The last long weekend of summer is here! If you’re looking for a book to read under the beautiful, hot sun, here are three suggestions:

FICTION

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
By Rachel Joyce

This book has been longlisted for the Man Booker prize in the U.K., and for good reason. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is about regret, facing your past, and moving forward one step at a time. Harold Fry finds out an old friend is dying of cancer. He decides to walk to her, hundreds of miles away, with the hope that she will stay alive until he gets there. I loved this book. It’s beautifully written. You can find out more on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry here.

The Bellwether Revivals
By Benjamin Wood

The best books are those you still think about months after reading them. The Bellwether Revivals came out in the spring and didn’t make it onto my first Summer Picks list. But my mind keeps coming back to it so I decided to include it this time around. With the last long weekend of summer here, this is a book I would recommend you go back to if you missed it in your busy spring. The Bellwether Revivals is about a group of college students, including one who is a musical prodigy. Eden thinks he can heal people with his music and convinces his friends to try out a series of bizarre experiments. Is he a genius, or is he deluded? This is a book I really couldn’t put down. You can find out more on The Bellwether Revivals here.

NON-FICTION

Bushville Wins!
By John Klima

Baseball fans – here is a book for you. If you’re not a baseball fan, read Bushville Wins! and you might become one. Bushville Wins! is about Lou Perrini and the team he moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953 – the Braves. Everyone thought he was crazy to move west, but it didn’t take long for him to prove them wrong. John Klima makes the sport sound so beautiful. He brings out the romance of baseball in the '50s. When I watched a game after reading the book, it seemed like a different sport. You can find out more on Bushville Wins!, as well as listen to an interview with the author, here.