Hot Summer Reads for Bookworms

Summer boredom got you down? Can't find a thing to do? How about read a book? Yes a real book!

Here are my summer reading picks. Just a heads up though. I'm not a "beach-bum, paperback about lusty pirates and damsels in distress" kind of reader. Those stories just don't do it for me, though I do admit they can be good brain candy.

No, my idea of a good summer read is one that makes me think, and one that, when I've put it down, can't wait to pick back up.

Here's the list:

La Cucina by Lily Prior. I've read this book a thousand times, and I will read it a thousand more times. It's that good. Set in 1930's Sicily, a young farm girl moves to Palermo after the love of her life is murdered. She consoles herself with delicious food, detailing for the reader how to make these sumptuous dishes. Working as a junior librarian, she is homely, lonely and sheltered, until she meets "L'inglese", a man who will bring her out of her dowdy shell and change her life forever. Written in a conversational tone, ripe with sex, food, and crazy Italians, this book is delicious from page one to done.

The Children of Henry VIII, by Allison Weir. Though this book is non-fiction, it doesn't read like one. Instead, you're drawn in by the intrigue and seduction of the Tudor court, and the lives of these royal children: puppets in a game not of their choosing, yet loyal to each other and to their not-so-saintly father. It's a great read and if you're into history, specifically the history of the monarchy in England, this is a must read.

The Four Seasons by Mary Alice Monroe. This story is very touching. Three sisters reunite to bury their fourth sister, Merrie. As the sisters get to know one another again, old secrets and grudges resurface, and the sisters have to come to terms with the death of their beloved baby sister, and with one another. It's not all gloom and doom though. This story is full of love, affection, growing pains and that wonderful/terrible bond between sisters, that only sisters can know. It was great, I cried my eyes out and loved it. You will too.

That's all for now. I'll give some more suggestions in the coming days. Until then, Happy Reading!!


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