An Alternative to THAT Fake A.I.-Generated Summer Reading List

After reading about the recent kerfuffle regarding how the Chicago Sun-Times printed an AI-generated, syndicated 2025 summer reading list with books that don't actually exist, I was inspired to create my own alternate summer reading list of books that are similar to the AI-generated ones, but actually exist. These are books that generated nice reviews, but you may not have heard of. Some made it to famous book clubs, but not all. Anyway, I thought it would be a nice idea to give them a plug since they are fairly similar to what Artificial Intelligence thinks we should be reading this summer. It’s a little like your Aunt Martha giving you a summer reading list, which you grudgingly accept, only to find something a little better on your library or bookstore shelf.

So, here is my Alternate Summer Reading List in a nice, handy list  that you can print out. Feel free to share this list with subscribers to the Chicago Sun-Times with our sympathies. Feel free to share it with your book club. 

AI-Generated Novel: “Tidewater Dreams” by Isabel Allende, a multi-generational nonexistent novel set in a coastal town where magical realism meets environmental activism. Allende’s first "climate fiction novel" explores how one family confronts rising sea levels while uncovering long-buried secrets.

Okay, that sounds intriguing. But what book on the bookshelves meets this description?

Try this instead:

“The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Set in the near future, this  story of survival and resilience follows Wanda, a luminous child born out of a devastating hurricane, as she navigates a rapidly changing world. Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker, his pregnant wife, Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. While Frida is alone, she goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before. As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows to adulthood, adapts to the changing landscape, and seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature. “The Light Pirate” is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness. Overall 4.3 starts out of 5 on Amazon, a GMA Book Club pick.

AI-Generated Novel: “The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir, a nonexistent science fiction thriller about a programmer who discovers that an AI system has developed consciousness and has been secretly influencing global events for years.

Try this instead:

“The Robots of Gotham” by Todd McAulty, an acclaimed science fiction novel about a group of misfit humans and machines who fight to stop a conspiracy to exterminate humanity in a future Chicago ruled by a brutal artificial intelligence. In 2083, the world is ruled by fascist machines, America is balkanized into regions, with Manhattan annexed by a weird robot monarchy and half the countries governed by a tyrannical Artificial Intelligence. But the Machine Intelligences have human traits: all the same loyalties, moralities and good and bad qualities, but they process information at a blinding pace. The protagonist, Barry Simcoe, is a Canadian businessman who moves to Chicago to get his fledging telecom business profitable and swiftly becomes embroiled in events far outside his scope. Together with a Russian medic, they stumble on a machine conspiracy to unleash a horrific plague—and learn that the fabled American resistance is not as extinct as everyone believes. The scope of this novel is breathtaking in its reach as Simcoe finds himself in a race against time to prevent the extermination of all life on the continent . . . and uncover a secret that America’s machine conquerors are desperate to keep hidden. Overall 4.4 stars out of 5 on Amazon.

AI-Generated Novel: “The Collector's Piece" by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a nonexistent novel about a reclusive art collector and journalist determined to uncover the truth behind his most controversial acquision.

Try this instead:

"Woman on Fire" by Lisa Barr, a novel about a young, savvy journalist who gets embroiled in a major international art scandal centered around a Nazi-looted masterpiece, an Expressionist painting by an artist who was murdered by the Nazis, forcing the ultimate showdown between passion and possession, history and truth, a thrilling tale of secrets, love, and sacrifice that illuminates the destructive cruelty of war and greed and the triumphant power of beauty and love, Woman on Fire tells the story of a remarkable woman and an exquisite work of art that burns bright, moving through hands, hearts, and history. Overall 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon. 

AI-Generated Novel: “Nightshade Market" by Min Jin Lee, a nonexistent, made-up novel from the author of “Pachinko” about Seoul’s underground economy. The AI made-up novel follows three women whose paths intersect in an illegal night market and examines class, gender, and the shadow economies beneath prosperous societies.

Try this instead:

"The Island of Sea Women" by Lisa See, a novel set on the Korean island of Jeju that explores the friendship between Mi-ja, the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and Young-Sook, the heir apparent to a family of Korean pearl divers, called "haenyeo." Throughout the decades from Japanese rule to the present, the two become close, but find their relationship strained as a result of their backgrounds. 

As Mi-ja and Young-Sook take up their positions as pearl divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger. "The Island of Sea Women" takes place over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Little do the two friends know that forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point. Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

AI-Generated Novel: “The Boiling Point" by Rebecca Makkai, a nonexistent AI novel about a climate scientist who is forced to reckon with her own family’s environmental impact when her teenage daughter becomes an eco-activist targeting her mother’s wealthy clients.

