Let's Read

by Deanna

Summer is just around the corner and my thoughts drift toward the hours I will spend on the screen porch.  It is still just a might cool here, 50’s and 60’s, so the porch is still closed but soon, very soon that summer warmth will be upon us and those lazy days of spending time in my favorite chair in my favorite summer room will commence.  There are various activities that take place in that favorite chair, drinking my morning coffee in the AM, enjoying a glass of wine in the PM, checking e-mails on my I-Phone, perusing the newspaper, napping, praying, pondering, and napping some more….but one of my most treasured activities sitting in that gem of a spot is reading.   And that’s what I want to talk about today….good summer reading.

When I was much younger, chick flicks and romance were my go-to type of books, but as I “matured” (sounds so much better than growing older) I realized that there was a world of really great stories that had absolutely nothing to do with romance.  Joining three book clubs, I know that seems a bit excessive, also continues to expand my reading genres, reading books that I never would have thought to choose for myself.  Listed below are some recommendations for great summer reads in whatever favorite spot you find yourself in.  These are not in any particular order, just my thoughts.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Andrew Doerr.  If you haven’t read this, you need to.  I read it last summer when it was first published and so far it has been on the bestseller list for 52 weeks and recently won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  An amazing book that alternates the story of a blind French girl and a German boy during WWII.  As their lives spiral out of control you await the moment when they will come together.  Beautiful language and masterful storytelling.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, by Paula Hawkins. A psychological thriller set in the environs of London.  Not the most appealing characters but certainly a page-turner.

BIG, LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty.  Both Liane Moriarty and Jojo Moyes are fast becoming my favorite authors for a good read.  Both are from Australia and both create fascinating characters.  In Big Little Lies, three moms meet on the first day of school and become unlikely friends.  It is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive. 

THE ART OF HEARING HEARTBEATS by Jan-Philipp Sendker. A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma that spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter, Julia has any idea where he might be until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and come to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived . There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm our belief in the power of love that can move mountains.  Truly inspiring.

MISS HAZEL AND THE ROSA PARKS LEAGUE by Jonathan Odell.  If you liked “The Help” then you will love “Miss Hazel”. Odell tells the story of two young mothers, Hazel and Vida set in pre-Civil Rights Mississippi. One is wealthy and white and the other is poor and black who have two things in common: the devastating loss of their children, and a deep loathing for one another.

THE FIFTH GOSPEL by Ian Caldwell.  In 2004 as Pope John Paul II is nearing the end of his time leading the Roman Catholic Church, the curator of the Vatican Museum is found dead just as a new exhibit is set to open. The leading suspect is Alex Andreou, a Greek Catholic priest, who is a friend of the curator and an expert in the Gospels. Ten years of research by Caldwell have produced a deep and satisfying mystery.  Nothing like a good “religious” murder mystery to whet your summer read appetite.

THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristen Hannah  The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in World War II German-occupied, war-torn France --a heartbreaking novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. Well-done but doesn't quite match the incredible writing and story telling of Anthony Doerr in "All the Light We Cannot See." 

DESCENT by Tim Johnston.  A Rocky Mountain vacation turns to terror as a family's 18 year old daughter disappears while out running. The parents are filled with dread and remorse, while Caitlin's brother tries to remember how it happened.  And Caitlin? She is being held hostage by a mad man and she tries to find an escape. How long will her family keep searching?  I have not read this yet, and this short review is by my book-lover friend, Bonnie, but it is on my "to read" list.  

We would love if you would share some of your favorite reads or what you are planning on reading during those lazy, hazy days of summer.