Summer is here! Time to hit the beach, pull out a novel, and relax.
Oh wait, what about the kids? And work? And life?
We’re all busy, and so endless reading on the beach probably isn’t in the cards. Nevertheless, here are a few books for whenever you do get to kick back and read. They’ll keep you entertained from start to finish as well as teach you something new this summer, and all of them are available at our wonderful Coronado Library. Happy reading!
If you want to travel… try THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir. This is perfect for the science geek, but I loved it and I am the farthest thing from a science geek. The main character, Mark Watney, is on a mission to Mars when a storm blows up and his team is forced to abandon him, believing him dead. But he’s very much alive. Unfortunately, help is 140 million miles away, and Watney doesn’t have enough food or supplies to last long enough for rescue. Also he has no way to communicate with NASA. Will he survive? Brilliant, funny, fast-paced, and heart-warming, this is a great book to read before the movie (with Matt Damon) comes out in October!
If you want to change… try THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo. This little volume has sold over two million copies so far and started a revolution of purging and reorganizing. The author, a Japanese organizational expert, walks you through your home as she describes a revolutionary approach to tidying your home once and for all. Inspiring and surprisingly simple, this is the perfect book for a fresh start this summer.
If you want to savor… try A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN by Betty Smith. I read this American classic for the first time this spring, and I caught my breath over beautiful passages and read lines aloud to whomever was nearby. This beautiful book tells the story of Francie Nolan, a Irish-American immigrant girl growing up in Brooklyn during the first half of the twentieth century. The story spans two decades with flawlessly rendered characters and vivid descriptions that will transport you into a slice of American history.
If you want to laugh… try THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion, a lighthearted story of a charming but socially challenged genetics professor who is on the search for a wife. He determines that a survey will help him find the best match, but he never expects a cigarette-smoking, bar-tending, PhD-earning firebrand named Rosie will fit the bill. Good for those who believe you can find love in the most unlikely places.
If you want to learn… try ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK by Piper Kerman. (It inspired the TV show, but it’s so much better.) Fascinating premise: a successful New Yorker with a handsome fiancé suddenly finds the Feds on her doorstep, charging her for a 10-year-old drug offense from the days when she was living in Southeast Asia with her drug-dealing lesbian lover. It’s all true. Piper is real, honest, and just the kind of girl you want to know in prison. She’s adaptable, kind, cautious, and observant. Her experiences in both minimum- and maximum-security women’s prisons provide an unparalleled look inside the U.S. prison system. I hope most Americans read it, if only to start a grassroots movement to improve the state of our rehabilitation system.
If you want to read a book aloud to your child… try LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS by Laura Ingalls Wilder. What beautiful, simple, soothing writing about a sliver of time in America. When we read this, my four-year-old daughter and I snuggled under blankets and traveled back in time into the cold Big Woods, where Ma churned butter and Pa played his fiddle and Laura and Mary learned about sugar snow and hog killing and harvest time. The Little House books are such a gift to subsequent generations. There are nine books in the series, so you’ll be making memories for a long time if you read them all out loud!
If you have some great summer reading suggestions, we’d all love to hear them. Share your ideas below in the comments!
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“Coronado Living” is a weekly column written by one of eCoronado.com’s staff writers, Becca Garber. She writes about choosing simplicity and practicing hospitality with her family at home in Coronado. You can read more of her writing on her blog.
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Becca Garber
Staff Writer
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