June to October Reads 2009

The Good Thief/ Hannah Tinti -- LOVED THIS! Hope it becomes a movie.



The Air We Breathe/ Andrea Barrett
Dewey/ Vicki Myron
All for Love/Amanda Elyot
To Siberia/Per Petterson
The Girl with No Shadow/Joanne Harris
The Reader/Bernhard Schlink
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet/Jamie Ford
The Last Time We Met/Anita Shreve
Things Fall Apart/Chinua Achebe (Naples Book Club)
Embassy Falls/Richard Russo (Naples Book Club)
The Reliable Wife/Robert Goolrick
The Writing on My Forehead/Nafisa Haji
The Year of Wonders/Geraldine Brooks (Naples Book Club)
My Stroke of Insight/Jill Bolte Taylor
Scent of Sake/Joyce Zebra
The Commitments/Roddy Doyle (Naples Book Club)
The Art of Racing in the Rain/ Garth Stein
Street Fighters/Kate Kelly
The Book of Night Women/ Marlon James
Cutting for Stone/ Abraham Verghese
Provenance/Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo
The Night Birds/Thomas Maltman
South of Broad/Pat Conroy
The Outliers/Malcom Gladwell
The Blue Notebook/James A. Levine
Right of Thirst/Frank Huyler
The Clothes on Their Backs/Linda Grant
These is my Words/Nancy E. Turner

April and May Reads

The German Bride/ Joanna Hershon - interesting novel of frontier Santa Fe and cultural realities for women
A Mercy/Toni Morrison - this novel engages all your senses
Comfort Food/Kate Jacobs - quick, fun, read - take it to the beach
Shopping for Porcupine/Seth Kastner - couldn't put it down! nonfiction, conservation, wonder, photos supporting the narrative, family, community, READ IT
Digging to America/ Anne Tyler - two families, friendship, adoption, introspection
The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard/Erin McGraw - memorable, difficult early decision weaves its way toward a resolution that comes from character development, great book for book club discussion

Click on book titles to link to online reviews.

Well, she's done it!

Well, she's done it! Ella Gilman Conger has published her first novel for young teen girls.
Indian Summer, set in rural Aroostook County, Maine, during the 1930's, tells the story of a half Native American teen girl coming to terms with her identity. This is a charming story not only of a young girl on the cusp of independence, but of depression era rural Maine. The author captures those times with memories of annual potato harvests, schoolyard bullies, spiritual searches, social and racial class differences, and county fairs. It is an enduring story of family bonds and personal growth. For Mainers from the "County", it is a wonderful trip down memory lane.

Click on the title to read a sample - search for Indian Summer by Ella Gilman Conger.

Also, a children's story, Caty's Shoes, written by Ella and illustrated by her grandson, Nolan, will be available soon. Look for it in May.

March Reads

Twelve Mighty Orphans/John Dent
North Texas in the 30's and a David and Goliath story of the Masonic Orphanage football team - fascinating.
I'll Never Be French/Mark Greenside,
Thinking about visiting a small town in France? Fun little book to read filled with local characters and anecdotes of small town life.
Eden's Outcasts/John Matteson
This is a Pulitzer Prize winner account of early 1800's New England centered around the family life of Louisa May Alcott. Her father had a long life with many ups and downs that impacted the family. They were lifelong vegetarians and the family members were friends and neighbors of Thoreau, Emerson, and many other similars.
The Brenner Assignment/Patrick O'Donnell
A real-life spy story of a daring plan to block the Nazi's escape from Italy.

(Click on book title for online review)

February Reads

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society/Mary Ann Shaffer
Audition/Barbara Walters
Call Me Ted/Ted Turner

(Click on book title for online review)

January 09 Reads

James Tiptree, Jr/The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon/Julie Phillips
The Senator's Wife/ Sue Miller