It's... Midsommar

A place to visit with a bit of folklore horror...

The Ritual
by Adam Nevill
Horror, Paranormal | Published: 2011 | Goodreads
Four old university friends reunite for a hiking trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle. No longer young men, they have little left in common and tensions rise as they struggle to connect. Frustrated and tired they take a shortcut that turns their hike into a nightmare that could cost them their lives.

Lost, hungry and surrounded by forest untouched for millennia, they stumble across an isolated old house. Inside, they find the macabre remains of old rites and pagan sacrifices; ancient artifacts and unidentifiable bones. A place of dark ritual and home to a bestial presence that is still present in the ancient forest, and now they’re the prey.

and then watch:

The Ritual (2017)
Director: David Bruckner
Writer: Joe Barton
Based on book by: Adam Nevill
Stars: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton
Horror, Mystery, Thriller | imdb
A group of old college friends reunite for a trip to a forest in Sweden, Northern Europe, but encounter a menacing presence there stalking them.

~*~
* image source header: Yuko Higuchi artwork for film Midsommar directed by Ari Aster (here)

Summer Pools

Take a dip into these...

You and Me on Vacation
by Emily Henry
Contemporary, Romance | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
TWO FRIENDS
TEN SUMMER TRIPS
THEIR LAST CHANCE TO FALL IN LOVE

12 SUMMERS AGO: Poppy and Alex meet. They hate each other, and are pretty confident they'll never speak again.

11 SUMMERS AGO: They're forced to share a ride home from college and by the end of it a friendship is formed. And a pact: every year, one vacation together.

10 SUMMERS AGO: Alex discovers his fear of flying on the way to Vancouver.
Poppy holds his hand the whole way.

7 SUMMERS AGO: They get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans.

2 SUMMERS AGO: It all goes wrong.

THIS SUMMER: Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives.

Wait for It
by Jenn McKinlay
Contemporary, Romance | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
A woman looking for a new lease on life moves to Arizona where she rents a guest house on a gorgeous property with a mysterious owner--a man who teaches her about resilience, courage, and ultimately true love, in this funny, bighearted novel about hope and healing from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.

Stuck in a dreary Boston winter, Annabelle Martin would like nothing more than to run away from her current life. She's not even thirty years old, twice-divorced, and has just dodged a marriage proposal... from her ex-husband. When she's offered her dream job as creative director at a cutting-edge graphic design studio in Phoenix, she jumps at the opportunity to start over.

When she arrives in the Valley of the Sun, Annabelle is instantly intrigued by her anonymous landlord. Based on the cranky, handwritten notes Nick Daire leaves her, she assumes he is an old, rich curmudgeon. Annabelle is shocked when she finally meets Nick and discovers that he's her age and uses a wheelchair. Nick suffered from a stroke a year ago, and while there's no physical reason for him not to recover, he is struggling to overcome the paralyzing fear that has kept him a prisoner in his own home.

Despite her promise to herself not to get involved, Annabelle finds herself irresistibly drawn to Nick. And soon she wonders if she and Nick might help each other find the courage to embrace life, happiness, and true love.

Very Nice
by Marcy Dermansky
Women's Fiction | Published: 2019 | Goodreads
Rachel Klein never meant to kiss her creative writing professor, but with his long eyelashes, silky hair and the sad, beautiful life he laid bare on Twitter, she does, and the kiss is very nice.

Zahid Azzam never planned to become a houseguest in his student's sprawling Connecticut home, but with the sparkling swimming pool, the endless supply of strawberries and Rachel's beautiful mother, he does, and the home is very nice.

Becca Klein never thought she'd have a love affair so soon after her husband leaves her for a younger woman, but when her daughter's professor walks into her home, bringing with him a poodle named Princess, she does, and the affair turns out to be... a very bad idea.

La Piscine (1969)
The Swimming Pool
Director/Writer: Jacques Deray
Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière
Based on book by: Alain Page
Stars: Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet
Crime, Drama, Romance | imdb
Lovers Marianne and Jean-Paul spend their vacation in a villa on the French Riviera near St-Tropez. Marianne invites her former lover, Harry, and his teenage daughter to stay. Tension rises between them, especially when Jean-Paul seduces Penelope.



~*~ * header image source: A Bigger Splash by David Hockney

* part of Summertime time (schedule)

Summertime time 2021

Summertime time
in which there will be summer-ish postings this month
~*~
Summertime
Summertime
Sum Sum
Summertime...
Suuuu...
uuuuuummm
errrrr
time!
~*~
Some summertime reading plans before things cool down...

stay tuned: more featured books will be listed here as posts go up

Currently on the beach towel with...

