Summer reading can mean many things to many people. Shonda Rhimes read the entire Bridgerton series a few summers ago (which resulted in the hit series on Netflix). That’s one approach. But others (who are not looking for their next blockbuster script idea) find summer to be a great time to dig into history or current events, or be transported to another place and time, or to become immersed in a good mystery. That describes us: avid readers with eclectic tastes, depending on place and mood.
We compiled this list of “must reads” for women over 60 with recommendations from our own lists of “want to read,” family, friends, and The New York Times and The Economist. These are books we look forward to reading this summer, and which we believe you will enjoy, too.
In August of 1975, just before the end of a session at prestigious Camp Emerson, teenager Barbara Van Laar goes missing. Barbara is the daughter of the wealthy camp owners, whose brother, Bear, also disappeared 14 years earlier. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. Find it on Amazon.
Written as both a recollection of the past and a warning for future generations, The World of Yesterday recalls the golden age of literary Vienna—its seeming permanence, its promise, and its devastating fall.
Surrounded by the leading literary lights of the epoch, Stefan Zweig draws a vivid and intimate account of his life and travels through Vienna, Paris, Berlin, and London, touching on the very heart of European culture. His passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the edge of extinction. Find it on Amazon.
by James Carroll
Jerusalem: the ancient City on a Hill, a place central to three major religions, a transcendent fantasy that ignites religious fervor unlike anywhere else on earth.
James Carroll’s urgent, masterly Jerusalem, Jerusalem uncovers the history of the city and explores how it came to define culture in both the Middle East and America. Carroll shows how the New World was shaped by obsessions with Jerusalem, from Christopher Columbus’s search for a westward route to the city, to the fascination felt by American presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan. Although published in 2012 it’s a timely read given current the events of today. Find it on Amazon.
Is our national debt really a threat? What is a “mild” recession, exactly? If you’re worried about your bank account balance, job security, or mortgage rate, what data should you be keeping tabs on? This indispensable handbook reveals the hidden forces driving key economic outcomes, the most common myths to steer clear of, and the outdated assumptions that limit our political imagination, offering a bold new path to building a prosperous society that works for everyone. Find it on Amazon.
by Sue Monk Kidd
Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world. This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved. Find it on Amazon.
, by Emily Henry
Nora Stephens’ is a literary agent whose life is books. When she goes away with her sister to a small North Carolina town for the month of August she keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. They are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow. What they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
Book Lovers is multilayered and the characters’ familial challenges are complex. By both playing to and overtly subverting romance tropes and archetypes. It delivers an insightful meditation on love, family, and going your own way. Buy it on Amazon.
by Rebecca Serle
Where do you see yourself in five years? A striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever. Find it on Amazon.
by Patrick Bringley
Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny–the guards who keep a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Caught up in his glamorous fledgling career at The New Yorker, Patrick Bringley never thought he’d be one of them. But when his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer he found himself needing to escape the mundane clamor of daily life. So he quit The New Yorker and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew.
All The Beauty in the World is a surprising, inspiring portrait of a great museum, its hidden treasures, and the people who make it tick, by one of its most intimate observers. Buy it on Amazon.
by Kristin Hannah
“Women can be heroes” is what twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears. She has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. So when her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
In The Women, Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale and other best sellers, tells the story of one woman gone to war to shine a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era. Find it on Amazon.
by Daniel Mason
A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries.
Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason, it is full of love and madness, humor and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language, North Woods shows the myriad and magical ways we’re connected to our environment, to history, and to each another. It is not just an unforgettable novel about secrets and destinies, but a way of looking at the world that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we’re gone? Find it on Amazon.
by Nina George
Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can’t seem to heal through literature is himself; he’s still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.
Filled with warmth and adventure, The Little Paris Bookshop is a love letter to books, meant for anyone who believes in the power of stories to shape people’s lives. Find it on Amazon.
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