Beach reads are synonymous with this series . . . Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels

Looking to get lost into a fun and delicious beach read even though its no longer beach season? Check out Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. Starting with One for the Money, the series has nineteen books, so you are guaranteed never to get bored! Stephanie Plum is a lingerie buyer living in Trenton, New Jersey, her hometown. When she is laid off, she asks her cousin Vinnie for a job as a bounty hunter for his bail bonds business. It starts out harmless enough, but Stephanie gets herself into one sticky situation after another. Luckily, she has her on and off again cop boyfriend Joe Morelli, and the mysterious, and more professional, bounty hunger who goes by the name of Ranger to help Stephanie out of her jams. Not only does Evanovich keep readers' suspense, she also makes them laugh out loud. Stephanie has a well-meaning, gun toting Grandma, and a loud-mouth ex-hooker and sometimes partner in action, Lula. The twentieth book in the series, Between the Plums, comes out on September 29. If it's entertainment that you're looking for, Evanovich and Stephanie Plum fit the bill perfectly!

[Photo: fantasticfiction.co.uk]

Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals

We all learned about integration in Little Rock's Central High School at some point in our history classes. The facts that we learned were probably: nine Black teenagers were chosen to integrate Central High in 1957, following the infamous 1954 case of Brown vs. The Board of Education. We also learned that Arkansas' governor, Orval Faubus, did everything in his power to stop the Little Rock Nine. And while we know that these nine students had a tough job to do, we definitely didn't know how tough when we sat in class talking about the minute details we did know. Everyone should read Melba Pattillo Beals' Warriors Don't Cry for the sole reason that it is such an important part of American history. Taken from her own diary, Beals tells the story of how she became chosen to integrate Central High and the aftermath of that decision. All of the harrowing details make it hard to believe we didn't spend more time in class discussing it. Against the backdrop of violence and hatred, Beals shows typical teenage activities: going to dances and parties, listening to music, shopping for new clothes, which makes her story all the more poignant. It also makes you grateful that we live in such a wonderful country . . . that even though a whole community was against integration, there were still a small number, at great personal risk, willing to help the Little Rock Nine succeed in their endeavor.

[Photo: www.betterworldbooks.com]

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

For some odd reason, when I started reading this book I thought it was about modeling. The tag line on the cover is, "In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is ugly." Hence, modeling. I was pleased to find that Scott Westerfeld's Uglies is a new take on Brave New World, in a teenager's perspective. It asks some deeper questions than most young adult literature and introduces a heroine worth admiring. Tally Youngblood is three months away from turning sixteen, which in her world, means a series of intense operations that make an adolescent "pretty." The newly changed pretties get to live in New Pretty Town, across the river, and go to great parties, wear beautiful clothes, and bask in their new gorgeousness. Tally is still an "ugly" when the novel begins, which is basically what this society calls an adolescent. Before becoming an ugly, one is just a littlie. The society has placed everyone in categories based on looks. They claims that by making everyone pretty, everyone is on a level playing field, therefore solving all of the world's problems in one fell swoop (wars, violence, waste, unemployment, etc). The thought of becoming pretty consumes Tally's every waking moment until she makes a new friend, Shay. Shay is unsure about turning pretty, and has heard about people who run away and just stay "ugly" their whole lives. Right before their sixteenth birthdays, Shay decides to run away to "The Smoke." The authorities force Tally to make an extremely hard decision: tell on Shay or not get the "pretty operations." The path Tally goes down will change her life irrevocably. You'll have to read to find out what she ultimately decides! This is the first of the dystopian series by Scott Westerfeld, so I will definitely pick up Pretties, Specials and Extras soon!

[Photo: www.jacketsandcovers.com]

Tuesday - Great Books = Great Gifts

Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette

Have a friend or family member who recently got engaged? Looking for a great engagement or shower gift? Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette: The Definitive Guide to Your Wedding Experience does not disappoint. Being a bride can carry huge responsibility, and this book will help brides remember to be gracious and kind . . . and not a bridezilla! Not only does it have every section imaginable, but she also answers some tricky questions like how best to deal with uncooperative in-laws or lazy wedding party members with nothing but tact. It's also updated to help out trickier situations like destination weddings or reception only affairs. It answers what role each person plays: bride, groom, maid of honor/best man, wedding party, family of the bride, family of the groom . . . and gives gentle reminders like when to send thank you notes and tip vendors. I bought quite a few wedding books when I was planning our wedding, and this one by far is the best.

