Sunday, 29 July 2012

Summer Reading Challenge

The summer months have always been a great time for reading. What could be better than a few hours in the sun (or shade!) with a mug of tea and a good book? 



An important part of getting ready to go on holiday as a teenager was choosing the books to take with me. Looking back now, the details I remember are often linked to the books I was reading: having my copy of The Two Towers stolen on a ferry or spooking myself with Robert Westall's The Scarecrows in a rainy, wind-blasted cottage in the Lake District. My copy of Hemingway's To Have and Have Not still bears the greasy stains of Ambre Solaire and the odd grain of Dorset sand stuck between the pages. Over the past two days I've been scanning the blue summer sky for aircraft trails while reading Elizabeth Wein's Codename Verity.

I'm a little too old to join in the Reading Agency's Summer Reading Challenge to read six books before the schools go back in September, but thought I'd have a go anyway. Here are my six summer reads (plus the one I've already started!)




Leave me a comment and tell me which books you'll be relaxing with this summer.
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13 comments:

  1. Candy Gourlay29 July 2012 at 21:49

    I haven't really thought about my summer reading yet ... let me check the tower next to my bed adn get back to you! (i've read two in yours - The Knife that Killed Me and At Yellow Lake) and Someone Else's Life is definitely on my to read list!

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    1. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 09:13

      Better get to it Candy or the summer will be over before you start!
      Have you read Codename Verity? I'm halfway through and really enjoying it.

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  2. Jackie Marchant29 July 2012 at 22:30

    I'm looking forward to reading At Yellow Lake and Code Name Verity,heard such good things about both books. And Phil Earle is on my 'author's I really must read' list. I've read all the others in your pile - you are in for a treat. Enjoy!

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    1. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 09:08

      Thanks, Jackie. You've definitely GOT to read some of Phil's stuff, BEING BILLY is superb!

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  3. M.A Smale30 July 2012 at 08:14

    I love reading so six is kinda a little restriction.
    My six books are: Frozen In Time By Ali Sparkes, The Other Life By Susanne Winnacker, The Set Up By Sophie McKensie, Time Riders By Alex Scarrow, Half Moon Investigates By Eoin Colfer and The Lost Hero By Rick Riordan. I'll have to check out the books you've set yourself to read as well!!

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    1. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 09:11

      Wow! I'm impressed, you must read fast! I doubt I'll get through all those on my list before Sept. I just borrowed the idea of six books from the Summer Reading Challenge.
      Thanks for adding your books. I might have to investigate a couple of those myself (for my autumn reading list!) I enjoyed FROZEN IN TIME and my son is a huge HALF MOON fan.
      Happy reading!

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  4. Anonymous30 July 2012 at 09:48

    Slated is amazing!
    My holiday book choices are ones I've had for a long time. The ones that have been neglected and always lose out to newer, shiner books when it's time to choose what's next to read. So i'm taking those with me and giving the little guys a chance!

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    1. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 19:13

      I'm looking forward to reading SLATED, I've heard lots of good reports.
      I know what you mean about constantly adding new books to the reading pile and burying the ones that have been waiting patiently. Glad to hear you're dedicating your summer to reading those!

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  5. Jo Wyton30 July 2012 at 13:17

    Great list - Phil Earle really is amazing, and as for Code Name Verity - wow. For some reason I've found myself returning to old favourites this summer - more traditional midde grade stories. Cornelia Funke, Roald Dahl, Michelle Paver are currently piled on the bedside table. I've also heard that Chris Colfer's book is great, so that might have to make an appearance - I can forgive him for being a 'celebrity author' seeing as he was really a writer first.

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    1. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 19:17

      Thanks, Jo – yes, it's good to return to some of your favourites from time to time, though I dare not add any more to my list now!
      I'm really enjoying CODE NAME VERITY, it reminds me a bit of Mal Peet's TAMAR which is one of those books I enjoyed so much I didn't want it to end. Worth a look if you haven't read it.

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  6. Anonymous30 July 2012 at 15:05

    My six are, Continental Drifter by Tim Moore, Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, Mermaids on the Golf Course by Patricia Highsmith, Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland, Tales from the boot camps by Stevie Claridge ( with Ian Ridley ) and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell. Have you read the Claridge one and if so is it any good?

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    1. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 19:24

      Good list! Yes, I did read a Claridge book a long time ago, or is this a new one? If it's the one I read, it was good. A very entertaining glimpse into quite a chaotic life – as you might expect! Have you read Gary Imlach's book about his dad? "My Father and other working class football heroes." Best football book I've ever read.

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  7. Dave Cousins30 July 2012 at 19:23

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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