Summer Reading Suggestions 2

The good thing about writing fiction is, you get to make up stuff.

The bad thing about writing fiction is, you have to make up stuff.

The nice thing about reading fiction is, you escape your own stressful life for a while and lose yourself in someone else's stressful life. As promised, I have a few suggestions for your summer reading.

There are several different ways to select books:

• Follow your friends' recommendations
• Read books on best-seller lists - they're there for a reason!
• Read a series from a favorite author
• Vary the genre and subject matter of your reading
• Slip in an occasional classic (that title you never finished in High School English)

Here are a few I've enjoyed:

• Snow Falling on Cedars - a novel about the relocation of Japanese-Americans right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This book was made more meaningful to me this week as Bob and I toured Minidoka in Hunt, Idaho. It is the remains of a settlement of Japanese families from the Seattle area. Families were kept together but most lost their businesses, homes, and land because of the xenophobia (fear of anything foreign). They remained behind barbed-wire fencing. The novel is very well written and gives insight into the personal tragedies of Americans forced to leave their homes. (Visit the National Park Service website to learn more about Minidoka: www.nps.gov/miin)

• The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion. Be sure to read them in the correct order. Delightful stories with insight into Aspberger Syndrome.
• The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. For the life of me, I can't remember what this novel is about but I know it's good and I liked it! It was on one of the best-seller lists.
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Working in a flower shop helps a woman survive and gives her insight into both flowers and people.
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I chuckled the whole way through this book. I especially enjoyed her description (caricatures) of pre-school helicopter moms. By the end of the book, however, I realized it deals with a heavy issue, giving a delightful book some depth. Other titles by this author are: The Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot.
• Three-book series by a friend and fellow author, Barbara Hinske: Coming to Rosemont, Weaving the Strands, and Uncovering Secrets. You'll enjoy reading the entire series. Nothing offensive, yet realistic enough to keep your attention. The mansion in the book is based on the author's 1920s home in the heart of Phoenix. Visit her website to see tours of the beautiful home and meet Barbara.
• For the best classic you'll ever read, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Then there's the recently published (and controversial) novel by Ms. Lee titled, Go Set a Watchman. See two of my previous blogs for commentaries on this second novel. (July 23, 2015 & October 1, 2015)
• And....I humbly suggest my own novel, Route to Survival, as a quick summer read. Protagonist Kate Mitchell must find her strength when she loses all her support scaffolding. When I do book talks, many women tell me I wrote their life stories. We all are in need of survival. It can be ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or my website:  www.sueraatjes.weebly.com.
• A new genre is "cozy mysteries." These are Agatha Christie-type novels that are good detective stories without excessive violence or sex. J.A. Jance is listed as a cozy mystery writer. Her stories take place in Bisbee, Arizona, as well as Sedona, AZ, and Seattle.
• NEWSFLASH: I just heard about an author of historical fiction who has 24 books published. I haven't read her yet, but I intend to start with Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. The author is Jennifer Chiaverini. I met her mother on a trip to southern Idaho. Her books look fascinating...all are about strong women in historical settings.

Whatever you do this summer, treat yourself to some leisure reading. And remember: NEVER turn down the corners of books!