Dive into your summer reading list

Back-to-school supplies are on the store shelves, but summer is far from over.

August is still prime vacation time, whether you’re heading to the beach, the city, the mountains or your Potter County hunting camp.

What better way to spend the hours in the car, on the plane or in your lounge chair than with a good book? But what should you read?

Whether they’re romances, adventures or mysteries, books that are popular for summertime reading generally don’t require a huge intellectual investment, but they keep you turning the pages.

They’re often referred to as “beach reads.”

“People are usually looking for light things that won’t be weighing heavy on their minds,” said Suzy Ruskin, assistant director of the Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Natrona Heights. “If it’s a mystery, it might be those with a cat or dog in them, or the ones that have recipes at the end.”

Two authors popular with summer readers are Danielle Steele and James Patterson, she said. Popular nonfiction genres include true crime, crafts and cookbooks.

If you’re having a hard time choosing your summer reads, asking at a local library is a good place to start. Staff members can make suggestions based on your interests and reading habits, said Jamie Falo, director of the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library in Greensburg.

“I also like to refer patrons to the website, ‘What Should I Read Next?’ ” Falo said. “Patrons can enter a book title they like and the site will analyze its database of real readers’ favorite books to provide book recommendations and suggestions.

“Other readers’ advisories patrons can check out include Goodreads, Bookish and LitLovers,” she added.

Tops at the library

This is what GHAL patrons are reading this summer:

Top circulating adult fiction titles (also the titles with the current largest number of holds):

• “The Last Thing He Told Me,” by Laura Dave

• “Golden Girl,” by Elin Hilderbrand

• “The Four Winds,” by Kristin Hannah

• “The President’s Daughter,” by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

• “Malibu Rising,” by Taylor Jenkins

Some top circulating nonfiction titles:

• “Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results,” by James Clear

• “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race,” by Walter Isaccson

• “Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life,” by Julianna Margulies

Top circulating juvenile fiction titles include books in these series: Dav Pilkey’s “Dogman,” Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” James Patterson’s “Dog Diaries,” J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” and “Pete the Cat,” by Eric Litwin and James and Kimberly Dean.

Sizzling summer reads

Lying out on the beach and floating in the pool are true hallmarks of summer. A good book, however, can elevate these relaxing experiences to a new level.

Whether you find yourself looking for a beach read, a book for the pool or something to help you escape while lounging on the couch with the windows open, these sizzling summer reads offer something for nearly every type of reader.

From suspense to romance and adventure, here are three don’t-miss books for this summer:

• From author Meg Mitchell Moore comes a warm, witty and suspenseful novel filled with small-town secrets, summer romance, big time lies and spiked seltzer. In “Two Truths and A Lie,” the leader of an idyllic beach town “mom squad” has made a surprising effort to include a new resident and her daughter in typically closed-group activities, though they’re not the only ones she’s been spending more time with.

A blend of propulsive thriller and gorgeous summer read, Moore’s latest novel is a reminder that happiness isn’t always a day at the beach, some secrets aren’t meant to be shared and the most precious things are loved ones.

• New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alyssa Cole’s second Runaway Royals novel, “How to Find a Princess,” is an Anastasia-inspired romance featuring a long-lost princess who finds love with the female investigator tasked with tracking her down.

When a threat to her grandmother’s livelihood pushes the princess to return to Ibarania, the investigator takes her on a transatlantic adventure. When they finally make it, they realize there’s more at stake than just cash and crown; and the princess must learn what it means to fight for what she desires, rather than what she feels bound to by duty.

• No. 1 New York Times bestseller Susan Elizabeth Phillips returns to her Chicago Stars series with a romance between a quarterback and one of the world’s greatest opera singers — and a major diva — in “When Stars Collide.” It’s Mozart meets Monday Night Football as the temperamental soprano and stubborn jock embark on a nationwide tour promoting a luxury watch brand.

They engage in soul-searching, trash talk and backstage drama. Threatening letters, haunting photographs and a series of dangerous encounters also complicate their lives and make them wonder if it’s the work of an overzealous fan or something more sinister.

Find more titles to add to your summer reading list at Facebook.com/WilliamMorrowBooks.

More hot reads

Also hot for the summer of 2021 are these reads in various genres suggested by CBS Essentials, mostly taken from the ranks of Amazon best-sellers. All have earned four-star or higher ratings on Amazon, and most were published within the past year.

• “The Last Thing He Told Me” Laura Dave’s mystery recounts the story of a woman, her teen stepdaughter and her missing husband. Vogue called it “light and bright, despite its edgy plot.” Adding to its bona fides, Reese Witherspoon’s production company bought the rights, and Julia Roberts signed on to star in a series adaptation for Apple TV+.

• “Project Hail Mary” Science fiction from Andy Weir, author of “The Martian,” it’s the high-tension story of a man who wakes up on a spaceship, not knowing who he is or why he’s there. He discovers that he’s an astronaut on a mission to save the Earth.

• “The Guncle” Steven Rowley’s feel-good story follows Patrick, known to his young niece and nephew as Gay Uncle Patrick, or GUP, as he unexpectedly becomes their caretaker. The Washington Post promises that the story’s “depth and humor will warm even the most jaded hearts.”

• “The Ugly Cry” Television writer and podcaster Danielle Henderson offers her story of growing up “Black, weird, and overwhelmingly uncool in a mostly white neighborhood in upstate New York.” The Associated Press called her memoir “powerful and energetic.”

• “Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America’s Original Gangster Couple” Glenn Stout’s true-crime tome does more than recount the yearlong Roaring ’20s crime spree of Margaret and Richard Whittemore. The New York Times says the author also tries to understand what motivated the couple during their string of robberies through Maryland and New York.

Going deeper

Vacation actually might give you the time and intellectual bandwidth to dig into something deeper than the typical light-and-fluffy summer read. With work and domestic worries temporarily on hold, you can consider one of these historical or modern classics, from Vulture’s 2016 list of “The 100 Greatest Beach Books Ever.”

• “Robinson Crusoe” Daniel Defoe’s 1719 tale of a castaway who spends 28 years stranded on a desert island just might be the original beach read. Vulture says the high-seas adventure story has held up over the centuries since it was written.

• “Pride and Prejudice” Jane Austen’s 1813 comedy of manners has spawned numerous television and movie adaptations. Go back to the source of the story of a 19th- century British aristocratic family’s attempts to pair their five daughters with a string of eligible bachelor’s, including the alluring Mr. Darcy.

• “Rebecca” There’s a reason why Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 Gothic novel has never gone out of print. Full of intrigue and foreboding, the story follows a naive young woman who impetuously marries a mysterious, wealthy widower — only to find that her husband and all in his household are still obsessed with his first wife.

• “Lonesome Dove” Larry McMurtry won a Pulitzer Prize for his epic 1985 tale of two aging Texas Rangers embarking on their final cattle drive from Texas to Montana in the twilight days of the Old West.

• “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” The Pulitzer Prize-winner is often called the “great American novel” of University of Pittsburgh graduate Michael Chabon. In more than 600 pages, the 2000 novel recounts the intertwined stories of two Jewish cousins seeking their fortunes before, during and after World War II.