Summer Reading

Welcome to Summer Reading 2011!  At the end of 6 weeks we had 365 people signed up. This week, 16 new people participated and 58 people read 137 books, which brings the totals for the summer to 154 people and 792 books.

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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. HPL patron: Before I Die was very inspirational in  the way that a young girl is determined to fulfill every experience and goal that she can, knowing she doesn't have long to live.  The fearless sixteen-year-old goes to great lengths to fall in love, and leave a legacy that will go on to inspire friends and family.  …More

The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined All Women By Douglas, Susan Author Michaels, Meredith 2004-02 - Free Press 9780743259996 Check Our Catalog Just as "The Feminine Mystique" got women out of the home, this book reveals the ground lost to an insidious movement that uses an idealized concept of motherhood to guilt women back into the cave. HPL patron: a surprisingly entertaining book about how the media's obsession with celebrity moms and all the debate over what makes a "good" mom vs. a "bad" mom undermines the progress women have made.  I would recommend this book to everyone, feminist or not, male or female. …More

Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Rig By Dreher, Rod 2006-02 - Crown Forum 9781400050642 Check Our Catalog The former "National Review" writer who coined the phrase "Crunchy Conservatism" offers up a manifesto for the large but unheralded group of right-of-center Americans who reject much of Republican orthodoxy and are seeking a purer form of conservatism. HPL patron: This book promoted itself as a promising alternative to the Glenn Beck Conservatism that has hijacked the Republican Party in the last few decades, but disappointed with the author's emphasis on fundamentalist religion and some pretty backward views  on women's role in the family and the country. …More

A Stolen Life: A Memoir By Dugard, Jaycee 2011-07 - Simon & Schuster 9781451629187 Check Our Catalog Dugard recounts, in her own words, her story of being kidnapped on June 10, 1991. She was 11 years old. …More

Huck: The Remarkable True Story of How One Lost Puppy Taught a Family--And a Whole Town--About Hope and Happy Endings By Elder, Janet 2010-09 - Broadway Books 9780767931342 Check Our Catalog ""Huck" is the "Dewey" of the canine world. The dog is a delight--even my cat Norton would have been charmed (after a hiss or two)--and the book itself is lovely and inspiring. I rate it five barks."--Peter Gethers, author of "The Cat Who Went to Paris" HPL patron: A true story of a red toy poodle that came to live within a family in New York.  It is about his escape fromthe people takingcare of him when  the family was on vacation.  It sounds  simple,  but it isn't-when you start reading  it you won't be able to put it down.  It has to do with people caring about people. …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. HPL patron: Another hit in the Stephanie Plum story!  The  exploding taxidermy animals is hysterical! …More

Plum Lovin' By Evanovich, Janet 2007-01 - St. Martin's Press 9780312306342 Check Our Catalog Love is in the air in Trenton, New Jersey, in the latest Stephanie Plum novel by #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Evanovich. It's a new year for Stephanie, Lula, and the gang--and Connie Rosolli has a secret admirer. Or does she? Connie is receiving both love and hate letters. Could they be from the same person, or does she have two stalkers? Stephanie is determined to find out. HPL patron: The book was good, but it was a little off without Ranger and Joe in the book very much.  A few great laugh out loud moments, tho! …More

The White Devil By Evans, Justin 2011-05 - Harper 9780061728273 Check Our Catalog An American teenage boy with a dark past is sent abroad to Harrow, the famous British boarding school, and finds himself fighting to save his own life by solving a 200-year-old literary mystery and freeing a ghost of its bonds. …More

Refresh Your Home: 500 Simple Projects & Tips to Save Money, Update, & Renovate By Family Handyman 2011-01 - Reader's Digest Association 9781606522011 Check Our Catalog HPL patron: This is a very well-written book and very informative.  Although I don't plan on any home repairs, this book gave me a fewgood tips on saving on my car insurance. …More

The Pastor's Wife: The True Story of a Minister and the Shocking Death That Divided a Family By Fanning, Diane 2008-11 - St. Martin's Press 9780312949297 Check Our Catalog A HOUSE OF WORSHIP When Pastor Matthew Winkler was found dead at his Fourth Street Church of Christ parsonage in Selmer, Tennessee, both police investigators and parishioners were shaken and mystified: How could evil strike this cradle of faith? Meanwhile, Mrs. Winkler and her three daughters were still missing... A FAMILY SHROUDED IN SIN A frantic search for Mary Winkler and the girls ensued. Once they were found, on a beach in Alabama, Mary was charged with murdering her husband in cold blood. But why did Mary pull the trigger? What sexual and psychological abuses did she allege she had suffered? A CASE THAT SHOCKED THE NATION In the months that followed, the crime--and the Winkler's marriage--would be exposed by the national media; Mary herself even appeared on "Oprah." Set in a world of domineering men, obedient wives, and unshakable faith, this is the true story about what happened to Matthew Winkler and "THE PASTOR'S WIFE" * With 8 pages of alarming photographs * …More

