Summer Reading

Welcome to Summer Reading 2011! At the end of 3 weeks we had 311 people signed up. This week, 23 new people participated, 45 people read 102 books, which brings the totals for the summer to 330 books and 102 readers.

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Overcomer By Wisen, Kristen 2009-02 - Credo House Publishers 9780978762032 Check Our Catalog HPL patron: An apocolyptic story. …More

The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means By Yeager, Jeff 2010-06 - Broadway Books 9780767931328 Check Our Catalog He's at it again, but this time he's not alone. America's Ultimate Cheapskate is back with all new secrets for how to live happily "below" your means, a la cheapskate. …More

Our Mothers' War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II By Yellin, Emily 2004-05 - Free Press 9780743245142 Check Our Catalog A stunning and unprecedented portrait of women--from factory workers to pinup girls to spies--during World War II, which drastically transformed women's roles in American society. HPL patron: A detailed account of the many ways women served the country during WWII, from entertainers to pilots ferrying airplanes. Very thorough and very readable. …More

The Tale of Oat Cake Crag By Albert, Susan Wittig 2010-09 - Berkley Publishing Group 9780425236611 Check Our Catalog In the Lake District, noisy test flights of the new hydroplane are disrupting life in the village of Near Sawrey. Miss Beatrix Potter can barely hear herself think--which she needs to do for the new case she's just taken up. HPL patron: The last book (so far written) in a series of 7 books. A fictional book about Beatrix Potter, loosely basedon actual historical known facts about her life. This particular book focuses on the newly made hydroplanes and how it causes a stir in a small farm town in 1912 England. I appreciate that this series also includes animals that talk to each other, just as Beatrix herself would have done. This series was a joy to read. …More

Pride and Prejudice By Austen, Jane 1983-12 - Bantam Classics 9780553213102 Check Our Catalog For over 150 years, "Pride And Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen herself called this brilliant work her "own darling child." "Pride And Prejudice, the story of Mrs. Bennet's attempts to marry off her five daughters is one of the best-loved and most enduring classics in English literature. Excitement fizzes through the Bennet household at Longbourn in Hertfordshire when young, eligible Mr. Charles Bingley rents the fine house nearby. He may have sisters, but he also has male friends, and one of these -- the haughty, and even wealthier, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy -- irks the vivacious Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the Bennet girls. She annoys him. Which is how we know they must one day marry. The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and Darcy is a splendid rendition of civilized sparring. As the characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, Jane Austen's radiantly caustic wit and keen observation sparkle. …More

The Deadly Dance By Beaton, M. C. 2005-12 - St. Martin's Press 9780312984748 Check Our Catalog "She's outclassed, outmatched, and outgunned..." Infuriated that her holiday was ruined by a mugging, Agatha Raisin decides to open up her own detective agency. The romance-minded sleuth is thrilled by visions of handsome fellow gumshoes and headline-making crimes--but soon finds the only cases she can get are a non-glamorous lot of lost cats and an errant teenager. But when a wealthy divorcee hires the agency to investigate a death threat against her daughter Cassandra, Agatha thwarts a vicious attack on the heiress bride. Now Agatha is in hot pursuit of the culprit. But when the groom's father turns up dead, Agatha must untangle a growing list of suspects, from Carsely's quiet village lanes to Paris' most fashionable streets. Soon the willfully undaunted Agatha is in trouble with French "and" British police; on the outs (again) with old friends--and dead in the sights of a murderer. "Anyone interested in...intelligent, amusing reading will want to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Agatha Raisin." --"Atlanta"" Journal Constitution" "" "I simply love mysteries that have all the requirements necessary to make them great--the characters, the action, the plots, and that thing we call humanity. Beaton has them all in spades." --"Tulsa"" World" HPL patron: Two different "bad guys" make a suspensful mystery. Agatha travels to different places trying to solve the who-dun-it and to escape a threat to her life. …More

There Goes the Bride By Beaton, M. C. 2009-09 - Minotaur Books 9780312387006 Check Our Catalog Wedding bells are tolling, but not for poor Agatha in this irresistible new adventure from "New York Times"-bestselling Beaton, the reigning queen of the cozies ("Booklist"). HPL patron: A whole new side to Agatha, one not seen before. Agatha strikes out at love again! …More

A Fierce Radiance By Belfer, Lauren 2010-06 - Harper 9780061252518 Check Our Catalog The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "City of Light" pens a compelling, richly detailed, and absorbing tale of passion and intrigue set in New York City in the tumultuous early days of World War II. …More

The Compound By Bodeen, S. A. 2008-04 - Feiwel & Friends 9780312370152 Check Our Catalog Eli and his family have lived in the Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone. Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. Now, they can't get out. He won't let them. HPL patron: Very good book kept me on the edge of my chair the whole time I couldn't stop flip through pages. …More

Beginner's Grace: Bringing Prayer to Life By Braestrup, Kate 2010-11 - Free Press 9781439184264 Check Our Catalog Braestrup delivers a welcoming, non-denominational guide to prayer--with examples of how, when, where to pray, individually or as a family. …More

