My LINKcat AccountThe spring book titles just keep showing up at our door. They are almost as thick as dandelions on the medians on I90/94. Soon, the titles from the publisher’s spring book lists will start to be replaced by the summer “beach” reads. “And what,” I hear you ask, “is a beach read. Please define your terms!” Thanks for asking. I shall do just that. AI says that a beach read is “a book that is considered ideal for reading during a vacation, especially at the beach. It is engaging, entertaining, easy to read, and offers a sense of escape or relaxation”. According to an article by the Los Angeles Public Library the term first appeared around 1990, but the idea of summer reading was purportedly an invention of the publishing industry in the 19th century which sprung up in response to the creation of idea of the summer vacation. Apparently the construction of railroads and grand hotels during the late 1800s made summer vacations more accessible to the middle classes. For those newly-vacationing (mostly) women, these summer reads told you how to enjoy your summer vacation. Picnics, fireworks, dances, dressing up, boat rides, carriage rides, and romance were common plot points. Summer was seen as a time to read to escape, not a time to read for enrichment or education. If you care to read for more information on this topic Donna Harrington-Lueker has written “Books for Idle Hours: Nineteenth-Century Publishing and the Rise of Summer Reading”. Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. You can decide whether or not they are Beach Reads. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Alive Day: A Memoir” by Karie Fugett. A young woman, thrust into the role of caregiver after her Marine husband’s devastating war injury, struggles with love, addiction and systemic failures in this poignant and darkly humorous journey of resilience, sacrifice, and the hidden costs of war.
“The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland” by Michelle Young. A saga set in Paris during World War II uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the world's most treasured masterpieces.
“Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West” by Dane Huckelbridge. A deeply researched, blood-on-the-spurs biography of Belle Starr, the most legendary female outlaw of the American West.
“Into the Ice: The Northwest Passage, the Polar Sun, and a 175-year-old Mystery “by Mark Synnott. Determined to navigate the treacherous Northwest Passage solo, an internationally certified mountain guide and Air Force Pararescuemen trainer embarks on a pulse-pounding journey to both complete this rare feat and investigate the 250-year-old mystery of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition.
New Fiction
“Aftertaste” by Daria Lavelle. Set in the bustling world of New York restaurants and teeming with mouthwatering food writing, this novel is a whirlwind romance, a heart-wrenching look at love and loss and a ghost story about all the ways we hunger—and how far we’d go to find satisfaction.
“The Bombshell” by Darrow Farr. In 1993 Corsica, seventeen-year-old Severine Guimard, kidnapped by militant separatists, charms her captors and becomes the face of their cause, navigating a volatile summer of radicalization, romance, and the dangerous allure of celebrity and idealism.
“Heart, Be at Peace” by Donal Ryan. In a small Irish town scarred by economic collapse, fragile recovery gives way to rising tensions when a new, insidious threat emerges, stirring old resentments and drawing young people into a dangerous underworld threatening the community's hard-won peace.
“My Friends” by Fredrik Backman. Jarrod has felt distanced from his daughter Liv since the death of Jarrod’s partner Charlie, but when Liv finds boyfriend Zel murdered, Jarrod rushes to her aid and they comb for clues across the Coachella Valley while a killer’s on the loose.
“The Names” by Florence Knapp. Cora’s hesitation to name her son triggers three alternate paths over thirty-five years, revealing the lasting impact of domestic abuse and the complexities of family in her search for autonomy and healing.
“Old Indian School” by Aaron John Curtis. A coming-of-middle-age novel about an Ahkwesáhsne man’s reluctant return home and what it takes to heal.
“Run for the Hills” by Kevin Wilson. Madeline Hill and her mom have lived alone on their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee, since her dad left; one day Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and announces she’s his half-sister, and he wants Mad to join him for a crazy road trip to find their father and half siblings.
“Where the Rivers Merge” by Mary Alice Wilson. The first of two epic novels celebrates one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.
“One Golden Summer” by Carley Fortune. Charlie was 19 when Alice took his photo near her Nan’s cottage in Barry’s Bay, but now he’s a grown-up flirt who makes Alice feel seventeen again—warm nights on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but she begins to worry for her heart.