It’s that time of the year again! Summer is the best for reading. I have been doing my Summer Reading List since 2015. Each year, it gets better and better because of the people who contribute. This year, I am excited to share the list with you as we have several new contributors as well as those who have contributed each year. I hope you will take the time to review the list. See what books you have read and what books or authors you want to check out. Feel free to print off the list and keep it handy when you are looking for a new book or author. Please share it with your family, friends, or book club. It’s a great list! Enjoy

First off, is Barb Leach, a nurse colleague from Northern CA. Barb is an avid reader. She listens mostly to audiobooks but also likes to curl up with a good book now and then. Here are her recommendations.

Democracy Awakening – Heather Cox Richardson (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)

James – Everette Percival, James,” by Percival Everett, is a reimagining of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” narrated from the perspective of Jim, a Black enslaved man. The story follows Jim’s escape from slavery after learning he’s to be sold, paralleling Huck’s journey as they travel together down the Mississippi River.

Before you Leap! A frog’s eye view of life’s great lessons – Kermit the Frog

Now or Never – Janet Evanovich

Framed – John Grisham

The Other Einstein – Marie Benedict

Counting Miracles – Nicolas Sparks

The Personal Librarian – Marie Benedict (really enjoyed this)

The First Ladies – Marie Benedict (Really, really enjoyed this one)

Camino Ghosts – John Grisham

The Summons – John Grisham

Attack Within – Barbara McQuade ( a very important read).

Connie Sunderhaus, a longtime friend and case management colleague from Las Vegas. Connie said, “Here’s a few books that were on our Book Club list from last year and this year. Each of these I liked for different reasons”.

The Splendid and the Vile  by Erk Larson: A view of WW11

Dinner with Ruth by Nina Totenberg: An account of the many conversations between two very good friends, one of whom happened to be a Supreme Court Judge

The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore. The book examines life with socially unacceptable diseases and how the patients were treated.

The Color of Water by James McBride. The book is about two views of an American family

Michelle Knaub is a good friend and always has good recommendations for books. Here are her recommendations

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

Woman As Healer by Jeanne Achterberg

Into the Magic Shop by James Doty

Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson

Bird’s Eye View by J.F. Freedman

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Sullivan’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

The McCartney Legacy by Allan Kozinn

The Perfect Couple by Elian Hildebrand

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Swan Song by Robert McCammon

 

The next recommendations are from Stefani Daniels, a long-time friend and case management colleague from Fort Lauderdale, FL. Stefani is an avid reader and traveler!

I continue to read tho I admit that due to a cocky left eye (my reading eye after Lasix back in the early 90s) I’ve become a habitual audio book fan.

Among fiction, I’m still partial to mystery/police procedural a la Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch Series but since he retired from Bosch, I’ve been exploring new authors.

Daniel Silva and his Gabriel Allon hero hold my interest, as does the Irish author Dervla McTiernan.

But I also read some real winners outside of my genre…most notably, non-fiction:  Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Ward about an Australian conservationist who leaves her family to live in a convent.

This year I ‘discovered’ Hampton Sides, a historian and journalist whose account of America’s attempt to reach the North Pole, In the Kingdom of Ice, is a fascinating page-turner.

Also, To Live by Yu Hua is a tragic story of one man’s experiences during modern Chinese history.

My granddaughter highly recommended Michelle Zaunder’s memoir, Crying at the H Mart (As a Philly person, Anne, you’ll find this especially rewarding), about the author’s Korean-American upbringing, musical career, and the aftermath of her mother’s death, and she was spot on. It’s a goodie.

Mary Beth Newman is another long-time case management friend and a frequent contributor to my Summer Reading List. Mary Beth is from Ohio!

Here is my reading list of the top 20 books I read in the past year.  It was hard to narrow down to 20, but these are the ones that kept me thinking the most for quite some time after reading.  To me, that is always the mark of a great book!

The Names by Florence Knapp
A reflective and haunting narrative that explores personal identity in the wake of grief and trauma.  I loved the creativity of the author in creating three alternative realities based on making a single decision.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige
This novel focuses on the search for a lost hiker in Maine, using two alternating narratives. I loved the character development and the theme of human resilience.