Summer
by Ali Smith
Literary, England | Published: 2020 | Goodreads

Summer
by Edith Wharton
Classic, Romance, Massachusetts Berkshires | Published: 1993 (first 1917) | Goodreads

Books and Laundry:
Summer by Ali Smith
Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Rampage

Books and Bus:
Summer by Edith Wharton

Books and Puzzles:
Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman
The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley
Books and Ice Cream:
Postscript Murders by Emily Griffiths

SUMMER SUN
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

SUMMER JOBS
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent
How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love With the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

SUMMER VACATION
The Vacation by T.M. Logan
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Summerwater by Sarah Moss
Film: In Another Country directed by Sang-soo Hong

SUMMER ISLANDS
Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly
Red Island House by Andrea Lee
An Island by Karen Jennings
Island Queen
FILM: Fantasy Island directed by Jeff Wadlow
TV series: Fantasy Island season one (1977)
TV series: Fantasy Island (2021)

MORE SUMMER ISLANDS
Popisho by Leone Ross
Celestia by Manuele Fior
Emperors of Eight Islands by Lian Hearn

SUMMER POOLS
You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry (UK version of People We Meet on Vacation)
Wait For It by Jean McKinlay
Very Nice by Marcy Dermansky
FILM: La Piscine

MORE SUMMER POOLS
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
The Union of Synchronized Swimmers: A Novella by Cristina Sandu
FILM: The Swimsuit Issue

SUMMER POOLS IN CALIFORNIA
Elsewhere, California by Dana Johnson
Kept Animals by Kate Milliken
The Guncle by Steven Rowley

SUMMER PARTIES
Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil
The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

SUMMER ROMANCE
Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

SUMMER WITH JANE
Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer edited by Christina Boyd
The Jane Austen Journal, Persuasions, volume 42, 2020

SUMMER SURF
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn
FILM: Endless Summer
Gidget by Frederick Kohner
FILM: Gidget
FILM: Gidget Goes Hawaiian

SUMMER GETAWAYS
Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland
The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley
FILM: Old

SUMMER in FRENCH RIVIERA
The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements, Onjuli Datta
Maigret on the Riviera by Georges Simenon
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
FILM: To Catch A Thief

SUMMER TEA
The Peppermint Tea Chronicles by Alexander McCall Smith
Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany
The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene
FILM: Tea with the Dames

SUMMER'S END
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
At Summer's End by Courtney Ellis
After the Sun by Jonas Eika translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg

~*~
* image source: Beach from Breathe magazine

* Summertime lyrics from Summertime Summertime by The Jamies

Summer Romances

~*~

Beach Read
by Emily Henry
Romance | Goodreads | my review
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

Hello Summer
by Mary Kay Andrews
Chick-lit | Goodreads
It’s a new season...

Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D.C. Or so she thinks.

For small town scandals...

When the new job goes up in smoke, Conley finds herself right back where she started, working for her sister, who is trying to keep The Silver Bay Beacon afloat—and she doesn’t exactly have warm feelings for Conley. Soon she is given the unenviable task of overseeing the local gossip column, “Hello, Summer.”

And big-time secrets.

Then Conley witnesses an accident that ends in the death of a local congressman—a beloved war hero with a shady past. The more she digs into the story, the more dangerous it gets. As an old heartbreaker causes trouble and a new flame ignites, it soon looks like their sleepy beach town is the most scandalous hotspot of the summer.


One to Watch
by Kate Stayman-London
Chick-lit | Goodreads | my review

Bea Schumacher is a devastatingly stylish plus-size fashion blogger who has amazing friends, a devoted family, legions of Insta followers--and a massively broken heart. Like the rest of America, Bea indulges in her weekly obsession: the hit reality show Main Squeeze. The fantasy dates! The kiss-off rejections! The surprising amount of guys named Chad! But Bea is sick and tired of the lack of body diversity on the show. Since when is being a size zero a prerequisite for getting engaged on television? Just when Bea has sworn off dating altogether, she gets an intriguing call: Main Squeeze wants her to be its next star, surrounded by men vying for her affections. Bea agrees, on one condition--under no circumstances will she actually fall in love. She's in this to supercharge her career, subvert harmful anti-fat beauty standards, inspire women across America, and get a free hot air balloon ride. That's it. But when the cameras start rolling, Bea realizes things are more complicated than she anticipated. She's in a whirlwind of sumptuous couture, Internet culture wars, sexy suitors, and an opportunity (or two, or five) to find messy, real-life love in the midst of a made-for-TV fairy tale. In this joyful, razor-sharp debut, Bea has to decide whether it might just be worth trusting these men--and herself--for a chance to live happily ever after.


