It’s maybe a little late for this, but I do have a reading list for the summer. Please note, this list doesn’t include books that I’m already reading, like, War & Peace by Tolstoy that’s been going on three years, now, and Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell that I’m just enjoying bit by bit. In the coming weeks my plan is to pursue the majority of these hopefully great reads:

• The Great Stink by Clare Clark – murder mystery in the London sewers in the mid-1800s, what could be better?
• Castle Danger by Chris Norbury – A thriller set on Minnesota’s North Shore. I can’t resist thriller set in places I’ve actually visited.
• Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip by Peter Kessler – I read Hessler’s River Town while teaching in China and like his style.
• Before I Wake by Dee Henderson – Christian murder mystery recommended to me by a friend. Eager to check out as I’m considering writing one myself.
• The Young Clementina by D.E. Stevenson – Ever since reading Miss Buncle’s Book, I’ve become a fan of Stevenson’s quirky characters and often laugh-out-loud humor. This one’s set in a travel bookshop, and I’m likely to read it first as I adore the cover.
• Emma by Jane Austen – Like any diehard Austen fan I tend to reread her works periodically. It’s been a good fifteen years cine I’ve read Emma, but I’ve enjoyed a few of the movies and miniseries based on the novel. My current favorite version is the one with Romola Garai (Atonement) and Johnny Lee Miller (Elementary).
• City of Lies by Victoria Thompson – Romantic suspense set in the gaslight era and involving suffragettes, who always tend to be amusing.
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins – I enjoyed his Woman in White, though found it a bit long. This one involves a mystery surrounding a diamond.
• Ben Hur by Lew Wallace – The copy I have is abridged, so I’m not sure how much was cut out, but I am looking forward to reading it. I really only know it involves a chariot race.
• On Fortune’s Wheel by Cynthia Voigt – We are quite firmly now in both summer and the wedding season, so I thought’d I’d give this another go.

As for other reviews coming up, I have started the K-dramas Mother and Chicago Typewriter, both of which are very promising. I also plan to have reviews out soon on a fantastic book called Drop of Night and one on Acorn’s Agatha Christie’s: Partners in Crime TV miniseries.