Summertime makes me feel fine…
Summer is here!
Yeah, I know that summer doesn’t officially begin for another three weeks but, for me, summer begins with the Memorial Day Holiday. Still have to go to work, take care of my family, and meet other obligations but somehow it all seems so much easier to manage in the longer days and sizzling temperatures of summer.
I love summer.
Sun, sand, and surf! Cotton candy. Ice cream. Hot dogs and burgers on the grill. Crisp, juicy watermelon. Bright whites and sandals. Sunglasses and sunscreen. Cool A/C. The things of summer give me a mental lift.
And nothing gives me a bigger lift than a good summer read. Although I read voraciously all year round, there are certain characteristics I look for in a summer read. Books with a bit of a seasonal feel.
What makes a good summer read?
Setting – Near water. In a seaside town. Better yet, on a beach. (Can we do in the ocean? How about a lush, tropical locale, like a Caribbean island. Think vacation resort areas. Like Cape Cod, Myrtle Beach, Hawaii, or anywhere in Florida. Fun in the sun.
Pacing/Length – F.A.S.T. A quick read is great when you want to spend less time indoors and more time in the sun. And even if I plan to read on the beach or at an outdoor café, I still want something more rollercoaster than marathon. I’m looking for rapid pace and something with fewer pages than WAR and PEACE. No time to re-read ROOTS, GONE WITH THE WIND, or even THE JOY LUCK CLUB, some of my all-time favorites. I’ll save them for days filled with crisp fall breezes or winter storms, thick sweaters, and loads of hot chocolate.
Subject Matter – Give me light reading. War, famine, sickness, and poverty. Child abuse. Global warming. All weighty topics that certainly deserve our attention, and of which I certainly don’t make light given the state our world is in. But not great backdrop for a summer read. Uh, uh. Give me romance, comedy, or action-packed adventure. Keep me sighing, laughing or on the edge of my seat. Works for the movie industry, doesn’t it?
Characterization – Still need my characters to be multi-dimensional so that the story is worth reading. But please, please not so angst filled or complex that I find myself on the verge of tears. Give me Hal Hottie, not Heathcliff.
Plot – Keep it reasonably simple. Boy meets girl. Heroine solves mystery. Hero thwarts criminal mastermind. Yet, it does need to be interesting. Make me laugh. Intrigue me. Inspire me. Just don’t make me think…too much.
I don’t really have favorite authors I look for in the summer. Summer is a great time to try out new ones. And if it sounds as though I’m advocating lesser quality fiction over substance, I’m not. I just know a good summer read when I pick it up, from the cover art to the back cover blurb. Don’t you?
A summer read? Make mine frothy but filling. With plenty of heat (you pick the type).
What do you look for in a summer read? What’s on your summer reading list?
No related posts.
I love suspense and thrillers. There are a few authors with new books, like Candace Havens, who I have on my must read this summer list. Otherwise I like quick reads. It doesn’t have to be set in the summer though. I also love a good winter love story in the middle of summer.
Most of my summer reading is coming from my TRB pile:
The Pleasure Trip – Joanne Rock
Cheaters – Eric Jerome Dickey
Nowhere to Hide – Debby Giusti
No Commitment Required – Seressia Glass
Just About Sex – Ann Christopher
Hope I get to them before September …
Just finished Samantha Garver’s Dark Whispers
and enjoyed it so much that I’m looking for
One Night To Be Sinful
(why she doesn’t have a website…).
Anyone read both?
Is the first as good as the second?
Margaret Moore’s latest The Notorious Knight
should be on shelves any minute
(I have been stalking my bookstore).
Can’t wait to read more about Bayard baby.
Hubba, Hubba.
As I speed read,
unfortunately, I have nothing in the TBR pile.
I hear you, Chicki. I’m trying to keep up with my book review obligations while whittling down my TBR list. Just finished THE SCRAPBOOK by Lynette Kent. My current read, begun this morning even though I was running late for my carpool, is IRRESISTABLE YOU by Francis Ray. Love that Grayson family.
Sara, I plan to read more suspense this summer, especially since I’ve taken to reading Christian suspense. Brandt Dobson and Randy Alcorn both have new books coming out, and I’d like to read Amy Wallace’s RANSOMED DREAMS. I’m working my way up to a Brandilyn Collins. They’re supposed to be pretty scary.
I think summer is also great for “lits”, because the breezy style of writing fits with the mood of the season. So I’ll be hunting down new releases in this category. Recently read UNDERNEATH IT ALL by Margo Candela. Loved it.
And can’t forget the categories, because where can you find a quicker read than the category romance shelves. I’ll use this summer to try new authors and lines that I may not have read much before.
Kimber, I get frustrated when I’m interested in an author and can’t find a website or a blog. I enjoy reading the author’s bio and learning about other works, both past and future releases. After I’ve read the author’s work, if I think it was particularly well-written, I may go back to see whether that author offers any writing tips.
Seems that everyone has one these days so sometimes I forget that may not be the case.
These are left in my To-Be-Read Pile:
Invisible Husband
Staying Home is Murder
These are books being released this summer by favorite authors:
NEFERTITI by Michelle Moran (actually, I got an ARC!:grin:) July 10th
HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS by Susan Grant July 26th, I think
LOTTERY by Patricia Wood, early August
Kimber An, I’ve heard good things about LOTTERY. INVISIBLE HUSBAND is on my TBR list so hopefully I’ll get to it.
I’m kinda changing my TBR list. My TBR is electronic, an Excel spreadsheet, for the most part, except for a small pile of books near my bed. Maybe 8-10. Most of those are for reviews. The Excel list is 200+. Some are favorite authors or latest releases from a series I liked. But most are authors I’ve never read before. So I’m changing my strategy a bit. If I can’t put my hands on the specific book I heard about, I try to find something else by that author so I can try them out anyway. Then I cross that author off the list. I’ve been making more of a dent in the list. Problem is I add to the list faster than I take off.
