If you feel the urge to buy fresh notebooks and pens and start learning something new when the weather cools off, we’ve got some great books for you. Every book on the She Writes Press list this month has something to impart to its readers, whether it be a lesson, a guide or just an opportunity to learn about a different culture or a moment in history.

If you liked Wild by Cheryl Strayed, read 48 Peaks by Cheryl Suchors

At 48, Cheryl Suchors decides to climb the White Mountains. All 48 of them. Despite her fear of heights, she spends the next 10 years working toward this goal, enduring injuries, mistakes, life-threatening illness and loss along the way. In this journey, she learns to redefine success and inspires readers to attain their own summits.

If you liked The Hidden Power of Kindness by Lawrence G. Lovasik, read A Year of Living Kindly by Donna Cameron

Being kind is hard when our buttons are being pushed – but that’s also when we need kindness the most. It can diffuse situations and restore civility. Donna Cameron decided to commit to a whole year of practicing kindness. She uses stories, observation, humor and summaries of expert research to share her experience to create a practical guide.

If you liked Stir by Jessica Fechtor, read Braided by Beth Ricanati, M.D.

Beth Ricanati is a physician and mother, but every week, she takes the time to make challah from scratch. It helped heal her heartache and emptiness, and eased her sense of being overwhelmed. The mixing and kneading and watching and waiting became a sort-of therapy – and the best medicine she could prescribe for women in this fast-paced world.

If you liked Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino, read Gina in the Floating World by Belle Brett

Dorothy Falwell takes an evening job as a hostess at a bar to make ends meet when her banking internship falls through. Her boss renames her Gina, and she struggles with nightly indignities and confusing advice. Mr. Tambuki, a suave and mysterious customer, offers to help, and she soon finds herself entrenched in old Tokyo’s “Floating World.”

If you liked The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert, read Hard Cider by Barbara Stark-Nemon

After a long marriage, infertility, children and a career, Abbie Rose Stone is finally ready to focus on her dream – making hard apple cider along the northern shores of Lake Michigan. But when a stranger exposes a long-held secret, Abbie’s determination, loyalty and understanding of family are tested.

If you liked Fiddler on the Roof, read Odessa, Odessa by Barbara Artson

Set during the Russian pogroms, this beautifully-told story follows the families of two sons from a proud lineage of rabbis and cantors near Odessa, Russia, as they attempt to escape the region’s brutal anti-Semitic violence. As the novel unfolds over decades, the two families remain bound by their decision to leave Odessa.

If you liked Maus by Art Spiegelman, read Surviving the Survivors by Ruth Klein

The Holocaust didn’t just affect its victims – the children of the survivors became indirect victims of the trauma. The survivors were permanently damaged by the effects of war, and their children grew up in dysfunctional households. Ruth Klein grew up in one such household, and in her memoir, she shares her story.

If you liked The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli, read The Fourteenth of September by Rita Dragonette

In this Vietnam-War era story, Private First Class Judy Talton secretly joins the campus anti-Vietnam War movement, putting everything in jeopardy – her army scholarship, her future and her relationship with her military family. When her birthday is pulled first in the draft lottery, she realizes that if she were a man, she’d be shipped off to Vietnam. This propels her to make a life-altering choice.

If you liked A Widow’s Story by Joyce Carol Oates, read Tilda’s Promise by Jean P. Moore

When Tilda Carr loses the love of her life – her husband, Harold – she doesn’t know what hit her. Forty years of marriage, and he’s just… gone. Meanwhile, her granddaughter and namesake, Tilly, is grieving the loss of her grandfather and best friend. In this intergenerational story, they will come together to grieve and find hope for new beginnings.

(This post is sponsored by She Writes Press)