Five Books I Want to Read This Summer - Laurel's Picks

Like you, my first thought was, “only five?”! Oh my, what to choose! Then, I began thinking of long, warm summer days, lying in a lawn chair, sipping iced tea and reading a book. Imagining myself there, hearing the ice cubes clinking in my glass and feeling the sun on my skin…what would I imagine myself reading?

Persuasion
by Jane Austen.

Letting myself slip into a classic, it’s easy to imagine myself in Bath and Lyme, from sea swept coasts and cool breezes to meeting halls and fashionable outings. Austen’s work always takes me back in time and I enjoy the quick wit and richness of her characters.


True Love & Other Disasters
by Rachel Gibson.

For some lighthearted reading, with playful dialogue between characters, I often gravitate to Rachel Gibson. Pure chick lit and romance, in which many of the very handsome and masculine love interests tend to be hockey players. For the summer, this is a book you can easily pick up and read for a day at the beach, or in your backyard.


The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
by Kelly O’Connor McNees.

As a huge fan of Louisa May Alcott, when a new work of fiction is published using Ms. Alcott as the main character, I like to pick it up. According to the cover, McNees “deftly mixes fact and fiction as she imagines a summer lost to history, carefully purged from Louisa’s letters and journals, a summer that would change the course of Louisa’s writing career – and inspire the story of love and heartbreak between Jo and Teddy “Laurie” Laurence, Jo’s devoted neighbor and kindred spirit.”


The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: an Eclipse novella
by Stephenie Meyer.

Having read the rest of the Twilight series, this new novella by Meyer, which explores Bree Tanner’s story, is on my summer reading list. Although she is a minor character in Eclipse, this newest work explores Bree’s brief life as a vampire and is clearly a “must read” for any Twilight fan!


Dying to Please
by Linda Howard.

Mystery with a bit of spice for the summer, Linda Howard is also a must read on my summer reading list. I’ve chosen Dying to Please because it is one of Howard’s books that I haven’t read, but all of her books are enjoyable for light summer reading because they tend to be quick reads. With lots of quick dialogue, clever plots and romance, they are fun to read when taking a break from yard work or laundry!

Most of the choices I’ve made for my summer reading list are based on quick, light-hearted plots that let me pick up the book in short spurts without investing too much time in any of the characters. My summers are usually filled with outdoor activities, so when I do have a chance to read, I want something fun. I tend to save the “heavy” reading for winter, when I can burrow in under warm sweaters and blankets and start relationships with my fictional characters.

What about you? What’s on your summer reading list and why?