Christine Breen's debut novel is a charming love story about recovery from loss and the acceptance of new possibilities. It is the story of Iris Breen and her adopted daughter Rose - flowers and music flow through this story - and the men they meet. Set in Ireland with lovely descriptions of the land and the gardens, it deals with very old losses and much newer ones. If the story is a bit heavy on coincidence and love at first sight, it is still a quite lovely tale.

I was totally captivated by Amy Sheibe's A Fireproof Home for the Bride which - unlike the romantic image the title presents - is the story of a young woman raised in the 1950s in a severely religious home by a mother that substituted rigid rules for the love she couldn't provide. As Emmy Nelson reaches adulthood she realizes that the life that her mother has planned for her is not a life she wants. As she struggles to become independent, she stumbles across information about her family that is devastating. On a larger scale, this is a book about the difficulty created when people are forced into molds they don't fit. While this is a book I would certainly put in the fiction category, there is enough suspense to attract mystery and thriller fans. Highly recommended.

This book appears to be confirming the old principle "no matter where you go YOU are always there". Ann is a successful lawyer who doesn't want to be one but is supporting her husband Richard who longs to be a celebrity chef but needs his unscrupulous friend as a front man. When that friend brings everything down around their heads, Ann and Richard flee to an isolated atoll in Tahiti where a French artist has done a Gauguin-like escape and is drunkenly managing an exclusive eco-tourist resort. There they meet a somewhat washed up rock and roll star and his current young girl friend. All of them apparently looking for something - possibly themselves. Adding to the plot is a local couple who are actually doing the work at the resort although Cooked dreams of avenging the damages done to his people with the atomic testing. There is a lot of good - and occasionally funny - stuff in this book as everyone struggles with attempting to disconnect from the world and is constantly dragged back into electronic contact but for at least the first half they just keep making such bad decisions that I found it frustrating.

Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof is a delightful, gentle story about second chances. The main character Tom Putnam is a college professor married to a woman with serious psychological and emotional problems. But Tom married her 23 years ago and he has spent those years taking care of her. The overwhelming description of Tom is that he is kind - kind to his wife, to his blow-hard friend, to his mother-in-law who moved in to help take care of her daughter. When everything begins to fall apart, it is his kindness that finally rescues him and the people he cares about. This book reminds me of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - both great favorites of mine. And - if some of the characters seem a bit too good to be true, I 'm OK with that.

Through the Evil Days is the 8th book in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series and, unlike some series that get a bit tired, this one just continues to accelerate. Set in the apocryphal Appalachian town of Miller's Kill, it follows the lives of Clare - an Episcopal priest - and Russ - the Chief of police - and the people around them. This one finds both Clare and Russ facing personal challenges while they attempt to deal with a complicated case facing the local police force. Because the plot begins on the first page and just builds from there, it isn't possible to discuss it without interjecting spoilers. However I can tell you that this is one of those books that grab you and make you ignore the rest of the world until you have finished it. My only caveat is that I think this series benefits greatly from being read sequentially. So if it is new to you, you should begin reading now so you'll be ready for this one when it publishes in November. Start with In the Bleak Midwinter.

Wilton Barnhardt has written a book that is both hilariously funny and exceptionally intelligent. Jerene Jarvis Johnston is the quintessential Southern bell - charm on the outside and steel to the core. The story of her family - her husband who was supposed to be an important politician, her brother who was once a promising literary writer now churning out potboilers on the Civil War and their four children whom she drags unwillingly through her image of southern aristocracy - is both a scathing send up of modern life and a frantic attempt to hold on to a past that has disappeared and perhaps never existed. As the scandals pile on and the secrets of the past emerge, her determination to hold the path becomes rather courageous. A wonderful read - especially for those, like me, who are particularly fond of southern storytellers.

In The Good House Ann Leary has created an appealing although seriously flawed character who will have you rooting for her even as you are appalled by her behavior. Set in a upscale north shore Massachusetts town with it's townies and its wealthy newcomers and Hildy Good as the realtor who knows all the secrets, this book provides a realistic and often amusing look at a changing community. Hildy's lack of self knowledge and self delusion is only outweighed by her assurance that she can really read people. I read this in a single sitting - hoping that Hildy would finally get her act together.