The Garden by Nick Newman
An unnerving novel about two elderly sisters living (and surviving) alone in a secluded walled garden in a dystopian world. It’s a slow burn but a chilling one!

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
A mystery written from a psychiatrist’s perspective about a woman whose memory fractures in a strange medical case, raising questions about memory, identity, and reality. Super interesting from a behavioral health point of view.

Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
A dark fairy tale of sorts set in the Alaskan wilderness, this story follows a woman and her daughter as they escape the wilderness to live with a mysterious man. I loved the characters, the beautiful imagery, and the writing.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Sweeney
A dark thriller about a man whose wife goes missing and his journey to find her, featuring numerous twists and turns that make it a page-turner.

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty
A story about a man reconnecting with the daughter he’s never met, set in the native Penobscot community in Maine.  I loved the themes of identity, family, and redemption.

The Searcher by Tana French
A retired detective seeks peace in rural Ireland but gets pulled into a missing-persons mystery that uncovers unsettling community secrets. I loved the character development, the literary writing, and the immersion into Irish culture.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach
This novel takes place over the course of a destination wedding weekend. The main character is an unexpected guest but becomes intimately involved in the wedding. A fun read about awkward encounters and fresh starts!

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Passengers on a plane encounter a woman who tells each of them how they will die and when. The novel focuses on how this impacts a select set of passengers in their life choices and their belief in fate.

James by Percival Everett
The well-deserved winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, this novel is a bold reimagining of Huckleberry Finn as told from Jim’s perspective. Hard to read at times but brilliantly conceived.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Beautifully written saga of two twin brothers born in Ethiopia to a secret union between a nun and a surgeon, and their upbringing by surrogate parents who are surgeons at a community missionary hospital. The author is a magnificent storyteller and vividly delves into the themes of family, medicine, forgiveness, love, culture, and politics.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
A brilliant novel about an astronaut who wakes up alone in space as the only surviving crew member on a mission to save humanity, who meets up with an alien lifeform in the same predicament. Loved the voice of the alien on the Audible recording!

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
This slow-burning mystery novel is about a girl’s disappearance from a summer camp, which is steeped in family secrets and class divisions. I liked the multiple points of view and the unexpected twists.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
This mystery thriller follows two young people (Patch and Saint) over time as they search for a missing girl and encounter trauma along the way. The character development is rich and complex, and the writing is superb literary fiction.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
This novel tells the story of a young Irish woman in the 1950s who leaves her family to start a new life in Brooklyn. Rich in cultural detail, it examines the impact of immigration.

The Ministry of Time by Kalian Bradley
A science fiction novel that centers on a government office that assigns its workers to study the effects of time travel on historical figures who are brought forward from the past. An imaginative read with humor and satire.

The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
An interesting novel based on the true story of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and her fight to establish indigo farming in colonial South Carolina. I admired her courage, independence, and intellect in a time when women were expected to remain silent and obedient.

The Homecoming by Kate Morton
This dual-timeline mystery novel is set in Australia, where a modern-day journalist uncovers her family’s tragic secrets after returning to her ancestral home following a personal calamity. The descriptions of Australian culture and landscapes were fascinating.

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar
A dual-timeline story about Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law and her role in making his work known to the world, and a modern-day woman who discovers links to van Gogh in her family history. I loved the strong female characters.

Can’t wait to see the final list and get some more reading recommendations!

Ellen Honeig is a case management colleague from the West Coast of Florida. Here are her contributions.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor, Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession and the blinding light of hope.

Dana Deravin Carr is a long-time case management colleague from New York.  Here are her contributions.

As a voracious reader over time, I have incorporated a diverse list of favorite authors and books to my personal go to list. I would be happy to offer some of these as you update your yearly list!  I also subscribe to the New York Times Book List.

Anne, this is merely a snapshot of my readings as I generally am reading at least two books at a time.

I rarely buy books unless I want to make them part of my personal library. I belong to my local library and also use the Westchester Library System.

I have incorporated Fiction, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Biographies.

A History of the World in Six Plagues by Edna Bonhomie

The Illegals by Shaun Walker

The Long Hangover by Shaun Walker

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

The Cormorant Strike Novels by Robert Galbraith (Pseudonym of JK. Rowling.

