Summer Pleasure Reading: Books Of Summers Past
Reading for pleasure is an important part of life at any time of year, but for many of us, summer is a special time to indulge in a good book.
Summer is a time for reading those books we often don’t allow ourselves because they’re “trash” or “fluff,” which usually just means they’re too much fun! Now, I believe that every time of year is perfect for fun reading, but I’m going to take advantage of this time to share one of my favorite reading tricks with you.
When we’re looking for something fun to read, one of the first places we look is the New York Times Best Seller list. This is a great way to find books to read, but the problem is that everyone else wants to read those books, too, so by the time your hold on the “book of the summer” arrives at the library, it probably won’t be summer anymore! When that happens to me, I use my time machine and pretend it’s the summer of 2012, or 2018, or even 1996. There were “books of the summer” in those years, too, which are thankfully still just as good as they were then!
Here is my list of still-fresh summer bestsellers of yesteryear. I used two freely available resources to find them: A Wikipedia list of NYT bestsellers that only lists the number one book for each week, and a small publisher that keeps very thorough historic lists. If you don’t see something you like below, take some time to go through the literary time machine yourself!
Here is a selection of summer bestsellers from the past few years. I’ve included both literary fiction that’s “good for you” and genre fiction that’s pure fun. In every case, there are copies available in Mercer County Library System.
Summer of ‘69, by Elin Hilderbrand
Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of a summer when everything changed... It's 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother's historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same...In her first historical novel, rich with the details of an era that shaped both a nation and an island thirty miles out to sea, Elin Hilderbrand once again earns her title as queen of the summer novel.
The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead
In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award-winning The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida...Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys' fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy.
The President is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
The White House is the home of the President of the United States, the most guarded, monitored, closely watched person in the world. So how could a U.S. President vanish without a trace? And why would he choose to do so?
The Outsider, by Stephen King
When an 11-year-old boy is found murdered, forensic evidence and reliable eyewitnesses undeniably point to the town's popular Little League coach. But the jailed suspect, arrested in a public spectacle, has an alibi, and further research convinces Detective Ralph Anderson that the coach was indeed out of town. So how can he have been in two places at the same time?
Shelter in Place, by Nora Roberts
It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine... Then the shooters arrived. The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. For those who lived through it, the effects would last forever...But one person wasn't satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait--and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware
From the author of The Woman in Cabin 10 comes Ruth Ware's highly anticipated fourth novel. On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person--but also that the cold-reading skills she's honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased...where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation.. This is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
There, There, by Tommy Orange
Twelve Native Americans came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons... a wondrous and shattering portrait of an America few of us have ever seen. A multi-generational, relentlessly paced story about violence and recovery, hope and loss, identity and power, dislocation and communion, and the beauty and despair woven into the history of a nation and its people.
Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate
Memphis, Tennessee, 1936. The five Foss children find their lives changed forever when their parents leave them alone on the family shanty boat one stormy night...South Carolina, present day. Avery Stafford has lived a charmed life but when Avery comes home to help her father weather a health crisis and a political attack, a chance encounter with a stranger leaves her deeply shaken. Avery's decision to learn more about the woman's life will take her on a journey through her family's long-hidden history.
Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins
The author of The Girl on the Train returns with an addictive new novel of psychological suspense. A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy
A braided narrative of astonishing force and originality, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is at once a love story and a provocation. A novel as inventive as it is emotionally engaging, it is told with a whisper, in a shout, through joyous tears, and sometimes with a bitter laugh. Its heroes, both present and departed, have been broken by the world they live in, and then mended by love. For this reason, they will never surrender.
Nighthawk, by Clive Cussler
When the most advanced aircraft ever designed vanishes over the South Pacific, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are drawn into a deadly contest to locate the fallen machine. Russia and China covet the radical technology, but the United States worries about a darker problem. They know what others don't--that the X-37 is carrying a dangerous secret, a payload of exotic matter, extracted from the upper reaches of the atmosphere and stored at a temperature near absolute zero. As long as it remains frozen, the cargo is inert, but if it thaws, it will unleash a catastrophe of nearly unthinkable proportions.
Same Beach, Next Year, by Dorothea Benton Frank
Reconnecting on one of Charleston's most beautiful barrier islands, a pair of former sweethearts rediscover their feelings for one another while their jealous spouses pursue an unexpected attraction of their own over more than 20 years.
To find even more titles, try NoveList Plus. Search by genre, explore read-alikes, or browse by appeal. Librarians are also available to help recommend titles through our readers’ advisory service Personalized Picks.
