20 Great Books for Summer Reading 2016

I often see lists of books which are suggested summer reads and wonder what makes a book a good summer selection. I remember the summer I sat on the windy Oregon beach reading Olive Kitteridge huddled under a blanket. I doubt that book made too many summer reading lists that year, but I loved it and still have fond memories of reading it while waves from the Pacific Ocean crashed onto the beach nearby. Did I love the book itself or did I love the book because of the reading experience? I think it is the latter. We like books that we associate with positive experiences. I ended up as a Chris Crutcher fan because of the lazy summer spent reading his books while laying in the hammock in the backyard. I have fond memories of reading a really funky short story collection thrown into my bag right before we left for a trip to Italy, a paperback I could leave behind when finished. Italy was wonderful and  I enjoyed every one of the stories in the collection, probably because I was in Italy. Perhaps the most important aspect of a good summer book is one you want to carry with you on a trip or don't mind subjecting to the elements. Then you enjoy it because you are having fun where you are.

A few suggested books you might enjoy this summer----

Looking for something YA?

1-4. The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. The 4th and last book in the series just came out this spring. If you haven't read this marvelous series about friendship, family, and magical dreams and places, you are in for a big treat. This is my favorite series since the Hunger Games. Start with The Raven Boys. Read all four. You'll love them.

5-8. Any book by Andrew Smith. The guy writes seriously strange, out-there fiction but I guarantee who will find his books entertaining. Grasshopper Jungle about a boy and his friend who unwittingly unleash huge grasshopper things on the earth. It won a Printz honor. The Alex Crow brings together four discordant stories. Weird but amazing. Also try 100 Sideways Miles, or Winger. I should warn you though---Andrew Smith's books are full (and I mean FULL) of foul language.

Looking for something historical? Try...
9. The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry set in Southern France in the 1200s in the days of Crusades and the Inquisitions. This is my favorite YA book of 2016 so far.
or...
10. Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina set in New York City in 1977 when the city was burning up from a heat wave, causing power outages, and Son-of-Sam was harassing the city with his random murders. No one was safe.

Looking for something adult?

11. West with the Night by Beryl Markham
A memoir, published in 1942, by the first person to fly from England to New York, east to west. It is also about her experiences growing up in British East Africa (Kenya.) Beautifully written
12. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
A novelized memoir of Beryl Markham's life.
McLain is an amazing writer, too.
I am obsessed with these two books right now.

Prefer nonfiction? Try-
13. The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner,
a true story of a girl raised in a polygamist's cult. She was the 39th of her father's 42 children. Riveting.
14. All the Things We Never Knew:Chasing the Chaos of Mental Illness by Sheila Hamilton
The author recounts how she missed the signs of her husband's mental illness before he took his life.

15. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
This graphic novel is a tremendous coming-of-age story which has recently come under the scrutiny of censors. For this reason, I am telling everyone to read this book so you can see for yourself why censorship is bad. Check out the details in The Guardian article, then go read it!

Like audiobooks? So do I. Try these---

16. The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
This is the last book written by the author of the wonderful and funny Discworld series before he died. It is also the fifth book in the Tiffany Aching sub-series. Stephen Briggs is the voice actor who reads this book and he does a tremendous job. I laughed. I cried.
17. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.
If you haven't read this nonfiction account of the US Rowing team that won the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, this is a marvelous way to consume the book. A family favorite, it is read by Edward Herrmann, now deceased.
18. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
McCullough reads his own book about the very famous and genius Americans, Orville and Wilbur Wright. Actually everything McCullough writes is excellent in the audio format. His research is impeccable yet approachable and his voice is so easy to listen to.

Join me. I hope to read these books this summer---

19. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The 2016 Pultzer Prize winner. This is also a book club selection. I have it checked out from the library right now so I need to get to it soon!
20. Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stephenson,
My husband doesn't know this yet, but this is what I plan to listen to in the car as we drive to Whistler, B.C. tomorrow. Many blogging friends have recommended it.

Happy Reading.