Tag Archive for: #summer reading

Summer Reading List

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by Paula Gail Benson

Mary Lee Ashford has already visited this subject in her excellent post from June 6 (‘Tis the Season … for Summer Reading). I particularly like her tips for choosing a summer read. She also has a list of guides with current reading lists.

I’ve always enjoyed reading, but I admit that summer allows for greater leisure and flexibility in choice. Every year, in May or June as school recesses for the summer, libraries offer reading programs to keep young minds occupied during the warmer months. When I was growing up, I remember trying to be diligent in meeting the requirements (dependent upon age and comprehension level) so I could qualify for the certificate or award being given.

During high school, I found a list of great books that a person should read to be considered, ah—well-read. I tried to follow it. While I didn’t succeed getting through the list, I did find some different authors to enjoy.

I’ve seen several online lists this summer, many of them with the same or similar recommendations. Here are three you may wish to consider:

17 Books Everyone Should Read Before They Die (msn.com)

18 must-read classic books that have remained popular years after their original publication (msn.com)

Read or Regret – 21 Books You Absolutely Must Tackle Before Your Time’s Up (msn.com)

On June 9, 2024, the online Readers’ Digest featured an article by Leandra Beabout entitled 100 Best Books of All Time. I found the selections she recommended to be inclusive of classics, favorites, fiction and nonfiction, children’s and young adult books, and plays, as well as representative of diverse cultures and literary forms (short stories by Alice Munro and David Sedaris and even a graphic novel published in 2000, Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi). Among the authors included are Steven King, Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Zora Neale Hurston. There also is what I considered a surprise inclusion: Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls (1966).

Please take time to peruse Ms. Beabout’s list. Here are a few of her suggestions:

Classics:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1878)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)

1984 by George Orwell (1949)

Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (1865)

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller (1962)

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952)

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (1915)

The Age of Innocence by Edith Warton (1920)

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)

Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1603)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1847)

 

My Favorites:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997)

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1952)

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (1947)

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (1995)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)

Summertime…and the TBR pile is calling!

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By Lois Winston

A Crafty Collage of Crime, the 12th book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, released six weeks ago. After a multi-week blog tour to promote the book, I’ve now officially entered the period I call “me” time, a mini-vacation I permit myself after each new book leaves the security of the laptop womb and before I begin seriously thinking about the next book. Much of that “me” time is spent binge-reading (especially since it’s too hot to leave the house!) I’m trying to make a sizable dent in my virtual TBR pile before I add another book to my Kindle library. Here are the books I’ve read so far (in the order I read them) and what I thought.

 

Murder at the Pontchartrain by Kathleen Kaska

Kathleen Kaska always delivers, and once again she doesn’t disappoint in Murder at the Pontchartrain, the sixth book in her delightful 1950s era Sidney Lockhart Mystery Series. This time Sidney and Dixon are in New Orleans, having decided to elope, but it doesn’t take long for a dead body to show up in their hotel room, delaying the nuptials and plunging them into yet another murder investigation as the bodies begin to pile up and Dixon finds himself locked up. Kaska had me guessing whodunit until the very end, and those are the best murder mysteries.

 

The Tiffany Girls by Shelley Noble

A brilliant blending of fact and fiction. When a Parisian woman artist is forced to immigrate to New York, she secures a position at the Tiffany Glass Works, working beside the real women responsible for many of the designs and much of the work attributed to Louis Comfort Tiffany. Noble has woven a well-researched historical novel that will draw you in and keep you turning pages.

 

The Princess Spy by Larry Loftis

A fascinating look at an American woman who worked as an OSS operative in Spain during WWII. I just wish the author had delved more into her life in this biography and spent less time celebrity name-dropping. I also wanted more narrative action and less dry summarization of events.

 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

For such a prolific playwright, so little is known of William Shakespeare’s life and family, including the circumstances of his young son’s death. In Hamnet, the author weaves an engaging tale of what might have occurred and how it may have become the catalyst for one of Shakespeare’s greatest works.

