Afterlives of the Saints: Stories from the Ends of Faith by Colin Dickey

In Afterlives of the Saints, Colin Dickey examines the lives and reputations of some the saints of the early Christian Church with the advantage of a 21^st century eye. Taking into consideration current science, history and art history, he delves into the hagiographies and legends of these holy people. Martyred by Romans, husbands or fathers; self-mutilated for the glory of God; experiencing visions; wrestling with demons: these are some of the fates suffered by the saints studied in this book. Why is Saint Barbara the patron saint of cannoneers and Saint Lawrence the patron saint of comedians? Why is Saint Anthony often associated with pigs? How did Saint Foy’s bones come to rest in a monastery far from where she died? Why is Saint George honored by both Christians and Muslims? These are just some of the questions respectfully and compassionately answered in this entertaining book.

Fun House by Chris Grabenstein

The seventh novel in the series featuring straight-arrow, Iraqi war veteran John Ceepak and his young, wise cracking partner Danny Boyle. Though some characters were introduced in the last book, readers do not need to read the prior books before this fun summer read. A reality TV show invades the New Jersey resort town of Seahaven. This book is a hilarious direct hit against reality TV shows and small town politics.  Fun House is a great way to end the beach reading season. Nothing but bleeping fun!

Stone Arabia by Diana Spiotta

Denise Kranis may be the only adult member of her family. Her daughter has moved from southern California to New York City to be part of the arts scene. Her elderly mother is beginning to slide into dementia. And her older brother Nik has never managed to grow out of the self-absorbed, garage band musician he became when his father gave him a guitar for his tenth birthday. A near success, a “no-hit wonder,” Nik has spent his entire adult life writing songs for his self-recorded albums, creating handmade covers and his own liner notes and reviews for them, and numbering, autographing and mailing them to his few fans. Additionally, he writes his Chronicles in which he obsessively documents his life and work, complete with fake facts, fake letters and fake literary quotes. Because Nik lives in this fantasy world, Denise must bear the burden of guiding her family through real life, leaving her few resources for her own problems: the debt she has incurred helping Nik, her sparse social life, her own failing memory, and an unnatural obsession with televised tragic BREAKING NEWS stories which involve shootings, kidnappings and rare diseases. Stone Arabia documents some common problems of modern life: fame (or lack of it), aging, illness, debt and disappointment. They may not be breaking news but they can be difficult and all-consuming for those dealing with them.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Harold Fry did not plan to make a pilgrimage when he first stepped out of his house to mail a letter to an old friend, but an actual pilgrimage (a journey for exalted or sentimental reasons) is exactly what his errand turned into. Harold is a mild-mannered, recently retired Englishman who has only ever walked to his car. He and his wife Maureen share a spotlessly clean home and loveless marriage. When Harold receives a letter from an old friend, Queenie, informing him she is in hospice care dying of cancer, he writes a simple letter of condolence. Mulling over his relationship with Queenie as he passes mailbox after mailbox, he finally decides he must see her and convinces himself she will not die as long as he continues to walk. So, without proper shoes or socks, without a change of clothes, without a map or compass, without his cell phone and without returning home to inform his wife of his plans, he sets out to walk five hundred miles to the hospice. At first he is exhilarated by nature and the physical act of walking. Later, bad weather and blisters and sore muscles turn his exhilaration into misery. Yet he persists. While he walks, he recalls his life in small disjointed bits and we come to understand his difficult relationships with his family and his devotion to his dying friend.  Meanwhile, the bewildered Maureen, receiving only an occasional phone call or postcard from her meandering husband, considers the state of her marriage. Will absence make the heart grow fonder, or will Harold’s pilgrimage be the last straw in the burden of regret and recrimination that has plagued their lives for twenty years? The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, long-listed for the prestigious 2012 Booker Prize, is a book for all who enjoy well-drawn characters and unexpected plot twists.

A Simple Murder: A Mystery by Eleanor Kuhns

In 1796 a traveling weaver, Will Rees discovers that his son, David, whom he has left in the care of his sister and her family has run away from home. His sister and her husband had mistreated David, and he sought shelter in a local Shaker community. Will tracks down David to the community and tries to reconcile with him. That night a young Shaker woman is shockingly murdered. Will served in the Continental Army and has investigative experience. On David’s recommendation the Shaker community requests that he stay and look into the murder. The atmosphere is haunting with historical details that bring this time period to life. A well written debut historical mystery that will keep readers completely engaged. A Simple Murder was the winner of the 2011 Mystery Writers/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Competition - check it out @the library!

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

In the days after the end of the second World War, life is full of promise for cousins Nick and Helena.  Spending the sun-soaked summers of their childhood together at their family summer home Tiger House in Martha's Vineyard, the two are closer than sisters.  After sharing a cramped apartment in New York for the duration of the war, Nick is on the Havana Special, headed south to Miami to be reunited with her beloved husband, Hughes, where they will start their lives together.  Helena is headed west to Hollywood, where she will marry Avery Lewis, a second chance for love and dreams come true after her first husband was killed in the war.

But Hughes is changed by the war, and Avery is not the man, or the husband, Helena thought he was.  Unable to escape their lives, secrets, lies, resentment and guilt lie just beneath the surface of seemingly perfect summers of tennis, sailing, sunbathing and glittering parties on the Island.  But when Nick's daughter Daisy and Helena's son Ed discover the body of a brutally murdered maid, the violent crime threatens to shatter the glass house of their lives that Nick and Helena so fiercely want to protect.

From the sun-bleached docks of post-war Florida to the hot August clay of tennis courts in the Vineyard, lovers of multi-generational family sagas like those of Penny Vincenzi, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Fern Michaels won't want to miss Tigers in Red Weather this summer!

I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson

Whether your teen-age heartthrob was Elvis, the Beatles or The New Kids on the Block, you will be able to identify with fourteen year old Petra Williams, a Welsh girl madly in love with David Cassidy.  Although her obsession with David complicates her relationship with her hypercritical mother who disdains all pop culture, it also helps her to claim a spot at the edge of a clique of popular girls. Plotting behind her mother’s back to enter the “Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz” contest and attend a David Cassidy concert in London, she is able to make friends, both true and superficial.

Twenty-five years later, Petra’s life is disintegrating. The day her mother died, her husband announced he was leaving her for a younger woman. While going through her mother’s possessions after the funeral, she finds a twenty-five year old notice from Worldwind Publishing informing her that she is the winner of the “Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz” and the grand prize of a trip to meet David Cassidy on the set of The Partridge Family.  Determined not to be cheated of the happiness she so longed for during her childhood, Petra tracks down the publishing company and claims her prize. The publisher, looking for a story and publicity, agrees to provide it by flying her to Las Vegas where Cassidy is performing.

Consequently, just as David Cassidy helped Petra survive her difficult teen years, she finds he can also help her navigate through adult problems.

I Think I Love You is a more than a trip down memory lane. It is also a study in how young women develop the personality and qualities that will later see them through the difficulties of adult life.