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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Water for Elephants By Gruen, Sara 2006-05 - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 9781565124998 Check Our Catalog Alex Award Winner - 2008 BookPage Notable Title A veterinary student during the Great Depression who almost earned his degree, Jacob Jankowski is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. There he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. …More

The Continental Op By Hammett, Dashiell Editor Marcus, Steven 1989-07 - Vintage Books USA 9780679722588 Check Our Catalog Short, thick-bodied, mulishly stubborn, and indifferent to pain, Dashiell Hammett's Continetal Op was the prototype for generations of tough-guy detectives. In these stories the Op unravels a murder with too many clues, looks for a girl with eyes the color of shadows on polished silver, and tangles with a crooked-eared gunman called the Whosis Kid. …More

Naughty by Nature By Hampton, Brenda 2006-04 - Black Pearl Books 9780977343836 Check Our Catalog Scorpio Valentino, a sexy-diva beauty-salon owner, is used to having her way with any and every man that she meets. She's a master at playing head-games and also possesses a curvaceous body that?ll have any man's tongue watering. But when one man (Jaylin) has finally been able to free himself from her grip and moves on, Scorpio just ain?t having it. She?ll try anything to get him back. Jaylin has moved to Florida after breaking-up with Scorpio when he learned that she's so grimey that she slept with his own cousin! Now he's got what he feels is the best life for him -- a successful financial career, a woman that's worthy of him and a good best-friend (Shane). Eventually, it's Scorpio's own behavior that leads to her staring down the barrel of a gun, wielded by the scorned-wife of one of the many men that she's been sexin?. Some women are greedy. Some women are sneaky. Some even think they?re Slick. But there's nothing like a woman that's Naughty-By-Nature! …More

Dead Witch Walking By Harrison, Kim 2008-04 - Eos 9780061567193 Check Our Catalog Fun, sassy, and filled with action, humor, and romance, "Dead Witch Walking" makes the perfect summer read for anyone who likes vampires, paranormal fantasy, romance, or just a great beach book. Original. …More

Pale Demon By Harrison, Kim 2011-02 - Harper Voyager 9780061138065 Check Our Catalog "New York Times"-bestselling author Harrison returns to the sexy, supernatural adventures of Rachel Morgan, in the ninth book of the Hollows. …More

A Moveable Feast By Hemingway, Ernest Preface by Hemingway, Ernest 1996-05 - Scribner Book Company 9780684824994 Check Our Catalog This vibrant portrait of Paris in the 1920s, published posthumously in 1964, is vintage Hemingway--evocative, self-mocking and frank. In an extraordinary chronicle of the sights, sounds, and tastes of Paris in a bygone era, Hemingway offers readers a view of his life and the people that populated his expatriate world--Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and other literary luminaries. …More

Secrets to the Grave By Hoag, Tami 2010-12 - Dutton Books 9780525951926 Check Our Catalog A #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author returns with her second thriller in the Deeper Than the Dead microseries, exploring the early days of forensic investigation, the characteristics of innocence--and the nature of evil. HPL patron: Very thrilling. …More

The Inheritance: And Other Stories By Hobb, Robin Author Lindholm, Megan 2011-05 - Harper Voyager 9780061561641 Check Our Catalog From "New York Times"-bestselling master storyteller Robin Hobb--a.k.a. MeganLindholm--comes a new collection of short stories. HPL patron: She hoped to share a bit of what went on in her mind and life in each story. …More

Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age By Jacoby, Susan 2011-02 - Pantheon Books 9780307377944 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title In a narrative that combines the intensely personal with social, economic, and historical analysis, Jacoby turns an unsparing eye on the marketers of longevity--pharmaceutical companies, lifestyle gurus, and scientific businessmen who suggest that there will soon be a "cure" for the "disease" of aging. …More

Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend By Jenkins, Mark Collins 2010-02 - National Geographic Society 9781426206078 Check Our Catalog Jenkins's history draws on scientific, anthropological, and archaeological research to explore the origins of vampire stories, providing gripping historic and folkloric context for the concept of immortal beings who defy death by feeding on the lifeblood of others. HPL patron: Awesome. I love anything on vampires. …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. HPL patron: Non-stop, exciting, nail-biting action. …More

Quinn By Johansen, Iris 2011-07 - St. Martin's Press 9780312651213 Check Our Catalog Johansen delivers her thrilling and revelatory follow-up to the "New York Times" bestseller "Eve," which delves deep into the life and psyche of forensic sculptor Eve Duncan's lover and soul mate, Joe Quinn. As a ruthless killer closes in, long-held secrets are gradually and shockingly revealed. …More

Bride by Command By Jones, Linda Winstead 2009-03 - Berkley 9780425228043 Check Our Catalog Disguised as a sentinel, the Emperor is shocked that his next bridal candidate isn't interested in becoming an Empress. Determined to teach her a lesson, the Emperor strikes a bargain with her stepfather, in the conclusion of the Emperor Brides series. Original. HPL patron: A good book. …More

Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children By Kellerman, Jonathan 1999-01 - Ballantine Books 9780345429391 Check Our Catalog In this book, author and child psychologist Jonathan Kellerman shines a penetrating light on antisocial youth - kids who kill without remorse - asserting that "psychopathic tendencies begin very early in life, as young as three, and they endure." Criticizing our quick impulse to blame violent movies or a "morally bankrupt" society, Kellerman convinces us that it is the kids themselves who need to be examined. How do children become cold-blooded killers? Kellerman warns that today's aggressive bully is tomorrow's Mafia don, cult leader, or genocidal dictator. Violently psychopathic youths possess an overriding need for power, control, and stimulation, and all display a complete lack of regard for the humanity of others. He examines the origins of psychopathy and the ever-shifting debate between nurture and nature, offering some controversial solutions to dealing with homicidal tendencies in children. HPL patron: Much easier to read than research-based journals. I am concerned the data may become outdated, so I hope Kellerman may revise this book in the future. Information is valuable to my career. …More

Devil May Cry By Kenyon, Sherrilyn 2008-04 - St. Martin's Press 9780312946869 Check Our Catalog "Sin, an ancient Sumerian god, was one of the most powerful among his pantheon--until the night Artemis robbed him of his godhood and left him one step from death..." For millennia, the ex-god turned Dark-Hunter Sin has sought to regain his powers and take revenge on Artemis. But now he has bigger fish--or in this case, demons--to fry. The lethal gallu that were buried by his pantheon are stirring, and they are hungry for human flesh. Their goal: To destroy mankind. Sin is the only one who can stop them...if a certain woman doesn't kill him first. Enemies have always made strange bedfellows, but never more so than when the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Now a man who only knows betrayal must trust the one person most likely to hand him to the demons. Artemis may have stolen his godhood, but this one has stolen his heart. The only question is: Will she keep it...or feed it to those who want him dead? "Brisk, ironic, sexy, and relentlessly imaginative."--"Boston"" Globe" "An engaging read."--"Entertainment Weekly" HPL patron: Have to readthe series or you'll be lost. Otherwise good. …More

Closing Time and Other Stories By Ketchum, Jack 2007-01 - Gauntlet Press 9781887368902 Check Our Catalog The newest short story collection from award-winning author Jack Ketchum, including his Stoker-award winning novella CLOSING TIME. Ketchum has published acclaimed novels such as RIGHT TO LIFE, LADIES NIGHT and THE GIRL NEXT DOOR. …More

Dead Center: A Marine Sniper's Two-Year Odyssey in the Vietnam War By Kugler, Ed 1999-05 - Ballantine Books 9780804118750 Check Our Catalog WHEN YOU'RE IN THE DEATH BUSINESS, EACH DAWN COULD BE YOUR LAST. Raw, straightforward, and powerful, Ed Kugler's account of his two years as a Marine scout-sniper in Vietnam vividly captures his experiences there--the good, the bad, and the ugly. After enlisting in the Marines at seventeen, then being wounded in Santo Domingo during the Dominican crisis, Kugler arrived in Vietnam in early 1966. As a new sniper with the 4th Marines, Kugler picked up bush skills while attached to 3d Force Recon Company, and then joined the grunts. To take advantage of that experience, he formed the Rogues, a five-sniper team that hunted in the Co Bi-Than Tan Valley for VC and NVA. His descriptions of long, tense waits, sudden deadly action, and NVA countersniper ambushes are fascinating. In DEAD CENTER, Kugler demonstrates the importance to a sniper of patience, marksmanship, bush skills, and guts--while underscoring exactly what a country demands of its youth when it sends them to war. …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

Bad Girls Don't By Linz, Cathie 2006-11 - Berkley Publishing Group 9780425212844 Check Our Catalog It took less than two seconds for Sheriff Nathan Thornton to peg sexy Sky Wright as trouble. Whatever the reason, the woman was belly-dancing her way into his thoughts. Now, if only she'd belly-dance into his bedroom. Original. HPL patron: Great book, great author, great SERIES! …More

Ghost of a Chance By Marsh, Kate Author MacAlister, Katie 2008-02 - Obsidian Mysteries 9780451223241 Check Our Catalog There are other worlds with mysteries to solve--worlds where not all of the suspects are technically alive. Thats where Karma Marx comes in. Shes an exorcist who cleans haunted houses. However, her latest case becomes a bit troublesome, in this first novel of an all-new paranormal mystery series. Original. HPL patron: Interesting plot, great story, interesting view on things. …More

A Girl's Guide to Vampires By MacAlister, Katie 2010-12 - Avon Books 9780062019301 Check Our Catalog Armed with only a bag of rune stones and her wicked sense of humor, an American woman untangles the threads connecting a serial killer, vampires, and the handsome man who may not be as he appears. …More

The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires By MacAlister, Katie 2007-04 - Signet Book 9780451220851 Check Our Catalog The bestselling author of "Even Vampires Get the Blues" delivers a diabolical tale of a vampire who's sexy as hell, and the woman who can satisfy his newfound hunger and possibly save his soul. Original. HPL patron: Amazing! Love the series and the author. …More

Solomon's Oak By Mapson, Jo-Ann 2010-10 - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC 9781608193301 Check Our Catalog In Mapson's deeply felt, wise, and gritty new novel, three broken souls, who have suffered losses that change their lives forever, find in each other an expected comfort, the bond of friendship, and a second chance to see the miracles of everyday life. HPL patron: Writes about family and how the roots we put down are the ones that ultimately hold us together. …More