[Photo: www.bestcelebrant.com]

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I'm sure some of you have already seen the movie Coraline, based on Neil Gaiman's book of the same name. If you haven't, you need to! It's a beautifully creepy film with an interesting moral dilemma.
The Graveyard Book is Gaiman's latest "children's novel," although adults will enjoy it just as much as their younger counterparts. It centers around a young boy named Nobody Owens, or "Bod" for short. Bod's entire family is grisly murdered at the start of the book, when Bod is only a baby. Bod crawls to the graveyard, and its inhabitants become his protectors. He has ghost parents, Mr. and Mrs. Owens, and a mysterious but loving guardian named Silas. Both Bod and the reader are unsure as to which world Silas belongs to - the living or the dead.
The "man named Jack" (think Jack the Ripper, Jack of all Trades, Jack be Nimble) is after Bod, the same man who murdered his family so many years ago. Bod is given some amazing gifts from the graveyards residents in order to protect himself when he leaves to attend school. He can disappear, enter other people's dreams . . . and these gifts will come in handy when the man named Jack returns. It's a delightful and spooky tale, and anyone who ponders what life is like on the other side will enjoy Gaiman's ideas on the subject.

[Photo: www.neilgaiman.com]

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

You all know how excited I was to read Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife. Being number 88 in the holds queue was no picnic, so I was even more ecstatic when I got the email notifying that it was available to pick up and I had time to read it before classes started up again. When I arrived to pick it up, I was even more delighted that it was a brand new copy. A brand new book is bliss for all bookworms, barefoot or not. How about that alliteration?

So when I settled into see what this book was really all about, I was immediately hooked into the amazing love story between Henry DeTamble, a time traveler, and Clare Abshire, a normal girl whose childhood is marked by several visits from Henry. Their love is unconventional to say the least, but very powerfully rooted in destiny. Of course, my job is not to tell you what happens. I will tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but when I was approaching the end, my opinion started to change. I felt like the end of the book was extremely anti-climatic and kind of left a sour taste in my mouth.
For those of you that have already read it, I would love for you to post your opinions! When I talked to a friend about it last night, she stated that she was "probably the only person she knows that liked it." It's a beautifully written book, and Niffenegger connects the different time travels masterfully, but after reading I felt just as jaded as Clare when she realizes her life will never be what she thought it would be.

[Photo: www.jacketsandcovers.com]

The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares

Squeaky swings and tall grass
The longest shadows ever cast
The water's warm and children swim
And we frolicked about in our summer skin

I don't recall a single care
Just greenery and humid air
Then Labor Day came and went
And we shed what was left of our summer skin

On the night you left I came over
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders
Our brand new coats so flushed and pink
And I knew your heart I couldn't win
Cause the season change was a conduit
And we left our love in our summer skin

"Summer Skin" -- Death Cab for Cutie

If you read only ONE book that I have reviewed . . . let it be this one. It's rare that I listen to music while I read . . . it's even rarer that while I read a book a specific song comes to mind. Anyone ever experience this? It seems to make the words on the page that much stronger. Ann Brashares, of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series fame, has written an amazing debut adult novel. The Last Summer (of You & Me) immediately made me think of Death Cab for Cutie's "Summer Skin." If you aren't familiar with the sound of the song, listen to it here at Amazon.

Last Summer is the perfect novel to read after Labor Day when we seem to miss summer already. It's a powerful story of two sisters, Riley and Alice, and their summers spent on Fire Island with their next door neighbor Paul. Riley and Paul are best friends; Alice and Paul are secretly, violently in love with each other. They all struggle with these changing feelings . . . and Alice has to make a staggering decision right as the summer ends. Brashares explores these different relationships with raw emotion but gorgeous words. You'll devour each chapter, each turn in plot so masterfully crafted that you will be unable to do anything but read on. I'll warn you, you'll stay up all night to find out what happens to Riley, Alice and Paul when their summer skins fade into the rest of the year.

[Photo: www.amazon.com]

Tuesday - Great Books = Great Gifts

Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, and of course, Surfing by Laird Hamilton

A perfect gift not just for surfers, but for anyone in your life that is into being one with the world. Laird Hamilton is exactly what his title suggests: a Force of Nature. He's been called the world's greatest big wave surfer, and he just happens to be married to Gabrielle Reese. This gorgeous hard bound book is 250 pages of beautiful photographs and everything that Laird believes life is all about. Broken into the four sections: Mind, Body, Soul and Surfing, Laird waxes poetic on goal setting, his grocery list, his heroes, his physical training . . . and my favorite, going barefoot.

I bought this book for my husband and while he was reading parts aloud, we both marveled at Laird's dedication. My husband, after getting halfway through, stopped and asked, "But who has the time?" We both were in laughing fits when he turned to the very next page and the header was: "There's no such thing as not enough time."

Laird has thought of everything, and the end result is a refreshing way to look at life. And some lofty goals that lead you contemplating their attainment long after you are done reading.

[Photo: gearpatrol.com]