Talk About a Good Book: summer reading

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Summer Reads

July 26, 2010The Next Thing on My List: A Novel by Jill Smolinski

Meet June Parker. She works for L.A. Rideshare, adores her rent-stabilized apartment in Santa Monica, and struggles with losing a few pesky pounds. But June's life is about to change.
After a dark turn of events involving Weight Watchers, a chili recipe, and a car accident in which her passenger, Marissa, dies, June finds herself in possession of a list Marissa has written, "20 Things to Do By My 25th Birthday." Even though they barely knew each other, June is compelled by both guilt and a desire to set things right and finish the list for Marissa. The tasks before her range from inspiring (Run a 5K), to daring (Go braless), to near-impossible (Change someone's life), and as June races to achieve each goal before the deadline, she learns more about her own life than she ever bargained for.

August 30, 2010

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land, Jonathan Whicher of Scotland Yard. Whicher quickly believed the unbelievable--that someone within the family was responsible for the murder of young Saville Kent. Without sufficient evidence or a confession, though, his case was circumstantial and he returned to London a broken man. Though he would be vindicated five years later, the real legacy of Jonathan Whicher lives on in fiction: the tough, quirky, knowing, and all-seeing detective that we know and love today ... from the cryptic Sgt. Cuff in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade

September 27, 2010Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
When Jack St. Bride arrives by chance in the sleepy New England town of Salem Falls, he decides to reinvent himself. Tall, blond, and handsome, Jack was once a beloved teacher and soccer coach at a girls' prep school -- until a student's crush sparked a powder keg of accusation and robbed him of his reputation. Now, working for minimum wage washing dishes for Addie Peabody at the Do-Or-Diner, Jack buries his past, content to become the mysterious stranger who has appeared out of the blue. Yet planting roots in Salem Falls may prove fateful for Jack. Amid the white-painted centuries-old churches, a quartet of bored, privileged teenage girls have formed a coven that is crossing the line between amusement and malicious intent. Quick to notice the attractive new employee at Addie's diner, the girls turn Jack's world upside down with a shattering allegation that causes history to repeat itself. Suddenly nothing in Salem Falls is as it seems: a safe haven turns dangerous, an innocent girl meets evil face-to-face, a dishwasher with a Ph.D. is revealed to be an ex-con. Now Addie, desperate for answers, must look into her heart -- and into Jack's lies and shadowy secrets -- for evidence that will condemn or redeem the man she has come to love.

Summer Day Reads

When this time of the year arrives, my reading switches gears. Today, I keep talking about "beach reads". Not that I plan a trip to the beach this summer, just that I want a purely entertaining, not too much thinking involved type of book. A book that I have really enjoyed reading lately is Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. This is a perfect summer read, all about a magical garden, cooking (that I can read about and not actually do) and a couple of sisters with issues. Summer is a great time to read a series. The days are longer and you may have time to develop a friendship with the characters in a series of books. I love the books about the little town of Harmony by Philip Gulley. Living in a small town, you learn to love the people, quirks, habits, foibles and all. Gulley shows a real understanding of his characters and their attempts to live lives of love and, well, harmony. Have you found a book to spend some time with this summer? Come on, share!

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Summer Reads

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