Vacation season is upon us, so have you picked out some books to read while you are traveling? Need some selections for book club? Why not try one of these?
I'm always getting asked for book suggestions, so here are my favorite books from A-Z (Part 1). There is a good variety here and I tried to mark the genre of each book.
There are summary paragraphs and links to my reviews for some of them. Some were so much harder than I thought to pick just one, so there are more than one for most! And of course I'm probably forgetting some!
I'm always getting asked for book suggestions, so here are my favorite books from A-Z (Part 1). There is a good variety here and I tried to mark the genre of each book.
There are summary paragraphs and links to my reviews for some of them. Some were so much harder than I thought to pick just one, so there are more than one for most! And of course I'm probably forgetting some!
A
Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery (Children's, Classic)
Anne of Green Gables is the classic story of a young orphan girl who is adopted by a brother and sister who never married on the beautiful island of Prince Edward Island. Anne has a wild imagination and is always creating tales and assigning clever names to the island’s landmarks. She becomes bosom buddies with Diana Berry. Her other classmate Gilbert teases her about her hair, which is as red as carrots. The delightful story chronicles Anne’s life on PEI and the adventures she and her friends embark on. The movies are also fabulous!
Astronaut Wives Club - Lily Koppel (Nonfiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here. The TV show is great as well.
Others: Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons (Beach Read, Fiction, Book Club), Apollo 13 (Nonfiction), All the Summer Girls (Beach Read, Fiction)
B
Bloom:Finding Beauty in the Unexpected--A Memoir - Kelle Hampton (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my blog post about this title here.
Others: Burn for Burn (Beach Read, Teen), Bridget Jones' Diary (Fiction)
C
The Castaways - Elin Hildebrand (Beach Read, Fiction)
The Castaways starts with the death of Greg and Tess, a couple trying to recover from some marital problems. After leaving their twins with friends, the couple sets out on a sail for Martha's Vineyard, drowning on the trip. The rest of the book details the summer following their deaths and how the three other couples that Greg and Tess are friends with deal with the loss. The books is full of surprises that anything else written would give away the plot twists! This is an enjoyable beach read that reminds readers to treasure friendships and the time spent together because life is short. Fans of The Castaways should also read Summerland and Summer People by the same author.
Commencement - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.
Others: Cheaper by the Dozen (Memoir)
D
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells (Fiction, Book Club)
E
Engagements - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.
F
Forget-Me-Not Summer - Leila Howland (Middle Grade, Beach Read)
Check out my blog post here.
Others: First Lady from Plains (Biography), From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John F. Kennedy (Memoir)
G
Girls from Ames - Jeffery Zaslow (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.
Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.
Others: Grayson (Memoir), Great Gatsby (Fiction, Classic, Book Club)
H
Hurricane Sisters - Dorothea Benton Frank (Fiction, Beach Reads, Book Club)
Maisy is the family matriarch in The Hurricane Sisters. The story begins with an hilarious scene where Maisy’s daughter, Liz and son-in-law, Clayton are bailing her out of jail for walking a llama down the street. Maisy is full of spunk and passionately in love with her chauffeur who is much younger and was hired by Liz and Clayton to drive her around. The story unfolds through the voices of each of the main characters but is the story of the women, the hurricane sisters, that shines through. Liz is struggling with the homosexuality of her grown son, the infidelity of her husband and the immaturity of her young daughter, Ashley. Ashley, an aspiring artist, and her roommate, Mary Beth, are living rent free in Clayton and Liz’s beach house trying to struggle with achieving their dreams or coming to terms with reality. The theme of domestic violence is woven through the story as Liz works for a domestic violence organization and Mary Beth is a survivor after witnessing her father abuse her mother growing up but when tragedy strikes within the family, they pull together and support each other with love and encouragement. The Hurricane Sisters is a beautiful story of family and the low country of South Carolina. In the end, no matter how crazy family is, the characters realize that they do need each other more than ever.
Others: An Hour Before Daylight (Memoir)
I
In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner (Fiction, Beach Read, Book Club)
Others: The Island (Fiction, Beach Read), I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan (Memoir), In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir (Memoir)
J
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot - Randy Taraborelli (Biography)
Others: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life (Biography), Just Kids (Memoir, Book Club)
K
Kate: The Future Queen - Katie Nicholl (Biogaphy)
Check out my GoodReads review here.