Great post, Patricia! I agree with your description of the perfect summer read. I have deadlines looming, so this summer I may not have as much time for my typical summer reading. But knowing me, I will find time to squeeze in as much as I can…:grin:
Gwyneth
Oh, that sounds tempting–a quick fun read! For years, I’ve been going through my “great books” list on the beach. Phew. One year it was Dickens, one year it was Thackery. You get the idea. Maybe I’ll give myself the gift of “light” this year! Nice post; you made up my mind. I’m going to the beach this weekend. Don’t forget curly fries with vinegar!
Oh the topic of beach reads! One of my favorites!
I like “brain candy” in the summer. Fun reads that entertain me but don’t make my head hurt
And I agree with you – give me a fast pace. Something that I can zip through while soaking up some sun.
On the opposite spectrum, I also enjoy a really good thriller. The more blood and guts the better. Again, feeds my need for a fast, page-turning read – and if the author gives me a “bad” bad-guy the pages tend to fly by.
Wendy, I think I’m going to usurp your term. “Brain candy”. Love it!
I like thrillers but not so much blood and guts. My speed is more along the lines of the Robert Ludlum Bourne series (although I haven’t read any of the new releases since he died) and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series.
Gwyneth, I’m betting you’ll squeeze in more reading time than you expect. How can you not when there are so many great titles waiting? Make that deadline but read a few pages here and there when you need a mental break.
Man, I’d like to hibernate for the summer and come back out when it’s nice and cool. LOL! I don’t read nearly as much when it’s warm. I love to curl up with a book and a cup of hot tea, and that’s not fun when it’s hot outside (and inside, cause there’s no air conditioning in the Bay Area). Thankfully we’ve been socked-in all week. I love fog! I’m just praying it lasts all weekend so I can read Jo Beverly’s new book in comfort. LOL!
Kalen, Have book, Can carry! Books go everywhere I do. Might only be put to use in transit but every bit counts! Plus, never know when you’re going to get stranded, stuck in traffic, or rained out.
“Summer reading” hasn’t meant anything to me since I finished college over 20 years ago! I generally read – even if just an hour – every day!
I take that back, it has meant one thing…it means there’s generally a glut of books I’ve been waiting to read all, released at once, pretty much guaranteeing that they’ll end up on my TBR pile!
Summer is my anthology time. Short fiction — all genres — is what I want. I don’t have the mental muscles to remember-and-connect the pieces of a novel read in snatches through all the distractions and activities of my favorite season. Something I can read and finish in an hour — or fifteen meinutes — is what I need for summer reading.
My cp and I have the honour of being the launch authors for Moonlit Romances beach read books. Two stories in each book set around the beach. Perfect for holidays lol. Our book is called A Taste of Summer and is set in Cornwall in England. I love summer stories and I like a shorter length so I can read them all in one go.
I agree. Everything on my summer reading list has to be fun, light and easy to carry – so definitely lightweight. If I’m writing during the summer, I try to make my schedule work so that I’m writing lighter material then.
there’s something about the sun that just makes me want a fast, paced yet enjoyable read.
I love the plotlines that are traditional, and the best books have a few twists along the way, but overall, I can know that there won’t be too much drama.
I’d like to be tickled by good literature in the summer.
I’m still on the school schedule, Miki, since I have school-age children. And this time of year provides a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of the school year.
Kevin, I hadn’t thought about anthologies but I think I’ll look for a few. Nothing better than a few quick reads bundled together, although I usually do lots of those around the year-end holiday.
Emily, I hadn’t thought about “writing lighter” in the summer but I’m certainly more motivated. Always have been, finding it hard to get inspired during the winter months (despite being a winter baby!) I’ve put about 20k words on paper in the last couple of weeks so I’m hoping to push through to the end of the first draft by end of summer.
Am not sure if most summer readers really read lightly. People who generally reader — folks who have always loved books– tend to read anything at anytime. At least that’s my experience and the experience of the folks in my book group. Doesn’t matter if it’s the classics or if it’s modern, or if it’s romance or thriller. Readers read non-stop. Summer readers, on the other hand, might be people who want to do something while they’re on the beach. Or maybe they don’t want to get sand on their beloved books. Some might even be people who are on vacation and feel that in those short two weeks (or month) they have to read all the important or recommended books they can before an Excel chart drags them back from books. But I doubt the average book-lover gets seasonal with his/her reading. -C
Carole:
There’s some truth in that but I’m a lifelong reader and I do find myself picking different fare. Lighter, or maybe more adventurous reading. Just like I lean toward holiday stories during the winter.
Part of it is what the publishers are pushing, I’m sure. But, especially now that I live in a place where there’s pretty much one season, I do find myself thinking a bit along seasonal lines. The majority of my reads don’t fall into seasons but a small percentage do.
Great post Patricia! I read all the time and prefer a lighter read myself during the summer.
A seasonal story enhances the season and the read. I will feel right there in the story this weekend when I read THE BEACH HOUSE by Sally John while basking on the beach!
I read heavier books in summer. That’s when I try classics I’ve never read, and the 500-pagers at the bottom of the TBR pile, and literary fiction that critics say is good but challenging. It’s like a summer project.
Weather’s important. It’s only in winter that I have the urge to curl up with blanket and mug of tea and read lightweight cheerful stuff. In summer if I don’t have a lightweight book to read, I just do something outdoors.
Kinda reversing things, L. Portnoy? I like that. Heavy in summer when weather is light. Light in winter when weather is heavy. Only I now live in FL where it’s “summer” all year round. I miss the four seasons.