Top 10 Summer Reads

Escape the summer heat, relaxing with a good book by the pool or in the air-conditioning. Here at The General Gazette, we want to share with you some of our chosen books for the beach bag!

1.The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
by Garth Stein

This endearing book about a man and his dog is priceless. Told by Enzo, Denny’s dog, the reader is taken on a journey about what life is like from the viewpoint of a dog. You will laugh hard, cry hard and recommend this book to all of your friends.

2.The Neighbors Are Watching: A Novel
by Debra Ginsberg

This book is set against the backdrop of raging wildfires in California. It focuses on several families on the block who have secrets behind closed doors as well as obvious hatred, distrust and prejudice in the wide-open. When a young girl and her baby go missing during a wildfire evacuation, everyone is a suspect. This book will make you rethink your neighborhood.

3.Sister: A Novel
by Rosamund Lupton

Set in England, a young woman defies the advice of her family and the evidence the police have that have ruled her sister’s death a suicide. Poetic and brilliant, this novel takes you on a journey to find a killer with a shocking twist. Fast, exciting summer read!

4. The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern

Enchanting is the only word able to properly describe this book of a magical circus and a brilliant romance between two unassuming people. A page-turner that will make you believe in the unbelievable.

5. A Fine Balance (Oprah’s Book Club)

Rohinton Mistry

Not a magical book, but a book worthy of Charles Dickens as Mistry takes the reader on a journey with four people in 1970’s India. This is an epic tale that begs the reader to come out of their pretty, well-made world and enter a society of thieves, beggars, vandals and scoundrels. Never was there a more powerful book that accurately describes the chaos of India. Reader beware: this is not a happy book, but one everyone should read.

6. The Snowman (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)
by Jo Nesbo

Harry Hole, Nesbo’s troubled protagonist, is back in the Nordic thriller that will chill your bones during a hot summer day. Determined to find a serial killer of women, Hole finds himself entrenched in a sadistic world that hits too close to home.

7. Divergent
by Veronica Roth

Deemed the new Hunger Games, this is Book 1 of a trilogy set in post-Apocalyptic Chicago. Five factions of people remain and each of these factions believes in one of these five virtues, Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).  On her sixteenth birthday, Tris, the protagonist, must decide which of these factions she can devote her life to. But can one person really be one way? Could the consequences be deadly?

Honestly, not as good as The Hunger Games, but you won’t be too disappointed. A worthy summer read.

8. Insurgent (Divergent)
by Veronica Roth

This is book 2 of the Divergent Trilogy. This book is on my summer reading list. I have to recommend it because it goes hand-in-hand with Divergent. Have you read it yet? If so, leave a comment letting us know you review.

9. Broken Harbor: A Novel
by Tana French

Pre-order this book by best-selling author Tana French. It is set to be released on July 24, 2012. This is the fourth book in the Dublin Murder Squad Series. Why should you be excited about this? Here is what the publisher has to say about it, “With her signature blend of police procedural and psychological thriller, French’s new novel goes full throttle with a heinous crime, creating her most complicated detective character and her best book yet.”

10. Lone Wolf: A Novel
by Jodi Picoult

You can’t go wrong with a Jodi Picoult book. The way that she blends the viewpoints of each character is seamless. This story is about a man, Luke Warren, who is more comfortable with wolves that with his own family. When a tragic accident leaves his life in jeopardy, the family must come to terms with their feelings towards their father, ex-husband, and friend and decide the true nature of family in the midst of life changing decisions.

What are you reading this summer? Let us know!