In an enduring effort to promote good reading and literacy, the IE will occasionally feature summer reading suggestions from remarkable people in our community. We hope our readers will be inspired to pick up a book and share it with others this season. In this installment, we asked Karen Maeda Allman, bookseller and author events coordinator at Elliott Bay Book Company what she suggests for great reading this summer. She graciously shared her top five reads.
1. Snow Hunters
By Paul Yoon
“A novel … in which a young, North Korean POW emigrates to Brazil rather than return home after the Korean War,” said Maeda Allman. “It’s a spare, lovely story in which not much happens, but it’s incredibly suspenseful because the characters are fascinating.”
2. The Faraway Nearby
By Rebecca Solnit
“[It’s] a collection of linked essays on how we use storytelling to make sense of our world.”
3. In Search of the Essence of Place
By Petr Kral
“Czech surrealist writer Petr Kral … re-examines familiar places for their layers of hidden meaning.”
4. Horace and Me: Life Lessons from an Ancient Poet
By Harry Eyre
“Poet Harry Eyres’ [work] re-engages with the ancient poet’s work and life and makes me want to travel (and read some of the classics I haven’t yet read).”
5. Songs of Willow Frost
By Jamie Ford
“Jamie Ford’s much awaited novel, ‘Songs of Willow Frost’ is set in Seattle during the Great Depression and features an orphan who is searching for the film star he thinks is his mother.”