Summer Reading Series, Part 1: Beach Reads

One of the things I’m asked most often in the summer, by both friends and by library patrons, is: “I need something to read.  What do you recommend?” 

Summer means different things to different people.  For some, it’s travel.  For others, it’s all about the beach, or taking the kids to the pool.  And in many cases, these summer activities seem to go hand in hand with books.  Don’t believe me?  What do you do on the plane, or in the airport, or on a day when your beach plans are rained out?  How do you fill the hours poolside while your kids are frolicking in the water? 

So, what do I suggest?  That depends on what you’re in the mood for.  I’m kicking off the Summer Reading series with the ultimate: Beach Reads.  I usually define these as fiction, fairly light reading, with enough story and great characters to move along quickly.  Nothing too taxing, nothing too serious, just relaxation and entertainment.  Topping my list this summer are:

Beginner’s Greek, by James Collins.  Deeply romantic at heart, Peter Russell has always believed that he’ll meet the girl of his dreams when she sits next to him on an airplane.  When he meets pretty, intellectual Holly Taylor on a flight, he falls madly in love and asks for her number.  Later that night at his hotel, he realizes that the page from his book with her number on it is gone.  What follows is a laugh-out-loud comedy of errors with an oddball cast of characters.

If You Were Here, by Jen Lancaster.  Best known for her side-splittingly funny memoirs (Bitter is the New Black, etc.), Lancaster turns her sights on fiction with equally hilarious results.  Amish-zombie series novelist Mia, finds the house of her dreams…the Jake Ryan house used in the filming of John Hughes’s “Pretty in Pink”.  Fighting book deadlines, a DIY-deficient husband, crazy new neighbors, and a fixer-upper from hell, Mia has hysterical meltdowns and major triumphs.  Funny, fast, and fabulous.

Maine, by J. Courtney Sullivan.  Three generations of Kelleher women find themselves back at their family summerhouse in Maine, each facing her own secrets and challenges.  Heartache, healing, and most of all, hope.  A gorgeous family saga, and total sleeper hit!

And finally, my personal favorite…

Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver.  A somewhat lesser known title than Kingsolver’s breakaway hit, The Poisonwood Bible, Prodigal Summer follows several characters through one steamy, voluptuous summer in an isolated pocket of southern Appalachia.  This one?  I like even better as an audiobook—great for a car trip to your summer vacation destination!

(Click any of the links above to take you straight to the Trumbull Library catalog, where you can check title availability and place a hold.)

Next in our Summer Reading Series—thrillers!  New, spine-tingling titles guaranteed to give you chills, even on the hottest summer day!