In the summer time I can't help but want to escape to an exotic, foreign, or alien locale. Lucky for those of us who cannot jet off to some tiny tropical island, or road trip across route 66, that we can afford the ultimate escape. That's right people I am talking books. Ahhh books the original staycation.
Remember what it was like the first time you were so immersed in a page turning mystery, so engrossed with a far off fantasy world or so thoroughly engaged with a story that when you finally looked up from it's pages and saw the room around you, you could not help but wonder where it all had gone to?
Well here is my list of some budget friendly staycations that unlike a far away island, you can revisit again and again.
The Odyssey has just received a new batch of some whopping good remainders... just take a look...
For the Literary Beach Reader...
TheHighest Tide, the debut novel of Jim Lynch (who will be visiting the Odyssey on July 13 for the release of his latest novel Border Songs) is the coming of age story of one boy who finds both beauty and mystery in the sea. Prompting his community to question his ability to see things that no one else observed before him. Originally 23.95, Remaindered now at 5.99 (quantities limited).
Working hard for your money....
Like me, the main character of this novel is spending his summer working, albeit he might be considered luckier that I, in that he has a whole warehouse of books to contend with. Songs for the Butcher's Daughter takes place in Western Massachusetts and tells the story of a young man who begins working with a 90-something Russian immigrant, who considers himself to be the "last Yiddish Poet." Originally 25.00, Remaindered now at 5.99 (quantities limited).
There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away
Part of my staycation plans are visiting local spots of interest, and the only thing I love better than a museum about historical people are graveyards where they are buried. If you would rather bring someone famous back to life, perhaps this book (a fictional story about one woman's tentative friendship with poet Emily Dickinson) is more your speed.
Originally 24.99, Remaindered now at 6.99 (quantities limited).
Nothing like a good misadventure...
If you want to visit the Dickinson Homstead, but are a bit accident prone like the hero of our next featured book, perhaps you will refrain after reading his great misfortune. Brock Clarke writes a hilarious story about one man mistakenly accused of burning down one author's home. I hope this book inspires you to visit local famous homesteads! Originally 23.95, Remaindered now at 4.99 (quantities limited).
Mo' Dickinson & Mo' Scandal
If reading Non-fiction is more your speed, but you still love scandal as well as local history then Polly Longsworth's Austin and Mabel is just the ticket. I love nothing better than a victorian scandal, and Longworth uses massive amounts of research to examine the forbidden relationship between Austin Dickinson (older brother to Emily) and the wife of an Amherst College professor Mabel Loomis Todd. Originally 22.95, Remaindered now at 4.99 (quantities limited).
Reguarly Priced Summer Adventures... err books.
Summer Required Reading...I bought three of this book, which is saying something. It is the prefect book for escaping not only into another world but into someone else's mind altogether. Reif Larson’s Selected Works of T.S. Spivet has got to be my favorite book this year. T.S. (short for Tecumsah Sparrow) is not your typical 12-year-old Montana rancher’s son. He has a knack for cartography and writes articles published by the Smithsonian and other scientific texts. Not knowing that T.S. is merely a pre-teen protégé the Smithsonian offers him an award for his work in cartography. The catch T.S.’s parents know nothing about his work and he has to travel from Montana to Washington D.C. to receive it.As T.S. travels across the country via sneaking aboard a train he maps out his journey and the world around him as he understands it. It is a beautiful story about family, loss and finding one’s place in an inconstant world. You will not be disappointed with Spivet or
the journey Larson takes you on. The Odyssey has signed first editions avaliable at the regular price of the book, $27.95 (quantities limited), well worth the price as this is a story you will be revisiting long after summer has come and gone.
More Required reading!Like Reif Larsen, the Odyssey is pleased to have Katherine Howe visit us (July 29 at 7pm) for her debut novel The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. The story is about a Harvard graduate student (and Mount Holyoke Alum!) who inherits her grandmother's old cottage just outside of Salem, MA. The house as well as some of it's contents have been in the family since the first pilgrims came to America. When Connie Goodwin begins to clean out the abandoned estate of her grandmother she uncovers secrets that deal with her family's and Salem's dark history, as well as abilities she never even knew she had. Signed first editions avaliable after July 29 at the regular book price of 25.99.
That about does it for now dear readers! Have a great escape!
~Nieves
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