Ahh, summer: full of big, open stretches of time to read. I love having hours to dig into a big, sprawling novel with intricate, gorgeous language. Below are my suggestions for  interesting fiction books, the second of my four favorite types of summer reading.

These are dense, engaging books that we feel like we need time and mental space to properly read and absorb.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke is full of political machinations, magic posturing, and competing visions of the world. I loved it. The writing is reminiscent of a dense nineteenth century novel, full of ludicrous names, very specific details, and  footnotes. Heavy enough to hurt if you drop it on yourself, I recommend reading this book with a cup of tea overlooking a mountain forest.
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Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore follows a Shakespearean-esque gender-bending adventure of passion (for art and love), injustice, and miscommunication set in pre-revolutionary war Boston. The writing is dense and lovely, and requires attention when reading. There is explicit sex, so consider yourself warned. You can read my Goodreads review here.
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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón freaked me out. In a wonderful, horrible, creepy, full of dread kind of way. Similar to the Master and Margarita, nothing to overtly horribly happens in most of the book, but I was far happier to read this book in bright sunlight. Aside from that, the book is a wonderful glimpse into Barcelona, Spain in the first half of the twentieth century. Read it.
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You can see my other recommendations in my blog post about my four favorite types of summer reading.

Note: if you buy books from these links, I will receive a small payment from Amazon or Powell’s. This helps cover the cost of this website. Thanks!