Some Recommendations from One of Our Summer Readers

Hello,

Gene Burgess, our friend and patron here at the West Warwick Public Library, has agreed to share her summer reading list with us. We welcome everyone to do the same. The more titles that we can get on this blog, the easier it will make it for someone the next time they need to find a great book to read!

Here are Gene's recommendations based on her summer reading list:

READ:

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde

The Biography of Frank Lloyd Wright

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

The Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

SKIP

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski

Thanks Gene! We look forward to hearing about more of the summer reading adventures of our patrons!

Tara Road by Maeve Binchy

Review: Ria, the insecure meets and becomes involved with charming Danny Lynch. After discovering that Ria is pregnant, they marry and purchase a big run down house, Danny becomes involved with Barney McCarthy, a well know business tycoon in Dublin who treats him like a son. But Barney's life is full of deception which Ria soon learns when she is offered a job at Barney's lovers dress shop. Marriage seems to make Ria bloom and her time is spent making the house a beautiful comfortable home which is always filled with the noise of family and friends and the smells of Ria's cooking, but not enough time alone with Danny who has risen to the ranks along with Barney in the real estate world.
It is not until Danny tells her that he is leaving her for his young pregnant girlfriend, that Ria realizes her life may change and she tries to find ways to bring Danny back.
An unexpected phone call from Marilyn, a woman in Connecticut who both her and Danny met years ago, gives her the opportunity to exchange homes for the summer and give her the courage to sort out the crisis in her live that is threatening to destroy her. For Marilyn, who only wants to be alone, the exchange bring many new friends into her life and she is able to sort out and bring solutions to their problems and her own.
The story is filled with deception, not only from a wayward husband but from friends and family as well. Too often we cannot see through the veneer of others when their lives become entangle with ours. It is also the story of unexpected friendships and above all hope. Of picking up ones live and going on despite making change and great sacrifices.
A thoroughly enchanting and thought provoking novel.

Joan Boucher

Fall On Your Knees by Anne-Marie MacDonald

Review: This is the saga of the Piper family of Cape Breton Island. The saga begins in 1898 when James Piper, an eighteen year old piano tuner falls in love and elopes with Materia, a twelve year old Lebanese girl. Hearing of their daughter’s marriage her wealthy family immediately disowned her and she becomes isolated from society until she meets Mrs. Luvovitz, who takes the child bride under her wings and teaches her what it means to be a wife and mother and gives her the comfort and love she so desperately seeks.
Like most family sagas the characters evolve around one another. Kathleen, the oldest, is beautiful with a singing voice to match. Mercedes, is the compassionate one who tries to keep the family from falling apart. Frances, the disobedient one and finally gentle, quiet Lily. The four sisters are all at the mercy of their father James a deeply flawed individual who is responsible for most of the horrific happenings that wrecked his family. The story jumps between the present and past, Canada and Harlem,so it can be confusing at times. It is full of passion, incest, fantasies and horror and it is only at the end that the mystery is revealed.
I found the story interesting but had parts that just dragged along and other parts had fantasy written all over them.

Submitted by Joan Boucher

The Child Thief by Brom

Review: The story of Peter Pan has been rewritten. Peter is now a violent, sinister, sociopath out to do whatever is necessary to save his magical world from being totally destroyed. The basic original story is still evident, but because of the use of descriptive language and violent battles this is not a bedtime tale for the children. Brom has created his own version of Peter and his own version of Neverland.
submitted by Lorna Hill

After All These Years by Susan Isaacs

Review: How would you like to wake up after your very lavish twenty fifth wedding anniversary and be told by your husband that he is leaving you for someone more beautiful and sophisticated? Well, that’s not all Rosie Meyers had to endure. Late one night she awakens after hearing a noise downstairs in her house. She goes to investigate only to find her Ex on the kitchen floor with a knife protruding from his chest. Rosie made the mistake of trying to remove the knife to see if her Ex, Richie was still alive. This act plus the fact that she is the only one at home at the time of the murder makes her Sergeant Gevinski’s only suspect. Rosie leaves her home town and goes on the lam into Manhattan where she starts putting clues together to prove her innocence. Rosie is only an English teacher, but she is resourceful and with the help of some people that were close to her solves the case.

The story portrays Sergeant Gevinski as a very narrow minded detective who couldn’t seem to set his mind on exploring other clues as to who would have motive for the murder. Rosie, herself is a delightful witty character who shows great strength and goes to any length to prove her innocence.

Another good summer read. No concentration necessary. Let the story take you where it may for you know that most of it is very unrealistic.

submitted by Joan Boucher

Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

Review: Four widows meet in Ann Marie Roche’s bookstore on Valentine’s Day. One of them suggests the idea of making a “wish” list of things they secretly wanted to accomplish but never did. Their list gives them hope and changes their lives in many unexpected ways. Each of them discover that dreams can come true.
A very enjoyable and heartwarming story ideal for summer reading.

Written by Joan Boucher

The West Warwick Public Library’s Adult Reference Department is introducing a Book Review contest for Summer 2010!

Our Adult Summer Reading Program theme is “Water Your Mind: READ”. We are asking our readers to submit book reviews for our blog here and each book review will be tossed into a random drawing. At the end of the summer reading program in late August, we will have a drawing and prize awarded to the lucky reader and book reviewer!

You will be able to post all of your book reviews on our blog. Please submit your name with each book review so that we can enter you in our drawing.

All of you who are interested in submitting a book review, please post your book review comment(s) below. For book review examples, please scroll down to the next post.

We look forward to receiving your book reviews!

Note: If you are having any trouble commenting below, please feel free to email us your questions at ref@wwlibrary.org or give us a call at 401-828-3750 ext. 4. We are here to help!

Summer Reading Contest Samples

Here are a few book review samples to help you when you’re writing your own book reviews for our Summer Reading contest. You can write as little as three sentences or as many as you’d like.

Sample #1:

Book Title: The Kite Runner

Book Author: You can write Khaled Hosseini or Hosseini, Khaled

Review: It is so good, I cried! A lot. Both from the beautiful writing and the line “for you, a thousand times over” I cried. Everyone should read this book (instead of seeing the movie, even though that is probably good too) In this country, we’re given such a bleak image all the time of Afghanistan…and this book really brings life and hope and color to that image. Plus, it’s such an artful tale of friendship and weakness turning into strength–sigh. Read it now! Best book since The Time Traveler’s Wife. Hands down.

Sample #2:

Title: Moby Dick

Author: Herman Melville

Review: So, what really is the point of Moby Dick? Is it about obsession? The things that drive each of us in our ambitions, whether they be wealth, hate, prejudice or love? Is it a deconstruction of Puritan culture in colonial America? Is it a Joseph Campbell-esque heroic tale? Is it a good ol’ yarn of men against the sea? Is it all of these things?

Perhaps.

Is it a colossal bore?

Decidedly.

Sample #3

Title: The Lovely Bones

Author: Sebold, Alice

Review: I enjoyed this story of a murdered 14 year old girl who is able to observe her family and other living people after her death. The book is told from her point of view, most of it taking place after her death. This is primarily the story of a family and how each member relates with each other and the world, including how this girl’s death and life has affected them; that was the aspect of the story I found fascinating and most of it rang true. It was a sad book and the girl’s dying experience was horribly upsetting, but I didn’t find it a depressing book at all, even though it was poignant as the dead girl narrator is the only one who knows what happened to her; parts of the book were even funny and parts suspenseful.