Got Books? Cranberry Librarian, Patch Editor Suggest Summer Reads

The warm weather is finally here to stay (at least we think), which means it’s time to start thinking about fun summer reads.

Cranberry Patch editor Jessica Sinichak has once again teamed up with Cranberry Public Library Director Leslie Pallotta to bring you their picks to browse on the beach, or the back deck… or whenever you get a free moment.

Don’t forget to add your summer reading suggestions to the comment section below.

Enjoy!

Leslie’s Summer Reading Suggestions

Summer’s here! Even though I haven’t darkened the door of a classroom in years, I still think of summer as a time to read for fun, no “school books” allowed. The books I choose are lighter in tone, easier to read, and not at all taxing on the brain.  

Cheers and happy reading to you!

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

How can you not love a book set in the south that combines just a hint of the supernatural with a main character who’s catering skills have the ability to change lives?

Claire’s successful catering business is known for life changing impacts, so it is ironic that Claire’s life is so routine and predictable. Predictable that is, until her sister and niece returns to live in her small hometown and turn everything upside down. 

Add a smidge of romance when it is least expected and you’ve got the perfect page turner for summer!

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, by Bill Bryson

Known mostly for his travel writing, this is Bryson’s laugh-out-loud funny memoir of growing up in 1950s Des Moines, Iowa. 

Donning a football helmet, a towel/cape and a T-shirt with a thunderbolt, Bryson becomes the ‘Thunderbolt Kid’ and tells stories that are familiar to almost everyone’s childhood. 

His talent-packed writing, wry observations and quick wit make you wish you had been there with him—perhaps in a superhero persona of your very own. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The coming-of-age tale of Francie Nolan. There’s just so much life in this book.  Smith takes the everyday and makes it extraordinary through the eyes Francie, who grows and changes with each turn of the page.  

If you read one classic this summer, make it this one!

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Our heroine, Kate Burkholder, left her Amish order at age 18 and in less than 10 years, she manages to become the chief of police in the small community where she grew up. 

When a dead body is discovered in a snowy field, the murder scene’s resemblance to the style of a serial killer that stalked the area years before cannot be overlooked.  

Amish. Serial Killer. Female cop. Now that’s different and while I don’t typically read mystery and suspense, Castillo’s writing has won me over.

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

Trigiani has become a big name author since I started reading her years ago. This was her first book, and it remains my favorite. 

Maybe it’s the fact that at age 35 Ave Maria Mulligan is considered a “spinster.”  Or maybe it’s the setting of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Perhaps it’s the quirky characters, the inclusion of recipes, or the link to Italy. 

No matter what it is, this really is a fantastically light read with just the right amount of heart for summer.

Jessica’s Summer Reading Suggestions

Being an avid reader usually comes with the territory of being a writer, and I'm no exception. I'm hoping to enjoy these books again, preferably by the poolside. 

Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax

Oh, how I love improvement projects—and this book has plenty of them, of the personal and the home variety.

Three very different women, Madeline, Avery and Nicole, have nothing in common, except the fact that they’re all on the brink of financial ruin after investing their life savings in a ponzi scheme.

As part of a settlement, the strangers are left co-ownership of a dilapidated beachfront mansion in Florida. The women are determined to fix up the manse, with unexpected results. Lively, light writing at its best!

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

No one does summer better than Elin Hilderbrand. Set in picturesque Nantucket, Beautiful Day follows the Carmichaels and the Grahams as they plan a wedding to the specific wishes of the bride’s late mother. Sounds perfect, right? Expect plenty of drama and intrigue instead. After all, that’s Hilderbrand’s specialty.

Beautiful Day won’t be released until June 25, but I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend it. In all my years of reading Hilderbrand, she hasn’t had a misfire yet!

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

With The Great Gatsby currently on the big screen, this is the perfect time to get familiar with literary legend F. Scott Fitzgerald’s equally creative wife.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald peels away the some of the mystery behind the life of the boisterous (and sometimes scandalous) “original flapper,” who died in a metal institution at age 47.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

This is no typical love story. Louisa Clark takes a job as caretaker to Will Traynor, a wealthy former adventurer whose body—and spirit—was crushed in an accident, leaving him a quadriplegic. 

The bubbly Louisa sets out to show Will life is still worth living. I admit, the premise originally had me thinking this book would be too much of a downer to enjoy, but Me Before You is uplifting and fun, although I can’t promise you won’t shed a few tears.

A Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

I’m a sucker for young adult fiction—at least if it’s well written. 

Following the Shadowhunters, a human race of warriors descended from angel’s blood and sworn to hunt demons, A Clockwork Princess is the third (and last) novel in Cassandra Clare’s excellent The Infernal Devices series.