Try this instead:

 

"The Beauty of the End” by Lauren Stienstra, a work of speculative fiction about two sisters navigating the complex moral terrain of reproductive ethics, individual freedom, and society’s duty to a future facing imminent extinction. Charlie Tannehill and her twin sister, Maggie, are just eight years old when an unfortunate scientific discovery upends their world—and the world order. They discover that "extinction" has been encoded in every  living creature’s DNA, with the expiration date set to only four generations away. A decade later, unsure of what tomorrow holds, Charlie and Maggie enroll as counselors in a government-run human-husbandry program. By offering cash rewards for reproduction, they hope to forestall humanity’s decline and discover a genetic mutation that might defeat it. While Charlie struggles with the ethical implications of the work, Maggie makes unspeakable sacrifices to improve her odds of success—but unchecked ambition could come at a greater cost than even she realizes. Torn between her own morality, her love for her sister, and the pressures of a vanishing civilization, Charlie must search deep within to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice—for herself, for Maggie, and for society—to salvage hope for the whole of humankind. Overall 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

AI-Generated Novel: “Salt and Honey" by Delia Owens, a fake novel that blends science with a coming of age tale set in the salt flats of Utah. 

Try this instead:

"Before the Swallows Come Back" by Fiona Curnow, a novel that celebrates the natural world, showing how the main characters are forced to live outside of society's norms and survive alone in the wilderness as they undergo the ultimate fight for justice. Tommy struggles with people and communicating, preferring solitude and drifting off with nature. He is protected by his Scottish Tinker family who keep to the old ways. A way of life that is disappearing. A life of quiet seclusion under canvas is all that he knows. Charlotte cares for her sickly father. She meets Tommy by the riverside and an unexpected friendship develops. Over the years it becomes something more, something crucial to both of them. But when tragedy strikes each family they are torn apart. Charlotte is sent far away. Tommy might have done something very bad. Before the Swallows Come Back is a beautiful story of love, found family, and redemption that will break your heart and have it soaring time and time again as you sit, desperately hoping for the triumph of goodness over adversity. For justice. Overall 4.4 stars out of 5 on Amazon. 

AI-Generated Novel: “Hurricane Season" by Brit Bennett, an exploration of family bonds torn by natural disasters. When a Category 5 hurricane forces estranged siblings to shelter together in their childhood home, long-suppressed tensions emerge alongside unexpected reconciliations. 

Try this instead:

"Clear Light of Day" by Anita Desai, a rich, Chekhovian novel about  family and forgiveness. Bimla is a dissatisfied but ambitious teacher who lives in her childhood home and cares for her mentally challenged brother, Baba. Tara is her younger, unambitious sister, married and with children of her own. Raja is their popular, brilliant, and successful brother. When Tara returns for a visit with Bimla and Baba, old memories and tensions resurface, blending into a domestic drama that leads to beautiful and profound moments of self-understanding. Set in the vividly portrayed environs of Old Delhi, “Clear Light of Day" does what only the very best novels can do: it totally submerges us. It also takes us so deeply into another world that we almost fear we won’t be able to climb out again. A universal tale of unhealable family hurts, distinctively shaded with enticing glimpses of India’s Hindu middle-class in shabby decline. Overall 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon and a Booker Prize finalist.

So there you have it: a human-generated Summer Reading List to supplant your AI-generated list. These books are all available on Amazon by clicking on the covers. You're welcome!

Can you think of any book that deserves to be on this list? Let me know in the comments!

Finding the Perfect Title for Your Book

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After writing your novel and sweating over your blurb, finding the perfect title is probably the hardest task. How do you encapsulate the idea, mood, or essence of your book in just a few words? How do you find a title that grabs the reader's attention? What kind of titles work best? Also, when is it a good idea to just use a name? Would "Anna Karenina" or Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca" have worked with a different title? What about "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"? And finally, how did Peter Benchley come up with the novel title, "Jaws," a name that I can still recall screaming at me from the drugstore bookshelf.

Finding the perfect title that sells books and stands out from the crowd is  no easy task. "The Mysteries of Udolpho," the quintessential 1794 Gothic novel by Anne Radcliffe about the misadventures of a young lady, including the death of her parents, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle, and the machinations of an Italian brigand, make it the archetypal example of a Gothic novel. The title contains the word mystery and the name of an Italian castle, evoking feelings of curiosity, terror, and wonder. It is a title that could work in any era and seems to have transcended time and place. Would you dare enter a castle with the name "Udolpho"? Would you dare read this book without all the windows and doors firmly locked and secured? Methinks not.