~*~
* image source: Le Touquet, France, 2017 by Harry Gruyaert

* part of Summertime time (schedule)

Summer Films

Cool down indoors with some flicks.

~*~

Summertime (2020)
Netflix tv series, season one
Creators: Mirko Cetrangolo, Anita Rivaroli
Stars: Rebecca Coco Edogamhe, Ludovico Tersigni, Amanda Campana
Drama, Romance | imdb
A modern love story, set during a summer on the Adriatic coast. An undeniable attraction unites Ale and Summer, two people from very different worlds.

Black Summer (2019)
Creators: John Hyams, Karl Schaefer
Stars: Jaime King, Justin Chu Cary, Christine Lee
Action, Drama, Horror, Zombies | imdb
In the dark, early days of a zombie apocalypse, complete strangers band together to find the strength they need to survive and get back to loved ones.

Swimming Pool (2003)
Director/screenplay: François Ozon
Writer: Emmanuèle Bernheim
Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Charles Dance, Ludivine Sagnier
Crime, Drama, Mystery, France | imdb
A British mystery author visits her publisher's home in the South of France, where her interaction with his unusual daughter sets off some touchy dynamics.

~*~
* image source: Thermae Palace, Ostend, Belgium, 1988 by Harry Gruyaert

* part of Summertime time (schedule)

Summer Mysteries

~*~

Dark August
by Katie Tallo
Mystery, Thriller | Goodreads
An electrifying, page-turning debut about a young woman haunted by her tragic past, who returns to her hometown and discovers that there might be more to her police detective mother’s death—and last case—than she ever could have imagined.

Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother—her last living relative—has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother’s possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that’s not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight. Gus remembers her mother obsessing over these very same documents and photographs, especially a Polaroid of a young ballerina.

When Gus spots a front-page news story about the unearthing of a body linked to one of the cold case files from her grandmother’s trunk, she can’t resist following her mother’s clues. As she digs deeper, determined to finish her mother’s investigation, her search leads her to a deserted ghost town, which was left abandoned when the residents fled after a horrific fire. As Gus’ obsession with the case grows, she inadvertently stirs up the evils of the past, putting her life in danger. But Gus refuses to be undeterred and is committed to uncovering long-buried secrets, including the secrets surrounding a missing geology student, the young ballerina in the Polaroid, a prominent family’s devastating legacy, and a toxic blast that blew an entire town off the map.

But is Gus ready to learn the truths that culminated on one terrible August night, more than a decade earlier, when lives were taken, and secrets were presumed buried forever…?

The Lion's Den
by Katherine St. John
Chick-lit, Thriller, Mystery | Goodreads
Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth. But when her best friend, Summer, invites her on a glamorous getaway to the Mediterranean aboard her billionaire boyfriend's yacht, the only sensible answer is yes. Belle hopes the trip will be a much-needed break from her stalled acting career and uniquely humiliating waitressing job, but once she's aboard the luxurious Lion's Den, it soon becomes clear this jet-setting holiday is not as advertised.

Belle's dream vacation quickly devolves into a nightmare as she and the handful of other girls Summer invited are treated more like prisoners than guests by their controlling host-and in one terrifying moment, Belle comes to see Summer for who she truly is: a vicious gold digger who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

Belle realizes she's going to have to keep her wits about her -- and her own big secret closely hidden -- if she wants to make it off the yacht alive.

Blacktop Wasteland
by S.A. Cosby
Mystery, Thriller | Goodreads
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.

He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.

Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.

~*~
* image source: Pointe du Raz, Brittany, France, 1983 by Harry Gruyaert


* part of Summertime time ( schedule )

Summer Islands

Islands on the periphery of the United States...

~*~

The House on Fripp Island
by Rebecca Kauffman
Literary, South Carolina | Goodreads
A taut, page-turning novel of secrets and strife. When two families—one rich, one not—vacation together off the coast of South Carolina, little do they know that someone won't be returning home.

Fripp Island, South Carolina is the perfect destination for the wealthy Daly family: Lisa, Scott, and their two girls. For Lisa’s childhood friend, Poppy Ford, the resort island is a world away from the one she and Lisa grew up in—and when Lisa invites Poppy's family to join them, how can a working-class woman turn down an all-expenses paid vacation for her husband and children?

But everyone brings secrets to the island, distorting what should be a convivial, relaxing summer on the beach. Lisa sees danger everywhere—the local handyman can't be allowed near the children, and Lisa suspects Scott is fixated on something, or someone, else. Poppy watches over her husband John and his routines with a sharp eye. It's a summer of change for all of the children: Ryan Ford who prepares for college in the fall, Rae Daly who seethes on the brink of adulthood, and the two youngest, Kimmy Daly and Alex Ford, who are exposed to new ideas and different ways of life as they forge a friendship of their own. Those who return from this vacation will spend the rest of their lives trying to process what they witnessed, the tipping points, moments of violence and tenderness, and the memory of whom they left behind.

