Ten Books I Plan To Have In My Beach Bag This Summer

(Thanks to Broke and Bookish for the ongoing Top Ten Tuesdays blog-hop meme!)

I don't see myself leisurely reading on a beach this summer (I have 2 small children) but if I DID have time to relax on a beach, of if I have time to read anything at all, this is what it will probably be:

* * *

The Guardian: A Trace Anderson Adventure by Andrew J Dolha

I have repeatedly heard this referred to as a "summer read" or "beach book." Basically it's the story of a construction worker, a beautiful archaeologist and a mysterious lost civilization. Nothing about that sounds summery. It sounds ridiculous but probably something I could wile away a few hours with.

A Man Called Spade by Dashiell Hammett

I admit, I love this trash. I really got into Mickey Spillane for awhile until his raging misogyny and homophobia just got too much to take. I don't have high hopes that this will be any better, but someone gifted me a nice old paperback copy, so I have to check it out.

Thanmir War by Loni Townsend

This was written by the lovely Loni Townsend and I've had it on my eReader for awhile, so I'm really hoping I will actually get to it this summer. Her "This World Bites" was hilarious and a lot of fun, so I have high hopes.

A Slip of the Keyboard by Terry Pratchett

I'm still coming to terms with Sir Terry's death. I'm hoping this collection of his non-fiction works will help with that.

I can't believe his last Discworld book will be coming out this fall. I also can't believe it's a Tiffany Aching book. 'Twas a cruel joke, Sir Terry.

Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett

I love Follett and adored the first two books of his Century Trilogy (I learned way more about 20th century history in those two books than I did in the entirety of my high school history class), but I have yet to get to the final installment (see again: two kids). This is pretty hefty for a "beach" book but I Follett is a breeze to read and once I settle down to it I should breeze right through this one.

Kingdom Come by Alex Ross and Mark Waid

I haven't read many comic books in a long time, but this will be the next one I pick up. It has that dark, gloomy and pessimistic view of superheroes (a la Watchmen) that I love. I've been meaning to read it for years.

Knights of the Dinner Table by Jolly R. Blackburn

Speaking of comics... This is my favourite comic. Like, ever. It features the adventures of a five hapless table-top gamers as they bumble through life, the entirety of their existence revolving around THE GAME - HackMaster, a suspiciously Dungeons & Dragons-esque role-playing game. Their story has been going on for TWENTY-FIVE YEARS and it continues to be hilarious. You probalby have to be a gamer to "get it" but anyone who's tossed the dice should get a chuckle.

Not to mention they're up to collected volume 48. I think the last one I read was 32, so I have a lot of catching up to do!

Wild Cards III and Wild Cards IV by George R.R. Martin et al.

I knew Book 3 had come out last year, but I had no idea Book 4 was already out, too.

For those unfamiliar, this is NOT by George RR Martin (it actually says "Edited by" in tiny letters up there). It's actually an anthology of super-hero style tales by different writers that, when taken together, form a sort of novel. It was originally written by Martin and his peers/friends and published over twenty years ago (actually more like 30, now) and I'm pretty sure was actually based on their super-hero role-playing game campaign. When Game of Thrones exploded a few years ago publishers were desperate to print anything with Martin's name on it, which included these previously hard-to-find, out of print anthologies.

That being said, they're actually pretty fun. Some of the super "heroes" have bonkers powers (like the guy who gets super psychic abilities by abstaining from sex), but the stories flow together so well and it becomes a closely-linked universe better than any comic book universe going (sorry Marvel).

The Girl in the Spider's Web by Not Steig Larsson

Yeah, I know it's not coming out until September, but there's no way I'm going to finish all these other books in three months anyway, so a guy can dream, right?

For reference, this is not based on the manuscript that Larsson left with his widow, so there's a chance this one will actually be good. ;-)

* * *

So there you have it. What are YOU reading this summer? It's going to be Ten Thousand Days, right?