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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Sh*t My Dad Says By Halpern, Justin 2010-05 - It Books 9780061992704 Check Our Catalog In the vein of bestselling humor collections by Chelsea Handler, David Sedaris, and Laurie Notaro, "Sh*t My Dad Says" is a chaotic, hilarious, true portrait of a father-son relationship from a major new comic voice. …More

Misery Bay By Hamilton, Steve 2011-06 - Minotaur Books 9780312380434 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Acclaimed Edgar Award-winning author Hamilton returns to the series that made him a legend--with Alex McKnight hunting a bloodthirsty killer through frostbitten Michigan. HPL patron: Steve Hamilton series set in Michigan U.P. never fails to please. His characters are flawed, believeable, and entertaining. This latest entry is one of the best. …More

The Summer I Turned Pretty By Han, Jenny 2009-05 - Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 9781416968238 Check Our Catalog Belly has spent her summers at the beach house with Conrad and Jeremiah, who had never noticed her noticing them. Every summer Belly hoped it would be different. This time, it is. The summer that Belly turns pretty is the summer that changes everything--for better and for worse. HPL patron: This book really captures the torn feelings a girl can have between boys. I loved how she ended up with teh boy that seemed more like her unrealistic fantasy. It surprised me and adding another boy at an unexpected time in the book was a nice twist. …More

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think about Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment By Harvey, Steve With Millner, Denene 2009-02 - Amistad Press 9780061728976 Check Our Catalog From the host of the popular "Steve Harvey Morning Show" comes a funny, honest, and foolproof guide for all women that takes them inside the heads of men and shows how men think about love, sex, and commitment. …More

Vegan Diner: Classic Comfort Food for the Body and Soul By Hasson, Julie 2011-03 - Running Press Book Publishers 9780762437849 Check Our Catalog Real comfort food is hard to find, and even harder to replicate sans meat and dairy. With 125 recipes and 25-30 food photos, "Vegan Diner" aims to introduce healthy comfort foods, both savory and sweet. …More

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America By Hedges, Chris 2007-01 - Free Press 9780743284431 Check Our Catalog From the celebrated author of "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" comes a startling expos of the political ambitions of the Christian Right--a clarion call for everyone who cares about freedom. …More

Broken Wing By James, Judith 2008-11 - Medallion Press 9781933836447 Check Our Catalog …More

Eve By Johansen, Iris 2011-04 - St. Martin's Press 9780312651206 Check Our Catalog In her newest novel of breathtaking suspense, #1 bestselling author Johansen begins a trilogy that will answer questions that have haunted her legion of fans for more than a decade. With a brilliant narrative that goes back to Eve Duncan's early life, exploring her history and motivations like no other novel before, "Eve" reveals long-guarded secrets and is guaranteed to leave Johansen fans panting for more. …More

In Spite of Killer Bees By Johnston, Julie 2002-11 - Tundra Books (NY) 9780887766015 Check Our Catalog I"n Spite of Killer Bees is a novel about not giving in and not giving up. Aggie and her two sisters have had to move to the small village that had been their father's childhood home. Their mother is long gone, and their father - who'd been in and out of prison - has died. Although the village holds little charm for the girls, they have hopes. It seems that their late grandfather has made them heiresses. In the small, judgmental village, Aggie must fight to keep her diminishing family together. By refusing to abandon those she loves and comes to love, she risks more than her happiness. "From the Hardcover edition. …More

The Merlin Conspiracy By Jones, Diana Wynne 2003-04 - Greenwillow Books 9780060523183 Check Our Catalog CCBC Choices - 2004 From the bestselling fantasy author comes a new epic, tumultuous tale. Three young people from different worlds meet in one and travel to a myriad of others in an attempt to unseat the false Merlin of Blest and unravel a conspiracy that threatens all of the magic in the multiverse. …More

The Complete Guide to Creating Oils, Soaps, Creams, and Herbal Gels for Your Mind and Body: 101 Natural Body Care Recipes By Jones, Marlene 2011-03 - Atlantic Publishing Group Inc. 9781601383693 Check Our Catalog HPL patron: This book covered all the bases in making body care products. Lists of essential oils, what they are food for and how to use them. Some of the ingrediants seem as though they would be hard to find in a local store, online would be the way to go. The process of creating these looks to be time consuming for me personally, but it was very interesting to read. …More

