Two of my favorite things are Pirates and Godzilla movies. So I was ecstatic when I stumbled upon “Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons.” This comic book limited series, now collected in trade paperback, is an awesome summer read.

Written by Frank Tieri, this story places Monster Island in the tropical waters of the golden age of piracy. The book is a quick read, full of maritime adventure and giant monster battles.

Even if you don’t dig the story, the book is worth picking up just to peruse the gorgeous artwork. Artist Inaki Miranda’s illustrations are so good that they earned this title a nomination for Best Penciller/Inker at this year’s Eisner Awards.

{Pirate voice}: If ye be searching for some summertime adventure, voyage to DB-Arrr-L and pick up “Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons.”

Three words that describe this book: Adventurous, Exciting, Fun

You might want to pick this book up if: You are into Pirates or Kaiju

-Joe

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.

I’ve been on a haunted house novel deep dive this year. During this reading streak, I came upon “The September House.” Most haunted house stories involve the characters trying to escape the specters haunting their abode. In this debut horror novel, author Carissa Orlando instead explores what it would be like to try and continue living in a house you love despite its being haunted.

The “September House” is a well written horror story that blends several major aspects of the haunted house genre with dark humor and reflections on what a person is willing to put up with to stay in the place they love.

Reader beware, this book contains depictions of emotional abuse, mental illness and gaslighting. The depictions of the ghosts are also very gory.

I found “The Summer House” to be a legitimately scary read. It’s perfect for those looking to add a little scary to their summer.

Three words that describe this book: Scary, Dark, Tense

You might want to pick this book up if: You’re in the mood for a summertime scare.

-Joe

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

“Driving Miss Norma: One Family’s Journey Saying ‘Yes’ to Living” is an inspiring memoir about 90-year-old Miss Norma, who, after a cancer diagnosis, opts for a cross-country road trip with her son Tim, daughter-in-law Ranie, and their poodle Ringo. I enjoyed reading about the love of a family as well as sights and experiences they encountered along the way. Death is portrayed as a natural part of life rather than something to dread.

Three words that describe this book: Inspiring, heartwarming, hopeful

You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoy road trips, appreciate reading books about families or like to read about end of life experiences.

-Kristi

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.

What happens when you get a chance of a lifetime to help one of your favorite screenwriters rewrite his romance script (because he just doesn’t do romance), and you happen to have a crush on him too? “The Rom-Commers” introduces us to Emma, an aspiring screenwriter who has been the sole caretaker of her father, but passes on the duties to her sister in order to take this chance of a lifetime writing gig — it’s her sister’s turn to put her dreams on hold for now.

I do think the character arc of Emma is believable for the most part. She’s an adult who deals with the aftermath of a traumatic childhood event which leaves her wanting to be accommodating and too self-sacrificing, believing she deserves to put her needs aside for others. As a person myself who often explores her helpful oldest-daughter/sibling and people pleasing tendencies, I resonated with Emma a bit.

The main characters had great banter — they are writers after all. However, I do know that sometimes the banter of super quirky characters can rub readers the wrong way or be “too good,” and leave you wondering if they are even real people. Emma was unapologetically herself, which I value in a main character, and also contributed to the great banter.

I enjoy Katherine Center books. They are fun, loving, and offer a bit of light while also dealing with harder topics. I will say that Katherine Center’s writing style, where there are breaks in the fourth wall, is sometimes interesting and at other-times off-putting, but it’s something a reader can get use to eventually.

Three words that describe this book: Enemies-to-lovers, Funny, A+ Banter

You might want to pick this book up if: You are a fan of romance novels and Emily Henry.

-Taira

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

After playing the video game “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” and discovering that it originated from a book series, I’ve wanted to read them ever since — I’m glad I finally did! “The Last Wish” is a collection of short stories that follow the Witcher Geralt, who travels around fighting evil and helping people. I loved reading about the different characters, creatures and adventures that make up the Witcher universe. I also found that the little bits of humor spread throughout kept it fun. Now that I’ve read the first book, I can say that I enjoyed it immensely, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series. “The Last Wish” is a fantastic read for fantasy and Witcher fans alike.

Three words that describe this book: Fantasy, adventure, riveting

You might want to pick this book up if: You like fantasy adventure with some humor and likeable characters, or if you liked the Witcher games or show.

