It’s summer time, and that means it’s time to grab a good book
and hit the beach.
But with so many books out there, it’s hard to decide what to
read.
It’s summer time, and that means it’s time to grab a good book and hit the beach.
But with so many books out there, it’s hard to decide what to read.
Should you tackle a classic? “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy is in the top five on the New York Times bestseller list. Or should you try the latest hit? “The Da Vinci Code” is still No. 1 on the bestseller list. Fiction or non?
One good way to figure out what to read is to ask someone for a recommendation, and we asked area libraries what the top checked-out books have been lately.
So here’s what your neighbors are reading. Maybe among the titles below you’ll find something that appeals to you.
Happy reading!
Prices are for hardcover books.
Adult Fiction Titles
Empress Orchid,
by Anchee Min
Houghton Mifflin, $24
• A young woman who enters China’s Forbidden City as a minor concubine during the last days of the Ch’ing Dynasty rises to the position of empress, and with the death of her husband, must rule the country until her son is old enough to take over.
¡Caramba! A Tale Told in Turns of the Card
by Nina Marie Martinez
Alfred A. Knopf, $24.95
• Best friends Natalie and Consuelo take a road trip from California to Mexico to free Consuelo’s recently deceased father from Purgatory.
Holy Fools
by Joanne Harris
HarperCollins, $24.95
• The author of “Chocolat” spins a tale of deception and intrigue at a 17th century convent off the coast of Brittany.
The Bright Silver Star, by David Handler
St. Martin’s Minotaur, $24.95
• When a Hollywood heartthrob falls to his death in a sleepy Connecticut town, a state trooper suspects foul play and teams with a renowned movie critic to investigate.
Dating Dead Men, by Harley Jane Kozak
Doubleday, $22.95
• A Los Angeles greeting card artist is dating 40 men in 60 days for a radio program, “How to Avoid Getting Dumped All the Time,” when she stumbles over a dead body en route to the state mental hospital, and learns that getting dumped is the least of her problems.
Adult Nonfiction Titles
Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time
by David Edmonds and John Eidinow
Ecco, $24.95
• The two authors retell the famous story of the 1972 chess match between world champion Boris Spassky and challenger Bobby Fischer, delving deeper than others have been able to into Spassky’s side of the story.
So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading
by Sarah Nelson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $22.95
• Nelson, Glamour senior contributing editor, the New York Observer’s publishing columnist and a book reviewer, read one book a week and chronicled the experience, noting how the books we read intersect with our lives.
Children’s Fiction
All five Harry Potter books – The Sorcerer’s Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of The Phoenix
by J.K. Rowling
Scholastic, $19.95 to $29.99
• The young wizard’s adventures at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and battling evil Lord Voldemort remain a favorite among children. And adults.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
by Lemony Snicket
HarperCollins, $10.99
• This series of books detailing the lives of the woeful and miserable Baudelaire siblings grips children in its wretched claws and keeps them reading the extremely unpleasant books. If I were you, I would read something happy. You have been warned.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
Puffin, $15.95
• Dahl’s timeless tale of Charlie’s tour of Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory continues to delight children and Hollywood, which is preparing another film version of the story with Johnny Depp as the candy-making icon.
