FridayReads.Com: Great Summer Books, by Way of #FridayReads

Looking for a good book? At this point in summer, I abandon good intentions like a towel left at the pool. This was the year to tackle Magic Mountain, Remembrances of Things Past, and a hefty Isabel Allende novel in Spanish. I started all -- and Isabel has a pretty good hold on me -- but once the mercury cracks 95, I'm back to old familiar good reads and new fiction. (The Orphan Sister, by Gwendolen Gross, of Ridgewood, fits the bill for me -- old friend + new book.)

If you're looking for a fresh book or two, or making a list of what to read on vacataion, a fine place to look is FridayReads.com.

Perhaps you’ve seen the tweets, book titles followed by a hashtag and the word Fridayreads (#fridayreads). Perhaps you’ve seen avid readers tapping on a smart phone, or simply turning pages eagerly each Friday commute. In any case, what you’ve seen in action is Fridayreads.

#Fridayreads is the brainchild of The Book Maven (aka Bethanne Patrick: @thebookmaven). Each week, she hits twitter and simply asks people to note what they’re reading. She does giveaways and also runs a Facebook page, but the heart of the enterprise is simply sharing good books with others who love to read.

So, the most-tweeted books for July 22 are (drumroll, please!):

1. A Dance with Dragons by George R R Martin

2. Maine by J Courtney Sullivan

3. State Of Wonder by Ann Patchett

4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
The Stand by Stephen King

7. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

9. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

13. A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Divergent by Veronica Roth
French Lessons by Peter Mayle
Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

20. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Dignity by Ken Layne
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Once upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell
One Day by David Nicholls
Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva
Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The full list numbers 58, and includes past weeks' selections. Go here to read more.