Summer Reading

Welcome to Summer Reading 2011! At the end of 8 weeks we had 368 people signed up. This week, 2 new people participated and 37 people read 143 books, which brings the totals for the summer to 166 people and 1175 books.

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Shade of the Tree By Anthony, Piers 1987-05 - Tor Classics 9780812531039 Check Our Catalog A widower and his two children move into a house in Florida left them by an eccentric uncle. But the house, built beneath the shade of a huge oak tree, proves to be haunted--by shades of the living and of the dead, and even more. "Light humor and dark fantasy in an intriguing blend" (Library Journal) from the author of the acclaimed Xanth novels. …More

Shame of Man By Anthony, Piers 1995-12 - Tor Classics 9780812550917 Check Our Catalog Like Isle of Woman, this novel tells the story of a single family reborn again and again throughout history. Beginning with our earliest ancestors who emerged from the Eden of Africa millions of years ago, the story follows two lovers as they struggle to preserve their family and way of life during some of the most turbulent periods of the past. HPL patron: A new look at the evolution of man. …More

Girls from Da Hood 6 By Antoinette, Ashley Author McCall, Amaleka Author Coleman, JaQuavis 2011-04 - Urban Books 9781601624444 Check Our Catalog Bestselling superstar author Ashley & JaQuavis and the talented McCall spin the sixth gritty street drama in this popular series, where fast cash, love, and tragedy drive a trio of fast-paced stories. HPL patron: Great book-I like everything by these two authors that I have read. …More

Mansfield Park By Austen, Jane Afterword by Quinn, Julia Introduction by Drabble, Margaret 2008-12 - Signet Classics 9780451531117 Check Our Catalog "Mansfield Park" encompasses not only Jane Austen's great comedic gifts and her genius as a historian of the human animal, but her personal credo as well--her faith in a social order that combats chaos through civil grace, decency, and wit. Revised reissue. …More

Sense and Sensibility By Austen, Jane Introduction by Gates, David 2001-01 - Modern Library 9780375756733 Check Our Catalog Published in 1811, Sense and Sensibility has delighted generations of readers with its masterfully crafted portrait of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Forced to leave their home after their father's death, Elinor and Marianne must rely on making good marriages as their means of support. But unscrupulous cads, meddlesome matriarchs, and various guileless and artful women impinge on their chances for love and happiness. The novelist Elizabeth Bowen wrote, "The technique of [Jane Austen's novels] is beyond praise....Her mastery of the art she chose, or that chose her, is complete." This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition contains a new Introduction by Pulitzer Prize finalist David Gates, in addition to new explanatory notes. …More

Hell's Corner By Baldacci, David 2010-11 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446195522 Check Our Catalog On the night of a State Dinner honoring the British Prime Minister, a bomb detonates in what looks like a terrorist plot. The mysterious attackers have a special target in their sights, and it's up to the Camel Club to stop them, or face the catastrophic results. HPL patron: Very good. …More

One Summer By Baldacci, David 2011-06 - Grand Central Publishing 9781455500123 Check Our Catalog It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more. HPL patron: Love Baldacci! Enjoy his mysteries, but this was a good change. …More

Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron: Being a Jane Austen Mystery By Barron, Stephanie 2010-09 - Bantam 9780553386707 Check Our Catalog The restorative power of the ocean brings Jane Austen and her beloved brother Henry, to Brighton after Henry's wife is lost to a long illness. But the crowded, glittering resort is far from peaceful, especially when the lifeless body of a beautiful young society miss is discovered in the bedchamber of none other than George Gordon--otherwise known as Lord Byron. As a poet and a seducer of women, Byron has carved out a shocking reputation for himself--but no one would ever accuse him of being capable of murder. Now it falls to Jane to pursue this puzzling investigation and discover just how "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" Byron truly is. And she must do so without falling victim to the charming versifier's legendary charisma, lest she, too, become a cautionary example for the ages. …More

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb By Benjamin, Melanie 2011-07 - Delacorte Press 9780385344159 Check Our Catalog Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on a fascinating 19th-century icon and inspiration whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength. "The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb" is the irresistible epic of a heroine who conquered the country with a heart as big as her dreams. …More

All Saints' Day By Benoit, Brent 2002-10 - Overlook Press 9781585673124 Check Our Catalog A bold and provocative Southern novel in the tradition of Walker Percy and John Kennedy Toole, Benoit's debut movingly chronicles two generations of the Bueche family of Maringouin, Louisiana, a family of Cajun ancestry that has been defined by a tragedy--the accidental death of their gifted, infant child at the hands of his feeble twin brother. …More

Second Sunday By Bowen, Michele Andrea 2005-05 - Walk Worthy Press 9780446694452 Check Our Catalog The author of the bestselling "Church Folk" once again takes readers on a hilarious journey into the inner sanctums of African-American church life. In 1970s St. Louis, members of Gethsemene Missionary Baptist connive to have their choice as pastor named. HPL patron: Hilarious and uplifting. …More

