It’s summertime! Kick off your shoes, grab a glass of wine, and find a good summer read. Every teacher needs a good book for summer reading. Here are a few of our favorites. We hope you enjoy our summer reading list!
Jackie's Choice for Summer Reading
The Secrets of Lost Stones
If you are looking to get lost in a good book to read this summer, I recommend The Secrets of Lost Stones, by Melissa Payne. This story begins with thirty-two year old Jess Abbot who is grief stricken from the loss of her eight year old son. Feeling lost and demoralized, Jess leaves home and heads to a small town in the mountains where she meets Lucy, an eccentric but kind and welcoming woman, who hires Jess to be her caregiver. While caring for Lucy, Jess meets Star, a lost and lonely sixteen year old girl living on the streets of downtown Denver. Jess and Star, though very different, have more in common than they realize.
Although the story begins with sadness, which is something I usually try and stay far away from during my summer reads, this book is anything but despairing. Instead, The Secrets of Lost Stones is a beautiful story that has a little something for everyone; mystery, drama, ghosts (that right, I said ghosts), a clairvoyant, and many lovely characters that you can’t help but adore. The setting of the book is based in one of my favorite little mountain towns, Evergreen (which is about 30 minutes from my house). As you read, you feel as if you are a part of the darling little town. The author, like me, is a Colorado resident and, to my surprise and delight, joined us for our book club discussion! It was a joy talking with Melissa and asking her questions about her novel. Whether you are from Colorado or not, I highly recommend the book, The Secrets of Lost Stones.
Leigh Ann’s Summer Reading Recommendations
Still Life
In the summertime, I love to read a good mystery, the kind of mystery you can’t solve until the very end. It has to have a brilliant but believable protagonist, some quirky but lovable characters and it needs to take place in a beautiful setting. Put that all together and you have the perfect mystery … for me anyway. Still Life by Louise Penny is one such mystery. It has all these elements. Her main character, Chief Inspector Gamache, is exactly what you would want in a detective- brilliant, humble and kind. He’s also got a fantastic wife. In the book Still Life, he and his talented team of investigators work hard to solve the murder of Jane Neal, a former schoolteacher and local fixture in the tiny Quebec village of Three Pines. The town is filled with quirky but lovable characters, from the crazy old poet who runs the towns’ volunteer fire department to the local artist who can’t seem to keep paint off herself. I fell in love with this fictional hamlet and its inhabitants. Fortunately, this is the first in a series of books about Three Pines and Inspector Gamache. Each book stands on its own and I have enjoyed them all.
One For the Money
Another good book series I especially enjoy during the summer is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. These novels are laugh out loud funny. Stephanie Plum is a very bad bounty hunter. Fortunately for her, she has lots of help catching the criminals and solving the mystery. Okay, maybe she doesn’t exactly solve the mysteries, but somehow they get solved. She lives in a modest (very modest) apartment in Trenton, New Jersey with her pet hamster. So much for a beautiful setting. Throw in a smart, sexy vice cop named Joe Morelli (isn’t that a great name for a smart sexy vice cop) and a beautiful bad boy called Ranger for some love interest, along with some of the funniest characters I’ve ever read, and you have a fun, thoroughly enjoyable summer read. One For The Money is the first in the series. But I warn you, they’re addictive and so far there are 30 books in the series. I highly recommend these books for summer reading.
Jessica's Nonfiction Summer Reading List
Creative Visualization
I have always loved reading nonfiction books. I like to learn as much as I can about subjects I am interested in, whether it be running, meditating, swimming, mindsets, etc. My favorite books are about how to lead a happy and fulfilling life. About 20 years ago, I found myself in a very negative place, thinking that life was a struggle to get through. I believed I had no control over my thoughts or feelings. I started seeing a counselor who introduced me to a wonderful book that changed my life, Creative Visualization, by Shakti Gawain.
This book is in my night stand and I have come back to it over and over again. It is about using positive visualizations, meditations, and affirmations to create positive changes in your life. Shakti Gawain goes into full detail about what visualizations are and how to go into a meditative state and use visualizations to attract what you want in your life. She teaches many tools you can use, including healing mediations.
Becoming Supernatural
This was the third book I have read by Dr. Dispenza (I have liked them all, but this one was my favorite). Dr. Dispenza explains how your brain and body work with meditation – how meditation affects the brain and body and why it is helpful. It’s a lot of science, but he breaks it down so people who aren’t scientists can understand it. He believes that the more you are informed about why things work, the more you will see the benefits of them. He gives a lot of interesting case studies of real people who have made huge changes in their lives to show what is possible. Dr. Dispenza also goes over some different techniques in meditation. He explains exactly how these techniques work, then lays out the meditation as a guide for you to follow when you practice.
We Hope You Enjoy These Summer Reads
We know this summer reading list is short (unless you count the two mystery series), but we have thoroughly enjoyed each of these books, and we hope you do too! This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we will get a small commission with no additional cost to you.
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