The Burning Island
by Hester Young
Mysery, Paranormal, Hawaii | Goodreads | my review
When her work on a high-profile missing child case exposes her fragile secret to the world, Charlie Cates is forced to flee the spotlight.

On Hawai’i’s Big Island, Charlie can escape the past whilst gazing out at breath-taking sunsets and sparkling sea.

But in spite of its beauty the island is harbouring a dark secret of its own, and people who will do anything to protect it.

The more enchanted Charlie becomes by the island's mysteries, the bigger the theat she poses to its tranquillity. And the closer Charlie gets to uncovering the truth, the less likely it seems that she will ever leave the island alive...

The Islanders
by Meg Mitchell Moore
Women's Fiction, Rhode Island | Goodreads
Anthony Puckett was a rising literary star. The son of an uber-famous thriller writer, Anthony’s debut novel spent two years on the bestseller list and won the adoration of critics. But something went very wrong with his second work. Now Anthony’s borrowing an old college’s friend’s crumbling beach house on Block Island in the hopes that solitude will help him get back to the person he used to be.

Joy Sousa owns and runs Block Island’s beloved whoopie pie café. She came to this quiet space eleven years ago, newly divorced and with a young daughter, and built a life for them here. To her customers and friends, Joy is a model of independence, hard-working and happy. And mostly she is. But this summer she’s thrown off balance. A food truck from a famous New York City brand is roving around the island, selling goodies—and threatening her business.

Lu Trusdale is spending the summer on her in-laws’ dime, living on Block Island with her two young sons while her surgeon husband commutes to the mainland hospital. When Lu’s second son was born, she and her husband made a deal: he’d work and she’d quit her corporate law job to stay home with the boys. But a few years ago, Lu quietly began working on a private project that has becoming increasingly demanding on her time. Torn between her work and home, she’s beginning to question that deal she made.

Over the twelve short weeks of summer, these three strangers will meet and grow close, will share secrets and bury lies. And as the promise of June turns into the chilly nights of August, the truth will come out, forcing each of them to decide what they value most, and what they are willing to give up to keep it.

~*~
* image source: County Kerry, West Coast, Ireland, 1988 by Harry Gruyaert


* part of Summertime time ( schedule )

Summertime time

Summertime time
in which there will be summer-ish postings this month
~*~
Take a walk on the beach
feel the sand on your feet
hear the waves roar
feel the suns heat
it's a beautiful world
everythings feeling fine
there's a mood in the air
summertime.
-Charles M. Moore
~*~

Happy Release: The Summer We Found The Baby by Amy Hest

The Summer We Found The Baby
by Amy Hest
Historical, WWII, Middle Grade | Goodreads | my review


SUMMER ISLANDS
books featured:
The House on Fripp Island by Rebecca Kauffman - off the coast of South Carolina
The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore - Rhode Island
The Burning Island by Hester Young - Hawaii | my review


The Guest List by Lucy Foley - island off the coast of Ireland | my review
Camino Island by John Grisham - island off the coast of Florida | my review
Camino Winds by John Grisham - island off the coast of Florida | my review

SOME MORE ISLANDS
books featured:
Island Dreams: Mapping an Obsession by Gavin Francis - Galapagos Islands
Island Zombie: Iceland Writings by Roni Horn - Iceland
Spy Island by Chelsea Cain, illustrated by Elise McCall, Lia Miternique - Bermuda
Summer Island by Natalie Normann - Norway
Christmas Island By Natalie Normann - Norway

SUMMER MYSTERIES
books featured:
Dark August by Katie Tallo
The Lion's Den by Katherine St. John
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

Don’t Send Flowers by Martin Solares | my review
Stolen Obsession by Marlene M. Bell | my review

SUMMER FILMS
films featured:
Summertime
Black Summer
Swimming Pool

SUMMER ROMANCES
books featured:
Beach Read by Emily Henry | my review
Hello Summer by Mary Kay Andrews
One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London | my review


MEANWHILE, check out these SUMMER reads...

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner | Chick-lit | Goodreads | my review
The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton | Women's Fiction | Goodreads | my review
My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong | YA | Goodreads | my review

That Summer by Lauren Willig | Women's Fiction | my review


~*~
* image source: Picnic from Breathe magazine

* poem source: Summertime by Charles M. Moore