The British Are Coming  by Rick Atkinson

The Fate of the Day by Rick Atkinson

James by Percival Everett

Erasure by Everett, Percival

Trees by Everett Percival

James by Everett Percival

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

The Armand Gamache Series by Louise Penny

In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta Ahmed

The Queen and Tudor Series by Philippa Gregory

 

Susan Galpin is the last of my case management colleagues to contribute to this year’s list. Sue lives in Chicago with her husband, Bruce.

Regarding her recommendations, she says: These are all books I’ve read and would give 5/5 stars.

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. A story of how “Lost Friends” ads posted in papers and church newsletters by family members after the Civil War helped Southern families reunite.

All the Broken Places by John Boyne. Children of a family with a Nazi past tries to start new lives with new identities.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. A child disappears at a summer camp, and the investigation that ensues.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery that celebrates perseverance and the healing power of love.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Based on the diary of a midwife, a mystery surrounding a frozen body found in a river is solved in 18th-century Maine.

The next set of contributors are from my longtime friends Philadelphia

Kathy Pauza, one of my best friends from Grade school! She is an avid reader and shares her top reads from 2024.

WEST WITH GIRAFFES BY LYNDA RUTLEDGE by Lynda Rutledge.  It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes. Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late

MOCKINGBIRD SUMMER BY LYNDA RUTLEDGE: A powerful and emotional coming-of-age novel set amid the turmoil and profound changes of the 1960s by the bestselling author of West with Giraffes. In segregated High Cotton, Texas, in 1964, the railroad tracks running through town were as clear as the railroad tracks. It’s also where two girls are going to shake things up. This is the last summer of thirteen-year-old Corky Corcoran’s childhood, and her family hires a Haitian housekeeper who brings her daughter, America, along with her. Corky is quick to befriend America and eager to share her favorite new “grown-up” novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. America’s take on it is different and profoundly personal. As their friendship grows, Corky finds out so much more about America’s life and her hidden skill: she can run as fast as Olympian Wilma Rudolph! When Corky asks America to play with her girls’ softball team for the annual church rivals game, it’s a move that crosses the color line and sets off a firestorm. As tensions escalate, it fast becomes a season of big changes in High Cotton. For Corky, those changes will last a lifetime. Set on the eve of massive cultural shifts, Mockingbird Summer explores the impact of great books, the burden of potential, and the power of friendship with humor, poignancy, and exhilarating hope.

FAULT LINES BY EMILY ITAMI: Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children, and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It’s everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether she would rather throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband and hanging up laundry. Then, one rainy night, she meets Kiyoshi, a successful restaurateur. In him, she rediscovers freedom, friendship, and the neon, electric pulse of the city she has always loved. But the further she falls into their relationship, the clearer it becomes that she is living two lives—and in the end, we can choose only one. Funny, provocative, and startlingly honest, Fault Lines is for anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and asked, who am I and how did I get here? A bittersweet love story and a piercing portrait of female identity, it introduces Emily Itami as a debut novelist with astounding resonance and wit.

CRYING IN H MART BY MICHELLE ZAUNER: In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

THE MEASURE BY NIKKI ERLICK, The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything. Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is an ambitious, invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.

THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION BY AGATHA CHRISTIE: The story follows Leonard Vole, a charming and seemingly innocent man accused of murdering a wealthy widow, Miss Emily French, who had recently made him the principal beneficiary of her will. His lawyer, Mr. Mayherne, is determined to prove his client’s innocence. However, the case becomes more complex when Leonard’s wife, Romaine, surprisingly appears as a witness against him, testifying that he admitted to committing the crime. The courtroom drama escalates as the evidence mounts, and the defense struggles to undermine Romaine’s devastating testimony. A shocking twist emerges when unexpected new evidence is introduced, dramatically changing the trajectory of the case.

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY BY BONNIE GARMUS: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

 

THE PLOT BY JEAN HANFF KORELITZ: Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written―let alone published―anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.

THE CODE GIRLS BY LIZA MUNDY: Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

Liz Woster, is another of my best friends from grade school, shares her best reads from 2024.

