We all have our favorite things about summer, don’t we? Fresh-squeezed lemonade, wearing sandals, a beautiful flower garden, reading travel magazines, the sound of cicadas in the evening air, those warm breezes from the river… I could go on and on.
But I pose the above question so that I can share my own answer with you. What I love the most about summer is Book World, my Musings column, which for 10 years now I have called on our Oyster Pointer readership for assistance. And your response has been overwhelming! I’m fully aware that reading is for all seasons, but there’s something about summer that makes it more special. And I’ve found that there are a lot of readers out there who are willing to share with me.
So here it is June, and we’re kicking off this summer reading season with some very different books that our guest readers find of outstanding quality. So take note. Find your most blissful reading spot, grab one of these recommended books and go to it!
Our first guest reviewer is Howard Waters, on whom we can always depend for recommendations from the bestseller list. His choice read is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman. Eleanor is an odd, clinically shy person who, in the course of the book, becomes the subject of your cheers as she confronts “normal life” experiences. She will bring out emotions from humorous to heartbreaking, but several mysterious back stories will compel you to anticipate the ending with curiosity.
And now — up, up and away! David Levy’s summer recommendation is Fly Girls, author Keith O’Brien’s celebration of a little known slice of history wherein tenacious, trail-blazing women brave all the obstacles to achieve greatness. The Fly Girls are fearless women pilots who bravely indulged in the extremely dangerous sport of airplane racing, so popular between the world wars. The most famous Fly Girl was Amelia Earhart. Whereas the male pilots were hailed as dashing heroes, the women were more often ridiculed than praised, but did that stop them? Not in the least, as they defied all odds to make aviation history.
It’s always enlightening to hear from our friend and avid reader Sharyn Fox, who for the last few months has been lost in Yorkshire. Sharon is hooked on author Peter Robinson and his fascinating 25-book series based on fictional detective Alan Banks. But get this: Sharon began her fascination by starting at the “wrong” end and reading the last book in the series, Careless Love. Haven’t you always wanted to do this? She found the book intriguing and eventful, at times a bit violent, but always compelling. And it delighted her to go back to the beginning, knowing more about this enigmatic, music-loving detective.
So there we have it for this issue. Three excellent choices to curl up with on the beach, by the pool, in the garden, on the patio or wherever your summer sense of adventure takes you. That’s what I love about summer. We can indulge ourselves in downtime to read — guilt-free!
Stay tuned. We have two more months of Book World to go, so in the meantime, keep reading. And if you have favorite books you’d like to share with our readers, send them to me because if there’s anything we love, it’s a good book. Especially in the summertime.
Be the first to comment