Inspire Great Reading for Spring 2019

Spring has finally arrived. Are you enjoying it? You might be doing your annual spring cleaning, but it's always best to take breaks in between cleaning windows. Take a break by reading a new book this spring. It's time to sit outdoors with a good book, drink lemonade, and welcome the blooming flowers and chirping birds that have returned from a long winter season.

Just like I always do with each season, I have five new book recommendations for the spring season. These books will warm your soul and delight your spirits. There's a book for everyone, and I hope you enjoy these new reading suggestions. They're definitely worth the wait.

1. "In Another Time" - Jillian Cantor

Jillian Cantor's "In Another Time"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Fans of historical fiction will love this new novel by Jillian Cantor, author of The Lost Letter and The Life of Glass. Set in 1931, in Germany, In Another Time tells the story of bookshop owner Max Beissinger. One day, he meets Hanna Ginsberg, a budding concert violinist. They immediately fall in love and begin to make plans for their future.

But over the next five years, Germany changes as Hitler comes to power. Their love is tested with the realities of World War II, including the fact that Hanna is Jewish and Max isn't. Max knows Hanna isn't safe and he will do everything in his power to keep her safe, including devising a plan for their escape.

Later, in 1946, Hanna awakens in a field outside of Berlin, completely disoriented and afraid. She has no memory of the past 10 years and has no idea what happened to Max. She doesn't know where he is, or even if he's still alive. She moves to London to live with her sister and jumps into a career as a musician. She travels across Europe, but she's always haunted by her forgotten past. Max haunts her dreams and she always has the lingering question: What happened to the one man she ever loved?

Told in alternating viewpoints (Max in the years leading up to WWII, and Hanna in the ten years afterward), Cantor's In Another Time is a beautifully written, utterly romantic historical fiction story about love and survival, passion and music, and how two people can have a love story that transcends time. Don't wait now; pick up your copy today.

2. "The River" - Peter Heller

Peter Heller's "The River" (photo/Amazon.com).

This book recommendation is for the fans of mystery novels. Peter Heller, the author of The Dog Stars, offers another exhilarating tale delivered with the pace of a thriller. The River tells the story of two outdoorsy, college-age friends, Wynn and Jack, who embark on a canoeing trip on Canada's Maskwa River. They're expecting to relax, but their trip quickly turns dangerous with a growing forest fire in the woods around the river.

Wynn and Jack soon hear a man and woman arguing on the riverbank and decide it's best to warn them about the wildfire. But when they begin their search, they only encounter the man. The woman is nowhere to be seen. Did the man harm the woman? Wynn and Jack soon find themselves in an intense mystery while the fire keeps burning, creeping closer and closer to the college friends.

With an electrifying, charged beginning, Heller unspools a heart-pounding mystery that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Get this book now, but we offer a warning: Don't take this book with you on a canoeing trip this spring. That is, unless you want nightmares.

3. "No Happy Endings" - Nora McInerny 

Nora McInerny's "No Happy Endings"
(photo/HarperCollins Publishers).

Nora McInerny is the host of the popular podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking. She's not afraid to share her life experiences. In just one year, she lost her father, her husband, and her unborn second child. It doesn't seem like she'll have a happy ending.

That's the focus of her latest memoir, No Happy Endings. McInerny takes us through Chapter 2, the stage after an unspeakable loss. It's usually the stage when people begin to move on from the pain. McInerny begins to create a new life for herself, but she still feels her loss. That's okay. After all, she comments, "There will be no happy endings, but there will be new beginnings."

Life has made McInerny an expert in hard conversations. No Happy Endings is an honest and thoughtful memoir for people who are forced to live life after it has fallen apart. They have to move forward, but not exactly move on. It's a book for people who know life isn't always happy, but it isn't the end. There's a new beginning somehow; you just have to keep going to find that beginning. Pick up the book now to feel inspired.

4. "Normal People" - Sally Rooney 

Sally Rooney's "Normal People"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Sally Rooney, author of Conversations with Friends, has been hailed as "the literary phenomenon of the decade." Her newest novel, Normal People, brings forward a brilliant novel about human connections. At school, Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. They don't speak to each other, partly because Connell is popular, well-adjusted, and the star of the school football team. Marianne, on the other hand, is lonely, intensely private, and proud of her family.

One day, Connell comes to pick his mother up from her job as a housekeeper at Marianne's house and the two form a strange and indelible connection. They're determined to conceal this connection and move on, eventually graduating high school.

But they both end up attending the same college, Dublin's Trinity College. Now, the roles have seemed to reverse. Marianne is in a new social world while Connell is shy and uncertain in his new environment. They try to stay away from each other, but they're almost like magnets; they're irresistibly drawn together in multiple situations.

Rooney's brilliant new novel is a fresh take on the "will they/won't they" story. The story explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship. If you want to find out if Connell and Marianne end up together, you can grab Normal People, available on April 16.

5. "The Night Before" - Wendy Walker 

Wendy Walker's "The Night Before"
(photo/Goodreads.com).

When Rosie's sister, Laura, doesn't come home from having a blind date, she immediately wants to get to the bottom of things. Rosie has always worried about her sister since they were children, but now she has a very serious reason to wonder what has happened to her beloved sister. She doesn't know where Laura went on the date, and she's not answering her phone.

In Wendy Walker's newest thriller, The Night Before, that's exactly what Rosie is questioning: What happened the night before? Told in alternating timelines, with Laura's perspective moving through the night of the date and Rosie's story about the next day, The Night Before will leave you on the edge of your seat. You'll be turning pages to figure out what happened to Laura. Figure out the mystery on May 14.

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Reading is so important, as I have reflected before on the blog. Reading offers new perspectives, imaginations, life lessons, and more. Relax this spring with a new book while welcoming the new season. Transport to 1930's Germany, or to a 1980's performing arts high school. Have fun while reading these five books, and so many more.

-KJL-