Gretchen recommends" Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs"

Heather Lende has been called “part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott.”  This memoir, her second book, chronicles family, friendships, and faith in small-town Alaska as the subtitle explains.  Lende’s plain-spoken narrative reflects on her nearly fatal bicycle collision and her subsequent recovery, cheered on by the whole community in Haines, Alaska where she lives.   At midlife, she writes unflinchingly about the deep sadness of losing those close to you and the simple joys of living each day with her family and neighbors in the tiny Alaskan town reached only by plane or boat.  Her vivid writing brings the reader to idyllic Haines and its fascinating residents, but her observations on the human condition are universal, wherever you live.  This memoir is suitable for adults.

Jamie recommends the Sookie Stackhouse series

Are you looking for a little light reading this summer?  The Sookie Stackhouse series of books by Charlaine Harris might be the ones for you!  These novels revolve around telepath Sookie Stackhouse and her adventures (or misadventures) with the local vampires, werewolves and fairies in her hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana.  Each book has a central mystery that is solved by the end.  These supernatural mysteries are quick, guilty pleasure reading for the long, hot summer. Start now and you'll be caught up in time for the release of the final novel in the series next year.  Better yet, once you've finished the books you can check out the True Blood DVDs and see how the novels were adapted for television.

Recommended for adults.

Beth recommends "Alpha"

Planning on visiting an amusement park this summer?  May I suggest:  Wilsonville, marvelously brought to life in Greg Rucka’s thriller Alpha.  Along with exciting rides and fantasy lands and adorable characters in costume you will also find a sleeper agent from a terrorist organization, a former Special Ops soldier planted undercover because intelligence predicts an attack, supporting casts on both sides, and a visiting class of deaf students.  Just to heighten the tension – one of those deaf teens is the daughter of the soldier.  The plot is as adrenaline-pumping, pulse-pounding as any roller coaster, and the characters are people you can care about.  I highly recommend Alpha to fans of Lee Child.  And if you jump off this ride ready for another, consider an older title by Lincoln Child (of the Preston-Child writing team)– Utopia – another theme park under threat, packed with thrills and chills.  Summer reading for me doesn’t get much better than this. 

Recommended for adults and teens.

Jamie recommends "The Hunger Games" series

Surely by now you've heard about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  The first book, printed in 2008, has been a favorite in the young adult world for years, but it was never something I felt compelled to read.  The story of a futuristic society in which each of the 12 districts of North America sends a boy and girl into a gladiator dome of survival wasn't something I thought I would enjoy...until I decided to read it.  The Hunger Games and it's sequels is the story of a Big Brother government bent on dominating its citizens not only for survival, but also entertainment.  Katniss, the 16-year-old heroine of the books, is a resourceful survivor and you can't help but root for her to get everything she wants in life, even if she isn't sure what she wants should she survive the games.  Peeta, the other tribute from District 12, is someone you also want to root for and sure enough you find yourself pitted in the struggle with them against the government of Panem.

At their core these books about war and the toll it takes on individuals and society as a whole.  They are a quick read simply because you find yourself compelled to get to the end to find out what happens to these characters.  Although the main characters are teenagers, these books are also great, easy reads for adults who are so inclined.  If you decide to jump into the Hunger Games series just prepare yourself for a haunting journey with these characters. As a bonus, the movie was great and a very close adaptation to the book.

Phoebe "Witches of East End"

Phoebe recommends Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

Known for her very popular teen chick lit/paranormal romance series “Blue Bloods”, Witches is the author’s first ‘adult’ novel.  This book has created a somewhat original mythology combining witches practicing white magic with those wonderful tales from Norse creation myth including their own gods, spirits and creatures (whom you really rarely read of in popular fiction.)  The novel is set in a misty half-forgotten town on Long Island where everyone else is ‘normal,” yet the Beauchamp women seem to have lived there forever.  The second part of the Beauchamp Witches series is due out in June 2012 and I have already done a saved search for when it arrives.  What fun!

Recommended for adults and teens.

Matt recommends "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

In December 1994, three scientists happened upon a cave in southern France that had been sealed by a rock slide tens of thousands of years earlier. Further exploration yielded an astonishing discovery: the oldest known cave paintings in the world, magnificently preserved in the sealed environment, and dating back some 30,000 years.

The cave was immediately shut off from visitors by the French government in order to preserve the integrity of the site, which also contains a multitude of animal bones (including the skulls of extinct cave bears). Entrance is currently reserved for a select few anthropologists, art historians, archaeologists, and, for a few days anyway, a documentary film crew.

Legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog was granted unprecedented access to Chauvet Cave a few years ago to make Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a wondrous film that allows us, too, to have an up-close view of the astonishing paintings of bears, lions, horses, mammoths, rhinos, and even the hand prints of some of the Stone Age artists. (The scientists can trace the movement of one individual artist through the cave because of his irregularly-shaped pinkie finger.)

Herzog himself is more of an artist than a strict documentarian. While there’s a good deal of information in the film, it’s most valuable as an opportunity to just see the paintings (the camera lingers on them for minutes at a time), to experience the mystery of their origins, and to ruminate on the connections between those ancient people, who made some of the earliest art we know, and ourselves.

Colette recommends "Cell 8"

Colette recommends CELL 8 by Anders Roslund & Bőrge Hellstrőm

I was expecting another excellent and original Scandinavian thriller, instead I found a novel of tough political themes.  CELL 8 is an originally plotted novel where the investigation jumps in time and location (Sweden/Ohio, USA).  The issue focuses on the most controversial subject in the modern criminal justice system:  the death penalty.  A 17 year old is placed on death row in Ohio for the murder of his younger girlfriend…years later a musical entertainer on a Swedish cruise boat is arrested for assault.  CELL 8 is difficult to put down and challenges you to think about concepts of revenge, public justice, private retribution, hate, clandestine politics and the application of state sponsored execution.

Highly recommended for adults.