Dawn is shouldering in here bringing another day of hot weather. It got up to 105 this past week. If you live in North America you might be in a similar hotbox.  But I managed to escape to the Oregon coast for a few days of bracing Pacific air. As in temperatures in the 50s and 60s with a brisk wind blowing most of the day, especially at night.

While there I visited a few of my favorite beaches, a garden, a cafe, a bookstore,  seafood shop, and restaurant. I avoided when of my favorite antique stores because I’m currently culling my belongings and trying not to colllect more. I collected a few rocks but didn’t find any sand dollars, my favorites.  And I returned home renewed. I read Margo has Money Problems by Rufi Thorpe while I was there with sparkling waves nearby. It’s fun, but it’s darkly funny and it was a perfect beach read because I needed to find out how Margo manages single motherhood amid a cast of characters who were expertly drawn. But it also delves into class and the realities of bluecollar jobs, drug addiction, how women are judged to be fit or unfit mothers and how women’s morality is judged much differently than men’s.

I’m always fascinated by best books lists. I’m not great at creating my own list because I keep encountering new favorites, though I do know that Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse  will be on my  top five list for the rest of the my life. It’s exquisite. It’s beautifully written. The characters will break and mend your heart with their desperation and courage. As soon as I finished reading the final page and left my new best friends between its covers,  I was ready to read it again, but so far I’ve held off. Since surely another hot spell will sizzle our region so I’ll reread it then. But I’ve given it as gifts and urged it on friends who also loved it. If your vocabulary is wimpy or you reach for the same words again and again, Enger is your man.

So here’s the Best Books of the 21st Century list from The New York Times. More than 500 authors and book lovers chose their top 10 books and some choices are fascinating, some odd. Surely many great books are missing, but then we’re not seeing all the lists. I’ve read 50 of these titles and don’t agree they all belong on this list, but then taste is subjective. A romance writer choosing mostly  romance titles comes to mind.  {This list should not be behind a paywall.} You also have an opportunity to contribute your choices.

Here are some of my favorites from this list: The Known World, Edward P Jones,  All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr, Olive Kitteridge, Emily Strout, Brooklyn, Colm Toibin, Winter’s Bone, Daniel Woodrell, The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Eagan, The Road, Cormac McCarthy, The Sisters Brothers, Patrick de Witt, Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese, Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan, Train Dreams, Denis Johnson, The Overstory, Richard Powers

What stories do you believe are missing from the list? Are they from smaller presses? Do you keep a favorite’s list? Write book reports for yourself?

Meanwhile, keep reading  like a writer, keep dreaming, having heart