Chapter 31 - Take Me With You

The rest of my summer will be (except for a few long weekends in Baltimore) here at home. Being in North Myrtle Beach for the summer is not a bad thing. The weather is beautiful, the beach is one of the prettiest I've ever seen, and we get to meet all sorts of wonderful people from different parts of the United States and the world even.

I do get a little restless though and sometimes I want to go someplace else, if only for a little while. That is where reading comes in. It is so easy to travel to other places while staying at home. Not only can I go back and forth in time but I can go to any country I want. Even better for me, I can learn a little about the country as well.

Here are some summer reads to take you to different times and/or places.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton - I learned so much about the Cuban Revolution from this book! Elisa is young woman growing up in 1950's Havana. When the Cuban revolution comes, her privileged world, and all she loves in it, comes tumbling down. Can she ever regain what she has lost?

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - Two different subjects are treated in this book, the first is the Pack Horse Library Project instituted with FDR's 1930's programs. Our heroine, Cussy Mary Carter is one of these librarians bringing books to the remote areas of Kentucky. Cussy is also one of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky and that presents her with many challenges as she tries to lead a normal life in 1930's rural Kentucky.

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin - Benjamin likes to write novelized accounts of real people and this is about Claude and Blanche Auzello. Claude was the managing director of the Ritz in Paris during World War II and Blanche was his wild American wife. This is a love story, a spy story, and a tale of suspense all wrapped up in one.

The Glass Ocean by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig - I didn't know if this book, written by three talented writers, was going to stand up for me but it was a delightful surprise. The book moves from the present to 1916 and back again with ease and centers on three different characters with three very distinct voices. This is a terrific book.

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan - If you haven't read Jenny Colgan, you are missing a good thing. In this book, Flora MacKenzie has returned to her hometown, Mure, Scotland to open a cafe'. The book could almost be southern in this great story of love, friendships, and family. Mure, an island off the coast of Scotland is of course, breathtakingly beautiful.

Which books do you read when you need to escape to a different place and time?