One of the easiest methods to pick a title is to choose a noun phrase. A quick look at your bookstore shelf will show that many popular tiles are just intriguing noun phrases, which is just a string of words that mean a person, place, or thing. The idea behind these titles is that they are simply constructed, easy to understand, and they help the reader visualize some aspect of the book. Think "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," "The Girl on the Train," "A Gentleman in Moscow," "The Book of Lost Names," "What She Left Behind," or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Each title has something intriguing about it and evokes interest. There is also a bit of mystery in each title. What exactly is a night circus?  And what do you picture with "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"? Does a psych ward in a hospital come to mind?

Another way to pick the perfect title for your book is to pull a line from the book, something that can stand on its own and provide some insight into the story or theme. Think "The Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger, "A Moveable Feast" by Hemingway, "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien or "All Quiet on the Western Hemisphere" by Erich Maria Remarque. Two other great examples are books that used the last sentence to create the title, "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Heart of Darkness" come to mind. Interestingly, this is how Margaret Mitchell picked her title for "Gone with the Wind." The last line has Scarlett saying, "After all...tomorrow is another day!"

Another strategy is to spotlight a character. Think "Dr. Zhivago," "Rebecca," "Jane Eyre," or "Oliver Twist." This technique works when one of the characters or the main character is so distinct, so unique, or stands out to the point that the whole story is their character arc or journey. The name "Anna Karenina" almost hints at her terrible downfall and terrible choices. The novel could never have been called, "The story of a bored housewife who follows her heart and loses everything." Nope. Gives too much away. The character in the title does not necessarily have to be the main character, as in "Rebecca," but when you read the novel, you see that the entire story comes about as a result of this offscreen character. When the name you choose to be the title is highly original or interesting, you want to learn more about that character. "Madame Bovary"? "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo"? "A Man Called Ove"? Hmm...Having a character's name in the title means they're going to play a huge role in it and readers want to know more.

Peter Benchley initially struggled to name his novel about a killer shark. Originally, he called it "Silence in the Water," but after his father suggested "The Jaws of Leviathan," he settled on the one-word title, "Jaws." This was a powerful, evocative word, and during the summer it was released, it was a powerful marketing tool. Readers had no choice but to pick it up and read it. Apparently, Benchley's editor loved it for its brevity and mysterious quality. Millions of readers did, too. One word titles, when chosen correctly, can be very powerful. But they can also be flat and dull.

Let me explain. If the one-word title is too ordinary or dull, such as "Susan," the original title of Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey," you miss all the Gothic horror and mystery of the tale, which includes a visit to a mysterious abbey, the site of all the mystery and intrigue the novel presents. Likewise, "Tomorrow is Another Day," which was the original working title for "Gone with the Wind" doesn't really work. It's ordinary and sort of...well, dull. Which one of those titles is evocative to you and which one is ho-hum? Maybe I'll get  to "Tomorrow is Another Day"...well, another day.

The next strategy is to consider your genre. Ultimately, your book title is a piece of marketing copy. It has to sell your book. Naturally you want it to feel significant or fit your story, but the goal is to get the reader interested enough to buy your book. A romance would not have words like "horror" or "terror" in the title. Neither would a Woman's Fiction novel. Words like survive, night, terror, or horror clearly reflect thrillers or horror novels. Fantasies have their own stock phrases or words, like shadow, war, night, dead, dark, blood, magic, and dream. The trick is to choose something that does not feel cliché or overdone. 

When I was writing "Island on Fire," a novel that is part historical thriller, part horror, part survival tale, part romance, I struggled with the title. Some of the examples I came up with were: 

The Martinique Horror

Terror in Martinique

Fire Mountain

Devil Mountain

Island of No Escape

Island of Eternal Fire

In fact, I think I suffered from too many choices. It turns out that "Island of Eternal Fire" was the working title right up until publication. Honestly, I think any of these titles would have worked, and when the book was picked up by Kindle Scout Publishing, they didn't recommend changing it, so I kept it.

