Adult 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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Bad Chemistry By Dixon, Franklin W. 1996-04 - Archway Paperbacks 9780671504335 Check Our Catalog Joe's new chemistry teacher, Yvonne, is made up of all the right elements--she's young, cute and the number one suspect in a murder. Yvonne claims she was set up, but the Hardys are doing some explosive research of their own. HPL patron:  Very good, big words, entertaining.  Such a good book I just flew right through it. …More

Cliff-Hanger By Dixon, Franklin W. 1996-06 - Archway Paperbacks 9780671504533 Check Our Catalog Anticipating the thrilling challenges of climbing the Himalayan mountain ranges, Frank and Joe are alarmed when they learn that a pair of climbers recently died under suspicious circumstances. Original. HPL patron:  Very good book, has good story behind it.  Interesting and entertaining. …More

Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work Is Done By Douglas, Susan J. 2010-03 - Times Books 9780805083262 Check Our Catalog From the author of "Where the Girls Are" comes a sharp and irreverent critique of how women are portrayed in today's popular culture. Blending humor with insight, Douglas offers an empathetic guide to the images so many women love and hate with equal measure. …More

Before I Die By Downham, Jenny 2007-09 - David Fickling Books 9780385751551 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title 2008 Teen Top Ten Nomnee Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, drugs with excruciating side-effects, Tessa compiles a list. It's her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of 'normal' life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa's feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, all are painfully crystallised in the precious weeks before Tessa's time finally runs out. …More

Breach of Trust By Ellis, David 2011-02 - Putnam Adult 9780399157103 Check Our Catalog Jason Kolarich returns in this shocking thriller from the award-winning author of "The Hidden Men." …More

Never Far from Home By Ellis, Mary 2010-05 - Thorndike Press 9781410425928 Check Our Catalog Mary Ellis follows her captivating "Widow's Hope" with a new story from the heart of Holmes County, Ohio. Fifteen-year-old Emma Miller finishes school, starts her own wool business, and is longing for someone to court. When the object of her affection is a handsome English sheep farmer with a fast truck and modern methods, her deacon father, Simon, has more than the farm alliance to worry about. Emma's aunt Hannah wants a baby, and her uncle Seth hopes to reap financial rewards with his harvest. But are these the dreams God has for this Amish family? HPL patron:  An easy, enjoyable summer read. …More

Finger Lickin' Fifteen By Evanovich, Janet 2009-06 - St. Martin's Press 9780312383282 Check Our Catalog From #1 bestselling author Evanovich comes the next book in her Stephanie Plum series, in which complications arise, loyalties are tested, cliffhangers are resolved, and donuts are eaten. …More

Lean Mean Thirteen By Evanovich, Janet 2007-06 - St. Martin's Press 9780312349493 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title The #1 blockbuster phenomenon continues in the 13th book in the series. The stakes are raised even higher as Stephanie Plum finds herself in her most dangerous, hilarious, hottest chase yet. …More

Ten Big Ones By Evanovich, Janet 2004-06 - St. Martin's Press 9780312289720 Check Our Catalog A Fiction Bestseller - 2004 From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author comes the latest Stephanie Plum adventure. The fun shifts into fear when Plum is the lone witness to a gang-executed robbery and cop shooting. There's a contract issued for her head and a California-based killer looking to fill that contract. HPL patron:  Funny stuff!  The antics of Stephanie Plum are so well put together!  Great twists and fun drama with the two men in her life! …More

So Big By Ferber, Edna 2010-06 - Harper Perennial 9780061859984 Check Our Catalog Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and widely considered to be Edna Ferber's greatest achievement, "So Big" is a classic novel of turn-of-the-century Chicago. It is the unforgettable story of Selina Peake DeJong, a gambler's daughter, and her struggles to stay afloat and maintain her dignity and her sanity in the face of marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood. A brilliant literary masterwork from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and admired writers, the remarkable "So Big" still resonates with its unflinching view of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success. …More

Lost By Fielding, Joy 2006-08 - Pocket Books 9781416513216 Check Our Catalog Transported to the Universe of the Four Gods, Miaka is saved from the Imperial Guards when she is proclaimed to be the Priestess of Suzaku. But now she must deal with the lovestruck Emperor and the ire of his would-be bride. …More

Mad River Road By Fielding, Joy 2006-01 - Atria Books 9780743488020 Check Our Catalog A "New York Times" bestselling author returns with a sexy, suspenseful novel of murder, romance, and revenge. After a year in prison, Ralph goes to murderous lengths to learn the address of his ex-wife, the woman he blames for his fate and has sworn vengeance against. …More

