posted on June 9, 2015 by Jeanne Devlin

Because Summer’s too Short to Read Depressing Books …

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If the seasons all have their own unique calling cards—snow and toddies and roaring fires for winter, flowers and showers for spring, foliage tours and pumpkins for fall—wouldn’t it stand to reason that what we read would change with the seasons, too.

And that got me thinking . . .

If summer is all about sand and sun and cooking on the grill, how does that translate into what novels we tuck into our beach bags?

Even those of us who don’t get the summer off from work still benefit from hours of extra sunshine and excursions to the lake . . . or grandma’s house.  At the very least, that hammock beckons on summery afternoons . . . or that shade tree down by the garden.

Yes, there’s a reason Beach Reads has become practically a category in and of itself, albeit

one the mainstream media consistently seems to herald with lists that include nary a romance or women’s fiction novel.

So help a girl out—and your fellow Writerspace pals, too.

What’s your summer reading pleasure?

It is a psychological thriller like Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train or Linda McDonald’s award-winning Crimes of Redemption?  Or maybe something more along the lines of romance meets legal thriller, like the new Julie James novel, Suddenly One Summer.

Or do your tastes fall more on the frothy side with a British accent—something easily read say on a tablet, like Samantha Tonge’s latest eBook, Game of Scones?

Art 6-9-2015 blogBestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips always likes to say, “life’s too short to read depressing books.”

Maybe, that could be argued nine months of the year.  But when it comes to the months of summer, few words ring truer.

And maybe that’s why Phillips’s highly touted novel, Heroes Are My Weakness, will come out in mass-market paperback July 28—just in time for the dog days of summer.

The book was named Best Fiction Book for 2014 by Kirkus Reviews, A Best Romance 2014 by Library Journal, and a Top Ten Romance Fiction 2014 by Booklist, as well as an NPR 2014 Great Read and an AARP Best Book of 2014.

Okay, that’s my tip. You can thank me later, as I eagerly wait to hear what you’re reading this summer.

— Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin

Jeanne Devlin is editor of The RoadRunner Press, an award-winning traditional publishing house based in the American West. An editor of newspapers, magazines, and books for more than thirty years, she has also worked on national marketing and publicity campaigns with such publishers as Simon and Schuster and St. Martin's and for a number of New York Times bestselling authors, including Robyn Carr, Sabrina Jeffries, Debbie Macomber, Linda Lael Miller, and Wendy Corsi Staub. A graduate of the Stanford University Publishing Course, Jeanne is a member of the Children's Book Council, the National Book Critics Circle, and the Oklahoma Center for the Book of the Library of Congress. She also consults with boutique publishers.

http://www.theroadrunnerpress.com

One thought on “Because Summer’s too Short to Read Depressing Books …”

  1. Sonnetta Jones says:

    I am going to be reading the Hunger Games and The Harry Potter trilogy. I am also reading One Season of Hope by Jim Stoval. Just finished THe Significant Life by George Weaver. A great book.

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