It’s about time for some beach or patio reading in the sun. I’m looking forward to diving into these books almost as much as the ocean: The Shell Collector (because Letizia reminded me of that one), Slaughterhouse Five (after reading this review by Ste J), Tinkers (because of reviews from Goodreads friends), All the Light We Cannot See, and a million others.
I’m grateful for the friends I’ve found and I’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to stop by and visit. So to celebrate you and the summer reading list, it’s time to do another giveaway. If you comment on this post by Wednesday, June 24, your comment will put you in the running for a $25 Amazon gift card. The winner will be announced here on Thursday.
In case you’re hunting around for a few more beach or fireside reads, take a look at these books written by blogging friends. Just click on the book cover for a description of each:
Books are by: Britt Skrabanek, Carrie Rubin, Dianne Gray, Kourtney Heintz, Charissa Stastny, Kasia James, Coleen Patrick, Lauren Scott, K.C. Tansley, and my friend from UMass Amherst Licia Sorgi.
There’s also a Goodreads giveaway going on for K.C. Tansley’s The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. And don’t forget to nominate Eating Bull on Kindle Scout within the next four days for the chance to win a free e-book.
What’s on your summer (or winter fireside) reading list?
Sheila Hurst 
Ah, the joy of summer reading! I’m looking forward to reading H is for Hawk which everyone had told me is a great book (oh dear, starting a book with such high expectations is never a great idea is it?). No need to include me in the giveaway, Sheila, but I wanted to comment nonetheless. Let me know what you think of The Shell Collector (I’ll be reading it after H is for Hawk, I think).
H is for Hawk sounded good too – I’ll have to include it – the summer reading list is always so exciting for some reason. We can do a Shell Collector book club type discussion when you visit! And of course you’re included in the giveaway! Thank you for making this blogging and Twittering stuff fun!
Wowza, honey! Thanks for the shout-out. That is very, very sweet of you!
Have fun reading in the sun, love! I really enjoyed Slaughterhouse-Five. Read it last year when I was doing my whole “classics I somehow missed” rampage.
Sure thing – you and your books deserve all kinds of shouting out! Slaughterhouse Five is one of those books that I kept wanting to read but never got around to (maybe that has something to do with the title). But when I saw that review, I knew I had to read it. Happy summer reading!
Oh Sheila, I’d love to be on that beach right now. How fun to see all of the familiar names on the book covers. 🙂 Unfortunately all of my summer reading will have to wait until I get my book ready for submission. Boy, will I be ready. 🙂 Happy Reading!
I’d love to be there right about now too! We’ll have to settle for imagining it through the photo. I know what you mean – all that writing and revising can really slow the reading down. I’ve read my novel about a million times by now so I’m looking forward to reading some others! Good luck with your book and happy summer!
Thank you so much for mentioning my books, Sheila! Surprises like this are always a treat to find. Made my day. And I’m happy to report I’ve read many of the Indies you’ve included here today. 🙂
I just finished “All the Light We Cannot See” for my book club. What a wonderful book. One of those rare books that has beautiful writing and a page-turning plot. As for Tinkers, that one was more beautiful writing but not so much of a plot, at least not for me. So I didn’t enjoy that one as much, but others are raving about it.
Thanks again!
I’m happy to surprise you – your books deserve all kinds of attention! I’ll be rooting for you on the Kindle Scout campaign. You must be going crazy with it, but I’m sure you’ll be celebrating in a few more days! Thanks for letting me know what you thought of those books – I’ll have to read All the Light We Cannot See soon!
Yes, it’s well worth the read. Great for a book-club selection.
As for my campaign, I’ll be relieved when it’s over. Then I have another two weeks or so before I find out if it’s been selected. That will be a tad stressful too. 🙂
That sounds way too stressful – you’re going to need lots of chocolate!
Thanks for all of the summer reading suggestions. I am going to pick up some of these for my wifes birthday.
That’s great – I’m sure she’ll enjoy them (and with that gift card you could probably buy all of the above and more)!
