We are logging some impressive hours in the car shuffling our progeny from one edifying experience to another. Pollyanna herself would be hard-pressed to put some positive spin on this eternal carpooling, but we’re nothing if not determined and willing to take on a challenge. Sure, our old lady parts are stiff from car butt and our arms have developed driver’s elbow, but we will find the silver lining in the cloud of fumes we are trailing everywhere we go.

And here it is . . .

Our time idling in neutral in front of high schools, beside soccer fields, and behind gymnasiums might all be for naught if not for the promise of a little “Me” time found in these moments. And what better way to fill those moments than with a good book to keep us company! Forget silver lining. We call this a jackpot!

Now we are sharing our good fortune with you! These five books are as different as the kids we are carting from playing field to playing field, but they are all perfect companions for those quiet moments. Hope you find a little prize hidden inside your busy day too! Enjoy!

1. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Reason #1 to hijack your kid’s summer reading list next year: You may find a gem like this one. We can all relate to the experience of summer camp, of summers of profound change, of that raw youthful desire to be, well, interesting. Wolitzer takes these experiences and marries them to characters who feel like friends. In her deft writer’s hands, suddenly you have a book you can live in, say for a week of soccer practices.  The protagonist Jules is so profoundly recognizable in her youthful yearnings that later when she knows that she is, like most of us, ordinary, you’ll want to shake her and scream, “That’s not true!” Wolitzer has a gift for characterization that is hard to match and this book is something special.

2. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

If you love historical fiction, start panting and salivating now. This book colors the early twentieth century and draws us into that world.The real-life actress Louise Brooks figures prominently in the story, but it’s the story of her chaperone Cora that moves us. Moriarty’s language transports us as well with gems like this one: “Show me a mother with that much thwarted ambition, and I’ll show you a daughter born for success.” Oh, Moriarty, you complete us.  This book will be a big old lovefest of fun to read and the time period doesn’t, in the end, feel like that long ago. Not too shabby for a trusty car companion.

3. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

In one sense, you can think of this book as bread crumbs in the forest because essentially that is how this smart novel is written. Bee, the daughter, assembles emails, documents, letters et al after her mother Bernadette disappears in an effort to assemble the clues to unravel the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. The structure of the novel is just one intimation that this book is something special. After you read each document in its entirety, the full force and power of this novel is brought to light. Bitterly funny, satirical, and off-kilter in the best sense of the word, this send-up about all the things we mock and fear and revere in our modern society is the equivalent of a literary carnival. Oh, we are certainly having fun now! Dork Alert: Fans of Arrested Development won’t be a bit surprised to learn that the author Maria Semple was also a writer for the series .

4. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Loss moves us in lots of ways. For Cheryl Strayed, loss meant literally moving. Away from her broken heart after losing her mother, away from the painful detritus of her failed marriage, away from a life veering off the tracks. She needed to get away in the realest sense possible. So she hit the trail. For her, healing meant lacing up her brand spanking new boots and setting her sights on a trip she honestly was unprepared for in every way. Strayed’s recounting of her time on the Pacific Crest Trail is riveting. Not only is she gifted with a steely resolve worthy of wonder and awe, but she has a wordsmith’s touch and a clear-eyed honesty that will captivate you. Can’t-put-down-able.

5. The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

“A Diamond is Forever.” That famous ad line and a storyline about Frances Gerety, the ad exec that created it,  is the vein that pulses at the heart of this book. We love J. Courtney Sullivan and can honestly recommend any of her books, but this one reminds us WHY we love her so. Sullivan weaves history with fiction so seamlessly and creates characters so compelling that she transports you to whatever time and place she deems worthy of her wicked smart focus. In this case, she is taking on our cultural history with diamonds.  Sullivan shines a light on DeBeers, their famous ad campaigns that made us want what we want, and the diamond industry itself. But she does so by creating four marriages connected over a hundred years, and thus we are reminded of all the gifts she brings to the table. Always quick with a smart turn of phrase, Sullivan is equally deft with her characters and plot development. The result is, as always, a novel with a heart and soul worthy of all your stolen moments.

And a little bonus recommendation. . .

In case you were too busy driving your own kids everywhere last week and missed the big news: Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature! This is pretty huge news, because usually short stories are the black sheep of the literary family. They’re the ones who sit at the kiddie table during the holidays because nobody takes them seriously. They are just not literary enough, but leave it to Alice Munro to shake things up this season.

People have been nodding their heads in agreement for years that Alice Munro is one of the best fiction writers alive. See us doing it too?   Leave it to Nobel to finally say out loud what everyone has been thinking all this time: You rock,  Alice Munro, take this shiny trophy and our accolades and let us shower you with all the praise and plaudits you deserve. Finally.

Now we have heard that all of Munro’s story collections are great, but Erin’s sister is a college professor and she highly recommends Runaway. We pretty much read what she tells us to, so you might want to consider doing the same. But we acknowledge that reading a book might just be too much for you right now, so we wanted to remind you that Sarah Polley wrote a seriously wonderful movie Away from Her based on one of her stories. We are certain the humble, brilliant Munro would be honored if you checked out any of her work.

Happy Reading!

-Erin and Ellen