Reprinted from auburnpub.com.
June has arrived and that means it’s time to plan our summer
beach reads. Whether you read on vacation, by the pool, or on your front porch,
here are some suggestions for great summer reads.
If you are looking for a traditional juicy summer novel,
Stephanie Evanovich follows up last year’s big beach read “Big Girl Panties”,
with a sassy, sexy prequel “The Sweet Spot” about a Derek Jeter-like baseball
star who pursues a restaurateur wary of his reputation. It’s perfect for the
baseball lover, and it publishes July 8th.
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| The Sweet Spot |
South Carolina native Dorothea Benton Frank returns with
another Southern family novel about a four women: 80 year-old feisty Maisie,
her middle-aged daughter Liz, Liz’s artist daughter Ashley and Ashley’s roommate
Mary Beth, all trying to come to grips what life has in store for them- oh
yeah, and there is a hurricane heading their way. I love the humor and humanity
in Frank’s novels.
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| The Hurricane Sisters |
If you like your summer reading to have a little more meat,
Patry Francis’ 500 page “The Orphans of Race Point” takes place over thirty
years in the lives of three friends who grew up together on Cape Cod. It’s a
big, wonderful story with heartbreak, love, and family- those who are related
by blood and those you choose to be your family. This is my favorite book so
far this year.
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| The Orphans of Race Point |
Another big book is Greg Iles’ “Natchez Burning”, the first
in a trilogy. This one tells the story of a son out to save his father, a
beloved doctor accused of murdering an African-American nurse he worked with
years ago. This one has been getting rave reviews, including one from Stephen
King.
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| Natchez Burning |
Those of you who were addicted to HBO’s “True Detective”
should check out Laura McHugh’s “The Weight of Blood”. When a teenage girl is
found brutally murdered and left under a tree, her friend tries to find out
what happened, and wonders if it could be tied to her mother’s disappearance
when she was a just a baby. The story is told from the mother’s perspective and
the daughter’s perspective, and has lots of scary, creepy atmosphere.
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| The Weight of Blood |
If historical fiction is your pleasure, Jacqueline Winspear,
author of the WWI private investigator Maisie Dobbs series, checks in with a
stand alone WWI novel, “The Care and Management of Lies” about Tom, a farmer in
England, his sister who protests for peace, and his wife, a teacher-turned-farmer’s
wife who must keep the farm going when Tom goes to war in France. I loved the
look at what being a farmer’s wife at that time entailed.
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| The Care and Mangement of Lies |
If the Civil War interests you, Jennifer Chiaverini’s “The
Spy Mistress” fictionalizes the true story of Richmond, Virginia aristocrat
Elizabeth Van Lew who spied for the Union, putting herself and her family at
great personal risk to help Lincoln’s generals win the war. It was a story I
didn’t know and found so interesting.
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| The Spy Mistress |
Maggie Shipstead’s second novel, “Astonish Me” is very
different from her first novel, “Seating Arrangements”, but just as good. Joan
studies to be a ballerina and becomes involved with a Russian dancer who
defects to the US in the 1970s. She marries a childhood friend, has a son, and
moves to California. Her son becomes a ballet dancer and his idol is the
Russian whom Joan was in love with years ago. The writing is gorgeous and if
you love ballet, this insider’s look is fascinating.
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| Astonish Me |
For non-fiction readers, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J.
Dubner follow-up their hugely successful book “Freakanomics” with “Think Like A
Freak”. They combine terrific storytelling with their unique analysis to help
people be more creative and productive. They show us how a hot dog eating
champion came upon his winning strategy (it involves soaking the bun in water),
why an Australian doctor ingested dangerous bacteria, and why e-mail scammers
say they are from Nigeria. If you didn’t get Dad a Father’s Day gift yet (and
if you didn’t, shame on you!), go get this.
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| Think Like A Freak |
Everyone is talking about Hillary Clinton’s book, “Hard
Choices”, which published this week. She talks about the difficult decisions
she has faced in her life and how she came to them. It covers much of her time
as Secretary of State in the Obama administration and people will no doubt be
parsing the sentences for clues as to whether she will run for president in
2016.
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| Hard Choices |
Whatever you read this summer, I hope you enjoy it and that
the weather is good wherever you go.
