Summer Reading Picks 2011

The warm weather is a sign to stock up on beach reading, and we could not be more excited about the books coming out this summer. We've listed the ten new books we're most excited about for adults and kids!

Top 10 Summer Reading Picks for Adults

• A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
  In the fifth installment in his blockbuster fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, the Martin strengthens his status as Tolkien’s American heir in a riveting epic that transcends the genre.

• Sister by Rosamund Lupton
  A knockout story of suspense, Lupton’s debut is a testament to the power of sisterly love with an explosive final twist.

• Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
  Continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, See offers her most powerful work yet in the story of Pearl’s daughter Joy, who flees to Shanghai in search of her father and discovers the dark side of Mao’s Great Leap Forward.

• Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
  Miller and Shales pull back the curtain on the sports media empire’s wild rise in a meaty book that delivers (in its nearly 800 pages) the insider dish fans expect.

• The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes
  Parallel love stories spanning 40 years make one engrossing novel, deserving of its glowing comparisons to One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

• Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
  A pulse-pounding thriller in the voice of a woman who wakes up each day with no memory—and a man next to her who may not be her loving husband.

• In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
  The acclaimed author of Devil in the White City has crafted a gripping, intimate portrait of Berlin during the first years of Hitler’s reign, with a climax that reads like the best political thrillers.

• Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
  The author of a slew of steamy and well-crafted beach romances (including The Island and Summer People) delivers another satisfying escape to Nantucket.

• Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson
  A mile-a-minute sci-fi thriller in the vein of World War Z, already in the works for a 2013 film by Steven Spielberg.

• The Old Man and the Swamp by John Sellers
  This genuinely hilarious, heartfelt memoir of a son’s road trip with his estranged (and decidedly strange), herpetologically obsessed father has become an under-the-radar customer favorite.

Top 10 for Kids & Teens

• Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham
  Following the success of Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, Grisham’s young investigator is back, and this time it’s his best friend, April, whose life is in jeopardy--she’s gone missing and the police are stumped, so it’s up to Theo Boone to find the answers and save her.

• Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
  Stiefvater burst onto the young adult scene in 2009 with Linger, the incredibly romantic story of Grace and Sam--part guy, part wolf. In 2010, Linger, the equally beautifully written and heartbreaking sequel came out. In the trilogy’s conclusion, Forever, the stakes are even higher and fans are dying to know: will Grace and Sam end up together?

• Passion by Lauren Kate
  In Passion, the highly anticipated third book in Lauren Kate’s Fallen series, Luce is determined to find answers about her relationship with Daniel. She sets out to learn more about the mysterious forces that brought them together--and the dangerous forces that are tearing them apart--by traveling across centuries of her past lives to unlock their future.

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
  At the age of 16, everyone must choose to be a part of one of five factions, each based on a virtue. When Tris (formerly Beatrice Prior) selects one different from her family's, she's thrown into a brutal initiation during which she learns a secret about herself and her mother that could change everything. A debut novel as riveting as it is terrifying.

• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  On a remote island of Wales in a mysterious orphanage full of extraordinary children lies the truth about 16-year-old Jake’s grandfather’s past. Featuring odd vintage photographs that complement the story throughout, it’s a quirky fantasy adventure read that sucks readers (young adults and adults!) in from the start.

• Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach
  In a new middle grade mystery by the bestselling author of Masterpiece, the Barker brothers move to a small town by Superstition Mountain and discover that it’s keeping some pretty big secrets, including mysterious deaths and the legend of the Lost Dutchman gold mine.

• The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
  In the exciting second book of the Kane Chronicles series, siblings Carter and Sophie embark on a world-wide search for the Book of Ra, pursued by evil gods who will do anything to stop them. The Red Pyramid, book one, arrives in paperback this August and introduces the Kane family, their relationship to Egyptian gods, and their penchant for wry humor and dangerous adventures.

• Relic Master: The Dark City by Catherine Fisher
  The first book in a new quartet, this is a series to be read all summer as books 2 , 3, and 4, release in June, July, and August. The world of Anara is collapsing under a great energy, and one man and his teenage apprentice hold the key to salvation--a powerful, ancient relic that they must find before it’s too late.

• Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
  Read the book behind the movie coming out in June. This first book in the Judy Moody series stars the feisty and creative third grader as she returns from summer vacation for the first day of school.

• Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner
  In this dystopian novel for younger readers, 12-year-old Goldie is separated from her parents and learns to survive with the help of a cast of outsiders and rebels who teach her about the museum where they live, a living entity that could destroy everything if its power falls into the wrong hands.

For more summer reading picks, check out our summer reading store for adults, teens, and kids!

Comments

[amber carson on June 08, 2011 at 03:00 PM]

left behind is about an air plane pilot and a news paper repoter who get left behind when the rapture happens. they accept christ and become christians soon after. rayford steele does shortly after coming home to find his wife and kids have disappeared in the rapture. buck williams does right before going in to a pre press conference with nicolae carpathia the anti christ.

[Million Book Read on June 13, 2011 at 07:17 PM]

Great list for teens. We are glad you recommended to read Judy Moody before going to see the movie. The books are usually better than the movie.

[Nimay on June 14, 2011 at 02:56 AM]

Heard so much about Theodore Boone.. can't wait to read it. Check out this link for an interesting read on autobiographies
http://librarywalablogs.blogspot.com/2011/06/librarywala-recommends-5-must-read.html

[tool steel on November 08, 2011 at 07:45 PM]

This tutorial is very much helpfull