Right now, I am finishing up an old book – Ken Follett – Pillars of the Earth, published in 1989.  Although I have read other fabulous thrillers by him, this one was one I had never read.  My book club all agreed that this was his best ever, as well as their favorite; 10 out of 12 loved it.  (He also wrote the Key to Rebecca and the Eye of the Needle).  I am LOVING this book.  It’s fantastic…LOTS of pages but just wonderful.  Quite a page turner.

This past winter I read three books by an author I now adore.  All fiction.  His writing is magnificent, somewhat florid, but capturing all the same.  Once I start his books, I can’t put them down.  All are set in Ireland, along the Atlantic coastline.  The author’s name is Niall Williams.  I discovered him in the weekend section of the WSJ.  His new book was recommended – The Time of the Child.   I read it in two days, non-stop.

Below are three books by Niall Williams that I highly recommend. What I love about his books is his prose, his descriptions of Ireland, and his talent for storytelling.  He takes you away to a place we all love.

This is Happiness

A pleasing coming-of-age story, Williams’s novel was set in the rain-soaked coastal community of Faha, on the cusp of entering the modern world as the village welcomes electrification.

Time of the Child is a sequel of sorts. Set in December 1962, it’s the story of what happens when a child is discovered abandoned in the lee of the church wall during the Christmas fair.

Four Letters of Love is a glorious, uplifting story about faith, about seizing the moment, believing in your instincts and acting on impulse — and about following your heart, no matter where it may lead.

 

Grace Carr rounds out my best friends from grade school! She is an avid reader and shared a few of her favorites for this year’s list.

Paranoia, a Micheal Bennet thriller by James Patterson and James O. Born

No Safe Place: A Thriller by Michael Eldridge

An Unexpected Peril (the Veronica Speedwell series) by Donna Rayborn

Homes, Marple, and Poe by James Patterson

The Kings Messenger by Susanna Kearsley

 

Next is Mary Reidy: Mary and I have been friends since we were 5 years old. Our houses were side by side in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood. We still talk weekly! Here is one of her favorite authors. Diane Chamberlain, who wrote The Dream Daughter. Check it out!

Candy Crawly is up next. She is my neighbor in Plantation, FL.  She is an avid reader and suggests these books for this year’s Summer Reading list.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton – historical fiction across 2 timelines (1958-59 and 2017)

My Antonia by Willa Cather – the story of a young orphan who moves to the Nebraska frontier

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie – the story of a biracial girl born into a prestigious Japanese family who faces societal rejection.

The Art Thief by Michael Finley – true story of a prolific art thief who stole artwork from museums across Europe

The Plot by Jean Koerlitz – the story of a washed-up novelist and a stolen idea

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner – story of a disabled historian who researches and writes about his grandparents’ lives in the American West (won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1972)

The Second Life of Marielle West by Amanda Skenadore – based on the true story of America’s only leper colony

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Escape Room by Megan Golden – Mystery

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver – story of a boy born into poverty and addiction in Appalachia.

Next, I introduce my brother, Joe Hassell. Joe lives in South Jersey with his wife Donna. He gets time to read in between teaching and taking his grandchildren to various sporting practice events. Here are his recommendations.

“Grant” by Ron Chernow

I didn’t know much about Ulysses S. Grant except that he was the leading general of the Union army during the Civil War and later became president of the United States. I was surprised to learn the many curves his life took, from a low point when he resigned from the military with rumors of excessive drinking and then financial failure in civilian life. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he willed himself back into the military and went on to become a military genius and hero. After the war, he rode the wave of his popularity and was swept into the highest office. He was so trusting of people that he was repeatedly taken advantage of, which eventually led to numerous scandals while he was president. Near the end of his life, he suffered from cancer, and while he was dying and virtually penniless, he wrote his memoirs to generate money for his family. It’s a long book but very readable. His life was fascinating.

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

I loved the story and characters of the 2002 movie, and heard that the book included even more adventures and crazy characters than the movie, so I decided to read the book. Dickens can be a challenging read, but if you hang in there, the story is filled with funny, sad, and heartwarming episodes and the characters are very relatable and lovable.

Another avid reader is my sister-in-law, Trisha Douville. Trisha lives in Laurel, MD. Here are her recommendations.

