Hot, humid weather here lends itself to reading on the porch. And if air travel picks up, you will want some good books for the trip. Beach reads will be covered later!
Anna Solomon uses the story of Ester to give us three women's stories in different centuries, but all influenced by mores of gender and power.
The Book of V is incredibly engaging and great for discussion.
Eliese Goldbach grew up in a Republican Catholic family outside of Cleveland. With no job market for an English major, she took a union job at the steel mill. This is her story of dealing with her conservative heritage and the rough and unforgiving mill environment as well as her own coming of age. Coast dwellers, take note! Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit
offers insight into life in flyover country.
So your husband comes home from his corporate job and tells you he bought a boat for you and your two young children to sail on for a year. Who's on board for that? With Sea Wife, Amity Gaige has penned a psychological study that reads like a thriller.
For fans of Southern crime, read any or all of Brian Panowich's trilogy Bull Mountain, Like Lions, and Hard Cash Valley.