Gingerbread Cookie Murder By Fluke, Joanne Author Levine, Laura Author Meier, Leslie 2010-10 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9780758234957 Check Our Catalog No mystery fan can resist a treat this delicious, as "New York Times"-bestselling author Fluke teams up with cozy favorites Laura Levine and Leslie Meier for a merry collection of holiday stories featuring gingerbread cookies--and murder. HPL patron: Hanah Svenson is back in the kitchen baking up delicious cookies and more-and discovers another dead body.  Follow the delicious aromas and follow as she discovers the "ingredients" of murder. …More

A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home By Foose, Martha Hall 2011-04 - Clarkson N Potter Publishers 9780307464286 Check Our Catalog In the highly anticipated follow-up to her James Beard Award-winning, bestselling "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea," Foose continues her conversation with readers, sharing recipes and stories from even closer to home. …More

When You Dare By Foster, Lori 2011-04 - Harlequin Books 9780373775712 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title A "New York Times"- and "USA TODAY"-bestselling author delivers the first smoldering tale in a brand-new series featuring men who walk the edge of honor. Original. …More

One Million Arrows: Raising Your Children to Change the World By Ferwerda, Julie 2009-09 - Winepress Publishing 9781606150115 Check Our Catalog "One Million Arrows is a great wake-up call for parents of this generation. If we want our children to take part in the powerful purpose and unique mission God has designed for them, we've got to take responsibility for raising our kids as disciples of Christ." - Josh McDowell, Author and Speaker Is the world going to change your children...or are your children going to change the world? Right here, right now, God is calling your family to join a mighty movement - one that bridges age, social status, cultures, nationalities, and languages. If you're ready to help your kids live out God's dreams... If you need inspiration for what's possible through your family... If you want your family to go down in His-tory... Accept the mission...and leave a mark for eternity. All proceeds from this book are designated for international orphan ministries. …More

What Are You?: Voices of Mixed-Race Young People By Gaskins, Pearl Fuyo Editor Fuyo Gaskins, Pearl 1999-06 - Henry Holt & Company 9780805059687 Check Our Catalog CCBC Choices - 2000 In the past three decades, the number of interracial marriages in the United States has increased by more than 800 percent. Now over four million children and teenagers do not identify themselves as being just one race or another. Here is a book that allows these young people to speak in their own voices about their own lives. What Are You?is based on the interviews the author has made over the past two years with mixed-race young people around the country. These fresh voices explore issues and topics such as dating, families, and the double prejudice and double insight that come from being "mixed, but not mixed- up." …More

The Silent Girl By Gerritsen, Tess 2011-07 - Ballantine Books 9780345515506 Check Our Catalog Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli is already at the crime scene when medical examiner Maura Isles arrives on the Chinatown rooftop. A savage killer has left behind a grisly spectacle, and the sick feeling in Rizzoli's gut says they're on the trail of a twisted predator. After a monkey hair is found on the body, other clues point Rizzoli and Isles in the direction of the fable of the Monkey King. HPL patron: Outstanding mystery with great characters.  Couldn't put it down. …More

A Great Deliverance By George, Elizabeth A. 2009-01 - Thorndike Press 9781410412232 Check Our Catalog George's acclaimed debut novel introduces Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley and his partner Havers who are assigned to a murder in Keldale, where the detectives uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley--and in their own lives as well. HPL patron: I like her characters and plots but get irritated when I encounter unexplained acronyms, London locations, literary allusions, and obscure vocabulary.  I'd like to see her write a novel set in her home at Huntington Beach, CA instead of London sometime. …More

A Reliable Wife By Goolrick, Robert 2009-03 - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 9781565125964 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title In rural Wisconsin in 1909, Ralph Truitt stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. …More

Ghost Walk By Graham, Heather 2005-10 - Mira Books 9780778322184 Check Our Catalog New Orleans haunted-tour manager Nikki DuMonde claims to have seen her newest employee Andy in her bedroom at the exact time Andy was apparently murdered. No one believes her except Brent Blackhawk, a half-Irish, half-Lakota paranormal investigator who realizes that Nikki must listen to the dead if she wants to keep on living. Original. …More

Haunted By Graham, Heather 2003-09 - Mira Books 9781551667508 Check Our Catalog After his guests and staff complain of a ghostly presence in the Colonial manor Melody House, owner Matt Stone hires paranormal investigator Darcy Tremayne to explore the house. But Darcy soon unveils more than a tormented ghost. Original. …More

The Confession By Grisham, John 2010-10 - Doubleday Books 9780385528047 Check Our Catalog Grisham delivers his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. Filled with his trademark intriguing twists and turns, this newest novel proves that no one keeps readers in suspense like America's favorite storyteller. HPL patron: Realistic story; full of suspense.  Sad thing-this plot happensevery day and there are not enough people who are brave enough to say "NO!" …More

Hunger By Grant, Michael 2009-05 - Harper Teen 9780061449062 Check Our Catalog In the second action-packed story about the creation of society in a world without adults, food is running out for those trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ. Soon, tension rises between those with powers and those without--and when an unspeakable tragedy occurs, chaos erupts. …More

Lies: A Gone Novel By Grant, Michael 2010-05 - Katherine Tegen Books 9780061449093 Check Our Catalog It's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness--or so they thought. As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free? …More