The days are long, full of natural sunlight- all the better to read by. Children are out of school and reading from their recommended reading lists and the latest addition to the series books they so love. Great summer reads by favorite authors have just come out: Michael Connelly, Lisa See and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. And given time, it’s good to delve into some substantial nonfiction too.
The amazing memoir by Norman Ollestad is perfect Malibu fare and books of a biographical bent like “Outliers,” “American Lion” and “Satchel” provide fascinating portraits of important and legendary people. Whatever your taste, summer is great for reading-enjoy!
Fiction
1. “The Scarecrow,” by Michael Connelly, hardcover, Little Brown, $27.99
2. “Shanghai Girls,” by Lisa See, hardcover, Random House, $25
3. “Olive Kitteridge,” by Elizabeth Strout, paperback, Random House, $14
4. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance-Now With Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem,” by Seth Graham-Smith and Jane Austen, paperback, Quirk Books, $12.95
5. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society,” by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer, paperback, Dial Press, $14
6. “The Angel’s Game,” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Lucia Graves, hardcover, Doubleday, $26.95
7. “Netherland,” Joseph O’Neill, paperback, Vintage, $14.95
8. “The Elegance of the Hedgehog,” by Muriel Barberry and Alison Anderson, paperback, Europa Editions, $15
9. “The Legal Limit,” by Martin Clark, paperback, Vintage, $15
10. “The House of Fortune Street,” by Margot Livesey, paperback, Harper Perennial, $13.99
Nonfiction
1. “Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival,” by Norman Ollestad, hardcover, Ecco, $25.99
2. “The Plain Language of Love and Loss,” by Beth Taylor, paperback, University of Missouri Press, $19.95
3. “Man Interrupted: Welcome to the Bizarre World of OCD, Where Once More is Never Enough,” by James Bailey, paperback, Mainstream Publishing, $14.95
4. “Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered,” by Woody Tasch, hardcover, Chelsea Green, $21.95
5. “Outliers: The Story of Success,” by Malcolm Gladwell, hardcover, Little Brown, $27.99
6. “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” by David Sedaris, paperback, Back Bay Books, $15.99
7. “Green To Gold: How Smart Companies use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage,” by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston, paperback, John Wiley, $19.95
8. “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House,” by Jon Meacham, paperback, Random House, $18
9. “Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend,” by Larry Tye, hardcover, Random House, $26
10. “Ordinary Women Extraordinary Wisdom: The Feminine Face of Awakening,” by Rita Marie Robinson, paperback, O Books, $24.95
Children
1. “The Last Olympians (Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Book 5),” by Rick Riordan, hardcover, Hyperion, $17.99
2. “The Last Straw (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), “by Jeff Kinney, hardcover, Amulet Books, $12.95
3. “Twilight (Twilight Saga No. 1),” by Stephenie Meyer, paperback, Megan Tingley, $10.99
4. ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss, hardcover, Random House Children’s, $17.99
5. “Smoke Mountain (Seekers No. 3),” by Erin Hunter, hardcover, HarperCollins, $16.99
6. “Speak,” by Laurie Halse Anderson, paperback, Puffin Books $10
7. “Freckle Juice,” by Judy Blume and Sonia O. Lisker, paperback, Yearling Books, $4.99
8. “Uglies,” by Scott Westerfeld and Rodrigo Corral, paperback, Simon Pulse, $8.99
9. “The New Girl #3 (The English Roses),” by Madonna, Jeffrey Fulmivar & Amy Cloud, hardcover, Puffin Books, $9.99
10. “Travels of Thelonious (Fog Mound), by Susan Schade and Jon Buller, paperback, Aladdin Paperbacks, $8.99
Book list provided by Diesel, A Bookstore