The most recommended books about Florida

This book comes out with a story about the consequences of Temptation in a close and personal way. Both books must bring the fear of the Lord into the denominator, so anyone at the top, any pastor or Priest, must plant his feet on a solid foundation: the rock of Jesus Christ.

The scandal of Bob Gray, the Pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church and the founder of the Trinity Baptist academy in Jacksonville, Florida, depicts how Satan is always hovering around to make God's anointed people fall like a bag of cement. These stories indicate why every Pastor or religious leader must be engaged, close to, or have access to pastoral and regular therapeutic counseling.  

There must be as many therapists close to a man like this as many parishioners. As the achievement of a man of God intensifies, so must be the need for him to talk about… show more.

Getting Old is Criminal by Rita Lakin is the third of seven books in the Gladdy Gold series and my personal favorite. How can I not love an amateur detective whose motto is “Never trust anyone under seventy-five”? One minute Gladdy is soaking in a hot tub on a romantic getaway with her new boyfriend, the next she is called to the bedside of a sick friend, who is not so sick after all and in a flash someone hires her to investigate the man he believes may have killed his mother. During the investigation, Gladdy’s sister Evvie begins to fall for the suspected killer. Now, aren’t you dying to know more?

Spencer Quinn's Mrs. Plansky, a retired 70-something in a Florida retirement community, falls victim to a scam that cleans out her savings. She has no job, no husband (he's recently deceased), an elderly and difficult father, and several needy grown children with ridiculous schemes that would require big cash infusions from their mother.

She decides she can't take this blow lying down and rises to the occasion in the most charming and wildly believable way. (Hint: she travels to Romania to track down and confront the scammers.)

Since I enjoy Richard Osman's books about a foursome of senior sleuths and adore writing octogenarian Miss Gloria in my Key West mysteries, Mrs. Plansky struck me as the perfect spunky sleuth. 

What better way to experience what it feels like to be a writer than to read the reflections of one of the South’s beloved storytellers?

Pat Conroy was a writer who mentored other writers, quick with a blurb and a word of encouragement. In this book, we find a compilation of his thoughts on writing and publishing from interviews, magazine articles, speeches, and letters.

I loved this book because it shows the personal side of the writer, offering up tidbits about how the internet and technology were mysteries to him, along with his deeper reflections like: “The Great Santini hurt my entire family. But if I didn’t tell the truth the way I saw it, I wasn’t worth anything as a writer.”

Southern writer Rick Bragg’s homage to Pat Conroy at the end of the book is a touching exclamation point. 

Set in the emerald cove of Florida’s Panhandle, Three Shots to the Wind by Sherry Harris is the third book in the cozy Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery series.

The characters in this series are realistic and likable and embody that sense of community that cozy mystery readers long for. A fun premise with an ex-fiancé winding up dead and her current love interest a prime suspect.

I’ve described this half-jokingly to adult horror fans as “baby’s first Misery.” When young Alex is kidnapped by a wicked witch named Natacha, he must tell her a new scary story every night... or face the consequences. More than a fun, shivery adventure, this book Is a godsend to kids who love scary stories, assuring them that there’s nothing weird or wrong about their interests (and scaring them silly in the process). Even if your children have seen the movie, the book adds new layers to the story and its themes, and it’s delightful to hear Kirby Heyborne offering a different take on the characters’ voices; I will never be able to read Natacha’s dialog without hearing his unhinged shrieking in my head.

I’m an English teacher, so in addition to reading lots of literature, I read lots of books about literature. These are frequently brilliant and important – but they’re also, for the most part, deathly dull. Academic prose is engineered for analysis, not artistry; it often strikes deep, but it seldom catches fire.

In the case of Happy Neighborhood, it does both. That’s because, in this 2023 book of essays, stories, and poems about American literature, living in Florida, and adopting a son, Hallock combines the academic with the personal in surprising and moving ways.

I’ll be honest: some chapters might seem too specialized for some readers. But taken as a whole, this book restored my faith in a creative artist’s ability to breathe new life into tired, overused forms. 

This book borrows its title from a short story coauthored by H.P. Lovecraft, and it starts out like a classic Lovecraft tale, with an escaped psychiatric patient sending his wife a message from beyond the grave.

But just when you think you know what kind of book you’re reading, author La Farge throws in a twist—and then he does it again and again. It’s a unique and amazing novel that defies categorization.

I felt so much kinship with Ware, the introverted hero of this story, I kept reading out loud to my family the things he said and thought and felt. When Ware’s parents tell him he’ll need to spend the summer at forced-group-togetherness Rec camp, I moaned in horrified sympathy. When they tell him he’ll temporarily have to live in the glassed-in back porch, I wailed with Ware, “It’s not a room if it doesn’t have walls!” I was over the moon when Ware discovers a way to navigate his life so his needs are met. 

This book proves rough beginnings can produce beautiful endings.

I read Marley and Me a few years before losing our first golden retriever, Sunny. I had waited twenty-three years to have a dog of my own. My husband and I had looked at more than a dozen puppies before deciding on our perfect little princess.

The first day, our puppy slept like the sweet princess we knew she was! But on day two, she woke up a tyrant. She was the golden retriever version of Marley—and like Marley, Sunny won our hearts and became a beloved member of our family.

She lay in my lap while I read Marley and Me—a good thing because I had to stop reading and hug her a lot while reading the book!