Summer Reading

Welcome to Summer Reading 2011! At the end of 9 weeks we had 368 people signed up. This week, 4 new people participated and 32 people read 125 books, which brings the totals for the summer to 170 people and 1287 books.

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Pearl in the Sand By Afshar, Tessa 2010-09 - Moody Publishers 9780802458810 Check Our Catalog Can a Canaanite harlot who has made her livelihood by looking desirable to men make a fitting wife for one of the leaders of Israel? Shockingly, the Bible's answer is yes. At the age of fifteen Rahab is forced into prostitution by her beloved father. In her years as a courtesan, she learns to mistrust men and hate herself. Into the emotional turmoil of her world walks Salmone, a respected leader of Judah. Through the tribulations of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth in God and find healing from fear and rejection. HPL patron: An emotionally stirring book. I was fascinated by the way Tessa made these Biblical characters come to life. The message of God's love and mercy was beautifully portrayed. HPL patron: The story of Rahab in the bible. It was great! …More

Mourning Gloria By Albert, Susan Wittig 2011-04 - Berkley Publishing Group 9780425239131 Check Our Catalog After a woman is killed in an arson-homicide, Jessica Nelson, an intern-reporter at the local paper, is assigned to cover the story. When Jessica disappears, China Bayles is determined to find her, before she becomes a headline herself. HPL patron: Entertaining mystery. …More

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson By Albom, Mitch 1997-08 - Doubleday Books 9780385484510 Check Our Catalog Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live. Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world. …More

Long Drive Home By Allison, Will 2011-05 - Free Press 9781416543039 Check Our Catalog In this riveting novel, a happily married man makes a mistake that results in a teenager's death and sends his own life into a devastating tailspin. …More

Fair and Balanced, My Ass!: An Unbridled Look at the Bizarre Reality of Fox News By Amann, Joseph Minton Author Breuer, Tom 2007-05 - Nation Books 9781568583471 Check Our Catalog "Fair and Balanced, My Ass!" is a wide-ranging, irreverent, and humorous look at America's number-one cable news network. It examines Fox's phony patriotism and piety, its dishonest crusades, its well-defined agenda, and ratings-driven techniques. The authors deliver a hearty slap down to the jewels in the Murdoch crown, including Bill O'Reilly, Hannity and Colmes, Fox and Friends, and more. HPL patron: Hilarious! …More

They Call Me Sparky By Anderson, Sparky Introduction by Anderson, Sparky With Ewald, Dan 1998-05 - Gale Cengage 9781886947238 Check Our Catalog Born George Lee Anderson, this small kid with big ears turned out to be one of the winningest baseball managers of all-time. Accomplishing such feats as winning back-to-back World Series in Cincinnati and one more in Detroit, he had the rare ability to shift from manager, to father figure, to disciplinarian. …More

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life By Armstrong, Karen 2010-12 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307595591 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title One of the most original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world--author of such acclaimed books as "A History of God, Islam, "and "Buddha"--now gives us an impassioned and practical book that can help us make the world a more compassionate place. …More

Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom By Bateson, Mary Catherine 2010-09 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307266439 Check Our Catalog Bateson sees aging today as an "improvisational art form calling for imagination and willingness to learn," and in this ardent, affirming study, she relates the experiences of men and women--herself included--who, upon entering this second adulthood, have found new meaning and new ways to contribute, composing their lives in new patterns. …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 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

Project: Happily Ever After: Saving Your Marriage When the Fairytale Falters By Bowman, Alisa 2010-12 - Running Press Book Publishers 9780762439010 Check Our Catalog What do you do when your marriage is so unhappy that you begin to fantasize about your husband's funeral? That's how bad it got for Alisa Bowman. . . So she launched a last-ditch effort to save her marriage."Project: Happily Ever After"is her fearlessly honest and humorous account of how she went from being a "divorce daydreamer" to renewing her wedding vows--and all of the steps in between. From bikini waxes to erotica, romance instruction manuals to second honeymoons, the silent treatment to power struggles, she goes where many marriage-improvement gurus have feared to tread. Equal parts funny, poignant, and most importantly, useful, Bowman's story will give other miserably-married folks courage and hope. And in addition to telling her own story, she packs straightforward prescriptive guidance, including a "10-Step Marital Improvement Guide." Readers will laugh. They'll cry. And they can start on the road toward their own happy ending! …More