First Ladies by Marie Benedict. This is about the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune

James by Percival Everett. The retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. Historical fiction about former slaves trying to find lost family members and friends

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by: Allison Patiki    Marjorie Post is the heiress of the Post cereal dynasty.  She’s an amazingly accomplished woman.

The Woman by Kristen Hannah. A female nurse’s journey in Vietnam and at home.

My husband, Corky, shared a book he enjoyed between fishing and raising orchids. The Wager by David Grann was one of his favorites. This astonishing tale of maritime warfare, mutiny, and survival in the eighteenth-century Atlantic proves that a nonfiction book can be as thrilling as any summer blockbuster.

I have some great friends from my community pool, Central Park in Plantation, FL. We formed a Water Exercise Class that meets three, four or five times a week. We call ourselves Water Warriors. The first up from this group is:

Barbara Gant. Barbara’s recommendations are:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. This book is a psychological thriller. Millie, the housemaid, has no idea what challenges she’ll encounter. Easy reading, full of surprises and unexpected turns throughout the story

The Guest List by Lucy Foley
This murder mystery centers around seven characters, each with their own secrets and motives that lead to a shocking death.

Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall
This book explores love, loss, and the impact of past relationships. Beth seems happy as a farmer’s wife until her first love returns. What shall she do?

Kathy and John Steinbauer are also part of the Plantation Aquatic Club Water Warriors. They put their heads together and came up with these recommendations.

The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Revolution, and featuring a cast of legendary characters, The Hamilton Affair tells the sweeping, tumultuous, true story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler, from passionate and tender beginnings to his fateful duel on the banks of the Hudson River.

The Horse Dancer by JoJo Moyes

Sarah’s grandfather was a horseman of rare talent – only the exceptional are allowed into France’s elite riding academy, Le Cadre Noir. But life took an unexpected turn, and now from a council estate in east London, the Captain hopes to train his granddaughter towards a better life.

 The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

As a graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children fleeing to neutral Switzerland.

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

The author recounts a wartime love story between a Polish woman and a Japanese American in the aftermath of the Nazi Invasion of Poland in 1939. The book is set in World War II.

The Eye of the Elephant follows authors Delia and Mark Owens as they embark on a mission to protect wildlife and preserve natural habitats in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia. The couple establishes a wildlife reserve and works to combat the poaching of endangered species, particularly elephants.

The Cry of the Kalahari is an autobiographical book detailing the experiences of two young American zoologists, Mark and Delia Owens, and their experience studying wildlife in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana in the mid-1970s. There they lived and worked for seven years in an uninhabited area named Deception Valley in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

 

Next up is Jane Keys. Jane and I have been water exercise friends for several years (before the PAC was formed.) She has contributed to my Summer Reading List several times.  Jane recommends these two very good summer readings.

First is: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, an award-winning book. Truly bittersweet about the life of a butler in England during the beginning and aftermath of WW2. It is both beautiful yet devastating. After I read the 245-page novel, I rented the movie for $3.99 on Prime! I give it 5 Stars!

Second: The Season in Purgatory by Dominick Dunn. This is a fast-paced novel based on a true crime committed by a relative of the Kennedy family. How money, power and privilege are used by the very wealthy. It was made into a series for Netflix, but it is no longer available. I give it 4 and a half stars.

The 3^rd contributor to the 2025 Summer Reading List from the Plantation Pool is known simply as ML. She shared a book she just started reading, TRUST by Hernan Diaz, a Pulitzer Prize winner. So far, easy read and interesting!

 Donna Leaderman is next up and part of the PAC Water Exercise Class: She shared two of her oldies but goodies.

All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This book won a Pulitzer Prize and a Carnegie Medal. An amazing wartime story about a French blind girl whose father teaches her how to get around town.

Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom. A story about the men in a lifeboat, and there’s a force with them.

Last up from this group is Jackie Quintana. Instead of explaining why I liked the book, I provided a brief synopsis! I had fun wracking my brain to compile it!!

All The Colors Of The Dark: a 2024 novel by Chris Whitaker. Spans decades. A serial killer, obsession, love, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Patriot by Alexei Navalny- a memoir. Alexi Navalny was a Russian lawyer, an opposition leader, an anti-corruption activist, and a political prisoner.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Khaled Hosseini. This book follows the lives of two Afghan women.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. This 2019 Historical Fiction Novel is a true story inspired by the real-life Pack Horse Library Project in Kentucky.

