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The Sunday Salon: Orange July!!!

The Sunday Salon.com
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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6 comments:

Caspette said...

Good list. I will be reading what ever I can get from the library to be honest.

Literary Feline said...

I haven't read any of the books on your list, but several are ones I would like to read. Good luck with the challenge!

JoAnn said...

The Magician's Assistant is my favorite Ann Patchett novel, and Rose Tremain is an author I keep meaning to read. Love the idea of Orange July!

3m.michelle said...

Looking forward to this month as well. I haven't made up my list yet but hope to get to at least 4-5.

gautami tripathy said...

I really loved The Magician's Assistant. Also finished Bel Canto. I think Ann Patchett is a great writer!

TSS: A World I never Made

Jill said...

Only hours away! Thanks for joining me again!

=) Jill