Your top shot is gorgeous of the sea shore, Sheila! Enjoy! Thanks for the book recommendations. Jotting down book titles now.
Happy Summer Reading!
~Theadora
Thanks Theadora! I hope you’ll be able to do lots of reading and people watching in those gorgeous Paris parks this summer. Happy reading!
I have one quibble with your post. Given what we know about skin cancer, nobody should be “reading in the sun,” or, if we are, be sure to cover up with a sun hat and some high-SPF sunscreen 🙂
But thanks for putting me in the summer reading mood. I’m just about to take a break from work and I look forward to adding a few more titles to the list I’m already carrying around on my Kindle!
Hahah – I guess it might be a bit too hot if we were really in the sun. But yes, it’s always good to remember the sunscreen and hats for any summer reading. The great thing about Indie novels is that you could buy all of the ones up there and more with that gift card! Thanks for visiting and happy summer!
It has been 25+ years since I’ve won anything… maybe this will be my lucky entry 🙂
Delighted to see so many familiar names, Sheila.
You’re so right about the joy of diving into both oceans and books.
Here’s to a great Summer!
Yes, the ocean is still a bit cold here but I’ll be diving in soon! I hope you’ll be able to enjoy the ocean and books all at once too. Happy summer reading!
Doing so already, which is great. The sea has warmed up very considerably here in the last week or so and it’s weather for picnics, soft rugs and outdoor reading.
Thanks for the link and another thanks for adding more books to my list of things to read. I say thanks for the latter but when space and money run out I shall be shaking a fist your way but not too angrily though as I do love a good book recommendation or eighteen!
Hahah – books and music are the best things to buy so enjoy! One of the great things about Indie novels is that some are the price of a cup of coffee. I’d rather read a book any day. Thanks again for that Slaughterhouse 5 review. I’m really looking forward to diving into that one.
That’s a fair point, I don’t drink much coffee so that means I can pick up more Indie books. Thanks for reading my reviews, your support is always most appreciated.
Of course – I love your reviews! Thank you for steering me toward some great books.
I’m always jealous that you can go sit on the beach almost whenever you want. Lucky! Thanks for the great list of books to read and for including mine in it. You’re a sweetheart! Hope your summer is treating you well.
Thanks for making me laugh! I wish I could sit on the beach all the time too, but work and life always seem to get in the way. I’ll try to get there more often this summer though! Hope you have fun biking and hiking (and watch out for bears)!
I haven’t see any bears yet (whew!). I also haven’t broken my arm this year while biking, which is a completely successful summer so far. That’s all I care about.
I’m glad you’re all healed up now so you can really enjoy the summer this time around (just be careful around the bears and bikes)! 🙂
I love the ocean, Sheila – what a great place to spend time reading. I spent most of my childhood on the beach so the notion of it brings back wonderful memories 😀
Thank you so much for including my books in this fantastic collection xxxx
I’m happy to help bring back some of those memories. The ocean makes me think of those times too – running around on the beach, building sandcastles, and looking through tidal pools for hermit crabs – now I mostly just sit and read. 🙂 I can’t wait to read more of your books this summer too!
Thanks so much for the shout out to my books and mentioning the giveaway too. 🙂 What gorgeous covers. They almost look like they could be a collage on a wall. Thrilled to be one of your author blog buddies.
It was fun putting the covers all together like that. Congratulations on the giveaway and the great reviews! I loved Six Train so I’m looking forward to reading The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. I’m glad we were able to get to know each other through this crazy blogging world too!
Truly great job! You’ve got an eye for it. Aw thank you. I’m hoping we see more popping up as we get closer to the release. My publisher has been giving out galleys on NetGalley. If you are on there, you can ask for a galley. 🙂 It’s been awesome getting to know you too! Hopefully some day, we’ll meet in person.
