Summer Reading: June

Summer is barely starting here in Northern New England. The trees are green, the grass is tall, but the air still feels like springtime. I’ve been visiting the library and the local used bookstore a lot recently, gathering up books to read on the long, cool June evenings. I’ve always been a fan of reading, but recently, I noticed myself going back to the same books over and over again. I wasn’t reading anything new. So, at the beginning of the year, I set myself a goal: read new books, books from genres I usually passed over, or books that challenged my perspectives or shook me out of my complacency. 

This challenge has been such a joy. I’ve picked up mystery novels – a genre I always dismissed out of hand – and I’ve read cultural critiques. I pile up book after book at the library, haul them home in the huge PeaceCYCLE tote my friend Janet gave me – a bag that can handle three bags of flour easily, and still be comfortable to carry – and then set up a reading nook under the watchful eyes of our tall Sacred Heart Statue. The statue was a hand-me-down from our parish priest, it’s missing a few fingers, and we’ve wrapped it in a shawl and tucked dried flowers all around. In the evenings, as we’re all winding down from end-of-year schooling, early season gardening, and other warm-weather activities, our books are ideal companions. 

Reading Habits

I’m sure you’ve heard that Americans are reading fewer and fewer books – instead, we skim articles online, listen to audiobooks, scroll social media, or watch TV shows and movies. But reading books forms our minds in a way nothing else can. Reading strengthens the brain and helps boost and maintain memory. It can also be calming, restful, and contemplative – without the glare of a screen, our minds can relax, absorb, and expand. 

But it can be challenging to build a reading habit when we don’t have one. Like any habit, reading requires commitment to create consistency. In our home, we set aside time for reading in the evenings. Whether we’ve been reading off and on all day or off at the lake, in the evenings, there’s time for reading. After night prayer, my husband or I read aloud from the Bible, then we read aloud from another book. When we’re done, everyone is free to pick up their current book and read for a nice, long while. My son just finished A Hidden Magic, which is a funny, affectionately written fairytale retelling with adorable characters. My daughter devoured The White Witch, by Elizabeth Goudge – a stunning look into 17th century England, faith, love, and sacrifice. My husband is rereading Lewis’s delightful Space Trilogy, and I have just discovered the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries by Dorothy Sayers.

If you’re in need of a book with which to renew a reading habit, I can comfortably recommend any of our current reads. But habits can be hard to maintain, so I’ll give you a few more suggestions – in a variety of genres. 

Book Recommendations

If you’re looking for a haunting book, but you’ve been disturbed by modern horror’s excessive gore and stock characters, pick up Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Published in 1938 this book is full of unsettling characters and haunting memories. Or, if you’ve never read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, fall into the most classic horror novel of all time. Dracula is lush, stunning, and horrifying, without diminishing the humanity of its characters in any way. 

Ray Bradbury is another fantastic author of unsettling and thought-provoking books. Try his Something Wicked This Way Comes for an insightful look into the lure of evil, human nature, and the beauty of fatherhood. Or, read Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles – a collection of short stories reflecting on technology, censorship, and mystery in a world of exploration. 

Albert Camus’s short novel, The Fall, is another book that leaves the reader with a unsettling sense that there is more within the human heart that we’ll ever really understand. It’s a painful, beautiful study of the effect that sin can have on the human heart. 

Brighter Stories

But let’s lighten up a bit! It’s summer after all. If you’re a fan of happier stories, and you’ve already read all the Jane Austen you can find, grab a lavender lemon scone, some iced tea, or a St. Rita (try it shaken with an egg white as a St. Rita Fizz) and settle in for some uplifting stories. 

The Lord Peter Wimsey stories are absolutely delightful. Lord Peter is a crime-solving peer with a deep affection for humanity. The novels and short stories are humorous, affectionate, and character-driven. 

Elizabeth Goudge is an author whose beautiful, magical realism and inspiring characters create lovely, uplifting novels. 

As this world becomes increasingly ugly, callous and materialistic it needs to be reminded that the old fairy stories are rooted in truth, that imagination is of value, that happy endings do, in fact, occur, and that the blue spring mist that makes an ugly street look beautiful is just as real a thing as the street itself.

— Elizabeth Goudge

Of her books, my favorites are The Little White Horse, Linnets and Valerians, and The White Witch. The first two are written for children, but they’re enjoyable for all ages. The last is written for adults, but a confident, older child or teen should be able to read it with ease. 

One new classic that brings a sense of hopefulness and beauty to its reader is Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi. I loved Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – an expansive work of magical realism full of deeply human characters. Clarke creates lush, magical worlds in which humanity has an opportunity to meet beauty face to face and fall in love. In Piranesi, the world is a mansion with many rooms. It is full of nuance and bright with hope – an absorbing book.

What About the Catholics?

You may have noticed that I left out our amazing, Catholic authors in this little list of recommendations. Chesterton, Tolkien, Flannery, etc. are nowhere on the list. I did that on purpose. Sometimes, we as Catholic readers get a little stuck in the comfortable world of Catholic authors. It’s good for us to look around a bit and find writers who can bring in a sacramental worldview, despite not being Catholic themselves. 

All of the writers I recommend have something sacramental about their works – some are devout Christians, others are not. But all write with an eye toward Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. In an increasingly isolated world, where everything is curated for us, it can be encouraging to pick up an author who isn’t Catholic, and find a friend who can understand us anyway. 

This summer, I’ll be continuing to recommend books: for children, for adults, by Catholic authors, and non-Catholic authors. I hope one of these recommendations will inspire you to pick up a new book and build up a reading habit again.