It’s that time again! With the end of the school year comes vacation season. (Insert cheers here.) This means that you now have a 27% higher chance of actually reading a book. So for your first book recommendation of the 2016 Summer Season, I’m going to go meta and recommend a book about going on vacation for you to read while you’re on vacation. I realize this potentially opens up a rabbit hole that will swallow us all down into the bookonvacationonvacation world, but for this particular book, I’m willing to take that chance. 
I should also preface this recommendation by saying that I love Maeve Binchy. The first book of hers I read was Tara Road and the only reason I read it was the longshot connection to Gone with the Wind. Not unexpectedly, the book had nothing to do with Scarlett and Rhett, but I found myself completely captivated by her characters. If you haven’t already guessed from the name, Binchy is an Irish author and her nationality colors every word on the page.
Recently, in looking for a good audio book to help me pass the hours I spend in traffic, I came across A Week in Winter and because it was from Binchy, I clicked download. I expected a great story and I wasn’t disappointed. A Week in Winter features on ensemble cast that starts with Chicky Starr, a young lady who decides to open an inn. The rest of the story weaves together several of the staff as they prepare the inn to open, as well as the guests that come for their first week. In winter. (Ok, I know it’s summer and the book is about winter, but imagine how refreshed you’ll feel reading about chilly Ireland on a hot beach!)
This book does have some bittersweet moments, and I thought the ending was especially poignant considering that it was Binchy’s last book before her death in 2012. (The book was actually published posthumously.) The library has this book in print or ebook, but if it’s too much effort for you to actually a hold the book at the beach – or you can’t find a cute cabana boy to hold it for you and turn pages – you can also get an audio version. So this summer, take Maeve Binchy with you on vacation. You won’t be sorry (and she’s pretty quiet in the car).

Happy reading on vacation...

:) Amanda