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 Christine
Dwyer Hickey, author of Tatty
'Monica Ali's Alentejo Blue is first on my summer list,
simply because I've been given it to review for the Irish Times
and have already started it. So far I love it.
One of my favourite writers is Peter Carey and his new novel Theft
is definitely coming with me to Italy. It's very difficult to keep
your nose stuck in a book in Italy, with all the little dramas and
street theatre going on there, so it has to be something really
absorbing. Carey is never afraid to take risks and each of his books
is different. I can't wait to get stuck in. I'm at the no turning
back stage of a novel at the moment, part of which is set in Italy
during World War 2, so on a darker note, I'll be taking research
books, Susan Zucotti's The Italians and the Holocaust to
name just one. Then, because all novelists should read poetry to
keep the ear tuned and the thoughts under control, I'll be reading
Seamus Heaney's new collection District and Circle.'
Christine Dwyer Hickey is an award-winning novelist and short-story
writer. Twice winner of the Listowel Writers' Week Short Story Competition,
she was also a prize winner in the prestigious Observer/Penguin
Short-Story Competition.
Click
here to find out about her new novel, Tatty.
Read
our Tatty reading guide.
 Meg
Wolitzer, author of The Position
'I will be taking a bunch of books with me this summer that have
nothing in common, including Julia Glass's new novel The Whole
World Over, which looks like a big, satisfying, old-fashioned
kind of novel with many characters. Also in the suitcase will be
Henry James's The Ambassadors, which I am ashamed to say
I've never read, and which I am supposed to read for a book group.
(I had angled for the more familiar, safe territory of Portrait
of a Lady, but was outvoted.) And also in that suitcase will
be David Sedaris and the new Curtis Sittenfeld, as well as the pre-publication
copy of a thriller called The Interpretation of Murder, about
Sigmund Freud solving a crime in old New York. These books should
keep me off the streets until September.'
Meg Wolitzer's previous novels include Sleepwalking, This
is Your Life, Surrender Dorothy and The Wife.
Film rights for Surrender Dorothy have been sold to Sony,
with Diane Keaton to play the leading role. She is married, with
two sons, and lives in New York.
Click
here to find out about her new novel, The Position.
 Katie
Fforde, author of Practically Perfect
'I will be taking Melissa Nathan's The Learning Curve- this
wonderful author manages to be funny and wise at the same time,
as does Rowan Coleman. The Accidental Mother (which I've
already started!) is the story of a career woman who has children
inflicted on her by complete surprise. Great stuff. I will also
take Murder in Steeple Martin, by Lesley Cookman published
by Accent Press. I didn't know I liked cosy-crime till I was sent
this, but I'm loving it.'
Katie Fforde lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and some
of her three children. Her hobbies are ironing and housework, but,
unfortunately, she has almost no time for them as she feels it is
her duty to keep a close eye on the afternoon chat shows. Practically
Perfect is her twelfth novel.
Click
here to find out more about Practically Perfect.
 Patricia
Atkinson, author of La Belle Saison
'First on my list is Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky,
not particularly light summer reading for the beach I know, but
I'm savouring what I know will be a brilliant, if haunting read.
Philip Roth's new novel, Everyman is also on my list, simply
because he's such a genius. Again, a little sombre, with death as
the enduring theme. For a little light relief, and very much a summer
read I'm told, A Much Married Man by Nicholas Coleridge has
been recommended by a friend. It apparently has something for everyone,
so it can't fail. And lastly, Ava Gardner, by Lee Server,
out of curiosity, and for the pleasure of a bit of Hollywood gossip.'
Patricia Atkinson has lived in south-western France for 15 years,
having left her city job to work in the vineyards. Her first book,
The Ripening Sun, describes her transition from novice amateur
to expert, award-winning winemaker.
Click
here to find out about her new book, La Belle Saison.
 Katie
Flynn, author of Orphans of the Storm
'Ever since contracting M.E. ten years ago, I have been unable
to focus on print, so my choice of holiday reading is limited to
audio titles. I have chosen three which I've not read and three
old favourites.
The 'new' ones are Pompeii by Robert Harris, because I'm
fascinated by ancient Rome; Gentlemen and Players by Joanne
Harris and Through a Glass Darkly, a Commissario Brunetti
whodunnit, by Donna Leon.
Old favourites are Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett which
makes me laugh; The Toll Gate by Georgette Heyer, a regency
suspense romance and Straight by Dick Francis, a whodunnit
which has everything.'
Katie Flynn has lived for many years in the Northwest. A compulsive
writer, she started with short stories and articles and many of
her early stories were broadcast on Radio Mersey.She decided to
write her Liverpool series after hearing the reminiscences of family
members about life in the city in the early years of the twentieth
century.She also writes as Judith Saxton.For the past few years,
she has had to cope with ME but has continued to write.
Click
here to find out more about Katie's latest novel, Orphans
of the Storm.
Still looking for more inspiration? Click
here to find out what we're recommending to read this summer!
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