. Mary Lincer:

I don’t recommend . . . what I've been reading lately.  1984 with the seniors and Animal Farm with the 9th grade.  These books get WORSE every time one re-reads them because the world gets worse.

13. Laurie Kleinberg:

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann- great fiction set against the true event of a man walking a wire between the world trade towers. (Another reader recommended I think in your last list)

The Passages of H.M. by Jay Parini - a  mostly fictional and very clever account of the life experiences that produced Moby Dick and other Melville tales.

14.  Todd Endo:

In the previous listing, I noticed that three people selected The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet as a book to read.  In addition, our daughter-in-law's mother wrote us for a comment on the times of Japanese removal in 1942 from Seattle and the entire west coast.  So, I wanted to read the book.

It was a page turner and quite interesting.  Paula and I had been in

the restored hotel, talked the staff person about its history as a

Japanese immigrant men's hostel and its place as storage for families

removed from Seattle, viewed the historical photos displayed on the

walls, and ate in the tea shop.

What I liked most about the book was the interaction among three

generations of Chinese men, each of whom lived in a different world

and had difficulty communicating with one another.  I reflected on my grandfather (the immigrant), my father (the adult faced with moving

his family from California to an unknown future), and me.  We, too,

lived in different worlds and had difficulty really understanding the

world of the other.

I wondered if a woman author would write similarly about three

generations of Chinese women.  But, I guess Amy Tan touched upon these issues.

I don't have sure fire winners for the spring book list, but look

forward to seeing what other people found interesting

15. Karen Begleiter:

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.

16.  Sal Giambanco:

Best Books from last six months:

Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of theWay to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit Banerjee, MIT- J-PAL.

The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt

Room * by Emma Donoghue

Freedom * by Jonathan Franzen

The Anatomy of Peace, The Arbinger Institute

Ethics for the New Millenium by Dalai Lama, (a re-read of a great book)

India Calling * by Anand Giridharadas

17. Donna Pollet:

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan 

Already included in the 2010 list but it was a standout for me, about the south during the 1940s, exploring the complexities of race, love, character and redemption.

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nun

For those who enjoy crime fiction, this is an intriguing murder mystery and debut novel, set in 1952 South Africa. A compelling and troubled police detective, Emmanuel Cooper, investigates the murder of an Afrikaner police captain in a small community rife with personal secrets and byzantine relationships, reflecting the politics, culture and history of a racially divided society.

Let the Dead Lie by Malla Nun

A sequel to A Beautiful Place to Die set in South Africa in 1953. Another suspenseful and complicated case which not only reflects the politics of South Africa but the international, cold war era of the 1950s.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

This is the most recent Newberry Award winner for grades 5-8. Written from several vantage points, this historical novel goes back and forth in time from the 1930s and WWI. It has all the elements of a good story told with humor and sadness including a coming of age character, odd-ball characters, mystery and an ending that pulls it all together.

Room * by Emma Donoghue

Not sure this is a favorite, but would like to hear what others have to say about this original and profoundly disturbing premise of a young woman who is kidnapped and repeatedly sexually abused, raising her son in an 11 x 11 shed and the ensuing consequences of captivity and freedom. All told through the voice of the five year old narrator. It clearly made an impression (on me).

18. Elizabeth Miller:

(so far)

The Surrendered by Chang-rae Lee

Fiction. Nominated for Pulitzer for Best Fiction this year (didn't win). Great fiction story dealing with the human anguish of war. Focuses mainly on the stories of three individuals: June, a Korean orphan, who comes into contact with Sylvie, a missionary's wife at an orphanage, and Hector, a US Soldier who stays in Korea after the war. Plot focuses on the years of the war itself and also the decades after. Long read but worth it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks * by Rebecca Skloot

Non-fiction. Publisher's Weekly's review: Starred Review: Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about faith, science, journalism, and grace. It is also a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women—Skloot and Deborah Lacks—sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah's mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells. Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line—known as HeLa. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta's death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children. Skloot's portraits of Deborah, her father and brothers are so vibrant and immediate they recall Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family. Writing in plain, clear prose, Skloot avoids melodrama and makes no judgments. Letting people and events speak for themselves, Skloot tells a rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society's most vulnerable people. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Down River by John Hart

Fiction. Must read for any John Hart fan. Great mystery novel dealing with issues around family, wealth, and loyalty.

In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Fiction. Follows Detective Simon Zieleplace trying to solve a murder in the early 1900s in New York City. Won the Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel Competition last year.

