© 2016 Book Chatter | Book Chatter

What does summer mean to you?

Summer always sneaks up on me. This year especially because the weather has been so cool and nice and then BAM, feels like an oven and everything is brown again. Yep, sure enough the calendar says June. How did this happen?

This time, I am going to sit down with my planner and pencil in summery things because before I know it, summer will be over and the kids will be reminding us that we didn’t do much in the way of fun. The other day I saw some bloggers talking about summer and their summers differed so much that I thought I’d ask the question:

What does summer mean to you?

In my head, this is what it means to me:

Several trips to the beach
Evening BBQs with fresh seafood, steak and lots of watermelon!
Summery drinks (Pimm’s Cup, Arnold Palmers, Mint Juleps)
After dinner runs to the ice cream shop
Lots and lots of reading
Summer movie blockbusters on the big screen
Sitting outside in the shade just to take in the view
Shortish road trips to undiscovered beach towns
Eating a tuna salad sandwich while watching the waves roll in
The smell of sunscreen mixed with an ocean breeze
The Otter Pup, happy for all the extra sunny spots to check out
Visiting air-conditioned museums when it’s blazing hot outside
Concerts at the park

Summer, in general, means a more carefree attitude. It should with school being out and all but since I work for a year-round university, we don’t have much of a break so I have to try harder to get those “feels” in there.

When I picked up my daughter from her last day of school yesterday, she literally did a dance down the sidewalk and I SO remember how the last day of school felt. Such promise of things to come. This year, I plan to make more of the above happen.

Now it’s your turn. What does summer mean to you? What are your must-have summer foods or drinks and tell me what you love to do during these hot summer months.

We’re All Damaged
By Matthew Norman
Little A, Hardcover, 9781503933378, June 2016, 268pp.

The Short of It:

Marriage is highly overrated. Especially when your wife takes off with your paramedic neighbor down the street.

The Rest of It:

After losing his wife to his neighbor and humiliating himself at his best friend’s wedding, Andy Carter is forced to realize that his marriage is over and that it’s time to move on. He moves to New York City where he makes do in his tiny apartment but happy, he is not.

When he gets the news that his grandfather is dying, he decides to make the trip back to Omaha to spend as much time with him as possible but that means seeing his ex-wife, her new lover, and all the people that he disappointed along the way.

This is a “woe-is-me” read but I can so relate to Andy and I suspect that a lot of readers will too. He’s well-meaning but awkward. His matter-of-fact approach is kind of funny too. There is a lot of self-deprecation going on here but it’s so well done and there are many odd, quirky characters thrown in for good measure. If you like this sort of thing, you will find this aspect of the story quite amusing.

But, it’s also a sweet story about heartbreak and loss. It has just enough humor to keep it light but there are some deeper themes here, which I enjoyed. I read Norman’s first book, Domestic Violets and that one had the same kind of humor but I think I liked We’re All Damaged a little bit more.

If you want a funny, summer read but one that has some depth to it, you really can’t go wrong with We’re All Damaged.