Summer Reading

Are you spending the day recovering from your 4th of July celebrations?  Napping is, of course, an option.  But why not kick back in a lounge chair, hammock, or porch swing with a good book?  Add a tall glass of ice cold lemonade and a bowl of fresh blueberries and you have the makings of a perfect summer day.

We've compiled a list of some of our favorite summer reads or choose your own.

• Farmer Boy (Laura Ingalls Wilder):   The book follows Almonzo Wilder, as a boy, growing up on a farm in upstate New York during the mid 1800s.
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver):  One family's year of living off of what they grow and raise and buying locally.  No bananas for a year!  Filled with recipes and thought provoking questions on the American lifestyle.
• 1000 Acres (Jane Smiley):  Nothing says hot, lazy summer days than descriptions of a Kansas farm.  A modernized version of King Lear.
• Cane River (Lalita Tademy):  An Oprah Book Club Selection a few years ago, Cane River follows the life of plantation slaves.  Set in the luscious Cane River valley of central Louisiana.
• 29 Gifts (Cami Walker):  Learn how to give of yourself daily in small, but significant ways.
• New York (Edward Rutherford):  Follow the history of New York City from it's Danish beginnings through 4 centuries to the events of 9/11/01.  Be forewarned, this is a big, long book, but worth every aching muscle!
• Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer):  Yes, another "kid" book.  But, who doesn't like a creative, vulnerable 12 year old criminal mastermind.  Add a good dose of elves, fairies, and trolls and be transported into Artemis's saga.
• Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt):  The summer that seems to last forever.  What if you could live forever?  Would you?  Explore the themes of immortality and young love in this beloved children's classic.
• Crawfish Mountain (Ken Wells):  Set in coastal Louisiana, Crawfish Mountain, is timely for today with its themes on oil drilling, depleting wetlands, and the Cajun way of life.
• School of Essential Ingredients (Erica Bauermeister):  Become intertwined with a group of cooking school students whose own lives become interwoven as they learn the importance of essential ingredients in cooking and in their lives.