19.  Kathy Camicia:

Two non-fiction books to recommend:

Just Kids by Patti Smith

For anyone who grew up in the sixties you will recognize many touchstones of music, art, personalities and events.  It made me weep at the end.

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

Jonah Lehrer is similar to Malcolm Gladwell in terms of assimilating

research and information to produce interesting material.  This book focuses on neuroscience made easy for us non-professionals.  It could settle many arguments for you.

20. Elliot Trommald:

Just discovered a wonderful read by a good writer named Daniel Silva. He has been around since the 90s, but I had not read him. Last month I finished The Rembrandt Affair (2010), and was introduced to Gabriel Allon, a deeper character than Lee Child's Jack Reacher. And Silva writes better than Child. So far this month I have read 3 more of Silva's works -- anyone who likes this genre will not be disappointed. Allon is a retired Israeli agent, who is an artist and restorer of the paintings of masters, but keeps getting called back into service for "one last mission" by Ari Shamron, a character as fascinating as Allon -- all in the name of preserving Israel from those who would destroy it. Silva has trouble ending his books, but the first 90% of each I have found captivating, intriguing, and often thoughtful.

His first book, The Unlikely Spy (1995), does not know Gabriel Allon but is an excellent World War II spy thriller. Allon and the Arab Israeli setting begins (I think) with the Kill Artist (1998) -- at least that's where I first encountered Allon. I'm off to buy The English Assassin and The Confessor, sequels to The Kill Artist.

We have 4 years to think about the Civil War. I am half way through David Goldfield's America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation (2011). While I don't agree with a number of his interpretations, I have found them challenging. Religion, Lincoln, and violence (painfully graphic) play major roles in creating the new nation. Goldfield does not think the war inevitable, compromise just might have worked if Lincoln had gone along with it. I can't help but wonder if concerns today have done a number on Goldfield. Still, I like the book and have been pushed to reconsider some of what I have come to believe. 

As we head into the election, I am glad I decided to pick up Joseph Ellis's American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic (2007). I am enjoying it as I read Goldfield. If I had my way I would insist every one bitten by the Tea Party bug read it and be required to give a critical response. Without strong federal government and a patient approach to inflammatory issues, we would not exist. Read this book, and maybe all of us might have more understanding of the challenges of politics and a little more respect for politicians. The paranoid style existed and influenced the shaping of the republic then, just as it does now. Ellis makes our early struggles more human and hopefully us more humble; by concentrating on our first 50 years, he helps us to see today in the context of where we have been. Good history is an antidote to sounding like some of the Bubbleheads around us. And it is making my differences with Obama more tolerable.

21. Jolie Kessler, age 4+:

The Pinkalicious series, Purplicious and Tangled are recent faves.

22.  Stephanie Limb:

Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin - my guilty pleasure

Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

23. Samantha Youngclaus, age 10:

Enjoyed the mysterious Benedict Society Triology.

24. Ellen Shapira:

Room * by Emma Donoghue

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks * by Rebecca Skloot

25. Kathleen Kroos:

Saving Cee Cee Honeycut by Beth Hoffman, a little southern gem and fast read. 

For the summer I am reading Cutting for Stone * by Abraham Verchese.

26.  Cindy Olmstead:

The Dressmaker of Khair Khama by Gayle Lemmon

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand * by Helen Simonson

The Social Animal by David Brooks

27. Josh Goldstein:

The Big Thirst a new book by my friend Charles Fishman. Charles is an excellent journalist, and he weaves a great story about our under-recognized but ultimately critical resource H2O...a worthwhile read if not exactly summer beach reading escapism. It is quite compelling.

28. Sean McLaughlin:

Am still reading the Washington book (Washington, A Life * by Ron Chernow.) It is wonderful, long, interesting, long, enlightening, long, detailed, long, fascinating, long.....Get the point?

29. Jane Bradley:

I Curse The River of Time by Per Petterson, author of Out Stealing Horses.  It’s anything but light summer fare, but his writing is superb, as always.

Cutting for Stone * by Abraham Verghese – it’s probably already on your list.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie.  It’s a novel that takes place in Biafra during the 60’s.

By the way, I’m curious to know if anyone has recommended Ian McEwan’s latest book, Solar.  I’ve really enjoyed his earlier books, but I found this one disappointing.

