Do you remember D.E.A.R? At my elementary school that meant “Drop Everything And Read,” something we typically did for 10 or 15 minutes every day. Best part of my day, really. As my TBR and Library piles are battling for supremacy and trying to sneak in around the review copies who have staked out places on my calendar, I’m thinking back to the simpler days of D.E.A.R., when I believed I had time to get to any book I wanted. And that, of course, got me fantasizing about a world where I really could just Drop Everything And Read for more than just 15 minutes a day.
Most of these D.E.A.R. posts are predicated on the idea that I would love nothing more than to just drop everything and read. Would that I could get to all of these books, and all that. Well, one week from today I actually sort of have that opportunity. I’m leaving Daniel home with his daddy and heading to Florida to spend the weekend reading in the warmth with some girlfriends. Reading really and truly comprises the majority of my plans, so now I have to decide just what to take with me. I may have a couple of review books to take, but other than that, I have a huge pile of books and have to decide which ones to lug with me. I’ll be there three full days and parts of two others, so I’m thinking about 5 books from the pile, in addition to the virtual pile on my Nook and the couple of review books. Inspired by Erica from Harper Perennial, I decided to turn to all of you to help me figure out what to read.
The rules: Choose from the picture and list below, leave your vote(s) in the comments. The five(ish) books with the most votes get an all expenses paid trip to Florida. Super convincing impassioned please may be counted as extra votes.
Left to right, top to bottom:
America Pacifica by Anna North
The Cailiffs of Baghdad Georgia by Mary Helen Stefaniak
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor
The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
Angelology by Danielle Trussoni
The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
What books should come on vacation with me?
The Paris Wife
Angelology
Blood Work
The Kitchen Daughter
Doc
I went for ones that I haven’t read, but of course you should also take A Discovery of Witches.
Save DISCOVERY OF WITCHES to read at home it’s so big! And as Nicole has reminded me, the next one isn’t until 2012…
Definitely take Wither!!
I met Deborah Harkness, author of A Discovery of Witches last night at Barnes & Noble 86th St. in NYC. She was so interesting! I have not read any vampire, witches, or Harry Potter books, but she totally convinced me to read her book. If she can convince me, you should take her book.
PS- When I was a substitute teacher at a Catholic school, my favorite part of the day was D.E.A.R. I loved watching all of the children read their books; it warmed my literary heart.
That is pretty convincing, I think that counts as two votes!
Right now, the weather down here is absolutely glorious…near 80 degrees. I hope it stays that way for you! Bring Discovery of Witches and Angelology!
For purely selfish reasons, my vote goes to The Paris Wife. But also these other commenters have me convinced that A Discovery of Witches is a good choice too.
My votes would be for The Paris Wife, Doc and A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True
I’m going to vote for Blood Work by Holly Tucker. I’ve been thinking about reading that one, although maybe medical history isn’t the best reading for vacation
Well, I’m the nerd who added it to the list in the first place. I’m giving your vote double weight, because maybe if I take it with me, I’ll be able to pass it on to you that next week!
I haven’t read any of those except The Anatomy of Ghosts, and that one leans pretty heavily on its atmosphere of foggy, creepy old English university, so I don’t know how well it would work on a sunny beach.
Well, none of these are very traditional ‘beach reads’ anyway
The Anatomy of Ghosts! So much buzz about this one, but NYTimes sort of slandered it. Dying to know what people think.
Oh my gosh, the title jumped at me, and I can’t believe you have not read that one yet Jen.
I definitely encourage you to take that one.
Great concept.
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse.
And I believe you love books about books, right?
Now, I have a funny story behind this book. There’s a site where you can get addresses of this novel bookstore, where you can get only the best books. There’s an address in Paris, and I’m French. So I gave the address to a friend of mine. It turned out it’s all fiction, ah ah, I love it when the book gets you, and you no longer see the difference between fiction and reality. It turns out at the address provided, it;’s actually an Afghan jewelry store!! So funny. I found an interview by the author, and she does admit that this store was always a dream, but she has not yet managed to turn it into reality. Oops, I hope I’m not given too much away. Conclusion: you have to read this book.
