What we're reading this summer

It’s hard to believe it’s summer with all this soggy weather. But then again, rainy days are perfect for curling up with a good book. Making a dent in our summer reading lists is the silver lining in the clouds around The Mercantile.Here’s what we’re reading this summer:

• John: The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer & Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

• Ced: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf and Parasites Like Us by Adam Johnson (He says he’s getting more from Woolf’s book on his second reading, as he looks up all the poetry referenced in it. As for Johnson, he prefers his short story collection, Fortune Smiles.)

• Chris: The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power (vol 1) by Robert Caro (The Pulitzer Prize winner is a master of the political biography.)

• Jasmine: Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat (This story collection is named after the Haitian tradition of a storyteller starting by saying, “Krik?”, and the audience responding, “Krak!”)

• Amy: A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell and David Hockney: A Life by Catherine Cusset

• Hillary: City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (along with a few dozen other Mercantile members!)

• Al: Furious Hours by Casey N. Cep

We’d love to hear what’s on your summer reading list! Email hillary@mercantilelibrary.com. And if you’re not sure what you want to read, we have something for you — if you trust us. Grab one of the selections on our Blind Date With A Book shelf.