Summer 2020

This has been quite a year! I thought I would read more during the pandemic, but honestly I was distracted and on digital devices too much. I am looking forward to reading many books this summer and I definitely will not be reading electronic books. Print books are all I am packing in my beach bag!
I have been sharing my summer reading choices with friends for many years. This is just a sampling of books I have read or plan to read this summer. The books on my list are usually not the books that change lives or focus on politics. I read memoirs, thrillers, historical fiction and beach reads. Sometimes I watch and read too much news and turn to books to escape. So no, you will not find any pandemic books on my reading list. You will also never find dystopian novels on my list either, although the year of 2020 feels like we are in a dystopian world!
Be well, read some books and find some happiness this summer. 
Cherylann

I just adored this book by Sally Rooney. It is a fabulous book for your beach bag. Many are calling this the best book of the year! You can follow-up with binge watching the series on Hulu or Netflix.

I always include a book on my summer list from my bookseller friend Jen Sullivan. Jen says, "This captivating historical fiction with a strong female central character...dives into 1950's, social classes, women's roles in India and the cultural debate between Western and traditional herbal medicine."

I might just be a little obsessed with the Kennedy family. This gem has everything I love including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the world of publishing. It's a perfect book for the beach. I wanted to change places with the main character and have Jackie as my book editor! Oh wait... I don't have a book to publish.

 I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I never liked the cover of this book. I was hesitant to read it, but my book-loving colleague Lori Codega shared this with me during our time home this spring. I absolutely adored this book. My good friend Nancy Seadale loved it too! I could not put it down! Pack sunscreen when you read this book in the sunshine.

I just couldn't stop reading this well-written book during a cold weekend this winter. I read all the controversy surrounding the book and author, but I still wanted to read this book. I followed the buzz online, but honestly I enjoyed this book. If you want to escape Corona news and read some well-written fiction, get this book. 

“Transportative . . . Make sure you have tissues handy when you read Ann Napolitano’s Dear Edward, a sure-footed tearjerker.”—NPR 

I definitely cried ugly tears after I read this book about a boy who survives a plane crash. It warms your heart for sure. 

My friend Kate Lentz always contributes a pick or two for my summer reading list. Executive Director for the Rhode Island Center for the Book, Kate has chosen the Read Across Rhode Island Book for 2020 for her "pick.".  Kate says Rising is a fascinating book about the rising significance of rising sea levels, with scientific research woven into personal stories. It's written by local author Elizabeth Rush, who's brilliant and has gifted us with such lyrical prose while including the state's landscape in the narrative.

“This electrifying, gorgeously written memoir will hold you captive until the last word.” —People

I could not put this book down! I devoured this book in one day. It reads like a sizzling fictional novel, but this is a memoir and that makes it a fascinating read. This was definitely a favorite of mine this year! Hmm... having two daughters myself I wonder if they would keep a secret of mine from their father. I think my youngest daughter might rat me out for sure!

This book was recommended to me and I have just started it as my first book of the summer. I am only 59 pages in, but I am finding it to be a perfect way to start the summer reading season! According to The Reading Ladies,  "Poignant themes in this story include friendship, racism, prejudice, second chances, healing, finding your voice, safe places and people, mental health, taking risks, and making peace with the past."

“Park Avenue Summer is a frothy and fun cocktail of fact and fiction, perfect for anyone who has ever been a “Cosmo Girl.”’—Augusta Chronicle
I just love that this book is described as frothy! What a great word to describe a book about Cosmopolitan in the 1960's I love the reviews written about this book and I can't wait to bring this baby to the beach. 

"Part memoir, part investigative journalism, and completely engrossing, What We Inherit is not a book you'll be forgetting anytime soon." ―Oprah Magazine
Ooh... attic secrets, the CIA, old newspaper clippings, count me in! I am looking forward to reading this mysterious book that some say reads like a spy novel.







Happy Summer Reading, my friends!
Join me in taking time for putting down our screens and reading some good books.
XO
Cherylann