Summer Reading List

I love to read. It's one thing that I do each and every day (I wish I enjoyed exercise as much!). As most of you already know, I'm a huge fan of both Amazon.com and Kindle. I can't even think of the last time I read an actual book or visited the library. In fact, my e-book-buying has gotten to be so much that I prefer to be oblivious to the amount I actually spend on books each month. I just simply turn a blind eye. I know...I know...I need to get better at using the library and that IS my goal in the coming year. I just prefer to fly by the seat of my pants and NOT wait for anything. When I make up my mind that I want to read a book, I want it now. I hate waiting for it!!! 

But because we are such avid Amazon.com users, I'm convinced they "know" me. They target me so perfectly...It's almost scary! As soon as I've finished a book and if I've given it a good rating, they immediately shoot me new emails depicting new books I'll like based on the ones I've rated well in the past. I must admit, these lists suck me in every time and they are completely accurate. I haven't had a bad reading experience in over a year. Of course, I enjoy some more than others, but, overall, I've been so amazed by Amazon.com.

Because of my amazing Amazon.com experience, putting together my summer reading list has been especially difficult this year. There is TOO many choices! So, I limited myself and, hence, my list to 11. My hope has always been that my picks keep you up past your bedtime...Happy Reading!!! 

1). 

Apparently I'm intrigued by midwives because two books about them made the list this year! I love this book! I fell in love with the characters, especially Miss Marie Babineau, who is a traditional midwife during the time when science and "painless" childbirth are beginning to make a forefront in modern medicine. The characters are so well developed. You'll want to love the good ones and hate the bad ones.  

2). 

I must admit when I first read the synopsis regarding this book, I thought to myself, "Really? Another book about a forbidden love during the civil rights movement?" It felt like this book had already been done...if not over-done. The only reason I read it is because the reviews were through the roof and after downloading a sample (my very favorite thing about e-readers), I was hooked. While the story line may seem like it's been done before, there are plenty of twists and turns of the plot to keep you coming back for more. This one is definitely worth your while. 

3). 

Elizabeth Strout is the same author who wrote "Olive Kittredge"...A highly acclaimed, Pultizer Prize winning novel...Which was completely lost on me. I admit it--I tried it--I didn't seen the point or the hoopla of it. It wasn't  the worst book I've read, but not exactly one that left me wanting more either. This being said, I absolutely LOVED "The Burgess Boys"! Its a tale about family and dynamics between siblings. Maybe it's because I, too, come from a family with two younger brothers and I could clearly relate to the spats and love and sense of generosity, but I closed this book (or rather my Kindle) not wanting to leave behind Susan, Bob, and Jim. They felt like family. So, obviously, Strout has done a fantastic job of character development (in my humble opinion). I felt deeply attached to them and wanted to keep "up" with them. It was hard to let them go! 

4). 

My son actually read this book for his reading class at school and urged me to do the same. It was a fabulous book!!! This book is actually one of four (a quartet) and after reading the first one, I quickly downloaded the other three. They are very easy, short reads and I enjoyed the way they made me think about the future. Jonas lives in a "perfect" world. No crime, no punishment, no starvation, etc.. It's a community based on sameness and equality. It actually reminded me a lot of the movie "The Truman Show". It's a Newberry Medal Award winner. I think the last one of those I read was "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" back in 1987! Whether then or now, it was definitely medal award winning worthy!!! 

5). 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! This is a story of friendship and what it looks like decades later after the four women have endured marriage, children, and middle age. It's very touching and I found myself completely immersed in each character and their relationships. This book was actually named Amazon's Best Book of March 2013 and it's a title well-deserved. 

6). 

Most of the books I've chosen, I felt were pretty uplifting and easy summer reading. This book is not one of them. It's a devastating story of loss. It's not for the faint of heart. Christa and Cora are twin sisters--who are deeply connected to one another until Cora dies from a drug overdose and Christa finds herself trying to pick up the pieces of her own life. Amazon's book description says it better than I can, "Beautifully written, mesmerizingly rich and true, Christa Parravani's account of being left, one half of a whole, and of her desperate, ultimately triumphant struggle for survival is informative, heart-wrenching and unforgettably beautiful." Well said, Amazon, thank you! Don't let the heaviness scare you away. It's a beautiful story! 

7). 

Ok, quite possibly...I'm almost scared to say it aloud...One of the my favorite books of all-time. For sure, probably my favorite of this year. It's a twisted story between past and present and the secrets hidden. This famous photograph entitled "Migrant Mother" gets a new twist--A reinvention of sorts. There are three families that you will come to love and know in this book. One is Mary Coin herself from the photograph and her family. She's a migrant worker during the Great Depression when food, money, and jobs are scarce. She boldly takes care of her children. She is a beautifully developed character and story line. Then there is Vera Dare who is the photographer who took the picture and present-day Walker who is a current professor who discovers his family has been carrying it's own secret for many decades. It's not only a creative book, but the characters and story lines are so well developed...As they shift from past and present in the book, you will find yourself sorry to let go of that family or story while you move onto to the next. It is a heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and fortitude. It's a fabulous book! 

8). 

Just when I said that most of the books I've chosen are uplifting...Maybe not so much. This one was gut-wrenching for me. I think I even shed a few tears, which hasn't happened since "The Shack" five years ago. This, too, is a true story about a son who stays with his mom during her weekly cancer treatments. During this time, they find themselves discussing the books they are reading to pass the time. While there are plenty of sections regarding books and their discussions, it's mainly about a son loving his mom and simply putting his memories of her on paper. It was sweet, loving, and sad. 

9). 

No selection list is complete without an Oprah Book Club pick! This is one I've been wanting to read for a long time, but just never got to it until now. In fact, I was shocked to learn Oprah picked it way back in 1998. I guess time flies when you're busy raising a family! I thought it was a superb book. It's based on a home birth going terribly wrong and the midwife being held liable. The daughter of the midwife is the narrator, so the story line is mainly seen from her point of view. It's a worthwhile read. I found it quite captivating. 

10). 

This story is based on May Dodd and her journal entries. She decides to take part in the "Brides for Indians" program initiated by the Grant administration as a means of integrating the American Indian into a white man's world. She was admitted into a mental hospital by her affluent family because she fell in love and married a man of lesser means. As a way out of confinement, she agrees to take part in the program. It's such a good story with lots adventure and love and suspense. 

11). 

A beautiful story of loss, love, and healing. When slave girl, Granada, must leave the main house of Amanda Satterfield due to her worsening mental state, she finds her herself in the house of Polly, the plantation healer. Polly immediately recognizes the same gift within Granada, but she's reluctant to accept it. Its a powerful story of connecting with the souls of others through our stories. By telling these stories, the souls heals itself. Odell is a beautiful story teller and a gifted writer. It definitely left me enraptured.