One of my favorite things to do in the summer is read outdoors, a cold drink in hand. Sometimes alcoholic, sometimes not. ;)
For those of you with a similar inclination, Kirkus has compiled a list of the "Best Summer Books and Their Corresponding Drinks" (article reposted by the Huffington Post) for 2013:
For those of you with a similar inclination, Kirkus has compiled a list of the "Best Summer Books and Their Corresponding Drinks" (article reposted by the Huffington Post) for 2013:
We don’t condone drinking while reading, no sir. Or at least not when our reviewers are reading. Summer, a good book, alcohol: They go together well. Here’s our guide to books that won’t disappoint and what you might want to imbibe while reading them.
- With some Pinot grigio: Maurizio de Giovanni's The Crocodile
- With a glass of sake: Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians
- With a whiskey on the rocks: Mark Mazzetti's The Way of the Knife
- With an American microbrewed beer: A.A. Gill's To America With Love
- With a Mexican martini: Philipp Meyer's The Son
- With Champagne: J. Courtney Sullivan's The Engagements
- With a martini: Sam Toperoff's Lillian and Dash
- With an entire bottle of the hard liquor of your choice: Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman's Louder than Hell
- With a glass or reduction of red wine: Kate Carlisle's A Cookbook Conspiracy
- With a frozen margarita: Will McIntosh's Love Minus Eighty
"In this crisply translated novel, de Giovanni explores Lojacono's loneliness and vulnerability while simultaneously revealing his brilliance as a detective."
A wonderfully suspenseful novel in which de Giovanni restores life to the cliché of the world-weary detective. Read full book review >
"An elegant comedy and an auspicious debut."
Jane Austen, or maybe Edith Wharton, goes to Singapore, turning in this lively, entertaining novel of manners. Read full book review >
"A well-reported, smoothly written book for anyone who wants to understand contemporary American military might and the widespread hatred for the U.S. that has been the result."
Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times national security correspondent Mazzetti demonstrates in horrifying, persuasive detail how the new-style warfare approved by both George W. Bush and Barack Obama has led to controversial assassinations by the U.S. government and blowback yielding new terrorists determined to harm American citizens.Read full book review >
"A stirring, funny, thought-provoking appreciation of the place, the idea, the experiment, the United States of America."
An ardent mash note to the vast, vital nation that confounds and beguiles its European cousins in equal measure. Read full book review >
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If you are dipping into some classics this summer, you might also like these recommendations from Flavorwire:
As the bookish among you are most likely aware, literature and liquor have gone hand in hand since time immemorial. But while we know which drinks our favorite authors liked to imbibe while creating, that’s not necessarily a good indication of which drinks are best to read their work by. We’ve already given you our suggestions on the cocktails you should pair with your favorite TV shows, but if you’re more likely to be curled up with a book than in front of the small screen this weekend, we have a few thoughts as to how to best keep the party going in your living room. Click through to read about the cocktails we would pair with ten of our favorite novels, and if you’ve found another winning combination, give us your own recommendations in the comments!
Lolita
Amaretto Sour
1 jigger amaretto almond liqueur
1 oz. lemon juice
maraschino cherries as desired
sugar to rim glass
Though we were tempted to pick something bright red for our Lola, we think the Amaretto Sour might be her drink — sweet enough that she’d like it, serious enough that it would make her feel grown up. Not to mention the fact that that very tension between the playfully sweet and deadly serious also happens to be one of the joys of the novel — so why not indulge all the senses?
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Death in the Afternoon
2 ounces absinthe
4 ounces Brut champagne
We know this cocktail is a Hemingway classic, but come on — what better to fuel your trip down the rabbit hole than a hallucinogenic, celebratory mix of absinthe and champagne?
The Catcher in the Rye
Old Fashioned
1 sugar cube
3 dashes Angostura bitters
dash of club soda
2 ounces rye whiskey
1 orange slice and/or 1 maraschino cherry
We know Holden is a Scotch and Soda man himself, but it’s the Old Fashioned that most reminds us of existential angst and dark evenings in New York City in the fifties (or today, really). But don’t be a phony — only drink this if you’re a real whiskey fan.
The Great Gatsby
French 75
1 jigger dry gin
1 teaspoon simple syrup
the juice of 1/2 lemon
5 ounces Brut champagne
While reading The Great Gatsby, you should really drink the cocktail that most lets you indulge in your own fancy 1920s fantasies — for us, it’s the oh-so-classy (and time period appropriate) French 75, which originated in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris. Yes, it’s ever so chic, my darling. Plus, you can thrill in solidarity with Fitzgerald — whose favorite drink was gin (harder to smell on the breath, you see).
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Here are some of my own more commercially driven recommendations--because, come on, let's face it, we don't always want to read literary fiction while we sit back in the summer sunshine!
Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas -- Enjoy a nice Firefly vodka and lemonade concoction, or opt for some non-alcoholic sweet tea.
Bite Me by Christopher Moore -- With a Bloody Mary, of course! Or just some healthy V8. ;)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- Some good old mead would make this family-friendly tale, much less child-focused.
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella -- Try a classic '20s cocktail like the fun and flirty Mary Pickford.
Shake, Stir, Whatever. Just enjoy!
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