Tags
books, coffee, commentary, Culture, fiction, nonfiction, reading
In mid-May Ms. Anne Thrope decided to do an informal survey of book recommendations for summer reading. She placed a pen and notebook at the end of the counter so people could write after they paid for their order. She folded a cardboard tent with the wording:
What do you recommend for summer reading? Your name is optional. Books are not.
“What if they’re not reading books, but they have a great recommendation for a video,” said Strawberry Mkrtchyan. “We shouldn’t exclude anyone.”
“I’m only interested in books. Hard copy or electronic doesn’t matter, but it should be a book,” said Ms. Anne. “We may do another survey concerning games or movies or binge watching, but this one is books.”
“OK,” said Strawberry. “I’ll start the list.” We watched her write Nothing to Lose and then J. A. Jance, author.
Banjo Voynovsky watched her write as he ordered a Gaslight Special and a large coffee. He wore a t-shirt that read Fight Evil! Read Books.
“Banjo, what are you reading to fight evil these days?” asked Ms. Anne. “Share it on our summer reading list.”
“I’m reading Lucky Per, a book set in 19th century Denmark. I like it. It was written in Danish around 1900 and finally translated to English a couple years ago. A little more modern book than that is The Old Man and Mr. Smith. That was written by Peter Ustinov. The actor, you remember.”
“Put them on our list. You don’t need to put your name.”
“Alright, but I need to look up the author of Lucky Per. Not a common name.” He typed something on his phone and then said, “Pontoppidan. Henrik Pontoppidan. Received the Nobel Prize. Good to have all this information here so quickly.”
“Strawberry will deliver your order when it’s ready. Here’s your coffee cup.”
The day went by quickly at times and dragged at other times. At closing, Ms. Anne checked the notepad and started laughing.
“Why are you laughing, Ms. Anne?” I asked.
“Somebody put an old book by William Saroyan here. Dear Baby. For no reason at all, this reminds me of Perry White’s expression on Superman–Great Caesar’s ghost! Who could believe anyone remembered that little bit of writing?!”
“If it’s Saroyan, it must be decent,” I said.
“It is not first-rate Saroyan. No problem. Take a look at the list, Doc.”
I did and saw classics and somewhat contemporary books:
Game On, by Janet Evanovich
Dune
The President Is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Abide with Me, by Elizabeth Strout
The Devil You Know, by Charles M. Blow
Rise the Euphrates, by Carol Edgarian
Calico Joe, by John Grisham
11/22/63, by Stephen King
The Hobbit
Let’s do this for the rest of the week,” said Ms. Anne. “We’ll post the list the first of June.”
What books do you recommend for summer reading?