Puppet By Fielding, Joy 2005-01 - Doubleday Canada 9780385660549 Check Our Catalog Amanda Travis is a successful twenty-eight-year-old criminal attorney who races through her glamorous life with very few concerns. Her estranged mother, dead father, two ex-husbands and a past love that once consumed her are just distant memories now. But when ex-husband #1 calls to tell her that her mother has shot a man at point-blank range in the lobby of Toronto's Four Seasons hotel, Amanda knows she must return to her hometown to race her demons and uncover the hidden facts behind her mother's violent outburst. All too soon, she is drawn into the dark, strange power her mother seems to hold over everyone. Her childhood nickname, Puppet, echoing in her ears, Amanda must finally confront the past in order to be free of the ties that bind and learn to stand on her own. …More

Still Life By Fielding, Joy 2009-03 - Atria Books 9781416585275 Check Our Catalog "New York Times"-bestselling author Fielding delivers a riveting tale of suspense, told from the vantage-point of a comatose young woman who is at the mercy of her attacker. …More

The Wild Zone By Fielding, Joy 2010-04 - Atria Books 9781439157831 Check Our Catalog Two brothers -- Will and Jeff -- and their friend Tom are out one night at their favorite South Beach bar, the Wild Zone, and decide to make a bet on who can be the first to seduce a mysterious-looking young woman drinking by herself. Pretty, dark-haired, blue-eyed Suzy has an innocent, almost ordinary girl-next-door way about her. Little do the friends know that their harmless bet is about to take on a life of its own, a life full of deadly consequences for all concerned. …More

Prevention's Diabetes Diet Cookbook: Discover the New Fiber-Full Eating Plan for Weight Loss: By the Editors of Prevention Magazine with Ann Fittante By Fittante, Ann 2007-07 - Rodale Press 9781594866128 Check Our Catalog Americas leading health magazine shows how to better control glucose levels naturally and lose weight by focusing on high-fiber foods, in this cookbook packed with crowd-pleasing recipes and hundreds of tips for living well with diabetes. …More

Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchen By Flay, Bobby 2007-10 - Clarkson N Potter Publishers 9780307351418 Check Our Catalog The Food Network star shares 150 recipes for his bold Southwestern cuisine. This full-color cookbook also includes a list of must-haves for the Southwestern pantry, menu suggestions, and pointers on basic cooking techniques. 100 full-color photographs. HPL patron:  This book takes a bold approach to the somewhat underused flavor profiles of the Southwest and inspires newt echniques to old  dishes.  It will have your taste buds popping. …More

Cream Puff Murder By Fluke, Joanne 2009-03 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9780758210227 Check Our Catalog New York Times-bestselling author Fluke serves up another yummy installmentof her Hannah Swensen mystery series, and this time Hannah's sometime squeeze is a prime suspect. HPL patron:  Not a book to read when hungry.  Besides working to solve a murder in  a small Minnesota town, Hannah Swensen provides the reader with numerous mouth watering recipes. …More

No Man's Land By Ford, G. M. 2005-07 - William Morrow & Company 9780060554828 Check Our Catalog Frank Corso is back in this latest action-packed, highly suspenseful thriller from an Anthony, Shamus, Dilys, and Lefty awards nominee. …More

Red Tide By Ford, G. M. 2004-07 - William Morrow & Company 9780060554804 Check Our Catalog A BookPage Notable Title Ford's latest action-packed, highly suspenseful mystery finds Frank Corso on a case where an investigation into a gruesome murder unravels a massive terrorist conspiracy--but in an unexpected way. …More

The Cellist of Sarajevo By Galloway, Steven 2008-06 - Riverhead Books 9781594489860 Check Our Catalog A bread line in besieged Sarajevo. A mortar lobbed by Serb soldiers on the hill. Death for 22 people. A cellist sees it all and determines to honor the dead and perhaps assuage his own pain by playing Albinoni's Adagio on the spot for 22 days. And so Galloway opens his first novel, inspired by true events, weaving together four lives to tell the awful story of Sarajevo's devastation. …More

The Julian Game By Griffin, Adele 2010-08 - Putnam Publishing Group 9780399254604 Check Our Catalog Griffin's riveting novel explores the issues of generation Facebook: the desire to be someone else, real versus online friends, and the pitfalls and fallouts of posting one's personal life online for all the world to judge. …More

The Broker By Grisham, John 2005-01 - Doubleday Books 9780385510455 Check Our Catalog In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world's most sophisticated satellite surveillance system. Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive--there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him? …More