The Innocents is a lovely debut novel set in a Jewish community in London that explores the choices we make and the cost of those choices. Told from the point of view of Adam, who believes he has everything he ever wanted until he sees possibilities that he never knew were there. It shows us his totally supportive family and community as he realizes that the other side of comfort and love is constraint and confinement. He must decide what kind of man he chooses to be. Written with a light touch of humor, this is a delightful book - highly recommended.

In A land More Kind than Home, Wiley Cash tells the story of a church community in the mountains of North Carolina in the grip of a self-styled pastor who appears to fancy himself a god. The story is told through the voices of three people - an old woman from the church, the sheriff who is outside the community of the church that covers its windows with old newspapers to keep people from seeing what is happening inside, and a 9 year old boy whose family is the most affected by the religious fanatic. The writing is exceptional; the descriptions evocative of time and place; the voices pitch perfect. From the first sentences, this was a book I couldn't put down. It is an amazing first novel.

Kevin Fox uses the story of the Corrigan family to explore the "troubles" in Ireland, the mysticism of Celtic stories, the links between the past and the present and the promise of enduring love. Told in alternate chapters between the past and the present, it follows Sean as he returns to Ireland to learn the truth about an uncle that he never knew he had and who may have been a murderer and a terrorist or simply an innocent victim.

Dorothea Benton Frank has written a light hearted romance in Folly Beach that is a love letter to the Carolina low country and a historical look at a 1920s-1930s artistic renaissance in that area. The story is centered around DuBose Heyward, the author of Porgy and his wife Dorothy who might have been more instrumental than history would indicate in bringing George Gershwin’s opera to life. Scenes from the play about their life together alternate with the modern story of the woman who comes to live in their former house when her life collapses around her and is swept up in the magic that is the Carolina low country.

Lucy Parks Hamilton is a suburban stay at home Mom with a 3 year old son and a husband who is saving the world one tree at a time. But when she was Sally Sin, she was an agent for the U.S. Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction - saving the world by eliminating one terrorist at a time. In her novel "Original Sin" - with a plot straight from a comedic action film- Beth McMullen has written a perfect page turner beach book as Sally - or Lucy - tries to keep the fall out from her old life from destroying her new one.

At the beginning of the 19th century, what we now think of as scientific pursuits were the purview of talented and often wealthy amateurs. Scientist was not a word, there was no money to support research, and the concept of a scientific method was unknown. Four visionary Cambridge students, Richard Jones, Charles Babbage, William Whewell and John Herschel were determined to change this and, amazingly through their work and their influence on the work of those who followed them, managed to do so. In telling their story, Laura J. Snyder also tells the story of the Victorian age - politically and socially as well as providing (often in excruciating detail) information on their varied work.

Because they were generalists rather than specialists, the subjects range from poetry to code breaking to astronomy to tide mapping to economic theory and more. William Whewell, as an example, is described as a “mathematician - mineralogist - architectural historian - linguist - classicist - physicist - geologist - historian - philosopher - theologian - mountainclimbing - poet”. In explaining the scope of the influence of these men, Snyder covers the work of pretty much everyone they knew - who, it appears, was everyone remotely involved in scientific research during their lifetime and beyond. This book will be a real historical treat for members of the scientific community and for those of us less familiar with the subject, it is an engaging primer.

Amy Chua begins her book on the value of Chinese parenting with a list of what her children were never allowed to do - including watch TV or play computer games, have a playdate, or not play the piano or violin. And it includes such parenting tactics as telling her young daughter "If the next time's not PERFECT, I'm going to TAKE ALL YOUR STUFFED ANIMALS AND BURN THEM!." While she seems convinced that Chinese children are ultimately grateful for this kind of parenting, her description of the relationship with her younger daughter doesn't bear this out. While this is an interesting look at a different culture (and they do say this will be the century of the Chinese), I think most American parents will find it more disturbing than prescriptive. But there are a lot of really wonderful Chinese musicians and mathematicians.

Scott Spencer has created two interesting characters - a carpenter who seems pulled from a slower and gentler time and his partner - a woman who has discovered sobriety and Jesus, and is making a career of it. He then looks at what happens to them and to the people they touch when the man does the unthinkable. Will he get away with it? Will he be able to live with himself if he does? What will it do to the people he loves? Is he still the man he thought he was? This would be an excellent discussion book.

