summer reads

I was talking to a friend the other day and
we were talking about what we were reading this summer.
I enjoy mysteries, historical fiction, biographies,
thrillers (if they are not too scary), and a little
romance can be nice but not too sappy please...
I don't need the sap.
And I said, "It's so hard to find good books."
And by good books, I mean books without language
that leaves one shocked and thinking,
"I didn't know you could put those words together to mean that!"
or sordid love scenes that make me want to wash my brain
or brutality that sears the mind with violent images,
or story lines that are so depressing that I want to go drown my sorrows in
a vat of chocolate.
Okay, I would just like a vat of chocolate anyway, books or no books.
But I do love me some good fiction.
I want to read books that inspire me, make me think,
make me laugh, make me cry
(not in a hopeless depressing way but in a "I love this story" kind of way)
and in short, offer a chance to escape into someone else's story.
And so here are 10 of my summer picks that meet (pretty much) the
"this is a good book" guideline.
1. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
2. Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen
3. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
4. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
5. Christie by Catherine Marshall
6. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
7. A Trail of Ink by Melvin Starr
8. River Secrets by Shannon Hale
9. Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
10. Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon
So my question is, do you have any good reads for me this summer?
I would be forever in your debt.
Oh, and I'll take a vat of chocolate if you have that on hand, too.