Farewell Summer By Bradbury, Ray 2006-10 - William Morrow & Company 9780061131547 Check Our Catalog A BookPage Notable Title The master of American fiction returns to the territory of his beloved classic, Dandelion Wine--a sequel 50 years in the making. …More

Branch Rickey By Breslin, Jimmy 2011-03 - Viking Books 9780670022496 Check Our Catalog In his inimitable anecdotal style, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Breslin provides a lively portrait of Branch Rickey, the man who in 1947 integrated major league baseball. …More

A Time for Patriots By Brown, Dale 2011-05 - William Morrow & Company 9780061989995 Check Our Catalog From the "New York Times"-bestselling thriller-master Dale Brown: When the nation's economy collapses and thousands of Americans turn against their own government, Patrick McLanahan must enlist the aid of his son and fellow citizens to hunt down terrorists any way they can. …More

Trial by Fire By Buffa, Dudley W. 2005-05 - Putnam Publishing Group 9780399152818 Check Our Catalog Attorney Joseph Antonelli finds that murder can be a very public affair in this moody and scintillating novel of love, loyalty, and revenge in the Edgar Award-nominated series. HPL patron: Intriguing...not a page turner but an interesting read. …More

The Hallowed Hunt By Bujold, Lois McMaster 2005-06 - Eos 9780060574628 Check Our Catalog From the award-winning author of "Paladin of Souls" comes the third novel in her enthusiastically received epic historical fantasy. …More

Fair Warning By Robert Olen Butler 2002-01 - Atlantic Monthly Press 0871138336 Check Our Catalog From one of the most acclaimed authors of our time comes a stirring new novel based on the prizewinning short story of a modern woman separating love from possession in Manhattan's moneyed world of power and greed. …More

The Dead Girls' Dance By Caine, Rachel 2007-04 - Signet Book 9780451220899 Check Our Catalog Claire Danvers has her share of challenges--like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. When a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell really breaks loose. Original. …More

The Morganville Vampires: Mignight Valley and Feast of Fools By Caine, Rachel 2010-09 - New American Library 9780451232892 Check Our Catalog Feast of fools: In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It is only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the evil trap Mr. Bishop has set for Morganville. HPL patron: Best series just about ever! Very detailed and full of intrigue, suspense, drama, and action. …More

Midnight Alley By Caine, Rachel 2007-10 - Signet Book 9780451222381 Check Our Catalog Claire Danverss college town may be run by vampires but a truce between the living and the dead has made things relatively safe--for a while. Now people are turning up dead, a psycho is stalking Claire, and an ancient bloodsucker has proposed private mentoring. Original. …More

Finding Ian By Cameron, Stella 2001-01 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9781575667133 Check Our Catalog For a few shining moments, Byron Frazer had it all -- an adoring wife, a newborn son -- until one was snatched by the cruel hands of death, and the other was cast away by Byron himself as he launched into a downward spiral of grief and pain. He'd assured himself that he had made the right decision, and that his son would find contentment in the arms of another couple. After all, he told himself, Lori would have wanted it that way. Now a world-renowned family psychologist, Byron can no longer go through the motions of a life so hollow and riddled with doubt. Nor can he keep the bitter-sweet memories at bay. He should have known the time would come when they would seep back in, forcing open a door he'd vowed to keep locked forever. Traveling across the ocean to a distant land of stone walls and cobbled roads, Byron will fulfill the promise to his lost wife -- and be free to move on at last. Yet as he discovers his son, he also experiences an unexpectedly fierce paternal longing. Too soon, he realizes that Ian is destined to become as much a part of the close-knit Cornish village as the lush honeysuckle that scents the summer air. As much a part of it as Jade Perron is. Reeling from a shattered marriage, Jade, Ian's lovely, protective cousin, is struggling to rebuild her life without a man and determined to do it here, in the only home she has ever known. She's vowed that nothing can change her mind -- certainly not a brash American whose eyes betray haunting heartache...and forbidden desire. Byron knows Jade Perron could be dangerous. But as he becomes hopelessly entangled in her life and Ian's, he embarks on a journey that could reconcile his troubled past and offer the hope of anew future -- or leave him broken. …More

Lima-6: A Marine Company Commander in Vietnam, June 1967-January 1968 By Camp, R. D., Jr. Author Camp, Dick With Hammel, Eric M. 1989-11 - Atheneum Books 9780689120459 Check Our Catalog In this vivid and intensely frank memoir, retired Marine Colonel Dick Camp recounts his daily experiences as "Lima-6" -- the commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines -- from June 1967 through January 1968. As much as it is about the Vietnam War, Lima-6 is also a candid account of the camaraderie that a Marine infantry company forges in battle, and the compelling human drama of an infantry company at war as seen through the eyes of a lonely leader upon whom all others depend for guidance and strength. …More

Tempted By Cast, P. C. Author Cast, Kristin 2009-10 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312567484 Check Our Catalog In the sixth installment of the Casts' award-winning, "New York Times"-bestselling teen vampyre series, Zoey Redbird, High Priestess-in-training, finds herself juggling three guys--one of which is so into protecting her that he can sense her emotions. …More