The Dog Days

Even though we've plunged headlong into September, it's not quite Fall yet! We've rounded up a few more reads to help stretch out these precious remaining Summer days. All of these picks are, of course, available through your Richmond Public Library. Here's hoping to an endless summer!

(Image credit: Fort Worth County Day)

Adult Picks:

The School of Essential Ingredients – Erica Bauermeister

The School of Essential Ingredients follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear, however, that each one seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders - Daniyal Mueenuddin

A major literary debut that explores class, culture, power, and desire among the ruling and servant classes of Pakistan.

(I first came across Mueenuddin’s work when I read his short story, “Nawabdin Electrician,” in the 2008 edition of The Best American Short Stories, and was thoroughly captured by his characters and imagery of life in the Pakistani desert. A wonderful and dynamic storyteller.)

Young Adult Picks:

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart

Frankie starts her sophomore year at Alabaster Prep a changed young woman from the geeky freshman she was just a few months ago. When she starts going out with handsome Matthew — the senior boy who's the catch of the campus — she's pretty sure she's left all remnants of the old nerdy Frankie behind. But her discovery of an all-male secret society turns things upside down...

Nation – Terry Pratchett

Another fantastic read from the renowned author that tells the tale of disparate and unlikely survivors of a devastating tsunami wave who band together on an island called Nation.

Children’s Picks:

Gully’s Travels - Tor Seidler

The posh life of a Manhattan-based Lhasa apso is turned upside down when his beloved professor sends him to live with the doorman. Gulliver embarks on an adventure to find his way back to the professor and discovers that a dog's famous loyalty can be misplaced...

The Dragonfly Pool - Eva Ibbotson

Eleven-year-old Tally doesn’t want to leave London for boarding school in the country, but with Hitler amassing power and war on the horizon, her father insists. In Ibbotson-imagined country of Bergania, what follows is a war-time adventure story with a nostalgic school tale touch.

Have any recommendations of your own? Have thoughts on our recommendations? What was your favorite summer read this year? As always, let us know!