With another Thursday comes another opportunity for those of us here at the Library to bring you some of our recommendations for summer reading!

The weather seems to be cooperating (finally….for now…), and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the details about our Patrons’ many plans for summer getaways, adventures, and staycations, and all the books that you are planning on bringing along with you.  For those who are still casting about for some reading material to aid in your rest or relaxations–or excitement and excursions–here are some of our selections.  This week, we’re aiming to bring you some series, both fiction and non-fiction, to help you plan for those long, lazy summer days:

From the South Branch:

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater:

This is a series of 4 YA books, the final one just came out a couple of months ago. I’m not usually a YA reader, but this series was definitely something special. It is a magical, breathless series of books with complex characters and a surprising level of great, dry humor that punctuates the nearly ceaseless action with a welcome chortle to break the tension. The stories are balanced and cinematic in their plotting and movement. I devoured them and the final one quite literally left me panting for breath. Highly recommended for a great, fast-paced summer read. A word of caution, though, if you start reading them, you won’t want to stop, so you might just want to put them all on hold so you can read them all together.

From Upstairs at the Main:

Bill Nye Series: For some of us, Bill Nye will always be The Science Guy, and thus, we are all enormously grateful that he has kept teaching us as we grew up.  Within the past two years, we’ve had the good fortune to have two books: Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, which not only deals with the theory of evolution, but also tackles the un-reality of race, the development of genetically-modified food, and the potential for alien life-forms; and Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World, in which Nye issues a new “call to greatness”, challenging people to harness their incredible potential to discover new sources of power, and new energy-efficient machines.  In both books, all that infectious energy and joyful curiosity that so many came to love is on full display, making for books that are as fun and engaging as they are informative.

From the Circulation Desk:

The Ravenels Series: Lisa Kleypas

Kleypas was one of the authors who made historical romances into the wonderful genre–and undying staple of the romance industry–that it is today.  Now, after a number of years focusing on contemporaries, she has returned to her roots, and is in the process of creating a series that is just as steamy, just as endearing, and just as compelling as any she has ever written.  In Cold Hearted Rake, Devon Ravenel has recently inherited an earldom–and also a house mired in debt, and inhabited by three young ladies and Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow who challenges Devon in ways he never before imagined.  In Marrying Winterborne, which I am currently adoring, ruthless tyconn Rhys Winterborne and the innocent, utterly unique Lady Helen Ravenel marry for business purposes, but discover a passion together neither expect.  But as Rhys’ business enemies begin to hover around them, they both realize that true love takes far more than passion to create a happily-ever-after.