Compulsion By Kellerman, Jonathan 2008-03 - Ballantine Books 9780345465276 Check Our Catalog Now in a tall Premium Edition, Kellerman's latest thriller follows Detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware as they square off against the most sadistic murderer they've ever encountered. HPL patron: This time psychologist Alex Delaware plays a "ride along" to homicide detective Milo Sturgis. Follw the 2 as they work to solve seemingly unrelated murders in L. A. …More

The House on Malcolm Street By Kelly, Leisha 2010-09 - Fleming H. Revell Company 9780800733285 Check Our Catalog Bestselling author Kelly returns with an inspiring story of a young widow whorediscovers hope in Illinois in the 1920s. …More

Leaving By Kingsbury, Karen 2011-03 - Zondervan 9780310266990 Check Our Catalog The book you've been waiting for from New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury ... Leaving is the first volume in a new series that features members of the popular Baxter family and finally completes the Bailey Flanigan/Cody Coleman story. …More

The Cypress House By Koryta, Michael 2011-01 - Little Brown and Company 9780316053723 Check Our Catalog A journey to Florida's coast becomes an inescapable nightmare in the newest supernatural thriller from international bestseller Koryta ("So Cold the River"). HPL patron: After reading all of Koryta's other books, I was excited to read this one. He didn't let me down. This book is definitely recommended (as are all his others.) …More

The Journal of Professor Abraham Van Helsing By Kupfer, Allen C. 2004-05 - Forge 9780765310118 Check Our Catalog At last unearthed, the personal story of the greatest vampire hunter of all time is revealed in his own words. …More

Veils of Time By Kurland, Lynn Joint Author Ray, Angie Joint Author Weaver, Ingrid 1999-06 - Berkley Publishing Group 9780425169704 Check Our Catalog In four stories about special weddings, readers find out what happens when a Scottish nobleman awakens in a bridal shop, a con man is freed from prison with a wedding proposal, a time machine journey transports characters to Regency England, and a Celtic warrior claims to be the long-lost betrothed of a museum curator. …More

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America By Larson, Erik 2003-02 - Crown Publishing Group (NY) 9780609608449 Check Our Catalog Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America's rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair's brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country's most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his "World's Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds--a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake. The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before. Erik Larson's gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both. To find out more about this book, go to http: //www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com. …More

The Hazards of Hunting a Duke By London, Julia 2006-05 - Pocket Star Books 9781416516156 Check Our Catalog From a "USA Today" bestselling author comes the first novel in a sexy, humorous new Regency-era trilogy about three aristocratic sisters who resort to desperate means to keep up appearances when they are left destitute by their stepfather. Original. …More

The Perils of Pursuing a Prince By London, Julia 2010-01 - Pocket Books 9781439187173 Check Our Catalog Desperate to avoid marriage to the first bidder, Lady Greer Fairchild journeys to the Welsh countryside in search of an inheritance supposedly controlled by Rhodrick Glendower, Earl of Radnor, a ruthless man rumored to be a murderer. …More

The Things That Need Doing: A Memoir By Manning, Sean 2010-12 - Broadway Books 9780307463241 Check Our Catalog An only child and a son of divorce, Manning left New York City to return to his childhood home in Ohio to be with his mother during her long battle with cancer and to pick up the pieces after her death. Ultimately, the experience led him to a profound sense of self-discovery. …More

Spirit Bound By Mead, Richelle 2010-05 - Razorbill 9781595142504 Check Our Catalog Although Dimitri has become an evil vampire, his true love Rose and her best friend Lissa are determined to find him and restore his soul. …More

The Dog Who Came in from the Cold: A Corduroy Mansions Novel By McCall Smith, Alexander 2011-06 - Pantheon Books 9780307379733 Check Our Catalog In the heartwarming and hilarious second installment in the Corduroy Mansions series, surprising canine hero, Pimlico terrier Freddie de la Hay--belonging to failed oenophile William French--has been recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring. HPL patron: What we have come to expect from McCall Smith: interesting people, interesting tensions between some of the people-and a varitety of concerns over everyday ethics. …More