Wow! There’s nothing more inspiring to me than seeing books revered, reviewed, and celebrated. That’s why I was so heartened to pick up a copy of USA Today and see an special insert called “Summer Books Preview.” What a fantastic idea! Awash in book covers and mini reviews, it offers a visual and Literary smorgasbord of books that promise to be great beach reads or perfect for long lazy afternoons on the porch or couch.

What amazes and delights me about this literary cornucopia is how wildly varied the stories being published are, whether they are non-fiction tales or novelistic flights of fancy. Not only is this evidence of the endless imaginary powers of our fellow scribes, it also shows that publishers have a yen for rich, colorful, and even improbable story lines — all of which is very promising in my mind. It’s all so encouraging!

To whet your own reading appetites and also boost your own belief in the never-ending and irrepressible power of storytelling, here’s a sampling of the titles that caught the eye of booksellers in USA Today:

Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown — a story that exemplifies the can-do American Spirit.

Revolutionary Summer by Joseph Ellis — A fresh nonfiction take on the breakthrough summer of 1776 and its convention-shattering events.

Freud’s Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman — a novel inspired by the true story of Sigmund Freud’s affair with his sister-in-law, mina Betrays.

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls — a novel about two teenaged sisters from the author of the bestsellers,
The Glass castle and Half Broke Horses.

Joy land by Stephen King — a murder mystery/ghost story by the thriller king set in a 1970s amusement park.

These titles are just the tip of the iceberg! Write on!