One of the best writers around today is Michael Chabon. I really enjoyed "Wonder Boys" and "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay", so when I heard about "Moonglow" I was very excited.

"Moonglow" is written as a memoir, with Chabon telling the story of his grandfather's last days during which he told Chabon much about his life (which he had not previously shared.) Chabon's grandather (who is not named) lived a very interesting life, which included serving in World War II. His wife (Chabon's grandmother) fled Europe after the war with her daughter in tow. Throughout their marriage they dealt with many difficult things. It is hard to describe more than that without giving away the plot. Suffice it to say, the book is very well written and very interesting.

If you like Chabon's other books you'll like this one. You'll also like it if you like historical fiction, especially set from World War II on, or if you like books with lots of characters.

Books about books, libraries, or bookstores always interest me, so I just had to read The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George.

The story starts out in Paris. Jean Perdu runs a bookstore on a converted barge on the Seine. He calls himself a literary apothecary because he can tell, after asking a few questions, just the book that a person needs at that point in their life. Unfortunately, he can not do the same for himself. We learn that he had a great love, Manon, who suddenly left him one day. She left a note, but fearing what it would say he never read it and then shut himself off from any other relationship.

One day, a new woman moves into his apartment building. Her husband decided he needed a newer model, so she is bereft. The landlady asks M. Perdu to loan Catherine some furniture. In order to do so, he must open up the room he'd blocked off when Manon left. He gives a table to Catherine, but has to leave it outside her door. He eventually meets her and they hit it off. Catherine finds the letter that Manon left (she doesn't read it) and gives it to M. Perdu. He finally reads it and discovers it is not at all what he thought.

While on his boat/store shortly afterwards he decides to set sail to the south of France. A moody first novelist, who is working on a second book after a huge hit with the first, joins him. Together they take a journey of discovery.

I liked this book because they story was told slowly and gently. The characters were very interesting and you get to care about them. Sometimes the word choice was a bit odd, but it was translated from German, so it may be a translation issue. I would recommend this to people who like character driven books, books set in France, or books about personal discovery.

I've read other books by Anita Shreve, so I don't know how I missed Body Surfing.

Shreve has written a series of books that all take place in the same house on the New Hampshire coast. Body Surfing takes place in the present, while the other books were all set in the past.

The book is about Sydney, 29 years old, divorced once and widowed once. She is not sure where she is going with her life, so she takes a job of tutoring a high school junior, Julie, during the summer. Julie's family owns a seaside house in New Hampshire where they summer. Her brothers, Ben and Jeff, are grown, but visit their parents often. Sydney realizes that Julie is not a stellar student, and struggles with getting her ready to take the SAT's until she finds out that Julie is very artistic.

When Sydney meets Jeff and Ben they seem to have some rivalry between them, but there is more going on. Jeff sweeps her off her feet and Ben pulls away.

The book is an interesting examination of a family with some issues. Sydney's presence affects the family in different ways.