 

Dead Men Need No Reservations by Terry Ambrose

The latest edition to Terry Ambrose’s Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mysteries doesn’t disappoint. I always love spending a few hours with these characters, especially Alex, the precocious thirteen-year-old wannabe sleuth. If you’re in the mood for a light mystery and a few chuckles along the way, this book will give you both.

 

Going Rogue by Janet Evanovich

No matter the lemons in your life, spend a few hours with Stephanie Plum, and you’ll be sipping lemonade. Going Rogue is just as entertaining as all the other books in the series and will certainly make you forget your cares–at least for a little while–as you slip into Stephanie’s world.

 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

I had never gotten around to reading this acclaimed Christie mystery, but I did figure out whodunit before the denouement, so for me that was a bit of a disappointment. However, what’s not to love about Monsieur Poirot?

 

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel this book lived up to the first in the series. I really enjoyed Magpie Murders, but this sequel seemed forced, contrived, and often plodding. I’m someone who enjoys the “book-within-a-book” format when it’s done well, but that wasn’t the case here. The style works best when the two stories alternate, not when the entirety of the second book is dropped into the middle of the other. However, he did keep my guessing whodunit until the end.

 

In addition, I’ve read several mysteries for a contest I was judging and one where I was asked to write a blurb, but since the contest winners have yet to be announced, and the blurb book is not yet published, I can’t mention anything about them.

Now I’m off to tackle the next book on my list…but before I go, If you’re planning a road trip and looking for an audiobook to pass the drive time, I still have a few promo codes available for a free download of A Stitch to Die For, the fifth book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Post a comment about your summer reading for a chance to win one.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

When I Visited Walden Pond

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By Kathryn Lane

The
past three years, my husband and I have spent the summers in a cabin in northern
New Mexico. We are isolated, in a way. We are connected to the outside world
with excellent internet, workable phone communications, and muddy dirt roads
during the rainy season.

As
I watch the deer, elk, birds, and the occasional bear, I’m reminded of my favorite Henry
David Thoreau quote “We can never have enough of nature.” And that takes me to his experiences at Walden Pond.

During my corporate years, I mostly
worked overseas, but on two rare occasions I had domestic assignments. One of
those instances, I went to Boston for three weeks. I loved the city and became mesmerized
by its history, especially that pertaining to the American Revolution. Being
from Mexico, I did not know US history and this was a unique opportunity. In
the evenings, I walked the Freedom Trail, stopping along the way at Faneuil
Hall, the old State House, and continuing to Paul Revere’s statue and his home,
now the oldest building in downtown Boston.

One weekend, I visited Lexington and
Concord where the revolution started. Being an avid cyclist at the time, I
rented a bicycle so I could visit Walden Pond. Thoreau’s book, Walden,
intrigued me and here was my opportunity to cycle around the entire pond and
enjoy the place where he had lived for a couple of years.

The pond, a kettle hole formed by
retreating glaciers about 10,000 years ago, was worth seeing, not to mention experiencing
the place Thoreau made famous. The shores of the pond consisted of terrain
suitable for walking but I quickly learned that tree roots and sharp rocks were
not kind to bicycle tires! After fixing a flat halfway around, I decided to
walk the bike the rest of the way to make sure I could ride back to Concord
where I’d left the rental car.

Now that I live close to nature part
of the year, I reflect on Thoreau’s years there and his writing.

The central ideas expressed in Walden
are experience, self-reliance, and worship. He examined the fundamental
elements of humanity. Very lofty ideas.

My novels are genre, plain and simple. And I love writing them from a mountain cabin! Yet, as an author who loves
history, you’d think I’d write historical novels. Mysteries and thrillers
fascinate me and that’s what I write. I’m captivated by the twists and turns of
mystery and suspense.

Of
course, there are historical mysteries. Humm, I’ll have to ponder that thought
while enjoying the mountain scenery of northern New Mexico!

Do you secretly wish you wrote in a different genre?

***

Visit me at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com I love
hearing from readers. Ask a question, suggest an idea, or comment about the
blog.

