Summer is the perfect time to slow down and unwind with a great book. This month, Roxanne Baker, our go-to bookseller, is celebrating her tenth anniversary of working at BookStore1. To celebrate, she’s put together a list of this year’s favorite recommendations for some hot summer reads. —Compiled by Barbie Heit, written by Roxanne Baker of BookStore1.  

The Night We Met  by Abby Jimenez 

SULTRY ROMANCE  “The author of The Friend Zone series and Part of Your World series, has just published the second of the Say You’ll  Remember Me series. Known for blending humor with deeply emotional, fast-paced romance, The Night We Met is the perfect beach read.”

Vigil by George Saunders

OUT THERE/DEEP THOUGH FICTION “ I’ve loved George Saunders from the get-go and hung in there to get through his profound Lincoln in the Bardo. His most recent Vigil deals again with purgatory, this time at the deathbed of a fossil fuel supporter who refuses to accept responsibility for environmental decline. Part Our Town mixed with It’s a Wonderful Life in the Tim Burtonesque genius of Saunders writing, Vigil will keep you thinking long after the book ends.”

Flesh by David Szalay

STRAIGHT-AHEAD FICTION “An oddly compelling read about a passive Hungarian man who falls into situation after situation. His life arc is truly fascinating.”

Auditionby Katie Kitamura

A NEW VANTAGE POINT FICTION  “A middle-aged actress meets with a young man who claims he’s her son. What follows is a psychological twister of what happens when a child you raised changes so drastically as to be unrecognizable.”

Stoner by John Williams

GET A JUMP ON A CLASSIC BEING ADAPTED TO FILM FICTION  “A National Book Award winner in the 1970’s (Augustus) published this lush romance about a poor farmer in the early 1900s who becomes a scholar and faces a series of frustrating challenges and disappointments in his chosen career path. The acclaimed director of Pride and Prejudice is in development to bring this story to the big screen, starring Casey Affleck.”