30. Susan Crawford:

Washington, A Life * by Ron Chernow

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by DavidMitchell

Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer

As Always, Julia (letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto)

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey * by Candice Millard

The End of Overeating by David Kessler

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

The Big Short * by Michael Lewis

31. Diana Bunday:

I have, of course been reading, but I am not so enthusiastic about any of the books.  I am reading poetry, Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda and others, and I like this very much.

32. Nick Fels:

The Big Burn by Tim Egan about Pinchot, TR, and the great forest fire of 1910 in Montana and Idaho.

River of Doubt * by Candice Millard about TR's disastrous exploratory trip in the Amazon basin in 1913.

33. 33.Fran Renehan:
    

I read all but one of the books your daughter recommended (Click Here) and really enjoyed them. In fact, I liked two of the authors so much I went back and purchased some of their other books.

Also, What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman and enjoyed that as well as Live Wire by Harlen Cohen. It wasn't his best, but I am in love with Myron Bolitor and love the characters in those books...So all in all, I recommend reading that if you are a Harlen Coben fan.

I am now reading Jodi Picoult's new book, Sing You Home. The review I read panned it, but I like her books and am enjoying this one. It's about a

couple who were unable to have a baby. They eventually divorce, and the wife starts a relationship with another woman. It's complicated but well written by my standards.

Several books on hand for the summer which I have not read but am sure I will enjoy, as I have read most of the books by these authors and have always enjoyed them:

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman

In the Woods and The Likeness both by Tana French

Worth Dying For by Lee Child

34. 34.Clare Bolek:
    

Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson

Cutting for Stone * by Abraham Verghese

35. 35.Peter Shimm:
    

Freedom * by Jonathon Franzen -- lived up to the hype --outstanding

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller --fascinating memoir of a British ex-patriot family in Rhodesia in the 70s

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry -- really good book, interweaving story of numerous characters from different castes in post-partition India -- definitely worth reading

36. 36.Nick Penniman:
    

Winner-Take-All Politics by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson

(How Washington made the rich richer -- and turned its back on the middle class)

Deadly Spin By Wendell Potter

(An insurance company insider speaks out on how corporate PR is killing health care and deceiving Americans)

Residence On Earth by Pablo Neruda

(Rich collection from one of his most productive periods as a poet)

My seven-year old son (Nicky) is loving the Capital Mysteries series for kids, all written by Ron Roy. He just finished Trouble At The Treasury -- an appropriate title for our era.

My four-year-old son (Henry) still favors the Richard Scary books, especially What Do People Do All Day probably because of all the madcap little details he loves to stumble across.

My two-year-old daughter (Winnie) seems to love everything at any given moment, but has been asking recently for The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

37. 37.Meggie Patterson:
    

Middlesex's all school read last summer was Zeitoun by Dave Eggers which I really enjoyed, and it was interesting to see high school students read it. 

I am a huge Pat Conroy fan and read South of Broad and am reading Lords of Discipline right now -- he is a great story teller. 

And then finally Beth just told me to read The Privilege by Jonathan Dee -- it looks great, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet!

Also, for young adults....my college friend just published a booked called Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley that is good.  She is working on her second book now. 

38. 38.Cindy Margolies:
    

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, lately picked up (this) old favorite of mine...if you haven’t (read it), you’d love it...it’s about the pleasure of long term relationships.

39. 39.Carrie Trauth:
    

The New Iraq by Joseph Braude

A little difficult to read but full of good stories of the distant past and the realities of today for the Iraqi people.

Learning to Die in Miami - Confessions of a Refugee Boy by Carlos Eire

The story of a young Cuban boys experiences in America.

The Perfect Someone by Johanna Lindsey

A love story about two young people, who start out as enemies and discover love.

40. Ben Senturia:

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by  Walter Mosley

His character, Socrates (center of several books), lives in the Watts ghetto…was recently released from prison…. is the product of a violent culture and is working to deal with this violence in him despite being always outnumbered and always outgunned as a black man in the ghetto.  Beautifully written and about a part of the world that I am blind to.

41. 41. Martha Curtin:
    

I’v been reading Aidan’s books that were assigned for school along with short stories and plays. I read Jayne Eyre (loved it) and the Hunger Games series that your daughter recommended.

42. 42.Lucy Conboy:
    

Before the Deluge by Otto Friedrich, a portrait of Berlin in the 1920s

                                               *                     *                    *

Note - I will leave a link to this list on the Home page of MillersTime  so you can easily find the list again. I will also have a link on that same Home page to the 2010 and 2009 lists for anyone who may wish to go back to the earlier lists.

Just go to: www.millerstime.net and look on the left side of the page, near the bottom.