Why is it that being lazy is "OK" in the summer? Is it because there was no air conditioning in the olden days, so people couldn't move fast or complete tasks? Because school always let out in the summer, creating a natural break? For whatever reason, we all seem to get a little lazy when the summer months arrive. We eat ice cream cones. We take naps. We take vacations.
"Summer Reading" is a synonym for "unimportant", "unrealistic", or even "dumb". I went to the library on a hot day recently and deliberately chose a big stack of "summer reading" books. They were all paperbacks. All by women. One was even a mystery!
But, as I sat in front of my room air conditioner, watching a re-run of "The Middle" I had seen a couple of times before (don't you just love Brick?), I found myself really enjoying the books I selected.
"Tainted", by Brooke Morgan is a mystery set on Cape Cod. A shy single mom, Holly, who doesn't realize she is beautiful, meets a handsome, witty, smart, irresistible Brit, Jack Dane. He asks her out, but when he realizes she has a five-year-old daughter, he tells her he can't see her any more. However, events out of Holly's control bring them together again. Jack is just perfect...except for those bizarre outbursts of anger when there is any noise. The creep who fathered Holly's little girl and abandoned them both, doesn't seem to share Holly's opinion about Jack Dane's perfection. Who is right? And why does the British woman whose number is on Jack's cell phone keep denying she knows him? This first novel kept me interested all the way to the end.
I have seen Elin Hilderbrand's books on the library's shelves for years, but have never wanted to read one. With titles like "The Love Season" and "The Beach Club", they just didn't seem like my glass of iced tea. Where would I find the concentration camp survivors? Members of the French underground? Nonetheless, something made me pick up one of Hilderbrand's books, "Nantucket Nights". It is the story of a twenty year friendship between three women who meet once a year, at midnight, to drink champagne, swim in the buff, and share secrets. They call themselves the "night swimmers". One woman is a high-powered attorney, one is a reclusive millionaire who had been a great dancer, and our heroine is a wife and mother who battles with her weight and tries to take care of everyone. Not surprisingly, the night swimmers encounter a lot more than waves when they try to carry out their ritual this year. Are they really "friends", or has that all been an illusion? I have to admit that I will be taking out the rest of Hilderbrand's beachy paperbacks as soon as I return this one.
Another first novel, "Why the Sky is Blue", by Susan Meissner was my third paperback this week. I will divulge that this book is on the "Christian-lit" side, for anyone who minds that sort of thing. Meissner is the wife of a pastor. Claire is leading a wonderful life...she has a loving husband (he is even a veterinarian), a healthy boy and girl, and she teaches English at the local high school. But, one night she is brutally attacked by a stranger and her life, and the lives of everyone she knows, changes forever. Claire might be able to recover from the attack. She has strength, support, and faith. But she is facing much more than anyone knows. Will her courage be enough?
I can't imagine reading any of these books in the winter. But, for now...well, they are like a soft ice cream cone from Jumpin' Jack's...with sprinkles. Enjoy!
These are my kind of books. Not as a steady diet, but mixed in with more intriguing thrillers through out the year. Call me lazy, hazy and maybe a little crazy. I like a variety in my reading. Even if I find an author I love, I need to read other things in between. Thanks for the suggestions. I will check them out. Sometimes I need to see the cover to remember if I have read it before.
ReplyDeleteEmma
(and yes, I do love Brick)