Summer is a time for reading those books we often don’t allow ourselves because they’re “trash” or “fluff,” which usually just means they’re too much fun! Now, I believe that every time of year is perfect for fun reading, but I’m going to take advantage of this time to share one of my favorite reading tricks with you.
When we’re looking for something fun to read, one of the first places we look is the New York Times Best Seller list. This is a great way to find books to read, but the problem is that everyone else wants to read those books, too, so by the time your hold on the “book of the summer” arrives at the library, it probably won’t be summer anymore! When that happens to me, I use my time machine and pretend it’s the summer of 2012, or 2018, or even 1996. There were “books of the summer” in those years, too, which are thankfully still just as good as they were then!
Here is my list of still-fresh summer bestsellers of yesteryear. I used two freely available resources to find them: A Wikipedia list of NYT bestsellers that only lists the number one book for each week, and a small publisher that keeps very thorough historic lists. If you don’t see something you like below, take some time to go through the literary time machine yourself!
Here is a selection of summer bestsellers from the past few years. I’ve included both literary fiction that’s “good for you” and genre fiction that’s pure fun. In every case, there are copies available in Mercer County Library System.
Summer of ‘69, by Elin Hilderbrand
Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of a summer when everything changed... It's 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother's historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same...In her first historical novel, rich with the details of an era that shaped both a nation and an island thirty miles out to sea, Elin Hilderbrand once again earns her title as queen of the summer novel.
The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead
In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award-winning The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida...Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys' fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy.
The President is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
The White House is the home of the President of the United States, the most guarded, monitored, closely watched person in the world. So how could a U.S. President vanish without a trace? And why would he choose to do so?
The Outsider, by Stephen King
When an 11-year-old boy is found murdered, forensic evidence and reliable eyewitnesses undeniably point to the town's popular Little League coach. But the jailed suspect, arrested in a public spectacle, has an alibi, and further research convinces Detective Ralph Anderson that the coach was indeed out of town. So how can he have been in two places at the same time?
Shelter in Place, by Nora Roberts
It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine... Then the shooters arrived. The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. For those who lived through it, the effects would last forever...But one person wasn't satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait--and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware
From the author of The Woman in Cabin 10 comes Ruth Ware's highly anticipated fourth novel. On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person--but also that the cold-reading skills she's honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased...where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation.. This is an unputdownable thriller from the Agatha Christie of our time.
There, There, by Tommy Orange
Twelve Native Americans came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons... a wondrous and shattering portrait of an America few of us have ever seen. A multi-generational, relentlessly paced story about violence and recovery, hope and loss, identity and power, dislocation and communion, and the beauty and despair woven into the history of a nation and its people.
Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate
Memphis, Tennessee, 1936. The five Foss children find their lives changed forever when their parents leave them alone on the family shanty boat one stormy night...South Carolina, present day. Avery Stafford has lived a charmed life but when Avery comes home to help her father weather a health crisis and a political attack, a chance encounter with a stranger leaves her deeply shaken. Avery's decision to learn more about the woman's life will take her on a journey through her family's long-hidden history.
Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins
The author of The Girl on the Train returns with an addictive new novel of psychological suspense. A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.
The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy
A braided narrative of astonishing force and originality, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is at once a love story and a provocation. A novel as inventive as it is emotionally engaging, it is told with a whisper, in a shout, through joyous tears, and sometimes with a bitter laugh. Its heroes, both present and departed, have been broken by the world they live in, and then mended by love. For this reason, they will never surrender.
Nighthawk, by Clive Cussler
When the most advanced aircraft ever designed vanishes over the South Pacific, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala are drawn into a deadly contest to locate the fallen machine. Russia and China covet the radical technology, but the United States worries about a darker problem. They know what others don't--that the X-37 is carrying a dangerous secret, a payload of exotic matter, extracted from the upper reaches of the atmosphere and stored at a temperature near absolute zero. As long as it remains frozen, the cargo is inert, but if it thaws, it will unleash a catastrophe of nearly unthinkable proportions.
Same Beach, Next Year, by Dorothea Benton Frank
Reconnecting on one of Charleston's most beautiful barrier islands, a pair of former sweethearts rediscover their feelings for one another while their jealous spouses pursue an unexpected attraction of their own over more than 20 years.
To find even more titles, try NoveList Plus. Search by genre, explore read-alikes, or browse by appeal. Librarians are also available to help recommend titles through our readers’ advisory service Personalized Picks.
-by Katie C., Hopewell Branch
Comments
Post a Comment