The point is, there are no easy or clear answers. Sometimes the best idea is to go to your beta readers or followers and ask their opinion. Ultimately, you want the most concise, memorable, and relevant phrase that captures the essence of the story. When all else fails, tell us what happens in the book, like "Summer of My German Soldier," "Mutiny on the Bounty, "Twelves Years a Slave," or "The Devil Wears Prada." Sometimes the simplest message is the most powerful, poignant, and irresistible. What is your favorite title and why? Let me know in the comments! 

Poem: The Smoke Rises High In The Negev Sky

 

Photo by Hanan Greenwood

The smoke rises high in the Negev sky,
A burning house, a car, a mother, a child
What happens to martyrs after they die-
Do their souls weep for all the defiled?
Do the Heavens cry out for those who are dead
And for the living who would take their place.
What happens to letters unsent and words unsaid-
Do they linger in some dark, quiet space?
When their memories are gone, their faces forgotten
Will the world pause to remember their dread?
Can life carry on from a peace misbegotten
After every last tear has been shed?
In the Holy of Holies, the cherubim cry out
They pray for their Zion restored
When the cedars of Lebanon will sprout in the wild
And the desert shall bloom like the rose.
When sorrow and sadness at last flee away
And the arrogance of man is brought low
And in the haunts where the jackals once lay,
Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

New Poem: Dreams

Each dream, said Freud, is a wish unfulfilled,
A longing for an unreachable goal,
Obscure desires deep in our subconscious
That haunt us even as we sleep.
The nighttime is the mind’s chance to rebuild,

Fulfill the longings of each desperate soul
To awaken memories of a distant promise,
That lie dormant, hidden somewhere deep.
A world without order, a world without sense
Awaits us each night when we hibernate,
Each detail a mystical connection
That exists not in our waking state.
The search for meaning, the search for clues,
Answers to life’s riddles as we snooze
Friendships lost; tasks yet undone
That when we awake are soon forgotten.
Random images from a long time ago,
From out of childhood’s unconscious mind
That stalk us each night after bedtime
From out of the darkness and obscurity.
If only we could finally crack the code
And bring light to this eternal mystery!

More on Universal Truths in Literature

My most popular post without a doubt is “Why We Need Universal Truths in Literature,” which has garnered over 4,500 views. This is shocking enough, and I never stop asking myself why a post about a tired old concept like “universal truths” would attract so many readers, especially given that we are already living in post-modern, post-rational world.

Or are we?

As I wrote in my previous article, Humans have an insatiable desire for truth, and good literature and art in general awaken the knowledge of these truths that exist in our subconscious, especially since truth appears to be embedded in our DNA. In this sense, truth can never be excised, no matter how much we are told the opposite or subjected to propaganda. We know truth when we hear it, when we see it, and when we read it. We are drawn to truth like moths to a flame because it awakens in us concepts that are eternal, and can never be expunged from our souls. This is the reason why art and literature are usually the first things to go in totalitarian societies because art brings us dangerously close to the truth. It awakens us to the lies and distortions that  we are subjected to. Art allows us to transcend our present situation, no matter how dire or repressive, with timeless concepts. It envelops our humanity in a cocoon of eternal wisdom and meaning that shield us from lies and deceit. Art is transparent. It allows us to see deep within a concept to its universal qualities and how they apply to our lives. Art never hides the truth: it illuminates and glorifies it. Art preserves the truth for future generations, teaching us what it means to be human in a chaotic and often dangerous world.

The Function of Art

If you ask the average person why they pick up a book to read, most people would say to be entertained, to get a thrill, to experience a romance, to travel, to learn, to feel some emotion. Hardly anyone would say they want to encounter a truth. For what is a truth? Who says if something is true or not? Who gets to decide these matters? 

One of the many functions of art is to express emotions, to enrich mankind with teachings, to immortalize stories and heroes. But also, one of the functions of art is to teach us what is true about ourselves. This seems a little self-contradictory since it would appear that it was the job of the natural sciences to give us truth. But rather than being didactical, literature can demonstrate the truth about our humanity in a more effective way: via the characters' behavior and actions, thus teaching a concept in a rather stark and more memorable way.

Allow me to illustrate.

Not too long ago I was reading an old classic called "Moonfleet" by J. Meade Falkner (1898), a historical novel about a young orphan who gets involved with smugglers. About four chapters in, I wasn’t too impressed with the novel. It was only when I reached Chapter 5 that I was awestruck. Un the first two pages of Chapter 5, I encountered no less than four universal truths. This is astounding given the fact that most novels are lucky if they contain even one universal truth. Here were four in a few paragraphs! How was this possible?

