The best books to read this summer

Woman reading
A woman reads a book in the sunshine in Victoria Tower Gardens in London, England.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Relaxing with a good book on a warm summer day - it's a dream that gets many Minnesotans through the winter.

So now that July has arrived, The Daily Circuit asks, what are the season's hottest reads?

Two book lovers join the show to discuss their favorite summer books.

And here's our list! Books are listed in the order that they were discussed on the show.

  1. Howard Norman: "Next Life Might Be Kinder"

  2. Kim Hruba: "Elevator Girl"

  3. Robert Goolrick: "A Reliable Wife"

  4. Haven Kimmel: "The Solace of Leaving Early"

  5. Ted Gup: "The Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness--and a Trove of Letters--Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression"

  6. Anthony Doerr: "All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel"

  7. "The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Reader"

  8. Kate DiCamillo: "Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures"

  9. Ruth Ozeki: "A Tale for the Time Being"

  10. Elena Ferrante : "My Brilliant Friend"

  11. Susan Coll: "The Stager"

  12. David Ignatius: "The Director"

  13. Lydia Davis: "Can't and Won't"

  14. Janet Frame: "In the Memorial Room"

  15. Meg Wolitzer: "The Interestings "

  16. Smith Henderson: "Fourth of July Creek"

  17. Andy Weir: "The Martian"

  18. Mary E. Pearson: "Fox Forever: The Jenna Fox Chronicles"

  19. Brittani Sonnenberg: "Home leave"

  20. Donna Tartt: "The Goldfinch"

  21. S. C. Gwynne: "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History Untold story that is"

  22. James McBride: "The Good Lord Bird"

  23. Robert Rankin: "The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse"

  24. Emma Straub: "The Vacationers"

  25. Chris Pavone: "The Accident"

  26. Claire North: "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August"

  27. Sean Madigan Hoen: "Songs Only You Know"

  28. George Vecsey: "Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer"

  29. Scott Cheshire: "High as the Horses' Bridles"

  30. Elizabeth Gilbert: "The Signature of All Things"

  31. Stephen King: "11/22/63"

  32. Jennifer Worth: "Call the Midwife"

  33. Laura McBride: "We Are Called to Rise"

  34. Amy Bloom: "Lucky Us"

  35. Anthony Marra: "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena "

What book tops your summer 2014 list? Leave your picks in the comments below.

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