The
Nikki Garcia Mystery Series: eBook Trilogy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZNF17G

Kathryn Lane started out as a
starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and
embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational
corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into
writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply
from her Mexican background as
well as her travels in over ninety countries.

Clicking Our Heels – Summer Reading List

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Summer
is almost over, but there still is time for a few great summer reads before
Labor Day. Here are a few suggestions from members of The Stiletto Gang.

Paula
Benson:
Gigi Pandian’s Accidental Alchemist
mysteries — The Accidental Alchemist, The Marauding Magician,
and The Elusive Elixir — I love the living gargoyle, Dorian
Robert-Houdin. His vegetarian recipes almost convince me to try that lifestyle.

Anything by Lori Rader-Day — The Black
Hour, Little Pretty Things, and The Day I Died — Her novels
will all keep you on the edge of your seat.

Lee S. Robinson’s Lawyer for the Dog
and Lawyer for the Cat — two great legal chick lit virtual journeys to
Charleston, SC. They will keep you laughing and turning pages.


Cathy
Perkins:

I’m a
little burned out on mysteries (perish the thought!) so this week, I’m reading
Kristin Hannah’s Firefly Lane; Lisa
Unger’s Ink and Bone; and Glen Erik
Hamilton’s Past Crimes (because you
can never not read mysteries).

Dru
Ann Love:

Lowcountry Bonfire by Susan M. Boyer 
The Tell-Tale Tarte by Maya Corrigan 
Death of a Bachelorette by Laura Levine 
Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo 
Cat About Town by Cat Conte 
Hollywood
Homicide by Kellye Garrett

Barbara
Plum:

HOW EMOTIONS ARE MADE by Lisa Feldman
Barrett–a surprising and different twist on the brain and emotions. THE ACHIEVEMENT HABIT by Bernard Roth, a
Stanford engineer who has created a program to harness the wanna-save-the-world
ideals of young students.

Juliana Aragon Fatula:

Sherman
Alexie Memoir You Don’t Have to Say You
Love Me,
the absolute true diary of a part time
indian,

by
Denise Chavez: The King and Queen of
Comezon, A Taco Testimony, Meditations on Family, Food,  and Culture, The
Last of the Menu Girls


by Joy
Harjo: A Map to the Next World

by
Leslie Marmon Silko: Storyteller

by
Louise Penny: How the Light Gets In


Linda Rodriguez:

I’ll go
with what I want to read myself (but probably won’t have a chance to until
summer’s gone).

REEK OF
RED HERRINGS by Catriona McPherson
MURDER ON THE RED RIVER by Marcie Rendon
GARDEN OF LAMENTATIONS by Deborah
Crombie
ARACHNID VERVE by Shauna Osborne
CITIZEN by Claudia Rankin
THE OBELISK GATE by N.K. Jemisin
IRRADIATED CITIES by Mariko Nagai
COURT OF FIVES by Kate Elliott

Jennae Phillippe:

Oh man. Whatever makes you
happy? I tend to go lighter in the summer, heavier in the winter. But I find
recommending books really hard. I would suggest people check out The Stiletto
Gang authors. 😛

Sparkle Abbey:


Anita: I
haven’t read as many books as I’d like. I’ve been reading meal prep cookbooks.
I finally finished Death but Tiara and Death of a Bachelorette by Laura Levine.

Mary
Lee: I’m doing a lot of reading different things this summer. Mysteries,
of course, women’s fiction, and non-fiction. Some I’d recommend are: Flight
Patterns by Karen White; Death of a Bachelorette by Laura Levine, and The
Knowledge Illusion by Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach.

Kay Kendall:

*Trail of Echoes: A Detective Elouise Norton Novel by Rachel
Howzell Hall  

*Kilmoon: A County Clare Mystery by Lisa Alber


*Quiet Neighbors: A Novel by Catriona McPherson
*The Darkest Secret: A
Novel by Alex Marwood      
                                                                                                    


Summer Reading – Part II

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Summer Reading – Part II by Debra H. Goldstein

For ten days, I forgot about being a writer.  Instead, other than reading Murder on Wheels with an eye towards reviewing it, I let my mind forget about the tools of the trade and I read for pleasure.

