Amy Mason Doan

Amy Mason Doan grew up in Danville, California and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

She’s written for The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle, Wired, Forbes, The Orange County Register and other publications. Doan has an M.A. in Journalism from Stanford University and a B.A. in English from U.C. Berkeley.

Her debut novel is The Summer List.

Recently I asked Doan about what she was reading. Her reply:

I haven’t had a lot of reading time this year because I’ve been working on my summer 2019 book, Summer Hours. My TBR stacks are tall, teetering, and in nearly every room of my house. But luckily, the books I’ve made time for this year have been phenomenal. I read Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage and it just shattered me. It’s a beautiful, powerful love story.

Emily Strelow’s The Wild Birds has a lot of buzz, especially here in Portland, and deservedly so. It’s an intricate braided narrative that spans centuries, and includes some of the most gorgeous nature writing I’ve ever come across. Emily has a style all her own, but her descriptions of Pacific Northwest animals and landscape remind me of one of my favorite writers, the late Brian Doyle.

I recently re-read an old favorite, the memoir Let's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell, about her friendship with the writer Caroline Knapp. It’s extraordinarily moving and funny and honest, and my all-time favorite book about friendship. Years ago, I sent a fan email to Gail Caldwell to say that her writing was “lyrical yet bullshit-free” and she sent me a kind response. I really appreciated that.

I’ve just started Boardwalk Summer by Meredith Jaeger and I’m enjoying it so much. I have fond memories of the Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk in California, where it’s set. It’s first-rate historical fiction and hooked me immediately.

Visit Amy Mason Doan's website.

--Marshal Zeringue