CityView Magazine

42 May 2023 GOOD READS Summertime, and the reading is easy (With apologies to George and Ira Gershwin) BY DIANE PARFITT F or those who read year-round, what is different about the books we might want to read in the summer? e concept of "summer reads" started in the 19th century when members of the emerging middle class suddenly found they had time to take long summer vacations. Innovations in the publishing industry resulted in more affordable and accessible books, and the growing population of avid readers was buying them up. Summer readers were oen women looking for "novels" to read as they relaxed at a seaside or mountain resort. By 1897, e New York Times began including "books suitable for summer reading" in its book review section and has continued to do so ever since. Popular summer novels in 19th-century America had many similarities. ey took place over the summer at a grand resort; the plot involved "lovers" with all their trials and tribulations; and they all had a happy ending. Many of the summer books coming out today follow that theme — simple plot, lighthearted, and entertaining. However, many other types of books get packed in the suitcase for a summer vacation. Remember hearing about when playwright and director Lin-Manuel Miranda read a little 900-page book called "Hamilton" on his summer vacation? e only criteria you need to consider, really, are what types of books you want to spend your time reading. I think some of these might just fit the bill for you. 1. "Chances Are" by Richard Russo e cover of the paperback edition has an image of beach umbrellas and sunbathers, so this book screams summer reading. e plot involves three college friends who have been vacationing together for the past 45 years. ese men, well into their 60s, share a secret that they have not been able to discuss since a fateful Memorial Day weekend at Martha's Vineyard in 1971. Are they going to be able to put it to rest now? Follow the suspense to its conclusion as Russo entertains with his humorous insights into human nature. 2. "Pineapple Street" by Jenny Jackson Members of the fabulously wealthy Stockton family in Brooklyn Heights, New York, find themselves dealing with many of the same issues that can affect any of us. Darley, the oldest of three beautiful grown children, followed her heart and traded her career and inheritance for motherhood, but at a huge cost. Cord, the middle child and only son, marries Sasha, a middle-class girl who struggles to fit in but is regarded as a gold-digger by others in the family. Georgiana, the baby in the family, has fallen in love with someone she cannot have. roughout all of this, the parents and the closeness of the family continue to hold sway over the children, oen with both heart-warming and heart- wrenching consequences. Watching the inner world of this family as they navigate their changing world and its challenges is a fun and delightful read. 3. "Seven Days in June" by Tia Williams Eva Mercy met him 15 years ago when she was a teen, and they had a passionate seven-day fling that ended badly for her. Now a bestselling erotica writer, Eva runs into Shane Hall at a New York literary event aer all these years. He is also an award-winning novelist, and when they meet again, the passion is reignited. But old traumas come to the surface as Eva and Shane spend another seven days madly in love. As the Black literati look on with raised eyebrows, Eva and Shane pretend they don't know each other, even though they have in a sense been writing to each other through their novels for all these years. is could be the outline of a sad story, but in fact it is funny, romantic, and darn sexy, too. 4. "Mad Honey" by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan Secrets oen play the most important part of any suspenseful story. When happily married Olivia McAfee finds her life upended with the discovery of the darker side of her surgeon husband, she must regroup to take care of her young son, Asher. Leaving her Boston home and returning to her small hometown in Diane Parfitt is a retired pediatric nurse and former assistant professor of nursing education. She owns City Center Gallery & Books in downtown Fayetteville. She can be reached at citycentergallerybooks@gmail.com. 1 2 3 4 5 6

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