In the story, the orphan (John Trenchard) has lost his mother and father early on. He lives with an uncaring aunt who hated his father and resents having to raise him. Because young John feels so alienated in his aunt’s home, he often goes out wandering, and on one night, he spies some smugglers and follows them to their hiding place (a crypt) where he is unwittingly locked up and left to die.

James Trenchard is an orphan who finds himself in peril in "Moonfleet."

During all the time he is sealed up in the vault, his aunt never goes looking for him. She never worries about him. In fact, she doesn’t even care that he’s gone. She's almost glad to be rid of him. It takes his teacher to go looking for him after he fails to appear in class several days in a row. But the teacher doesn’t go looking or him initially because he fears he’s missing. He goes to the aunt’s house to pay him a sick call, since he believes the boy is sick, and is shocked to discover the boy is not sick, but missing. When he asks about the boy, the aunt merely shrugs her shoulders and says, “He is run off I know not where, but as he makes his bed, must he lie on it. And if he run away for his pleasure, may stay away for mine. I have been pestered with this lot too long, and only bore with him for poor sister Martha’s sake. But ‘tis after his father that the graceless lad takes, and thus rewards me.” She them slams the door in the teacher’s face.

Initially the teacher believes the boy has run off to sea, but after putting a few clues together, he realizes the boy has been shut up in a vault and thus saves his life.

In these few paragraphs I learned some shocking universal truths. And by universal, they apply to everyone regardless of time or place. They apply to all humans on the basis of our shared humanity:

a) There’s a danger in being with people who don’t care about you. You must have someone to care about you and inquire after you.

b) You never know who will be your friend in the end and who will be your enemy.

c) Visiting the sick is not just a nice thing to do. It could literally save someone’s life.

d) When one does not love you, they will not care about you or ask about you.

In the end, the teacher finds John Trenchard close to death, and with the help of the local tavern-keeper, nurses him back to life. When John goes back to his aunt’s house, instead of welcoming him back home, she greets him with harsh words and does not let him cross the threshold, saying she would have no tavern-loungers in her house. She tells John to go back to the tavern and he realizes that his aunt’s home has never been his true home:

“When I heard such scurvy words, felt the devil rise in my heart, and only laughed, though bitter tears were in my eyes. So I turned my back upon the only home that I had ever known, and sauntered off down the village, feeling very alone.”

And thus I learned still another universal truth: that people use religion and morality as a means to emotionally abuse people and exclude them.

"Moonfleet" is a great adventure novel about a boy overcoming terrible odds, but in the end, it is also a teacher of important truths. A simple story with such profound wisdom and moral teachings! 

We ignore the teachings of art and literature at our own peril.

New Cover Reveal: Island on Fire - Romantic Historical Thriller

So pleased to reveal a new cover for ISLAND ON FIRE, a romantic historical thriller set in the Caribbean, during the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée in Martinique. I released the book in 2018 after three years of research and writing, two trips to the island where I immersed myself in the culture, history, volcanology, and archeology. I visited two volcano museums and explored parts of the city that were never rebuilt. I have written about my harrowing journeys through volcanic ruins, confrontations with insects, and the sweltering heat. But it was all worth it. Especially when I received a wonderful review from Publishers Weekly that called the novel "a memorable romantic thriller."

For the new cover I wanted a more evocative image that highlighted the exotic jungle flora, the danger of the volcano, and a character whose life is in peril. Love this new design by Tim Flanagan at Novel Design Studio. He got the imagery perfect including the historical feel of the novel.

The novel is now on sale this Fall for .99 cents - Kindle version and $8.99 for the paperback. Take advantage of these new low prices to immerse yourself in a story of danger, romance, intrigue, adventure, and voodoo mysticism set at the turn of the last century on an island that is about to erupt from within, culminating in the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. You can buy a copy of ISLAND ON FIRE by clicking HERE. 

Socrates: A Poem

One day while strolling in Athens town
I met a man of great renown
A scholar known as Socrates
This philosopher put me quite at ease
Great sir, said I, can you teach me—
The secrets of your philosophy?
And so, this Greek said with a wink:
“I cannot teach; I can only make you think!”
And so, I endeavored on a whim
To learn the secrets of his acumen
What made this man second to none?
He said, “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
And then he said the strangest thing:
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
That knowledge is a virtue; and ignorance a sin
For greatness comes in knowing that we know nothing.
His philosophy was all I yearned
Yet there was so much more I had to learn
He said, “Education is the kindling of a flame
Let it not burn out and die in vain!”