From Entertainment Weekly July 1, 2011

It shouldn't surprise anyone that, when I get my new issue of Entertainment Weekly, I go directly to the 'book' section. And today had a couple of interesting surprises. Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews, which I just read and liked, has debuted at #7 on the Publishers Weekly, week of June 15-21, 2011, Fiction Top Ten list.

 The next item to attract my attention was Mark Adams' Turn Right at Machu Picchu, about the ancient city built high in the Peruvian Andes. It turns out that this is the 100th anniversary of its 'discovery' by the Yale professor who became the prototype for Indiana Jones. EW gave the book a B+ but as a kid who seriously considered archeology as a career and was the 5th grade expert on the Incas, I am definitely reading this.

Finally I was fascinated by the featured review of Once Upon a River by Michigan author Bonnie Jo Campbell. A resident of Kalamazoo, she tells the story of a young woman's journey in such a unique way that the reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, ""Fact is Campbell is a bard, a full-throated singer whose melodies are odes to farms and water and livestock and fishing rods and rifles, and to hardworking folks who know the value of life as well as the randomness of life's troubles."

Summer Rental (2011)

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I suspected that Summer Rental would be a great 'beach read' and it was. It's not great literature but it delivers. You don't want this book to end. You feel like you know the thirty-something Ellis, Julia, and Dorie, friends since Catholic grade school.

Having decided to rent a house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend some real time together, it turns out each friend is at a turning point. Add the mysterious Ty Bazemore, who lives over the garage, and the elusive Maryn, who is on the run but won't say why and you've got more than enough intrigue to keep your attention.

Mary Kay Andrews writes well. I don't usually read or appreciate 'chic lit' but this is an exception. Her characters are appealing and her descriptions are fine. I predict that everyone who reads this book will be dreaming of the chance to visit the beach with friends!

A little bit mystery, a little bit romance, and a lot about friendship, Summer Rental is a worthy read.



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Decisions, Decisions

I've had to make a very difficult decision. I finally got Erik Larson's In the Garden of the Beasts from my local library but wasn't able to start reading it until today. Because it is due in just a couple of days, I tried to renew it but that didn't work since it has other readers waiting. And on top of that, my ARC (advanced reading copy) of Louise Penny's new Inspector Gamache book arrived in the mail today. Then there's Elizabeth Kostovo's The Swan Thieves sitting by my reading chair as well. There was no other solution but to plan to return In the Garden of the Beasts on time and request it again.

And Speaking of Shelving . . .

Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio designed this bookshelf-lined house in Osaka for a collector of books on Islamic history, designing a structure where books could line every surface. Read more by clicking HERE.

What in the world are Book Wraps?

Check out more information on this interesting design for keeping your books upright! Click HERE.

Choosing the Next Book

Guilt often seems to figure into my next choice of book. By that standard, however, I should have finished Pops long ago. Pops is a great book. There's just so much else I've promised myself I would read. And now the last book added to my list jumps to first place.

It's a long, sordid story, but I managed to snag an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) - but not the one I was angling for. I wanted Louise Penny's new mystery Trick of Light (not due out until the end of August), instead I got Mary Kay Andrew's Summer Rental went on sale yesterday. I think the publisher was trying to get rid of a few ARCs still on hand or I probably wouldn't have qualified. I haven't read any of the author's other works but just a couple of pages into the story, I am happy.

Three friends since grade school and now in their thirties take a beach house in North Carolina for a month to see where the future may lead them. Definitely a beach read for the summer!

Quiet Strength (2007)

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tony Dungy is from Jackson, Michigan where I live. The Dungy family name is well known and respected in the community. So when the book came out I added it to my reading list and forgot about it. Then a couple of weeks ago, I spotted a copy on the used book table at the library and bought it.

When I discovered that his strength comes from his strong religious beliefs, I decided that perhaps I wouldn't bother to read it. But then, I thought, I'll just read a little bit. It only took me a couple of days to finish the whole book. I do not come from the same place as Tony Dungy, but I was moved to tears several times but his enormous faith and his true adherence to it. This is a man of incredible stature and constancy. A role model for us all in the way he conducts his life.

Although football is what Tony Dungy does, it is not who he is. Along the way, I gained some insight not only into how his guidance could apply to my life but how much more interesting football is as a sport when you know a little about it. I plan to share the book with my daughter who lives in a family of New York Giant fans.




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Started Early, Took My Dog

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book by Kate Atkinson featuring Jackson Brodie is always a treat. The writing is clever but not forced. Here's an excerpt that caught my fancy:

"He considered, and rejected, the idea of playing a mindless game on his phone and was eventually driven to look for a Gideon Bible in the bedside drawers, but when he found one he realized he wasn't that desperate yet. A yellow Post-it note fluttered out of the Bible. In pencil, someone had written, "The Treasure here is you." Jackson stuck the Post-it note on his forehead and died of boredom."

There are lots of characters to follow in this intricately plotted story with the narrative jumping from present to past and back again (but then that's typical Atkinson). If you pay attention, you'll have a sense of what's happening. And I suppose you could read these titles out of sequence but I get great delight from recognizing allusions to earlier characters and situations.

If you find the title unusual, like I did, you are probably not as familiar with Emily Dickinson's poetry as you thought. Check the whole poem out HERE. If that illuminates the story for you, please share your insights with me.

And there are strands that are not answered at the end. I can only deduce that this foreshadows a future book. But isn't that like life?



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