I am sort of dying to read that book. It has been on my “very very soon!” list since Christmas.
I haven’t read any of your choices! Top of my wishlist are A Discovery of Witches and Blood Work, so I recommend those to bring along. Then I’ll know whether or not I should buy them when you review them.
I vote A Discovery of Witches as it’s the one I most want to read. Helpful aren’t I? I’m sure whatever you take you’ll enjoy : )
Knowing what book people are dying to read as just about as helpful as knowing which book they’ve already loved!
I just read Between Shades of Gray and it’s fabulous but it made me sob. As far as the rest, I vote for The Violets of March and The Elephant Keeper.
Your tweet about loving it this week is actually what made me add Shades of Gray to this pile.
Oh dear, I don’t know any of these books. I mean, I’ve never even heard of them. Maybe if I saw the covers, I might recognise one or two.
Talking about covers, if I don’t know a book, I tend to judge it by the cover. So, can I ask you to put the books side by side and choose the one with the most appealing cover? That’s the book I’m voting for.
Have fun in Florida!
My vote is for A Discovery of Witches! It’s one of those book you get lost in and forget where you are. You might not want to forget you’re on a Florida beach in February though.
It’s a fantastic book.
Discovery of Witches! I’m in FL right now for a long weekend! Have a safe trip!
I have to vote for Jael and Sarah’s books! Go debut authors, go!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Well, I’m going to vote for THE VIOLETS OF MARCH!!
But, my vote doesn’t count. Still, according to Sarah Pekkanen’s blurb, VIOLETS is a great read for the chaise lounge chair at the beach or just curling up under a cozy blanket (I’m butchering her quote, but it was along those lines!). 
Convinced? I hope you enjoy!! And, have a lovely vacay. I’m so jealous. I miss the sun!! xo
I told you that you could vote, so your vote does count!
My votes:
America Pacifica
The Cailiffs of Baghdad Georgia
Wingshooters
Salvation City
Dooooo it.
I haven’t read any of the books above and am quite jealous of a weekend to just read. It sure would be great to DEAR (which we had too, by the way). I would love to read Discovery of Witches and The Violets of March. Heard fantastic things about them. Enjoy your time reading in the sun!
I just LOVE reading your blog because you turn me on to books that I would NEVER hear of otherwise. Here are the five books that really grabbed me when I read their blurbs on Amazon. Let me know what you wind up taking!
The Cailiffs of Baghdad Georgia
Salvation City
Between Shades of Gray
A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True
Wingshooters
Oh thank you so much, Ruth Ann, for your kind words! I will definitely post about which books make the cut.
I’ve heard great things about A Long Long Time Ago, so my vote goes for that one. I haven’t read any of the books on the list though, so I’ll be curious to see which you pick.
It seems kind of inappropriate for me to vote for my own book, but I do think you’ll love it, and it’ll make you hungry! And naturally I agree with Rebecca (xo, xo) that you should bring The Violets of March along as well.
I actually think voting for your own book is fine (in fact, I told Sarah that she could). Now, if you recruit an army of drones to rig the vote…
Thanks for stopping by, Jael!
I may be too late for this but let me first off wish you a wonderful time. I think it’s great for moms to get away on their own, with friends for a short time (it reminds them back home how special you are!)
My pick of books:
A Novel Bookstore
The Cailiffs of Bagdad Georgia
The Kitchen Daughter
The Violets of March
Whichever books you choose, enjoy & have a fantastic time, Jen!
~ Amy
I vote for Salvation City, Between Shades of Gray, The Violets of March, The Kitchen Daughter, and A Novel Bookstore. But most especially The Violets of March… I really want to read that one! LOL
Have a fabulous time! I look forward to seeing what wins!