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SUMMER READING

I read many genres. I enjoy a good mystery; a thriller is a favorite, and Sci-Fi/fantasy is easily on my list. I like things about the paranormal with a spiritual tone, adventures – especially those like Clive Cussler – and occasionally non-fiction. I read Christian and inspirational along with my devotional each day, and I never pass up a Stephen King book; horror stories being one of those that was introduced to me by my parents at an early age (my first drive-in movie was The Blob staring Steve McQueen when I was five years old).

No, no – that’s not bad! I loved it because my parents loved it – and laughed throughout the movie. My mom and I went to the movie theatre years later to see The Exorcist, and we were the only ones in the theatre laughing when Linda Blair expelled her split-pea soup and loved it when she turned her head in a circle. How cool was that?

I love books. I like holding a book, although most of my reading is done on my Kindle now. I love libraries but do most searches for my next read online. McKay’s, a local used bookstore in Nashville, is a great place to spend a day – or two.

Summer reading different than winter reading? Definitely. Winter is for that book you can’t put down when gardening and grandchildren wanting to swim don’t delightfully interrupt. Winter books require concentration and a heavier thought process than a summer romance or mystery, leaving you pondering the events and the author’s direction.

Summer reads are fun, mostly short, and completeness at the end, which doesn’t necessarily mean a happy ending! A few of the books I’ve read in the past few weeks and what I’m reading now:

The Summer House by James Patterson with Brendan DuBois. I began reading Patterson in 1993 with Along Came a Spider, liked the Women’s Murder Club books and Maximum Ride. I grew tired of the Alex Cross books – so many seemed repetitive – then picked this one from a list suggested on my Kindle. The Summer House is a thriller, with the Night Ninjas, a group of Army Rangers, accused of a horrific crime. The team sent in to investigate reveals things are not what the evidence shows.

Devoted by Dean Koontz. This was an ‘Editor’s Pick’ on Amazon, and after reading the intro, I decided to try it. Sometimes Koontz falls into the category of winter reading; his writing can require going backward to ‘get it’ (for me, anyway), but this one was a perfect summer read. If you are a dog lover like me, you’ll enjoy the canine importance to the story. The story has some cool twists and was an easy read on a rainy summer day.

Call Me Shay by Willa Rains. A new release for a beach read with all the ingredients that I like in a summer romance novel. Steamy but not explicit, ‘sweet with heat’ and a fun start of a series that puts romance on cruise ships. Ever wonder what happened to that high school love? Fun reading.

Doomsday Match by Jeff Wheeler. This is the first of a series (The Dresden Codex), and reading some reviews that mentioned Indiana Jones and books by Clive Cussler, I picked this one late one night. I’m glad I did. Although I did agree with other reviewers that some of the mentions of current slang and events are overdone, I was anxious to find out the ending result of this action-packed tale. An offer of ‘First Reads’ by Amazon; I’m glad I picked it up.