Lots of mysteries seem based on William Faulkner's quote and the latest from Nancy Pickard is another story where things that happened years before have come back to haunt everyone involved. Twenty three years ago when she was three, Jody Linder's father was murdered and her mother disappeared. Her family - the richest and most powerful in town - helped to convict a drunken ne'er-do-well of the murder and he was sent to a maximum security prison for 60 years. Jody, raised by her grandparents and extended family, has come back to teach at the local high school when she learns that the conviction was overturned and the man she has hated for years will be given a new trial.

Nancy Pickard has created a wonderful sense of place in this book, set in Kansas in ranch country and, in the Linders and in Billy Crosby (the convicted killer) and his family has developed believable characters.

She has also created an interesting discussion of what happens in a small town when a single family has such power. Is that power alone enough to corrupt others in the town.

I really enjoyed this book, as I have many of Nancy Pickard's, and would recommend it. And while she plays fair and I was pretty sure of the outline of what happened, she managed to surprise me.

Inspired by a WPA project that produced books about each state and dedicated to the proposition that although the country is being increasingly homogenized the states still retain unique characteristics, this book consists of 50 essays by 50 exceptional writers – one per state. Unlike the WPA books, these are not travelogues but widely varied responses to each state based on the experience of the writer. Each state essay is preceded by a page of the state statistics that you had to learn in the 5th grade with a section of more esoteric statistics at the back. They also include a photo for each state chosen by the writer – Maine is the most surprising.

The writers grew up in their state and never left, grew up in their state and couldn’t wait to leave, came to the state as adults or – in a few cases – seem to be just idly passing through. The formats of the essays are eclectic including a graphic essay and an interview with “the state.” Some are very poignant and some are quite humorous. John Hodgman (you know him best as PC in the Apple ads) uses his sly wit to send up the Bay Staters who remain convinced that Massachusetts – or at least Boston – is truly the hub of the universe. Dave Eggers writes a very American style love letter to Illinois (we’re #1) stressing it’s most important residents – Lincoln and Oprah. Some of the essays cover the entire state. Others concentrate on a specific area. They may deal with state politics, state history, resident temperaments, the author’s specific experience or the beauty of the environment. Most of the environmental ones often also mourn the loss of much of that beauty.

This is a collection well worth reading – put it on your night stand and dip into a state or two a night. You will learn a lot about the country and at the very least, it will improve your Jeopardy scores.

Kamila Shamsie has written an incredible book in Burnt Shadows. Beginning just before the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and leaving you (I didn't feel that it ended because this is a book that stays with you) in the aftermath of 9-11, she explores the world through the relationships of two intertwined families. The book looks at what brings us together and what separates us in nationality, family relationships, and religion and it explores how languages effect the way we think and understand each other. But primarily this is a great read, beautifully written with wonderfully developed complex characters and a marvelous understanding of the randomness of life and the unintended consequences of our actions. It is a book you won't want to put down once you begin it and it would be a fabulous book discussion choice.

I saw a quote once that said “Anyone who says you only have one life to live hasn’t learned to read.” Sweet Mandarin, a memoir by Helen Tse, shows just how far a book can take you into another life. Sweet Mandarin is the name of the restaurant Helen Tse and her two sisters opened in Manchester, England in 2004. It is one of a series of food related businesses her family owned, beginning with her grandfather’s soy sauce business and continuing through restaurants and take-aways owned by her grandmother and her parents. Her story following the importance of food to her family is billed as being about three generations of Chinese women. While it does talk about Helen’s life and that of her mother, this is really her grandmother Lily’s story. Born in a tiny primitive village in China to a family with no surviving sons and six daughters in a country where women have no status – legal or otherwise, Lily is determined not only to survive but to change and improve her life and the lives of her children. Demonstrating incredible courage and determination, she makes frighteningly difficult – sometimes heartbreaking - decisions to make sure that happens. The story of her life in China and in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation during WWII is riveting. The cultural shock suffered when Lily comes to England brought to mind Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club. I found this an easy to read fascinating look at a very different and very difficult life.

Using the resistance plans the British put in place during WWII, author Owen Sheers has imagined a world in which they were necessary, telling the story of a tiny farming community in Wales. The writing is wonderful, places and people drawn in such honesty and beauty that you sense they are with you. The story of people coping with a world they did not create and cannot control, reminded me of The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. Don't miss this one.