Ah friends, its been so long since I had a post. I'm slacking again. My life is just too busy.
With the passing of Memorial Day, summer has officially started! For a librarian like me, that means summer reading starts this week! My favorite time during the library year. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to read this year. One of my favorite things to do is read on the beach, at the dock, in my hammock or at the pool while getting some sun (or more likely burned in my case). I'm still working on my list but here's a list of my beach read recommendations. I compiled this for our last Library newsletter. The majority of the books I like to read in the summer either take place in a vacation community or about friends. See if one piques your interest and head outside to read! Who knows maybe 10 or 20 years from now you'll be reading my great American novel on the beach! I can assure you that it is beach read worthy. I'm working on it.
Castaways and Summer People
Elin Hilderbrand
Read my blog post about Castaways by clicking the title. I haven't had a chance to write a review for Summer People. It was a great book but definitely not as good as Castaways. Both take place on Nantucket, which is why I think I enjoyed them so much. The characters are likable and the plots engaging. I'd like to read some more of Elin Hilderbrand's books this summer.
Maine and Commencement
J. Courtney Sullivan
* Sullivan has a new book coming out in June called The Engagements that I will definitely be reading this summer. I am also rereading Maine for book club this month.
Click on Commencement above to read my Good Reads review for the title. I must not have written one for Maine, so I will when I finish it this month. A little bit about the novel though: the story follows the Kelleher family through their many generations of summers spent at a Maine beach cottage. It's a great combination of a beach read and family saga.
The Last Summer (of You and Me) and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series
Ann Brashares
No explanation necessary for the Sisterhood Series but they are definitely worth reading the entire way through, especially since the final segment, Sisterhood Everlasting (an adult book), was released two summers ago. (The link is to my Good Reads review). They are even worth rereading as adults! The Last Summer was Brashares first adult book and it is wonderful. It chronicles the lives of two sisters and their summers working on Block Island. Warning - it's a tear jerker, so be ready!
Summer Sisters
Judy Blume
This is one of my favorite books and I have reread it so many times I've lost count. In recent years, I love it because I have my own summer sisters now. The book is about two lifelong best friends and their annual journey to Martha's Vineyard from childhood to adulthood.
Moon Shell Beach
Nancy Thayer
It's not one of my favorites but its another great beach read that takes place on Nantucket.
The Summer I Turned Pretty Series
Jenny Han
Absolutely loved these books! These YA titles may become repeats each summer. The first is called The Summer I Turned Pretty (Good Reads review), the second is It's Not Summer Without You (Good Reads review) and We'll Always Have Summer is the final segment in the series. The series follow Belly, her brother and two friends throughout their summer as teens and into college. I was so disappointed when this series ended.
Leeway Cottage
Beth Richards Gutcheon
This is a great novel. It was recommended to me by my parents and you know if Marcus read it that its well-written with somw historical value. Leeway Cottage is a family saga that spans decades and intertwines the husband/father's story being a Jew during the Holocaust with tales of the family's summers at a cottage in an elite summer colony.
Prep
Curtis Sittenfield
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Little Altars Everywhere and Ya-Yas in Bloom
Rebecca Wells
HAPPY SUMMER READING!!!
