Last Updated on October 20, 2020
Looking for your next great summer read? We’ve got you covered with 5 great book recommendations that will keep you engaged, interested and entertained.
“The Moment of Tenderness”
by Madeleine L’Engle
Well before she became famous for her best-selling novel “A Wrinkle in Time,” Madeleine L’Engle was writing short stories. The stories in this collection were written in the 1940s and ‘50s, and were only recently discovered by her granddaughter. Crossing genres and generations, these are stories of how hope transforms suffering into joy. Fans of L’Engle will find insight into the abiding faith that informed so many of her other works.
“The Glass Hotel”
by Emily St. John Mandel
The drama, mystery and moral compromise of “The Glass Hotel” takes the reader on a journey through diverse landscapes and locales. Vincent works as bartender in the five-star glass and cedar Hotel Caiette on Vancouver Island, where she meets New York financier Jonathan, who owns the hotel. She becomes his trophy wife. Vincent’s troubled half-brother threatens Jonathan’s life, but the only person who knows is Leon, a shipping executive for Neptune-Avramidis. Thirteen years later Vincent disappears from a container ship owned by the company and the investigation reveals more than expected.
“What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life”
by Mark Doty
National Book Award–winning poet and best-selling memoirist Mark Doty explores Walt Whitman’s influence in his own life and his enduring legacy. Doty is one poet appreciating another, blending biography, criticism and memoir. He explores Whitman’s hopeful vision of humanity and his radical claims about body and soul. Doty appreciates the parallels between his own experiences and Whitman’s, pondering why they make him feel both haunted and comforted.
“Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back”
by Mark O’Connell
Mark O’Connell wrote “Notes from an Apocalypse” well before the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic together. He looked at the grim state of news headlines and pop-culture jokes about the end of the world and asked himself what it means for his own family. How do you face such a bleak vision of the future? His exploration of this question in “Notes from an Apocalypse” is both investigative and deeply personal. His wit and optimism invite the reader to consider: What if the end of the world isn’t the end of the world?
“Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life”
by Ozan Varol
Rocket scientists are the ultimate creative problem solvers. But you don’t have to be a rocket scientist like author Ozan Varol to think like one. He shares nine strategies to help anyone facing complex and unfamiliar problems — which is all of us trying to stay healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. From business ideas, to artistic endeavors and learning a new skill, these strategies can help you get there in ways previously unimaginable.
This article originally appeared in Growing Bolder Magazine. For more great stories like this, click here to subscribe to the digital or print editions of Growing Bolder Magazine. All past issues of GB Magazine, including the one that features this article, are also available to read online exclusively on the GB Portal. Click here to find out how to become a member!