Beach Reads

Beach Road by James Patterson[FIC PAT, CD, LP]
A reliable Patterson thriller with short chapters and a fast-paced plot. Set at the beach!

Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts [LP FIC ROB]
The first in the Garden trilogy. This romance is set in a quaint nursery and in the haunted estate next to it.

The Broker by John Grisham [FIC GRI, CAS, CD, LP]
The first half of the book focuses on Joel Backman's transformation from infamous power broker to helpless victim in his own game. Upon his release from prison, Backman is taken into "protective custody" and whisked off to Italy where he is assigned a new identity and a tutor to help him blend in.

Faking It by Jennifer Crusie [FIC CRU, LP]
Artist Tilda Goodnight paints murals to keep her family and their gallery solvent and finds herself falling for a charming con man. Everyone in this romantic comedy is pretending to be someone else. Breezy fun.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly [FIC CON]
This top-notch, character-driven legal thriller features Michey Haller, a legal defender who operates out of his Lincoln Town Car, defending the lowest of the low. One day he finally meets a high-paying client, but it may cost him his life.

Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks [FIC SPA, CAS, LP]
Theresa Osborne is on vacation in Cape Cod and finds a message in a bottle on the shore. It is a love letter and she is determined to find its romantic author. A sentimental journey indeed.

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot [FIC CAB]
Lizzie Nichols finishes college and heads to Europe looking for the love of her life. Her London-based boyfriend turns out to be a dud and Lizzie heads to France seeking solace in a friend. Her habit of running off at the mouth gets her into hilarious trouble.

Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton [FIC FIN]
Three forty-something Georgian wives of lawyers seek revenge for straying husbands with style. It is the Ya Ya Sisterhood meets the First Wives Club.

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark [FIC CLA, LP]
This is a chilling novel of psychological suspense involving kidnapping, murder and telepathy. Three-year-old twins go missing. One is returned with a note saying the other is dead, but the returned twin receives telepathic messages from her sister that keep hope alive.

Website to Check Out

If you're interested in award-winning books, take a look at a site created and maintained by the Morton Grove Public Library in Illinois. It ofers links to a variety of award-winning books throughout the years.

Go to www.webrary.org/rs/rslinks.html#6
Click on "Literary Awards" and explore the best of the best.

It's Not Too Late!

If you haven't already registered for the Teen or Adult Summer Reading Program, just stop by the circulation desk and do so now. Read four books by August 31 and you'll win a prize and be entered into the raffle drawing for more prizes!

Prize-Winning Reads

Try one of these award-winning reads and see if you agree with the judges.

The Known World by Edward P. Jones [FIC JON, OS CAS]
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Jones explores life in Virginia just before the Civil War. The novel sheds light on a little-known part of history, featuring slave owners who are both white AND black.

News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck [FIC TUC, CAS]
Set in 1854, this winner of the National Book Award features young and beautiful divorcee Ella Lynch, who leaves Paris when she falls in love with the future dictator of Paraguay. Not for the weak-hearted.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith [FIC SMI, CD, LP]
Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, this novel is a modern-day comedy of manners, tackling class, race, and gender issues with wit and style.

Resurrection Men: An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin [MYS RAN]
Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Inspector Rebus is sent to take a "retraining" course for officers who have been naughty. He threw coffee at a superior to vent his frustration. He soon finds out, however, that he has really been enlisted to spy on the others in the class. Rebus is also investigating a murder case and eventually finds connections. Interesting character and well done plots make this a superior police procedural.

Non-Fiction Treasures

Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy B. Tyson [975.6 TYS]
A young black man is murdered ni Oxford, N.C. in 1970 and the incident dramatically changes this small town. The author is ten years old at the time of the killing and struggles to understand it then and later, as an adult. Tyson's narrative grips you from the beginning and offers unbiased perspective from multiple points of view.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls [B WAL]
Journalist Walls tells the story of her very unusual childhood. Her parents and three siblings lived like nomads. Her parents neglected their children but also instilled in them creativity and a will to survive. Their father, when sober, was an excellent teacher who fired their imaginations. Their mother, an artist and thrill seeker, fostered independence of spirit. A fascinating story.

River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard [918.1 MIL, LP]
A breathtaking true tale that reads like a thriller. Just after Theodore Roosevelt lost his bid for the presidency in 1912, he and his son take a trip down a tributary of the Amazon River, known locally as the River of Doubt. They face every conceivable hardship and Roosevelt becomes dangerously ill. An adventure story and a fascinating loook at one of America's important historical figures.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer [B MOE]
The author recalls his youth growing up in 1970s Long Island with a loving, single mom and a cast of eccentri aunts and uncles. His time is spent searching for father figures in a series of bars. The interesting cast of characters he finds influences him forever.