Others: The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years (Biography), The Kennedy Women: The Saga of An American Family (Biography)
L
Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead - Sheryl Sandberg (Memoir, Business)
Check out my blog post here.
Others: The Last Summer of You & Me (Fiction, Beach Reads), The Last Lecture (Memoir), Leeway Cottage (Fiction, Book Club), Letters from Skye (Fiction), Life as We Knew It (Teen, Book Club), Light Between Oceans (Fiction, Book Club), Little Earthquakes (Fiction), Love Lucy (Biography)
M
Maine - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Beach Reads, Book Club)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards (Fiction, Book Club)
Others: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog (Memoir), Moon Shell Beach (Fiction, Beach Reads), Mrs. Kimble (Fiction), My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and their Wives (History), My Father, My President: A Personal Account of George H. W. Bush (Biography)
Happy Reading!
The Castaways starts with the death of Greg and Tess, a couple trying to recover from some marital problems. After leaving their twins with friends, the couple sets out on a sail for Martha's Vineyard, drowning on the trip. The rest of the book details the summer following their deaths and how the three other couples that Greg and Tess are friends with deal with the loss. The books is full of surprises that anything else written would give away the plot twists! This is an enjoyable beach read that reminds readers to treasure friendships and the time spent together because life is short. Fans of The Castaways should also read Summerland and Summer People by the same author.
Commencement - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.
Others: Cheaper by the Dozen (Memoir)
D
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells (Fiction, Book Club)
E
Engagements - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads review here.
F
Forget-Me-Not Summer - Leila Howland (Middle Grade, Beach Read)
Check out my blog post here.
Others: First Lady from Plains (Biography), From Love Field: Our Final Hours with President John F. Kennedy (Memoir)
G
Girls from Ames - Jeffery Zaslow (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.
Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls (Memoir, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer (Fiction, Book Club)
Check out my GoodReads post here.
Others: Grayson (Memoir), Great Gatsby (Fiction, Classic, Book Club)
H
Hurricane Sisters - Dorothea Benton Frank (Fiction, Beach Reads, Book Club)
Maisy is the family matriarch in The Hurricane Sisters. The story begins with an hilarious scene where Maisy’s daughter, Liz and son-in-law, Clayton are bailing her out of jail for walking a llama down the street. Maisy is full of spunk and passionately in love with her chauffeur who is much younger and was hired by Liz and Clayton to drive her around. The story unfolds through the voices of each of the main characters but is the story of the women, the hurricane sisters, that shines through. Liz is struggling with the homosexuality of her grown son, the infidelity of her husband and the immaturity of her young daughter, Ashley. Ashley, an aspiring artist, and her roommate, Mary Beth, are living rent free in Clayton and Liz’s beach house trying to struggle with achieving their dreams or coming to terms with reality. The theme of domestic violence is woven through the story as Liz works for a domestic violence organization and Mary Beth is a survivor after witnessing her father abuse her mother growing up but when tragedy strikes within the family, they pull together and support each other with love and encouragement. The Hurricane Sisters is a beautiful story of family and the low country of South Carolina. In the end, no matter how crazy family is, the characters realize that they do need each other more than ever.
Others: An Hour Before Daylight (Memoir)
I
In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner (Fiction, Beach Read, Book Club)
Others: The Island (Fiction, Beach Read), I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan (Memoir), In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir (Memoir)
J
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot - Randy Taraborelli (Biography)
Others: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life (Biography), Just Kids (Memoir, Book Club)
K
Kate: The Future Queen - Katie Nicholl (Biogaphy)
Check out my GoodReads review here.
Others: The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years (Biography), The Kennedy Women: The Saga of An American Family (Biography)
L
Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead - Sheryl Sandberg (Memoir, Business)
Check out my blog post here.
Others: The Last Summer of You & Me (Fiction, Beach Reads), The Last Lecture (Memoir), Leeway Cottage (Fiction, Book Club), Letters from Skye (Fiction), Life as We Knew It (Teen, Book Club), Light Between Oceans (Fiction, Book Club), Little Earthquakes (Fiction), Love Lucy (Biography)
M
Maine - J. Courtney Sullivan (Fiction, Beach Reads, Book Club)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards (Fiction, Book Club)
Others: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog (Memoir), Moon Shell Beach (Fiction, Beach Reads), Mrs. Kimble (Fiction), My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and their Wives (History), My Father, My President: A Personal Account of George H. W. Bush (Biography)
Happy Reading!
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