M. Suzanne Terry

I was fortunate to spend a few days last week basking in the cool air of Colorado. A brief reprieve from the intense Texas heat with people I adore. This week, I was back in it (although it’s been rainy and a little bit cooler – a tiny mercy) and back at work. The choices below are defintely leaning toward my typical summer reads (adventure, mystery, fun, etc.) this month.

Book Clubs

• The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah – I started off listening to it but sometimes audio is too slow for finding out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT so I devoured the rest of it with the library’s ebook copy. In true Kristin Hannah fashion, it was both heartbreaking and fantastic.
• Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely – first novel in a mystery series for our church book club
• Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Spiderweb is reading choose-your-own-beach-read this month, and I can’t choose between this one and…
• The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry – so I’m reading both.
• The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade – Audacity’s selection for the month
• The Sunset Route by Carrot Quinn – Fantastic Strangeling’s selection

Books About Joy

This month’s joy selections focus on finding joy in ordinary life (even daily, seemingly dull things). I need this reminder during the summer when my automatic modus operandi is just to get through it.

• Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee – I expect this will help me navigate my promise to myself to do at least one “summery” thing each week.
• The Quotidian Mysteries by Kathleen Norris – This is one of my favorite books by Norris, and I haven’t read it in a while. Time for a revisit.
• Laundry Love by Patric Richardson and Karin Miller – I pre-ordered this book the moment I heard about it. I have an irrepressible (and to some, inexplicable) love of doing laundry. I think I’ll start it this afternoon after I put in a load of towels.

Library Reads

These are the main books I want to finish and return to the library this month, although I suspect there will be more by the time the end of the month rolls around. I’ve been on a reading frenzy lately!

• The Magicians by Lev Grossman – It’s a miracle I’ve had any time to read, actually, because I’ve been devouring this TV series. I usually like to read the book first but Arjun Gupta, so waiting was not an option.
• Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood – Speaking of watching the show before reading the book (maybe that’s who I am now?)…another Phryne Fisher mystery.
• Disaster Preparedness by Heather Havrilesky – I love the way she writes – looking forward to this memoir.

What are you reading this month?