Biographies, cozies, thrillers, literary fiction – all were fair game.  My goal was pure enjoyment or as I like to refer to it:  FUN.

I’ve discovered that in my quest to write decent short stories and novels (or at least publishable ones), I sometimes replace my love of words with mechanical technicalities.  When I’m writing, the same critical eye comes into my reading habits.  I pick apart the language of other authors.  I look to see how they use dialogue, plot, setting, word choice, and grammar instead of simply relaxing into the story.  If two linked ideas couldn’t realistically connect in real life, I’m disturbed.  If a character’s name isn’t remembered correctly or a hole exists in the plot, the book is a disaster for me.

When I stop writing and become a reader again, I regain my ability to enjoy well-written and not so well-written books.  I chuckle, I laugh, I cry, and I am fulfilled by the different worlds I visit.  Best of all, I remember why I want to write – to help provide even a smidgen of these feelings to others.
So, what did I read on my break that refreshed me and gave me the drive to write again:

I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Mary Higgins Clark
Destroyer Angel – Nevada Barr
night, night, sleep tight – Hallie Ephron
Truth Be Told – Hank Phillippi Ryan
Interpretation of Murder – B.K. Stevens
The Kept – James Scott
The Inverted Forest – John Dalton
A Fine Romance – Candice Bergen

Have you read anything you’ve liked lately?  I’m making a list for my next ten day break.

Summer Reading List

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Lazy summer days are perfect for ready a drop dead excellent mystery. Cozies are my favorites. I definitely go through phases, and I’m in one now, devouring as many books as I can, using my time to enjoy new authors and reacquaint myself with old favorites.


Here’s a list of some great cozy mystery authors to dive into when you have a lazy summer day.


Agatha Christie = Mystery



Agatha’s the goddess of the the murder mysteries. Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot are two of the most recognizable sleuths in fiction and live on even today. Of course I have fond memories of Tommy and Tuppence, too, as my mom named two of our cats Tommy and Tuppence.


Cat Among the Pigeons was one of my favorites (I spent my entire high school career holed up in a math classroom during lunch reading Grand Dame Agatha’s books… no dances, no dates, no prom, just mysteries!).


All of her books may not be traditionally cozy, but she’ll always be my favorite.


Other authors I’m loving at the moment are:



Wendy Lyn Watson and her mystery ala mode books (book 2 will be out in September!). Ice cream and mystery, what’s not to love?

















Heather Webber and Truly, Madly, not to mention Deeply, Desperately. Matchmaker mysteries? LOVE them.

















Juliet Blackwell and her Witchcraft Mysteries. Now, I am in the middle of this book and I am really enjoying it. It has la Llorona in it! I wrote a romantic suspense that centered on la Llorona, so I was destined to love this.













Annette Blair and her Vintage Magic Mysteries. Vintage clothing store, ghosts, and small New England living. Just my cup of tea.














Charlaine Harris and her Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard Mysteries. I haven’t tried Harper Connelly… any thoughts?




These are just a few of the many, many books on my tall, tall stack.


I’d love other suggestions, though, so I know what to move to the top (stiletto books excepted, as the high-heeled lady’s books already some of my faves!!).


Go ahead, help me craft my summer reading list!



~Misa


And check out Word Filled Writer’s Workshop Wednesday!! ( you can still play along, even though it’s Thursday, now! )

Books in Waiting (or the pile on my sofa)

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Some of you know I just had eye surgery on both eyes. It’s been a long six months of weaning myself off my gas permeable contact lenses so that the eye surgeon could figure out what strength of corrective lens to implant. During this process, I haven’t had great vision and haven’t read very much for pleasure. But now the surgery is over, my eyes have healed, and I can see again!!! I’m ready to dive back into the wonderful world of reading.

I have a nice stack of books on my sofa. These are the books I have just read, or I’m currently reading, or I intend to read over the summer. Of course as soon as I pick one of them up, I feel guilty for not spending the time writing. Oh, well, I’ll just have to deal with the guilt.

