If you’re like me, summertime means a new tote bag filled with great reading. My summer reading is about taking my imagination to new places, enjoying the laugh-out-loud lives of others, resting my mind and reflecting on the past year. So whether you’re bound for the lakeside, poolside or a beach chair in the sand, be sure and take along a few of these favorites. They’re sure to make this summer’s fun even more enjoyable!   

SAIL AWAY WITH FICTION/FANTASY

Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar (River North)
Sarah is a Jew in ancient Persia and the cousin of Nehemiah. She wins the attention of her father, the scribe Simeon, when she starts to show her talents in language. Sarah becomes a professional scribe, but finds herself bound to a man she doesn’t want to marry and is sent to live away from her home and a job she loves.

Coming Home: A Story of Unending Love and Eternal Promise by Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan)
The Baxter’s summer lakeside family reunion is the first time they’ve all been together in years. But before the reunion can begin, tragedy strikes, and the family is reunited in ways they never expected. Great changes bring great challenges, as this family struggles to find meaning in grief and rediscover the truth of God’s promises.   

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Little Brown)
Seventeen-year-old Karou is an art student in Prague. But when black hand prints start appearing on doorways throughout the world, she is swept into an ancient battle between good and evil. Questions about why she speaks so many languages (not all of them human), why blue hair grows right from her head and why she fills her sketchbook with drawings of monsters that may or may not be real are finally answered when fantasy meets reality in this star-crossed love story. 

Next: LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL: HUMOR

For more great books, click on the image below to see a special sponsored section, gmc's 2012 Summer Reading Guide.