Picture this: you're packing for your summer vacation. This year, you decide to build in some relaxation days, because let's face it, its been a busy six months, and you're dying to cuddle up on the AirBnB couch with a good book. You go to your bookshelf and you think to yourself, "Uh oh, what am I going to bring?"

The right summer reading book can vary depending on the person. Are you looking to learn something new, or escape from reality? Summer holidays like Juneteenth and July Fourth can bring out one's interest in history and civil rights. Or summer reading may remind you of your younger years when the classics were school reading requirements. It might tempt you to try re-reading that copy of "Moby Dick" that you never finished junior year.

Monday's "Sound of Ideas," is here to be your personal book concierge with our annual "Summer Reading" show. We've invited four book lovers from Northeast Ohio who will help curate the perfect Summer Reading List.

And most importantly, we'll include what our listeners are reading this summer, and add them to the list after the show.

We've asked the panel to come to the table with all sorts of books - from fiction, to nonfiction, to poetry, to children's books. We'll also talk about all that our local literary scene has to offer, and hear what books our panelists like to read on their summer adventures.

Guests:
-Karen Long, Former Manager, Anisfield Wolf Book Awards
-Ron Block, Branch Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library - Middleburg Heights
-Charlotte Blasier, Head of Youth Services, Geauga County Public Library
-Alicia Frazier, Owner, Black Cat Books and Oddities

2024 Summer Reading List

From our panelists:

"James" by Percival Everett
"Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar
"Eve" by Cat Bohannon
"Waterlog" by Roger Deakin
"There's Always this Year" by Hanif Abdurraquib
"The Slough House" by Mick Herron
"I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Sue
"First Lie Wins" by Ashley Elston
"Diavola" by Jennifer Marie Thorne
"Open Throat" by Henry Hoke
"Annie Bot" by Sierra Greer
"My Murder" by Katie Williams
"Shiny Misfits" by Maysoon Zayid and Shadia Amin
"Roswell Johnson Saves the World!" by Chris Colfer
"Max in the House of Spies" by Adam Gidwitz
"Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992" by Paula Yoo
"Heartless Hunter" by Kristen Ciccarelli
"The Reappearance of Rachel Price" by Holly Jackson
"One of Our Kind" by Nicola Yoon
"In Sunshine or in Shadow: A Molly Murphy Mystery" by Rhys Bowen
"Summers at the Saint" by Mary Kay Andrews
"What You Leave Behind" by Wanda M. Morris
"The Sicilian Inheritance" by Jo Piazza
"A Happier Life" by Kristy Woodson Harvey