Get a jump on summer reading as major authors head to Midtown Reader in May

May promises to be an exciting one for Tallahassee’s readers with some of the nation’s hottest authors headed to the Big Bend to kick off a season of great summer reads. Several of the authors have Tallahassee connections.

From major publishers like Penguin and Hachette, to terrific Southern indie presses like Hub City, readers have multiple options in every genre to fill up their book bags.

Here's what Midtown Reader has planned for May.

'Bomb Island' by Stephen Hundley

Tuesday, May 7: A novel Publisher’s Weekly calls a “mash-up of Shakespeare and Twain,” this part romance, part thriller part coming-of-age tale features 15-year-old “Fish” and his counter-culture who lead glass bottom boat tours of an island near an unexploded atomic bomb. There’s a commune. And of course there’s a pet white tiger, Sugar, on the loose. Stephen Hundley is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English at FSU, and this is his second book.

'Drive: Scraping by In Uber’s America, One Ride at a Time' by Jonathan Rigsby

Wednesday, May 8: Jonathan Rigsby, crime intelligence analyst for the state of Florida by day and rideshare driver by night, gives readers an intimate look at how challenging it can be to attempt to work your way out of poverty. Kirkus calls his memoir “provocative, eye-opening — and sometimes frankly terrifying — reading.” Rigsby will be in conversation with bestselling author Jeff Vandermeer.

'Character Matters: And Other Life Lessons from George H. W. Bush,' by Jean Becker

Thursday, May 9: Jean Becker, New York Times best-selling author and former Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush, is visiting Tallahassee with her collection of conversations featuring everyone from comedian Dana Carvey, columnist Maureen Dowd, former British Prime Minister John Major, and the Oak Ridge Boys, among others. These friends, family, and sometimes critics of Bush share their personal stories of what they learned from watching and listening to “41” and his attempts to lead by example as we head into what will be by all accounts another crazy presidential election year.

'Summers at the Saint,' by Mary Kay Andrews

Monday, May 13: Queen of the summer escape, Mary Kay Andrews is back at it with her latest beach read, set at the St. Cecelia, an old coastal hotel that natives call “The Saint.” Traci Eddings spent a summer working at the hotel, and years later is now its owner, working hard to restore its traditions. It takes all she has to turn things around, and did we mention that a mysterious death and romance are also in the mix?

'The Great State of West Florida,' by Kent Wascom

Thursday, May 23: Kent Wascom, director of creative writing at Old Dominion University, is coming “home” to Florida for his most recent adventure, where a family of gunslingers and Christian nationalists face off in a divided Florida set in 2026, while the country is seriously debating civil war. Publisher’s Weekly calls this satire “all too plausible.”

Sally Bradshaw is the owner of Midtown Reader, an independent bookstore in Tallahassee’s Midtown.

If you go

All events but Andrews are at Midtown Reader, 1123 Thomasville Road, and start at 6:30 p.m. More information is available at midtownreader.com

Mary Kay Andrews will be in conversation at the Garden Club of Tallahassee, 507 N. Calhoun St., at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 13. Tickets at midtownreader.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Get a jump on summer reading with authors at Midtown Reader