The TOP Books You’ll Want To Read This Summer!
Below, we’ve listed some of the top books that have made several lists, and with good reason; Each ones looks like a fabulous novel to dive into, right away!
'Where The Crawdad’s Sing’
By: Delia Owens
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.
Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
Though this has been a very popular book since it’s release last August, the popularity has recently grown even more, after news of the movie version came out!
*** Reese Witherspoon is bringing the New York Times bestseller "Where the Crawdads Sing" to the big screen. According to Variety, the Oscar-winning actress has come on board to produce a feature adaptation of the Delia Owens novel for Fox 2000 through Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production shingle.
‘Patsy'
By: Nicole Dennis-Benn
Patsy has long yearned to voyage to America and abandon her life in her small hometown of Pennyfield, Jamaica. When she finally acts on her dream, she leaves her five-year-old daughter Tru behind. As Patsy follows her heart in New York, where her friend and love Cicely lives, Tru faces a future without her mother, and one in which she, too, must discover how to be herself in the world. Dennis-Bean weaves the narratives of mother and daughter together in a moving tale of separation, growth and womanhood.
'Naturally Tan: A Memoir’
By: Tan France
Although he’s best known for doling out fashion advice on Netflix’s Queer Eye, Tan France has wise words to offer across all areas of life. In his memoir, France unveils his complicated personal history, from the racism he experienced as a Pakistani child in the U.K. to what it was like coming out to his Muslim family at 34 years old. France gives readers a candid and intimate look at his past and shares all that he’s learned about being a spouse, television personality and role model.
'City of Girls’
By: Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, sets her latest novel in 1940s New York City, where 19-year-old Vivian Morris is moving in with her aunt. Surrounded by showgirls, costumes and a newfound sense of freedom discovered in the world of her aunt’s eccentric theater company, Vivian begins embracing her desires. But when a scandal puts the theater’s latest production at risk, Vivian finds herself unraveling the meaning of what happened for years to follow.
'In West Mills’
By: De’Shawn Charles Winslow
Azalea “Knot” Centre is a newcomer to the African-American community of West Mills, N.C., who doesn’t adhere to the small town’s status quo. She finds a kindred spirit in her neighbor, Otis Lee, who is eager to repair the cracks in Knot’s life. Through storytelling that spans four decades in rural North Carolina, Winslow demonstrates that in the human endeavor to fix the lives of others, we sometimes fall victim to overlooking flaws of our own.
‘Recursion’
By: Blake Crouch
In Blake Crouch’s latest sci-fi thriller, the follow up to 2016’s Dark Matter, a mysterious disease causes people to experience false memories, leading to catastrophic consequences. A police officer and female neuroscientist team up to investigate and, hopefully, stop the phenomenon from wrecking society. Recursion, which is being developed as both a feature film and a television series by Shonda Rhimes and Matt Reeves for Netflix, asks how altering our past impacts the present and future.
'Big Sky: A Jackson Brodie Novel’ (*June 25)
By: Kate Atkinson
It has been nine years since Kate Atkinson last regaled readers with the tales of soldier-turned-police-constable Jackson Brodie in Started Early, Took the Dog. The bestselling British writer returns to Brodie’s world for a fifth time in Big Sky, which finds the hero ensconced in a quaint northern English seaside town, making a living as a private investigator. As is often the case in Atkinson’s genre-defying fiction, assignments to track lost cats and unfaithful husbands are never quite what they seem.
'The Gone Dead’ (*June 25)
By: Chanelle Benz
Chanelle Benz’ debut novel handles the arresting themes of racial injustice and memory, following protagonist Billie James as she returns to the childhood roots she left behind in the Mississippi Delta. Since her father’s unexpected death when she was four years old, Billie hasn’t been home, and rumors about her own circumstances have been swirling throughout the town. While examining her only inheritance — the shack that her father resided in — Billie discovers there may have been more to the story of his death than she first thought, setting her on a path to discover the truth of what happened that fateful night 30 years before.
'The Nickel Boys’ (*July 16)
By: Colson Whitehead
Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad, again reckons with our country’s devastating racist past in his latest novel, this time against the backdrop of a reform school in 1960s Florida. Elwood Curtis, a black teenager who loves reading encyclopedias and reciting the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., finds himself at the Nickel Academy, where he quickly learns his place in the Jim Crow South and the world at large. Inspired by a real school in Florida, The Nickel Boys is a haunting narrative that reinforces Whitehead’s prowess as a leading voice in American literature.
'Speaking of Summer’ (*July 30)
By: Kalisha Buckhanon
When Autumn Spencer’s twin sister Summer disappears on a winter’s evening in Harlem, Autumn sees no other choice but to take matters into her own hands. Frustrated by the indifference of authorities to another missing black woman, Autumn doggedly tries to get to the bottom of what happened, and becomes embroiled in other cases in the process. In her fourth novel, writer Kalisha Buckhanon sheds light on often-overlooked stories of victims and their families.
Remember to keep our painting and wine classes in mind as another great way to relax this Summer! Painting and other creative activities have been scientifically-proven to help relieve stress, boost self-esteem, encourage creative thinking, and more! Check out our calendar to see all of the public classes we’re offering throughout the next few weeks! In addition to our public classes, we also offer private parties where you can celebrate something big with the ones your love, get your office mates together for a great team-building experience, and more!
**Private Parties: https://www....ivate-parties
**Corporate Events: building events: https://www....porate-events
**Kids’ Parties: https://www....ainting-party
**Mobile Events: https://www....ainting-party