Backyard-to-Beach, Summer Reading at Southshore

June 9, 2020

If there was ever a time to delight in escapist fiction and summer beach reading, it’s THIS summer! Unfortunately, we have to wait a bit longer for the beach at nearby Aurora Reservoir to open up for our annual fun times in the sun and the sand. In the meantime, head to the hammocks and lounge chairs on back decks and patios for a little mindful entertainment with these hot fiction and non-fiction picks from local and national book reviewers.

Support Your Local Author!

Book sales are up right now and if you want to support local authors, Ft. Collins writer Lauren Myracle offers up This Boy, from Walker Books. Known for her YA series’ “Internet Girls”, “Winner Years” and the “Wishing Day” trilogy, The Boy follows middle-class white kid Paul as he navigates teenage life and friendships. Myracle’s latest is “a deeply felt, highly empathetic exercise in survival and the celebration of friendship” (Booklist).

Released June 2, a new collection from Lyons-based author John Gierach is ready for reading anglers. Gierach has been called “America’s best fishing writer” by the Houston Chronicle – and his new entry, called Dumb Luck and the Kindness of Strangers, won’t disappoint his fans. Publisher at Simon & Schuster says, “Gierach shows us why fly-fishing is the perfect antidote to everything that is wrong with the world.”

Another collection by local author Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories, is her debut assortment of treatments on friendship, mothers and daughters, and a haunting examination of “the deep-rooted truths of our homelands, centered on Latinas of indigenous ancestry that shines a new light on the America West” (Good Reads). 

Good Reads, the social cataloging website that allows you to search for books, check reviews and submit reviews of your own, recently published its summer reading list of 50 books. Among the top 10 are “Code Name Helene”, “The Jane Austen Society”, “Musical Chairs” and “Big Summer”. And for nonfiction enthusiasts, two timely books by successful entrepreneurs, “Crushing It” by Gary Vaynerchuk and “Money – Master the Game” by Anthony Robbins.

From the New York Times

New York Times writer Sarah Lyall advocates reading this summer over binge watching more TV series and movies on your favorite digital device. “TV washes over you,” she says, “but reading draws you in.” Her summer picks for not-so-lite reading include classic, vintage and little-known tomes like the 2004 Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It’s a literary fantasy about a Yorkshire magician named Gilbert Norrell in 1806 London that’s been called “hogwarts for grown-ups.” 

Go back 100 years by stepping into the Times Machine for the summer reading issue of the New York Times of the 1920s, which declares, “Everyone who wants to talk smartly about the books of the hour must read Arnold Bennett’s books.” Bennett was one of the “most remarkable literary figures of his time” and his novels include The Old Wives’ Tale and How to Live on 24 Hours a Day.

And from the New York Times contemporary summer reading picks, check out the similarities suggestions. If you liked “Bridget Jones Diary,” “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” or “Into Thin Air,” take a look at similar books you might like for this summer’s reading season.

From the Washington Post 

Fresh from the Book World staff and reviewers at the Washington Post, are a dozen novels and non-fiction books that will engross you week after week of summer. From “Hidden Valley Road”, the true account of how one family of 14 – including six brothers with schizophrenia – navigated illness, violence and the crushed promise of the American Dream, to the latest fresh and funny family saga by Emma Straub, “All Adults Here.” The list includes breezy page-turners, and rollicking romps, to memoirs and biographies. 

And for more of the latest, as-they -make-them-picks, subscribe to the weekly selection of book reviews and recommendations for book clubs (and summer reading!) here.

J.K. Rowling published a new story called “The Ickabog” online for free to help entertain children and families during safer-at-home time together. The Harry Potter author said she wrote the fairy tale for her children as a bedtime story more than 10 years ago. Set in an imaginary land, it is a stand-alone tale for children and Rowling has sent out the call for all budding young artists to illustrate it for her.

And finally, if you’re in need of a sports fix after the lack of visceral viewing in recent months, take a look at the favorite books’ list – old and new – compiled by Denver Post sportswriters. From “Ball Four” by Jim Bouton (1970) to “The Boys of Summer” by Roger Kahn (1972) and “Once a Runner” by John L. Parker Jr. (1978). There’s something for every sports lover in this list, tales from yesterday and present-day.

Backyards and Beaches (soon!) in Southshore

There’s never been a better time to escape to the master-planned community of Southshore. The Aurora Reservoir is five minutes away and Life at the Lake for the moment includes fishing and walks on the surrounding trails. Soon though, the beach will open to all kinds of summer water and sand activities. Take a tour of the brand new homes from Taylor Morrison, Richmond American Homes and Toll Brothers for a taste of Life at the Lake. These ranch and two-story designs are priced between the $400s and the $700s.