summer reading.

i’m getting ready to go on a much-needed eight-day vacation next week and i couldn’t be more thrilled. while i won’t be traveling anywhere super-exotic, i will be visiting some of my favorite people in the whole entire world, and i can’t wait. i’ve found myself feeling a little snappish at work – and in general – lately, and i think getting out of florida’s oppressive heat and into a totally different environment will really calm me. and if you’re wondering about the usual daily posts, never fear: i’ll be taking tons of pictures and posting at least once or twice, including a special photo tour of a home that’s very near and dear to my heart – not to mention drop-dead gorgeous.

so now that we’ve established that, i’d thought we’d talk about i subject that i haven’t broached much on this blog: books! i feel a little shameful that there are only two posts in the “books” category here on { PMiTG }; after all, i’m an editor by trade and reading is as much a part of my genetic makeup as my limbs. i’m making my way through elizabeth gilbert’s eat, pray, love again – why? see the above mention about feeling snappish – but since i’ve read it before, i’m ready to move on to something new. claire messud’s the emperor’s children, which i’ve heard is wonderful, is next on the list, but it’s summer – i feel like something light and beachy. here’s what’s on my wish list (and what will probably end up on my nightstand – book-buying is a compulsion of mine). tell me what’s on yours!

petite anglaise, by catherine sanderson. caroline campion, glamour magazine’s books editor, says that this book chronicles sanderson’s life after moving to paris – detailing how she “fell in love, had a baby, lost her job, found a lover and saw her high-end soap opera life even become international news (i can't explain, you must read). best of all, diving into her book is like stumbling upon a very juicy diary that you don't have to feel guilty about reading.” ooh la la. (ps: sanderson also writes a blog.)

all we ever wanted was everything, by janelle brown. campion also recommends this one, about a los angeles-based magazine editor who falls upon some hard luck (a breakup, credit card debt, etc.) and “has to make a change that will bring her – and her family – back from the brink.” sounds interesting and i just love the title.

american wife, by curtis sittenfeld. although this doesn’t hit bookstores until sept. 2, i will absolutely be pre-ordering it. sittenfeld is one of my favorite writers and her first novel, prep, is one of my favorite books of all time. her writing has an ease about it, and her way of making otherwise-commonplace details seem interesting is really remarkable. american wife, according to sittenfeld’s web site, is about fictional first lady alice blackwell, who “on what might have been one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the white house—and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, ‘almost in opposition to itself.’” i can’t wait for this one.

then we came to the end, by joshua ferris. it’s no small feat to be named one of the 10 best books of 2007 by the new york times book review, but this novel was. the times describes it as an “acidly funny first novel set in a white-collar office in the wake of the dot-com debacle.” sounds good to me; here’s the review if you want to read it. (ps: ferris, as the picture in the review shows, is cute.)

so there you have it – my top picks for summer reading based on various reviews and articles. i’m sure more will be added to the list. again, please share with me what you’re reading.

(photo of bookshelves above via design*sponge; second photo, my own stack of books with bird accessory, taken by me. )