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

“The Anthologist” is a meandering meditation on poets, meter and style; a novel that light on plot and often stream-of-consciousness. I adore author Nicholson Baker’s “minutiae” books (“The Mezzanine,” “Room Temperature,” and “A Box of Matches”) but I’ve picked up few of his other works too. It’s easy to recognize that the same mind/voice that created a story like “The Mezzanine” is behind “The Anthologist,” but because this book is so predominantly focused on poetry, and that’s never been a huge interest for me, this tale didn’t capture me in the same way his minutiae ones did.

I will say I’m walking away from this reading better informed of, for example, what iambic pentameter really is as well as having some further insights into the lives and works of numerous poets (Ezra Pound doesn’t come out looking very good). I also am glad I listened to the audio version of this (read by Baker himself) because his cadence really helps me better understand some of the points he’s trying to make.

Three words that describe this book: calm, thoughtful, light

You might want to pick this book up if: you have a passion for poetry and want to dive into the argument for or against free verse.

-Xander

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.

“Wally Funk’s Race for Space” is a delightful meandering book — part travelogue, part homage to the space race and particularly women’s role in it, and partly a biography of a very memorable character. Wally Funk was one of the original Mercury 13, women who were tested at the same time as the Mercury Seven male astronaut corps in the 1960s, but ultimately denied the opportunity to go up in space by Congress. It would be 20 more years, in fact, before Sally Ride made her historic trip on the shuttle!

Wally, still living today, spent her post-Mercury 13 life working in aviation and trying to get up in space, eventually buying a ticket on one of the commercial space flight services that have been popping up over the last decade. She is also a Stephens College alumna, although how she got there is never really explained since she grew up in New Mexico.

This book captures Wally in a moment in time when she was working with British radio personality and author, Sue Nelson, to develop a podcast about women in space. Nelson presumably got Funk’s permission to include some of the details about her and her very big personality, but sometimes I was surprised at how very candid Nelson was about Funk (who definitely has some personality quirks).

Nonetheless, the portrait is affectionate and the details woven throughout about women, and Wally, in terms of space exploration, are fascinating. In some ways I feel like these women are the ‘frontierswoman’ of the 20th century, and encountered just as many challenges as the Oregon Trail pioneers in many ways. This book was published in 2019 — Wally finally made it up on the Blue Origin spacecraft in 2021.

Three words that describe this book: Quirky, captivating, info-packed

You might want to pick this book up if: You like women’s history or space history.

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.

A girl goes to meet her friend for a birthday dinner and realizes upon entering the restaurant that she has been gifted with the chance to play out the classic question, “If you could have a dinner people with five people, alive or dead, who would you choose?” She and her motley crew of guests have a night to remember full of love, heartbreak, the reopening of barely closed wounds, and philosophy. I LOVED “The Dinner List,” and am not one to give five star ratings easily. I can see myself re-reading this for ages, recommending it to anyone who asks, and this book having a lasting impact on the world around me.

Three words that describe this book: Heartbreak, Complex, Reconciliation

You might want to pick this book up if: You want something that will pack a big punch emotionally in a small amount of time (It is an under-six-hour audiobook).

-Molly

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

I enjoyed reading this adventure-filled travelogue. In the book “Coastal Missouri,” author John Drake Robinson makes it his personal mission, over the course of a dozen or so years, to drive every road in Missouri. Using his own brand of irreverent humor, he regales his readers with what he found, in culture, history and geologic wonder, while on this wild, long-term escapade. I especially appreciated reading his anecdotes about places that I have also visited in the 26 years of being a Missourian.

Three words that describe this book: Adventure, natural, wonders

You might want to pick this book up if: you want to learn more about Missouri history, culture, and geography, and if you enjoy travel adventures.

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year. 

“Gerald & Elizabeth” is a lesser known novel written by one of my favorite authors, who herself is lesser known. D.E. Stevenson was a Scottish novelist who wrote during the ‘Golden Age’ of British fiction, before, during and for a decade or two after WWII.

This book is set after WWII, and tells the story of two adult siblings who are reunited in London and solve a mystery surrounding one of their births. There’s some intrigue about a diamond mine in South Africa and some light romance. Stevenson has a very distinctive style, she writes in clipped prose without a lot of description. Very clean story telling. It’s not my favorite of hers, but it’s enjoyable.

Three words that describe this book: Gentle mid-century fiction

You might want to pick this book up if: Want something to read that won’t stress you out at all.

-Anonymous

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share them throughout the year.