Into the Fire By Brockmann, Suzanne 2008-07 - Ballantine Books 9780345501530 Check Our Catalog Suspense doesn't burn any brighter and desire doesn't run any deeper than in Brockmann's latest volume in the Troubleshooters series--her most explosive story yet. HPL patron: A very good story; well written! …More

The Lucifer Code By Brokaw, Charles 2010-08 - Forge 9780765320933 Check Our Catalog Thomas Lourds from "The Atlantis Code" is back and in over his head, dodging spies, crooks, and bullets, in this gripping new thriller. …More

Disturbance: An Irene Kelly Novel By Burke, Jan 2011-06 - Simon & Schuster 9781439152843 Check Our Catalog Irene Kelly returns in this thriller from bestselling, award-winning thriller master Burke, sure to chill longtime fans and new readers alike. …More

Airhead By Cabot, Meg 2008-06 - Scholastic 9780545040525 Check Our Catalog From the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling creator of the Princess Diaries. Following a bizarre accident, 16-year-old tomboy Emerson Watts wakes up to find she's in the body of a supermodel. Who is behind the switch? And how can she get her best friend Christopher to realize she's still the same Em inside? …More

A Grave Mistake By Cameron, Stella 2005-11 - Mira Books 9780778322344 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Former NOPD cop Guy Gautreaux is looking for a fresh start in Toussaint, Louisiana. When a New Orleans murder is linked to his new girlfriend's bad-news stepfather, he's drawn into a network of deceit that jeopardizes his life--and hers. HPL patron: A well written story! …More

A Darker God: A Laetitia Talbot Mystery By Cleverly, Barbara 2010-02 - Delta 9780440339052 Check Our Catalog Aspiring archaeologist and occasional detective Laetitia Talbot returns to 1920s Greece to stop a brutal killer in award-winning author Cleverly's new mystery. HPL patron: A big dose of ancient Greece-Agamemnon's return and Clytemnestra's revenge tentacles within the darker revenge of the Greek resettlement post WWI-twists and turns and British spies and heroines. …More

Caught By Coben, Harlan 2010-03 - Dutton Books 9780525951582 Check Our Catalog In this explosive new thriller, a reporter's investigative work has resulted in a man being taken into custody in front of a shocked television audience. But months later, she realizes she may have unwittingly been part of a grand manipulation aiming to destroy an innocent man. HPL patron: Twisted and thrilling. …More

Lovesick By Coburn, Jake 2005-09 - Dutton Books 9780525473831 Check Our Catalog When the wealthy father of a bulimic Manhattan girl offers to pay for Teds college tuition, theres one catch--Ted must secretly keep tabs on Erica. A seemingly simple task, with only one minor problem: Ted never expected to fall in love. …More

Onesimus the Run-Away Slave By Coleman, E. E. Author Smith, T. Marie 2011-03 - WestBow Press 9781449712372 Check Our Catalog Born a slave, Onesimus was educated to serve Master Mamun, a physician, in the 'art of healing' for the Master's vast household and to help with his practice. Master Mamun died when Onesimus was nineteen, and he was separated from his beloved mother and sold to Philemon, a wealthy stranger from Colosse. Onesimus served Master Philemon as a physician for his many servants and animals, but vowed to someday find his mother. One day Onesimus was riding Pharaoh, Philemon's favorite Arabian stallion, and came upon a wagon caravan traveling to Ephesus. He saw, and instantly fell in love with Martha, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and made another vow, "I will someday find and marry Martha." Stealing Pharaoh and a sack of gold from Master Philemon, Onesimus became a run-away slave, and...well, here's the rest of his compelling story. HPL patron: Very good, and interesting book uses descriptive words. …More

The Sentry By Crais, Robert 2011-01 - G. P. Putnam's Sons 9780399157073 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Dru Rayne and her uncle fled to L.A. after Hurricane Katrina; now they face a different danger. When Joe Pike witnesses Dru's uncle beaten by a protection gang, he offers his help, but neither of them wants it. Pike and Elvis Cole soon learn that Dru and her uncle are not who they seem. …More

Adam By Dekker, Ted 2008-04 - Thomas Nelson Publishers 9781595540072 Check Our Catalog New York Times bestselling author Dekker unleashes his most riveting novel yet about an elusive serial killer whose victims die of unknown causes and the psychologist obsessed with catching him. …More

The Matchmaker of Kenmare: A Novel of Ireland By DeLaney, Frank 2011-02 - Random House 9781400067848 Check Our Catalog Set in 1943, this follow-up to "Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show" finds Ben McCarthy meeting an enigmatic woman--Miss Begley, the sharp-witted matchmaker of Kenmare--and a powerful friendship begins. HPL patron: A very powerful story told by someone who knows how to tell a story. The best! …More

Suddenly By Delinsky, Barbara 2008-04 - William Morrow & Company 9780066214580 Check Our Catalog "New York Times" bestselling author Delinsky captures the essence of contemporary life in her fiction. In this emotionally charged classic tale, she explores the consequences of choice--between what is and what could be. …More