Damaged by Alex Kava
I had never read any of Ms. Kava’s novels before but I really enjoyed this advance copy. Wonderful characters and lots of excitement as the serial killer is tracked. I love the female Coast Guard rescue swimmer character and hope this wasn’t her last appearance.

Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich
I’m hoping to read this thriller soon. The plot involving a Doctors Without Borders surgeon and his double agent wife sounds great!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest – all by Stieg LarssonI may be one of the few who haven’t read these books, but I’m determined to cure that oversight this summer. I’m just a few pages into the first of the three, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I’m hooked.

Last week I went shopping in a real brick & mortar bookstore for books for my Dad’s birthday gift. I found him a non-fiction book about George Custer’s last stand and two thrillers whose titles escape me at the moment. The important part of this story – (insert smile) is that I also found a couple of books for me. Isn’t that amazing the way that works? I encourage everyone to shop for gifts in bookstores. I purchased The Ark by Boyd Morrison – a mystery concerning the search for Noah’s Ark. I’m about a chapter into it. So far someone has tried to kill the heroine twice in three days. I’m seeing a pattern and suspect foul play. I also bought the wonderful Nancy Pickard’s The Scent of Rain and Lightning. I read her last one set in Kansas and loved her writing. I’m anticipating great things from this new book!

How about you? What are you reading? What do you plan to read this summer?

Rhonda
aka The Southern Half of Evelyn David

Summertime and the Living Was Easy

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Do you remember when summer used to be half the year? I don’t think I noticed that it was only three months until well into high school. Summers meant swimming, softball, staying up late, sleeping in, odd jobs for spending money, and reading – reading as many books as possible. Summer was wonderful.

In grade school I loved westerns (covered wagon stories, Kit Carson, and all the Zane Grey novels I could get my hands on) and mysteries (Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Trixie Belden.) My best friend and I cleaned a motel swimming pool one summer for a little cash and free use of the pool. We cleaned in the mornings and then sat by the pool during the afternoon, reading. When we’d had enough chlorine and sun, we’d go over to the motel restaurant to drink large cokes and eat chips and salsa.

In high school my reading tastes shifted a little. I discovered biographies. My favorite subjects were Abraham and Mary Lincoln, Golda Meir, Amelia Earhart, Mary Queen of Scots, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Yeah, I was all over the place, but that was half the fun. I also discovered true crime (In Cold Blood, Helter Skelter) and the bittersweet romance of Danielle Steele. Ms. Steele made me cry every time.

I worked one summer for the National Park Service. I’d spend a couple of hours in the morning at the lake, swimming and reading, and then I’d get ready for work. I had the 3:00 pm to midnight shift at a campground. I was supposed to collect camping fees and make sure nobody disturbed the peace by playing their boom boxes too loudly or engaging in public screaming matches with their spouses. I also had to keep the campground kiosk open in case someone had an emergency and I needed to radio for help (this was pre-cell phone days folks.). But it was a slow summer, the springs at the campground were dry and the tourists preferred the lake. Mostly I sat alone in the kiosk, a small rock building with windows on all sides. People could see me, but because of the forested darkness outside, I couldn’t see them. I sat there, night after night and read the scariest stuff Stephen King had to offer. That was a great summer!

I still like to read all kinds of fiction, although I read less since I started writing. I was shopping on Saturday for a Father’s Day gift and books were at the top of my list. I picked up the latest Lee Child novel for my Dad and couldn’t resist grabbing a paperback mystery for myself. The book, The Grave Tattoo by Val McDermid, had a lake scene on the cover and a blurb from one of my favorite authors promising it was “irresistible.”

If I get a sunny afternoon this next week, I might play hooky from work, lay in a lounge chair in the backyard with my book and pretend I’m on summer vacation from school. No bills to pay, no career to worry about, no deadlines looming. I won’t even notice that the lawn will need mowing again and that my deck could use a coat of fresh paint. I’m going to ignore all that and do a little time traveling – back to when summers lasted half the year.

Evelyn David
http://www.evelyndavid.com/