Summer Reading

“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.” Wait a minute. No more books? I’ll be happy to lay down the pencil and stop giving my students dirty looks, but books are one of the highlights of my summer. So I’ve compiled a list of 10 books I’ve read recently that I think would make excellent summer reads. To me, these books represent what summer is all about — fun, family, the sun, the ocean, humor, escapism, characters, relationships, and the possibility for love.

Eve’s Summer Reads:
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows –an engaging, romantic story told through diary entries and letters about a journalist researching a piece about a tiny island occupied by the Germans during WWII
• The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch – beautifully written coming-of-age story set on Puget Sound with a memorable child narrator and evocative descriptions of ocean life
• The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman – not exactly beachy, but an awful lot of fun about a boy who lives in a graveyard with ghosts for adoptive parents
• Home Safe, Elizabeth Berg —I love everything by her, but this is her latest book about women’s lives, loves, and choices
• Laura Rider’s Masterpiece, Jane Hamilton –funny, extremely well-written satire with characters you will recognize all too well
• The Wildwater Walking Club, Claire Cook – Witty, breezy, and heartwarming story about the importance of friendship
• Everything Changes, Jonathan Tropper—hilarious story about a man coming of age late in life, told with charm, humor, and lots of warmth
• The Beach House, Jane Green—set on Nantucket Island, the novel deals with likeable characters who are all facing transitions in their lives
• Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen – Leisurely-paced and seductive southern story about two sisters with special gifts
• Love the One You’re With, Emily Giffin – Mature and wry women’s fiction exploring the allure of “the one who got away”

My Wish List (Books I hope to read this summer):
• Best Friends Forever, Jennifer Weiner
• That Old Cape Magic, Richard Russo
• Sag Harbor, Colson Whitehead
• Real Life and Liars, Kristina Riggle
• Catching Genius, Kristy Kiernan
• Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
• The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein
• The Way Life Should Be, Christina Baker Kline
• Twenties Girl, Sophie Kinsella
• Border Songs, Jim Lynch
• The Only True Genius in the Family, Jennie Nash
• Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, Julie Powell