I enjoyed Hendrix’s first novel, “Horrorstor,” about a haunting that takes place after-house in an Ikea-like store. In this book, he tackles the demonic possession of a high school sophomore in 1988. After Gretchen goes skinny dipping, she begins to act strange and her best friend Abby knows something is wrong – but she never thought it would be the devil possessing Gretchen to act this way! This is such a campy read for horror fans and those who enjoy the nostalgia of the ’80s.

These short stories by Ellis are hilarious for anyone who grew up in the South or has a Southern grandma. I especially love Helen’s way of saying something mean in a not-so-nice-way, such as “weathered” instead of “she looks like a cake left out in the rain.” This is a quick, fun read that will make you laugh.

I am a huge fan of Becker and his Becoming Minimalist blog. So I was excited to learn he had a new book that would help turn your home in to “a place of peace, contentment, and purposeful living.”

However, if you, like me, have read other minimalist and decluttering tomes, there will not be new information in this book. If you are just starting your minimalist journey, then this is a great book to help inspire you. Unfortunately, it’s a lot of the same guidelines for different rooms – get rid of what you don’t want or need and only surround yourself with what makes you happy. Marie Kondo fans will find that this book may not spark joy for their collections.

My young daughters and I are OBSESSED with the Neflix series based on these popular middle-grade books. As a family we have started reading them together but separately so we can compare the books and the show.

This series chronicles the unfortunate lives of the Baudelaire children: Violet, 14; Klaus, 12; and the infant, Sunny. In the first book, Bad Beginning, the children learn that their parents have died in a fire and they must live with a local relative, Count Olaf.

Count Olaf doesn’t really want anything to do with the children besides their fortune, and concocts a creative way to get his hands on their inheritance. Luckily, these kids are resourceful and able to outwit the evil villain. But that means they need a new place to live, and they are taken to live with Uncle Montgomery Montgomery, a herpetologist that is featured in “The Reptile Room.” Unfortunately, Uncle Monty is killed by Count Olaf, and the kids are put into the care of yet another distant relative.

These books are amazing for introducing humor, sarcasm, dramatic irony, new vocabulary and literary terms while making the reader the smartest person in the room. My daughters and I love these books.

My young daughters and I are OBSESSED with the Neflix series based on these popular middle-grade books. As a family we have started reading them together but separately so we can compare the books and the show.

This series chronicles the unfortunate lives of the Baudelaire children: Violet, 14; Klaus, 12; and the infant, Sunny. In the first book, Bad Beginning, the children learn that their parents have died in a fire and they must live with a local relative, Count Olaf.

Count Olaf doesn’t really want anything to do with the children besides their fortune, and concocts a creative way to get his hands on their inheritance. Luckily, these kids are resourceful and able to outwit the evil villain. But that means they need a new place to live, and they are taken to live with Uncle Montgomery Montgomery, a herpetologist that is featured in “The Reptile Room.” Unfortunately, Uncle Monty is killed by Count Olaf, and the kids are put into the care of yet another distant relative.

These books are amazing for introducing humor, sarcasm, dramatic irony, new vocabulary and literary terms while making the reader the smartest person in the room. My daughters and I love these books.

Dr. Atul Gawande shares his experience as a physician and the son of a dying father in this powerful book about changing the philosophy of end-of-life care. While medicine has been used to make us live longer, it may not be the solution for everyone. By talking with patients and family members and other medical professionals, Gawande discovered that people want to live their life in a way that makes them happy and fulfilled. It’s not about extending life, but extending the quality of life for people.

Gawande encourages everyone to have the difficult conversations with their loved ones to ensure that we can provide them dignity and happiness. This is a must-read for anyone in the Sandwich Generation.

McMillan Cottom is an award-winning professor and author and this was my first introduction to her work. She is a modern black American feminist who shares her experiences and insights on beauty, gender, politics, money and society in this essay collection.

This is a difficult book to read in one sitting, as each essay will leave you thinking. I made sure I devoted the time and energy to each essay that I believed it deserved. I recommend this book for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me.

This is a big book written by a journalist in Appalachia who has seen first-hand the struggles faced by individuals addicted to opioids and heroin. Macy tracks dealers and families throughout this book to show how this epidemic has become a national crisis.

She traces small-town heroin overdose victims and families – who are more than just statistics – to the introduction of OxyContin in 1996 and the doctors who fueled the obsession and subsequent addiction. Issues of lack of healthcare and the country’s inability to provide adequate mental health resources are at the heart the problem. This is a problem that takes years to solve within a family – and decades for a community – but is one that Macy believes is worth fighting for.

This is a book that will weigh heavily upon you after reading it, especially if you know anyone affected by this issue.

After reading two very complex non-fiction books, I was in need of a break. This book popped up in my “recommended” feed on Hoopla and it was just the break I needed.

This is a fun, modern-day romantic comedy about Daphne Maritch, who inherits from her mother a high school yearbook filled with many annotations within the pages. Her late mother, June, as the teacher and yearbook advisor of the Class of 1968, and she dutifully attended every reunion. When Daphne decides the yearbook does not “spark joy” and she tosses it in her apartment garbage, where it is fished out by a nosy neighbor who claims to be a documentary filmmaker and wants to solve the mysteries contained in the yearbook.

Daphne herself is quite an annoying character, but the plot moves quickly and there is a surprising detail that is revealed when Daphne and the filmmaker attend the next class reunion. A little bit romance, a little bit comedy, this is a quick book that will make a fun summer read.

This was the first Lisa See book I have read; she was highly recommended by some friends. Two girls, Mi-ja and Young-sook, live on the Korean island of Jeju, an island known for its haenyeo, an all-female diving collective that fishes the sea. The young girls are trained by Young-sook’s mother, who is leader of the collective.

But the girls come from vastly different backgrounds and after some tragic events that take place, the girls are each affected by historical events that take a toll on their friendship. I learned about Japanese colonialism, the Korean War and the other events that affect Jeju and the haenyeo culture. This is a heartbreaking story of survival, friendship and the strength of women.