The Sunday Salon: Orange July!!!

Last year my friend Jill over at The Magic Lasso came up with the brilliant idea of Orange July. It was her personal commitment to read books that had won or been short or long listed for the Orange Prize; she invited anyone who was interested to join in at any level, whether you chose to read just one of the books or a dozen. It turned out to be such a popular challenge that we repeated it in January. And now it's almost time for the second annual Orange July.


Why Orange Prize books? I think they are the best contemporary women's fiction being written today. Of the seven I read last July, one received an average rating (3 1/2 out of 5 stars) and the rest were all 4 to 5 star books. The Orange prize books are consistently among my favorite reads of the year.

On deck for me for this year's Orange July are:

Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
The Colour by the beloved Rose Tremain (I'm savoring her books, reading one every six months or so)
What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt
The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman

And today I received in the mail from the publisher (LOVE free books!) another one that made this year's short list: The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt.

What about you? Have you read any of these books? Have a suggestion which one I should start with? Are you reading Orange this July?

Links of interest:
The Orange Prize Project
Official Orange Prize website

Whatever you're reading, I hope it's enjoyable!
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