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie By Bradley, Alan Author Bradley, C. Alan 2009-04 - Delacorte Press 9780385342308 Check Our Catalog 2009 Agatha Award Winner-Best First Novel BookPage Notable Title In his wickedly brilliant first novel, Debut Dagger Award winner Alan Bradley introduces one of the most singular and engaging heroines in recent fiction. …More

Mistress No More By Bryant, Niobia 2011-06 - Dafina Books 9780758238238 Check Our Catalog Award-winning author Bryant combines scandal, intrigue, and betrayal into one sizzling package, in which one woman taunts three former friends with the knowledge that she's having an affair with one of their husbands. HPL patron: ok book. …More

Disturbance 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

Kindred By Butler, Octavia E. 2008-12 - Beacon Press 9780807083109 Check Our Catalog Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stays grow longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin. HPL patron: Nice reading. …More

Wyoming Lawman By Bylin, Victoria 2010-10 - Steeple Hill 9780373828463 Check Our Catalog Matrimony? Never again for deputy sheriff Matt Wiley. The only good thing from his first marriage is his daughter. His little girl might want a mother, but Matt knows that no woman should have to deal with his guilty secret, or his anger at God. He'll do his duty, serve the town of Cheyenne and keep his distance. Yet when courageous single mother Pearl Oliver comes to town, watching from the sidelines isn't an option-- especially when Pearl lands herself in danger. His heart, Pearl's life and the safety of their town are all at risk. Only the love and faith he thought he'd left behind can help him win his way to happily ever after. …More

Heartsick By Cain, Chelsea 2007-09 - Minotaur Books 9780312368463 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Addicted to pain killers and still bound to Gretchen Lowell, the beautiful serial killer who had abducted and tortured him before turning herself in, even after she is incarcerated for her crimes, Portland detective Archie Sheridan is caught in another deadly duel with a vicious murderer targeting teenage girls, ambitious reporter Susan Ward, and Gretchen herself. …More

Carpe Corpus By Caine, Rachel 2009-06 - Signet Book 9780451227195 Check Our Catalog In the small college town of Morganville, an underground resistance to evil vampire Bishop is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants--the living and the undead. Original. …More

Fade Out By Caine, Rachel 2009-11 - Signet Book 9780451228666 Check Our Catalog Without the evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville, the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again--almost. Original. …More

Kiss of Death: The Morganville Vampires By Caine, Rachel 2010-04 - Signet Book 9780451229731 Check Our Catalog Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big-time producer who wants him to cut a demo and play some gigs--which means Michael will have to enter the human world. And that means it's going to be a road trip from hell. Original. …More

Lord of Misrule By Caine, Rachel 2009-01 - NAL Jam Books 9780451225726 Check Our Catalog Master vampire Bishop arrives in Morganville and threatens to abolish all order. But he's not the only threat. Hovering cyclone clouds promise devastation as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural. Original. …More

Kushiel's Dart By Carey, Jacqueline 2001-06 - Tor Classics 9780312872380 Check Our Catalog High intrigue and a fantastic heroine make for a tale of pagan splendor in "Kushiel's Dart". Phedre is sold into slavery as a child, but she possesses a secret that can topple a kingdom and bring warlords to their knees. …More

Breaking Silence By Castillo, Linda 2011-06 - Minotaur Books 9780312374990 Check Our Catalog The "New York Times"-bestselling series hailed as gripping ("People") returns with Police Chief Kate Burkholder called to the scene of a horrific tragedy on a peaceful Amish farm. …More