If you love to read you certainly have a favorite book and look forward to one that could possibly top it. Check out these summer reading picks from our staff and Facebook fans! Maybe one will move to the top of your list!
Staff Picks:
Christin Kelley, Freelance Writer, AKA “Miss Must Haves”: A friend got me turned on to John Irving and I LOVE him! I’ll be reading his new novel, In One Person.
Francine Scoboria, Freelance Writer, former BCL editor: Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. Spend some time with the Wicked Witch of the West, who entered the world of Oz as a very unusual baby. This amazing novel, set inside the magical world of The Wizard of Oz, will captivate and delight you whether you are reading on the beach, poolside or in your own backyard.
Jon Pacific, BCL Freelance Writer, Specialty – Food: French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters by Karen Bakker Le Billon. If there's one thing the French do right it's food. It's a good lesson on how setting up eating rules for children can lead to a lifetime of healthy eating habits.
Kathy Miller, Independent Executive, Berks County Living: James Patterson's Guilty Wives would be my summer reading recommendation choice. His books always have some romance as well as mystery and a surprise ending.
Jennifer Hetrick, BCL Freelance Writer/Photographer, Dining In: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Although I haven't read this book since high school, I look forward to absorbing it again while sitting on the glider on my porch this summer; unlike Bradbury's science fiction, this book reminds the reader of old ways of childhood when life was simpler and a less complicated brand of sweet.
Marian Frances Wolbers, BCL Freelancer Writer, Dining Out: The Long-Shining Waters by Danielle Sosin. It's mesmerizing, poetic, deep--and has everything I love, including strong women, water, struggle, and spirit.
Keith Smoker, BCL Features Writer: I know this is old-school and mainstream, but I’d have to say that Jaws by Peter Benchley is my all time favorite summer read. This “edge of your seat” thriller is a fast read, and has interpersonal character relationships that didn’t make it to the movie. Watch where you swim!
Shawn Rutkowski, BCL Freelance Photographer: I would have to go with Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It’s an oldie but a goodie. My favorite lines are "Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The Sun is but a Morning Star.” His minimalist outlook on life is very refreshing.
Robyn Jones, BCL Associate Publisher: Stay Close by Harlan Coben. Best selling author Harlan Coben always writes a powerful psychological thriller that I can never put down. I am sure it will be a real page-turner!
Elizabeth Beebe, BCL Account Executive: It’s a tie! The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and The Twilight Saga (also a trilogy) by Stephenie Meyer. Both series contain an equal amount of excitement and romance. As much as you can’t wait to keep reading to find out the end result, it’s also bittersweet when you read the last sentence of the final book because you wish there was more!
Lily Oswald, BCL Features Writer: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I just finished reading this and am now so pumped for summer! The bull fighting, the Spanish fiestas, the love affairs; there's nothing like a little Hemingway by the pool to get you off to a nerdy-chic summer!
Our Facebook Fan Picks:
Kahl Counseling: Jon & Kate Plus Eight: "Reality" TV & the Selling of the Gosselins by Polly Kahl of Wernersville, hometown of the Gosselins. Drama, pathos, humor, gossip and truth…it's got it all, plus you can get it signed by the author simply by driving to her office in West Lawn.
The Wise Owl Bookstore: The Night Circus by Erin Morgensten has magic, mystery and romance. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is heartbreaking and funny and very smart. Two great summer reads!
Martha Holubec: The Bible - the best book ever written and by the best author!
Richard Geedey: Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore is next on my list. He drew a crowd of 200 to West Chester for a book signing. I've loved every book he's written. Also, Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson just hit the shelves.
Martha Fenstermacher Blackwood: Noah's Wife by T.K. Thorne. It’s the best book I have ever read.
Taryn Moyer: Some favorites I read last summer: The Help, Water for Elephants and The Secret Life of Bees. My classic favorite: To Kill a Mockingbird.
