AUBURN – The Auburn Public Library unveils its third annual summer reading list. The suggestions from the staff and friends of the library make for great summer reading at the beach, the pool, the back yard or curled up in a cozy chair.
Steve Bouchard, APL staff, suggests “Shutter Island” by Dennis Lehane. When U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is called to investigate a disappearance on an island-bound hospital for the criminally insane, he finds himself swept into a dangerous world where nothing is as it seems.
He also recommends “A Year in the Maine Woods” by Bernd Heinrich. A well-known naturalist observes the changing seasons from a cabin he built in the mountains of western Maine.
Wendy Brault, APL volunteer, suggests “The Tall Woman” by Wilma Dykeman. Strong-willed Lydia McQueen grows up and comes of age against the backdrop of the Civil War, which divides and haunts her family for years to come.
Xueying Chen, APL teen council, suggests “Things Not Seen” by Andrew Clements. “This book, about what it’s like to feel invisible, has a very original plot that kept me interested all the way through.” Also “Vanishing” by Bruce Brooks. “This short, inspirational novel about two hospital roommates explores the will of the human mind against the challenges of family, disease and death.”
Jim Clark, APL friends group, suggests “The Bunker” by James P. O’Donnell. “This very good book about the last days of Adolf Hitler depicts what a mad man Hitler was and how he blundered in countermanding his generals.” Also, “The Indian How Book” by Arthur C. Parker. “This classic describes why and how American Indians did a variety of things in their daily lives, from making clothes to blazing trails to taming animals.”
Mona Ervin, APL board, suggests “Lickety-Split” by Kathy Hogan Trocheck. “When an Alzheimer’s victim is suspected of murder, retired AP reporter Truman Licklighter’s nose for news propels him to investigate. With a sleazy evangelist, the mob and dog racing all figuring into the plot, this is a great ‘brainless’ summer read.”
Dorothy Gatchell, APL volunteer, suggests “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd. “This is a storytelling gem about an abused white girl who finds solace and a safe haven with a wonderful nurturing family of black ladies who raise bees.” Also, “Embers” by Sandar Marai. “This novel takes place during one long evening in a secluded woodland castle where two elderly men dine lavishly and relive their long friendship, which had come to a sudden and inexplicable end 41 years before.”
Sally Holt, APL staff, suggests “Monster” by Walter Dean Myers. “In this young adult novel, Steve Harmon is on trial for being the lookout during a drug-related robbery in which the store owner was shot and killed. So is he responsible or not?” Also, “Flipped” by Wendelin Van Draanen. “In what only appears to be a slight, silly novel, Bruce Loski develops a crush on Julie Baker just as her crush on him disappears. Or does it?”
Also, “Shipwrecked: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy.” “This is the fact-based story of a Japanese boy who in the 1800s helped open the way for others to enter Japan, a country that had long been closed to the rest of the world.”
Barbara Kerr, APL volunteer, suggests “Running with Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs. “I read this fascinating book – about a psychiatrist who takes a boy into his off-the-wall household – in one afternoon.” Also, “Roman” by Roman Polanski. “This is a timely book about the director’s youth amidst abject poverty and how he rose above it.”
Ann Look, APL staff, suggests “Birthright” by Nora Roberts. “Working a dig in Antietam Creek, archaeologist Callie Dunbrook uncovers a secret from her own past. This book has a little of everything – suspense, mystery and romance. A real page turner!”
Sylvie Martin, APL staff, suggests “Dead Aim” by Iris Johansen. “When a celebrated photojournalist uncovers a conspiracy that will stun the nation, her only hope for survival rests in a bodyguard with a shady past.” Also, “Human Sacrifice” by James P. Moore. “Moore argues that police and prosecutors concealed evidence to convict an innocent man of a high-profile 1989 Maine murder.”
Pam Riley Osborn, APL staff, suggests “Ship Fever” and “Servants of the Map” by Andrea Barrett. “With a background in the history of science, Barrett gives us factual fictions, all fascinating, some devastating. Reading these two books in order, we see her short fictions coalesce into a whole, thrilling genealogy.”
Carol Seward, APL friends group, suggests “A Thousand Days in Venice” by Marlena De Blasi. “This is a wonderful true story of sudden love between two middle-aged people – she, an American chef, he, an Italian bank manager. Her adventures with Venice’s shopkeepers, bureaucrats and clergy are quite comical.”
Beth Sheppard, APL board, suggests “Good Poems,” a collection of short poems selected by Garrison Keillor and featured on his morning radio show, “The Writer’s Almanac.” Also, “The Hours” by Michael Cunningham, a novelistic take on Virginia Woolf’s life that was recently adapted as a feature film.
Also, “I Don’t Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother” by Allison Pearson, a rich comic novel about the trials of a star hedge fund manager scrambling to raise two young children.
Bethel Shields, APL board, suggests “Folly” by Laurie King. “This fun read, which centers around a widow who moves to the San Juan Islands alone to build her home, has a little romance, a little intrigue and a few surprises. I listened to it on tape and it was read by one of my favorites, Frank Muller.”
Richard Trafton, APL board, suggests “Theodore Rex” by Edmund Morris. “This nonfiction account of Teddy Roosevelt’s two terms as president is delightfully personalized with the anecdotes of many people around him.”
Lyon Virostko, APL volunteer, suggests “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. “Many book stores are already shelving these in the ‘classic literature’ section, and the recent movies have made them fresh again for young and old readers alike.”
Rosemary Waltos, APL director, suggests “The Sixteen Pleasures” by Robert Hellenga. “This novel about a young volunteer who travels to Italy to help save priceless art from rising waters explores the meaning of art and love.” Also, “Tending to Virginia” by Jill McCorkle. “This is an enduring story about three generations of southern women who gather together in times of need and find themselves turning old family truths inside out.”
Also, “The Master Butchers Singing Club” by Louise Erdrich. “This novel intricately weaves plots and characters to tell a complex story about love and redemption in small town America.”
Jane Weed, APL staff, suggests “Blessings” by Anna Quindlen. “This is a heartwarming, not quite sentimental story of a crabby matriarch, her groundskeeper and the found baby they care for together.” Also, “The Lost Garden” by Helen Humpheys. “A horticulturist hired to supervise a crew of landgirls on a neglected country estate in World War II England finds friendship and love in the process.”
Rick Whiting, APL board, suggests “Reaching for Glory: Lyndon Johnson’s Secret White House Tapes, 1964-65,” edited by Michael Beschloss. “This is an outstanding compilation of conversations that were tape recorded in the Oval Office. For a one-paragraph summary of the Vietnam War, see page 427.”
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