Aw, thanks so much for including me, Sheila! Made my day. 🙂 And I love the beach–especially if it means I get to take a road trip (naturally)–and read. I’ve got all kinds of books on my list for this summer from middle grade to memoirs. I also work in a library, so I’m constantly taking home my work. 😉 Thanks for the great suggestions too. Love that there are so many options!! Thank you again, happy to be one of your blogging friends too. 🙂
That’s the best way to take work home! Maybe I’ll have to look into a library job now. 🙂 I’m glad we’ve gotten to know each other in this crazy way too. I hope you’ll get to enjoy lots of ocean visits and books this summer (and road trips and desserts)!
Thanks, Sheila, for including me in your summer book group. I’m honored and I love the idea of just curling up with a good book and diving into another world. Right now I seem to be lacking time for all the books I want to read. 🙂 I’m happy to see more to choose from also and it’s nice to include the giveaway. too! Cheers to a wonderful, relaxing summer! ♥
That’s true, it’s hard to find the time for all the reading we want to do but I love the idea of it! Maybe that’s what makes the summer reading list so appealing – the potential of all the books we could read. I hope you’ll find some relaxing time like that this summer (and have fun out there with that other ocean)!
Summertime! And the reading is easy….You’ve got quite a stellar list of books by blogging buddies. Where to start!? I haven’t finalized my reading list yet. It changes weekly. Knowing me, the summer will be over, and I will have wandered from book to book, not following any sort of plan or list. But I guess that’s why summer feels so good! Cheers!
Wandering from book to book sounds like a perfect summertime activity! It’s always fun thinking of all the possibilities. I haven’t read all of those books yet so I’ll be adding some to my summer list. I hope you have fun with yours – here’s to summer reading!
Are you supporting independent e-book publishers? That’s great! There’s a lot of talented authors out there who aren’t being read for some reason or another. Thanks for the recommendations 🙂
There are so many books out there these days that it can be difficult to find readers. So I wanted to point a few out that were written by friends. I haven’t read them all yet, but I’ve enjoyed the ones I have read. Happy adventuring (and reading)!
I’ve just finished Tinkers Sheila – it sounded like my kind of book, a little magical, rooted in nature, but I’m afraid it didn’t live up to my expectations!
I haven’t read a book like Tinkers in a while and I love it so far. I love getting lost in the language and marveling at certain sentences. Maybe it’s also because it’s been a day filled with thunderstorms here and that fits perfectly with reading that kind of a book. I’ll let you know what I think by the end!
Sheila I an sitting by the fire on this Sunday morning, love all your recommendations and have a few of them already in my ebook pile to get to. Enjoy your summer reads, easy to turn the page in the hotter days. My fingers are cold.
I’ve been thinking of you sitting by that cozy fire. Don’t let those fingers get too cold though! Just a few months ago, I’d have to wear my winter hat to stay warm while reading, so bundle up and stay nice and warm with the fire and the words.
Beanie on and double layers here Sheila.
Loved All the Light We Cannot See!
It’s funny how much everyone loves that one – I’ll have to read it soon!
I’m hoping to catch up on blog buddies’ books this summer. I have a couple of Dianne Gray’s books downloaded on my Kindle, and I NEED to read them. I’m also anxiously awaiting The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts, because I can’t imagine how one goes about doing that successfully! 🙂
Same here! I’ve been wanting to read The Everything Theory for a while now. I love a good ghost story too and can’t wait for The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. I still haven’t even gotten to The Dovekeepers yet even though I was hoping to do that during one of those blizzards. 🙂 There are so many to read – hopefully we’ll find the time this summer with the longer days!
This is such an awesome thing that you’re doing, Sheila! I’m glad to say I’ve read many of these books, too, and I love our supportive community here. I’ve also had the pleasure and honor of reading an ARC of The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. It’s fantastic. 🙂
Thanks JM! That’s great that you were able to read The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts. It combines two of my favorite things – ghost stories and time travel – so I’m looking forward to it. Hope you’re having a fun summer so far!
Aw thank you JM! 🙂 We do have a great community here. I loved Carrie Rubin’s book.