Summer has officially begun. While I love the warmer weather and spending time outside, my favorite season is fall because that’s when many big authors drop their new books! We recently ordered a bunch fall releases and while it’s still months before you can dive in, you can go into CountyCat now and place a hold. Get on the list early and you’ll be reading your favorite author’s book right after the release date.

Not quite ready to travel by plane, train or automobile? Let books transport you to distant lands and powdery, sandy beaches while you stay snug and safe at home. There are some great new fiction and non-fiction books that will make you feel like you’ve vacationed in Australia or Greece or walked on the sandy beaches of Hawaii without ever leaving your home.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In honor of that, I am going to recommend some Young Adult novels that deal with certain mental illnesses. Often when teens are struggling with something, it helps to know that others are experiencing the same thing. Fiction is perfect for promoting empathy and understanding. If a young adult does not feel comfortable asking questions or seeking professional help, a book about the topic can be a good start.

Love mysteries and thrillers but don’t like all the violence and scary plotlines they usually have? Then Cozy Mysteries may be for you! Cozy Mysteries are a subgenre of mystery novels and are a gentler version of graphic crime dramas. Usually the violence is minimal, the detectives are amateurs and the setting takes place in a small, cozy community. These novels involve a puzzle to be solved with clues interspersed throughout the storyline and have a clear conclusion at the end as to whodunit and why. The main protagonist in the story is rarely a professional and is more than likely to be a community member that stumbles upon a clue and feels compelled to investigate the situation. Most protagonists are women like the famous Miss Marple but they can also have animals as main characters as in Purr M for Murder, the first book in the Cat Rescue Mystery series by T.C. LoTempio, in which Toby the cat helps his owner solve a mystery.