Chapter 26 - We'll Always Have Summer

I don't necessarily read more in summer than any other time of year but many people do. We have a few teachers in our family who enjoy this time to hunker down into a good book. Friends tell me that they enjoy sitting outside and reading either at the beach or pool while soaking up sun. Here in South Carolina it can get so hot that the best thing to do is to sit on the front porch with a glass of iced tea and just read.

Publishers seem to release more fiction books in summer than any other time of year and in fact more fiction books are read in the summertime so that makes sense. Many well known authors have books which come out in June or July and are on shelves just waiting for the summer reader. With longer days, maybe we just feel we have more time to read in the summer.

Regardless of what is going on in my life I always try to schedule time for reading each day. This is a lesson learned from my father who, even in retirement, maintained a firm schedule so as not to “waste the day.” Every afternoon or evening he would fit in an hour or two of reading so now the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

Here are some new summer books that have caught my eye as good summer reads.

Do Tell: A Novel by Lindsay Lynch - This was just published last week and is about Hollywood in its heyday. A young actress finds herself at the end of her contract and looking for a new and better gig than her less than glamorous movie jobs. She has long supplemented her meager income as a gossip columnist. At a typical starlit party one night she is handed a letter with details alledging that an A-listed actor has sexually assaulted a young star. What happens next is the rest of the story.

A Good House For Children by Kate Collins - Not only is this a debut work which has received acclaim but also is billed as a gothic novel which are especially fun in the summertime. Orla and Nick decide that their city apartment is not big enough for their family so Nick finds a Georgian house on the Dorset cliffs—a good house for children. As they settle into the new place strange things start to happen including voices when no one is around and an imaginary friend for her son, Sam.

One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris - This is another debut novel which sounds like a winner. Sara Lancaster left her home in Savannah eight years ago after a traumatic experience. Coming home now to deal with her father's illness and run his bookstore, she tries to keep her daughter away from the family of the man who assaulted her. Of course at some point the past always catches up with you.

The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt - Bob Comet is a retired librarian whose life has been lived through the books he has read and recommended. After rescuing a confused older women from the market one day and returning her to the senior center where she lives, he begins to volunteer at the center. The story weaves between Bob's past story and the one he is creating now.

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead - This is the continuation of the story of Ray Carney, ex-fence from Whitehead's novel Harlem Shuffle. Taking place in the 1970's Ray finds that staying out of trouble would be a lot easier if he didn't have a teenage daughter, a friend still in the business, and a wife who is campaigning for her childhood love interest.

Are there any new books on your summer reading list? Please share.