Summer is a great time to catch up on reading! If you need inspiration, here’s a list of some titles from the top of EVPL staff’s to-be-read piles. What are you reading this summer?
Michelle enjoyed Andy Weir’s other books and the 2015 film based on The Martian, so she’s looking forward to his latest novel: Project Hail Mary. The sole survivor on a desperate mission to save both humanity and the earth, Ryland Grace is hurtled into the depths of space when he must conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
Based on many recommendations, Jake is planning to read The Guest List by Lucy Foley. On a secluded island, guests celebrate a marriage between a rising TV star and a magazine publisher. It’s a dream wedding, until resentments and jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. Then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well?
Jake is also excited about a brand new collection of essays by John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted from his podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet—from the QWERTY keyboard and Staphylococcus aureus to the Taco Bell breakfast menu.
Heather has always had a soft spot for Greek mythology and recommends A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes for fans of Circe by Madeline Miller. It’s a retelling of the Trojan War from a female perspective and follows the stories of a vigil-keeping Penelope, an Amazon princess rival of Achilles, and three goddesses whose feud sparks a tragic conflict.
Kirt is looking forward to reading Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee. Noah runs a popular blog that features a collection of trans happily ever afters. There’s just one problem: all the stories are fake. When a troll exposes the blog as fiction, Noah’s world unravels. The only way to save it is to convince everyone that the stories are true, but he doesn’t have any proof. Then Drew walks into Noah’s life, and the pieces fall into place.
Linda loves the Mystery Bookshop series, which continues with book 6, A Tourist’s Guide to Murder by V.M. Burns. Sam joins Nana Jo and her Shady Acres Retirement Village friends on a trip to England. The chance to see the sights and walk the streets that inspired Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle is a dream come true for Sam, but when someone turns up dead, it’s up to them to find a motive and a murderer!
While she’s read some of Georgia politician Stacey Abrams’ other works, Jennifer is excited to give her fiction a try. While Justice Sleeps is an inside-Washington thriller about an ambitious law clerk thrown into a life-or-death treasure hunt with major national implications when the Supreme Court justice she works for slips into a sudden coma.
Aaron plans to start Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series this summer, beginning with The Color of Magic. A slightly disorganized and somewhat naive interplanetary tourist joins up with a bumbling wizard and embarks on a chaotic voyage through a world filled with monsters and dragons, heroes and knaves.
Audra wants to read a new book from Carl Sagan’s daughter, For Such Small Creatures As We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World by Sasha Sagan. Part memoir, part guidebook, and part social history, For Small Creatures Such as We is a luminous exploration of all Earth’s marvels that require no faith in order to be believed.
Since Kimberly loved Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, she’s excited to read her newest title, Realm Breaker. Corayne an-Amarat discovers that she is the last hope to save the world from destruction. Even as darkness falls, she is joined by a band of unlikely companions: a squire, an immortal, an assassin, an ancient sorceress, and a bounty hunter with a score to settle. Together they stand against a vicious opponent and an army unlike anything the realm has ever witnessed.
As a historical fiction lover (especially WWII in Europe!), Beth’s eye was caught by The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff. Inspired by the harrowing true stories of those who hid from the Nazis in the sewers, this emotional testament to the power of friendship follows Ella, an affluent Polish girl, as she helps Sadie and her pregnant mother survive despite the worsening dangers of the war.
This summer, Caitlyn is reading Survive the Night by Riley Sager. In November 1991, college student Charlie Jordan is sharing a long drive to Ohio with Josh Baxter, a virtual stranger. Charlie is running from grief over the murder of her best friend, the third victim of a local serial killer. Josh says he’s going home to care for his sick father, but there’s something suspicious about his story. As the miles roll by, Charlie begins to wonder if he might be “The Campus Killer,” but are her suspicions just a figment of her movie-obsessed imagination?
Elaine is a huge fan of Max Lucado’s works as he illustrates his points with personal stories and giving a fresh perspective to well-known Bible passages. She can’t wait to read God’s Story, Your Story: When His Becomes Yours. Is there a cohesive storyline to the chaos, confusion, and clutter of your daily life? According to well-loved author Max Lucado, the answer is a resounding yes! With his unequaled warmth and honesty, Lucado plumbs the depths of your storyline and comes up smiling.
Steve is tackling The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz by Erik Larson, which presents a fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless” and takes readers out of today’s political dysfunction and back to a time of true leadership, when Churchill’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance bound a country together.
One of Erika’s favorite authors, Taylor Jenkins Reid, has a new book out in June, Malibu Rising. Set in 1983 Malibu, it takes place at an end-of-summer party hosted by the famous and beloved Riva siblings. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.
Erika loves the music of singer Brandi Carlile and can’t wait to read her story! Though imperfect in every way, Carlile’s dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. In Broken Horses, Carlile takes readers through the events of her life that shaped her art—from her start at a local singing competition, to her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band, to many sleepless tours over fifteen years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd.
Nancy has been saving the latest in the Dresden Files series for summer vacation: Battle Ground by Jim Butcher. Harry has a long history of fighting enemies above his weight class, but this time, it’s different. A being more powerful than anything the world has seen in a millennia is coming and she’s bringing an army. The Last Titan has come to subjugate humanity, obliterating any who stand in her way. Harry’s mission is simple but impossible: Save the city by killing a Titan. The attempt will change Harry’s life and the mortal world forever.
Having enjoyed Beth O’Leary’s previous books, Nancy is also checking out The Road Trip. Addie and her sister set off on a road trip to a wedding in Scotland. But, shortly after embarking, a car driven by her ex slams into the back of hers. Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, but since they totaled their car, Addie offers them a ride. With 300 miles ahead of them, will they make it to the wedding on time? And more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
Janet is looking forward to reading Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline by Loretta Lynn. Loretta Lynn and the late Patsy Cline are legends–country icons and sisters of the heart. For the first time ever Loretta tells their story: a celebration of their music and their relationship up until Patsy’s tragic and untimely death. Full of laughter and tears, this is a fantastic portrait of a friendship that defined a generation and changed country music indelibly.
As for me, I love learning about people and events that slip through the cracks of our common history knowledge, so this title has been on my list for a while. The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World by Andrea Wulf reveals the forgotten life of the visionary German naturalist whose ideas changed the way we see the natural world—and in the process created modern environmentalism.
