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2016 Summer Reads
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The Swans of Fifth Avenue : a novel
by Melanie Benjamin
Benjamin brings New York society of the 1950’s and 60’s to life with this fictionalized account of the friendships between Truman Capote and his “swans,” Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela Churchill. Believing he’s a loyal friend, they forget he’s a writer and give him full access to their secrets and scandals. When he exposes all in La Cote Basque 1965, Capote is unable to accept the consequences of his betrayal.
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The readers of Broken Wheel recommend
by Katarina Bivald
Translated from the Swedish, Bivald introduces us to Sara, a woman who travels from Sweden to Broken Wheel, Iowa to meet her pen pal, Amy. The two women have bonded through a love of reading. Sara arrives on the day of Amy’s funeral, and learns that the townspeople expect her to stay in Amy’s home just as Amy planned. Sara has nowhere else to go and, with nothing else to do, she opens a bookstore using Amy’s library of books as stock. The people of Broken Wheel are as quirky as Sara, and she fits right in.
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Redemption road
by John Hart
There are plenty of secrets and unexpected twists in Hart’s new novel of suspense. A serial killer, a cop under investigation, a former cop just released from prison, and two damaged children come together to uncover secrets, betrayals by family and friends, and corruption at a high level.
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Ordinary grace : a novel
by William Kent Krueger
In this stand – alone novel from the author of the Cork O’Connor mystery series, an adult Frank Drum recalls the summer of 1961 in New Bremen, Minnesota, when he was 14. He and his younger brother are enjoying their summer vacation when people start dying, and Frank sees the underbelly of the town. Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel gives us engaging characters and an unexpected plot twist.
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Prayers the Devil Answers
by Sharyn McCrumb
When Ellendor Robbins’ husband, Albert, dies of pneumonia, she’s left with two young sons to support. It’s 1936 and there aren’t many jobs available for a widow in a small mountain town in Tennessee. Ellie talks the county commissioners into allowing her to serve out Albert’s term as sheriff. They agree – she needs the money, and the job is mostly paperwork. Then Lonnie Vardon murders his wife, and Tennessee’s first lady sheriff may become her first lady executioner. McCrumb brings the people, place, and time to life in this compelling novel.
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Journey to Munich
by Jacqueline Winspear
It’s 1938, and Maisie Dobbs has returned to London where she’s recruited by the British Secret Service to bring home an English businessman from Nazi Germany. At the same time, John Otterbourne asks her to locate his wayward daughter in Munich, and bring her back to England. Since Maisie holds both Otterbournes responsible for the death of her husband in an experimental aircraft, the situation is complicated. There is plenty of tension as Maisie travels to Munich, the seat of Nazi power, and confronts Nazi officers and Otterbourne’s spoiled brat of a daughter.
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When breath becomes air
by Paul Kalanithi
Before he died at age 37, Kalanithi penned this memoir, focusing on some deep questions: what makes life worth living? How do you go on when there is no future? Readers of Anne Lamott should consider this one.
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Valiant ambition : George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the fate of the American Revolution
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Philbrick brings the reader a new look at Revolutionary War America. The country is filled with sunshine patriots willing to let others do their fighting and chicken-hawk generals who grab the glory while running from battle. There are two leaders, George Washington and Benedict Arnold. The men share personality traits, good and bad, and both suffer indignities from the Continental Congress. The difference comes when Washington grows into his position and puts his pride aside for the good of the country while Arnold is consumed by it. Did America need Arnold’s betrayal as much as it needed Washington’s greatness to succeed as a nation?
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The Romanovs : 1613-1918
by Simon Sebag Montefiore
If you have a lot of time on your hands this summer, this one is a great choice at 700+ pages. It’s all true, and it reads like a novel. The power, the decadence, and the number of political and family conspiracies Montefiore shows us are almost unimaginable. Lovers of Game of Thrones should enjoy this history.
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