My name is Barbra. A memoir by Barbra Streisand.

This Tender Land. A 2019 novel by William Kent Krueger. This is a coming-of-age story set in 1932, Minnesota. It follows 4 orphans who flee a ruthless children’s home, steal a canoe, and head down the Mississippi River.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a 2017 Historical Fiction. It is the story of a reclusive Hollywood legend and her 7 marriages with a great twist at the end.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a 2006 Historical Romance Novel set in a 20th-century circus.

Prequel….. An American fight against fascism. The release date was 2023, and Rachel Maddow wrote it. It follows fascist sympathizers in 1930s America.

Small Things Like These, a historical fiction novella by Claire Keegan.

Spare, by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. This is a memoir released in 2023, providing an intimate account of his life.

The Running Man, a 1982 novel by Stephen King. This is a dystopian thriller.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhorn. This is a historical novel set in 1789 in Hallowell, Maine. Also a mystery.

Can’t wait to see your complete list!

Next are two friends from Quota International, a service organization that delivered 100 years of service across the United States and other countries around the world. Quota closed its Clubs in the United States a few years ago. Some Clubs still operate. They are in the Philippines, Australia, and the Netherlands. Although the US Clubs have closed, I keep in touch with friends from Quota via Facebook!

First up is Jane Crawford. She said:  I always look forward to this list. I’ve read quite a variety of books this year-some really hard to read, then some that were just fluff. Here goes–

The Rules of Fortune by Danielle Prescod-this one surprised me, and I was immediately hooked. Billionaire patriarch’s ideas. Daughter does research to honor him and finds out about the family’s dark past.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara-I was devastated by this book. I couldn’t read anything for weeks afterward because of the way it affected me. The writing is exquisite.  It deals with four very close friends across decades as they deal with trauma, abuse, and suffering. I am so glad I read it, but it was tough.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store-James McBride-historical fiction. The story revolves around a Jewish couple living in a Black community who help to unite them. I enjoyed this book.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll-This book had special meaning for me because I graduated from Florida State a couple of years prior to the Ted Bundy murders at the Chi Omega sorority house. This book is a fictional account of the sorority girls who were affected by the serial killer.  It was hard for me to read, but good.

Rules of Civility-Amor Towles. Finally read this and liked it.

Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen, described as Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada-I enjoyed the time period and the subject matter.

The Next Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine is a sequel to The Last Mrs. Parrish, which I read years ago. I didn’t like it as much as The Last Mrs. Parrish, but it’s a wild ride.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Clifton-romance in war-torn Cuba, including lots of history of that time period. Loved it!

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul-Hollywood 1950s-60s. Light-skinned Black women pass as white. I absolutely loved this book and learned so much from it!

The Education of Dixie Dupree by Donna Everhart-the book centers around a mother and daughter and the guilt and pain that oftentimes passes through generations.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones-a is a psychological thriller that explores a destructive relationship.

What’s Left Unsaid by Emily Bleeker, an IA newspaper reporter in a small town in Mississippi, uncovers some old articles that reveal a long-hidden mystery. Easy read.

Holding On To Nothing by Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne-A young girl is anxious to leave her rural Tennessee town, but one mistake keeps her there, where she has to survive all the bad stuff life throws at her.

Happy Reading!

Next is Laura Warner. She was the person who invited me to join Quota in 2005. We remain friends to this day! Here is a list of books that she has enjoyed.

Verity and It Ends with Us by COLLEEN HOVER

Three Sisters by HEATHER MORRIS

Don’t Go After Anna, What Happened to the Bennetts?, and One Perfect Lie all by LISA SCOTTOLINE

Wherever She Goes by KELLY ARMSTRONG

Royal,  Lighting, and Dangerous Games by DANIELLE STEEL

The Women KRISTAN HANNAH

The Perfect Sonya, Never Lie, The Coworker, and The Teacher all by FREIDA McFADDEN

Spring Forward by CATHERINE Anderson

Wow, what a list. I can’t wait to order some of these books from my local library! I truly appreciate everyone who contributed!

Happy Reading!