WNYMoms.com

2012 Summer Beach Reads

Good Housekeeping's 2012 List

The Chaperone
By Laura Moriarty
It's 1922, and "It Girl" Louise Brooks (reimagined at 15) plans to take Manhattan by storm. Her chaperone, Cora, has her own reason for quitting Wichita. Will oil and water mix in the Big Apple?

The Orphan Master
By Jean Zimmerman
A female trader in 17th-century Dutch New York City joins a British spy in her search for a man — or monster — stealing local children. A thriller, love story, and costume drama in one.

Little Night
By Luanne Rice
Years ago, coming to the aid of her sister got Clare banished from her family. Now Clare's niece steps into the breach, hoping to bring about reconciliation. A classic Rice page-turner.

The Hypnotist's Love Story
By Liane Moriarty
As a therapist, Ellen is less freaked out than intrigued to discover that her new boyfriend's ex is a stalker. A fresh spin on grappling with misplaced passion.

Crossing the Borders of Time
By Leslie Maitland
Schindler's List meets Casablanca in this tale of a daughter's epic search for her mother's prewar beau — 50 years later.

The Uninvited Guests
By Sadie Jones
A train wreck sends survivors ringing the doorbell at an English manor. Set in 1912, Jones's latest proves to be more than a comedy of manners.

The Newlyweds
By Nell Freudenberger
George woos Amina online, then brings her home to wed. Now for the hard part: making a marriage from a romance based on false advertising.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
By Anna Quindlen
A beloved writer's rueful insights into a generation that's "still figuring things out" and still wishing to have it all, even at 60.

Then Came You
By Jennifer Weiner
The queen of chick lit returns with a new novel about four women, bound by obligation and opportunity, who must struggle to become a family.

Planting Dandelions
By Kyran Pittman
Pittman's memoir wryly and perceptively traces her improbable path from a bohemian 70s childhood in Newfoundland to her current “semi-domesticated” life as a wife and a mother of three in the American South.

The Paris Wife
By Paula McLain
The twenties are roaring, and a not-yet-famous Ernest Hemingway has just met the woman who will be his first (of four) wives; she narrates this engrossing novel about their love and its undoing.


From Examiner.com:

Fifty Shades of Grey
By E.L. James
Here is a great book to start off your summer reading list. Still topping the New York Times’ best sellers list, this popular novel tells the sexy tale of a college woman who begins working for a rich, young entrepreneur. Find out why it has stayed so hot in the hands of male and female readers!

I Love Capri
By Belinda Jones
This sweet summer novel is perfect for the midyear months. It is a chick flick book that tells the story of young Kim, who experiences the beautiful Capri once her grandfather dies and leaves her mother with a boutique.

The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins
Recently made into a popular movie, this wild novel is great for teens and adults alike. It takes place in the future, where the world now selects teens to fight against each other in the battle for their lives.

The Passage of Power: the Years of Lyndon Johnson
By Robert Caro
This nonfiction book would be a great addition to your reading list, especially for history buffs. It tells the interesting, supposedly true - and untold - stories of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Skyscraper of Babel
By Ryan Arciero
This recent YA science fiction novel was written by a local author right here in Chicago! It tells the story of a group of teens killed in a car crash and their experiences in the next world as they have to work together to find a way back home.


New York Times Bestseller List - Fiction (w/o 5/21/12)

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) An inexperienced college student falls in love with a tortured man who has particular sexual tastes; the first book in a trilogy.

FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) Ana Steele learns more about Christian Grey’s troubled past; the second book in a trilogy.

FIFTY SHADES FREED, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) The final book in an erotic trilogy.

11TH HOUR, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. (Little, Brown & Company.) Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women’s Murder Club investigate a possible serial killer.

THE LAST BOYFRIEND, by Nora Roberts. (Berkley.) As the Montgomery brothers renovate their historic inn in Boonsboro, Md., Owen Montgomery reconnects with his first girlfriend.

DEADLOCKED, by Charlaine Harris. (Penguin Group.) The telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse investigates a murder that has more to do with her than she imagines.

FIFTY SHADES TRILOGY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) The three “Fifty Shades” novels in one bundle.

THE INNOCENT, by David Baldacci. (Grand Central Publishing.) A hitman who has become a target of the government rescues a teenage girl whose parents have been murdered.

THE LUCKY ONE, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central Publishing.) A Marine returning home sets out to track down the woman whose photo he found in Iraq.

THE WITNESS, by Nora Roberts. (Putnam.) A programmer hides from the Russian mob in the Ozarks.

BRING UP THE BODIES, by Hilary Mantel. (Henry Holt & Company.) In this sequel to “Wolf Hall,” Thomas Cromwell conspires against Anne Boleyn.

IN ONE PERSON, by John Irving. (Simon & Schuster.) An aspiring writer struggles with his sexuality.

ON THE ISLAND, by Tracey Garvis-Graves. (Tracey Garvis-Graves.) An English teacher and the teenage boy she has agreed to tutor are stranded on an island in the Indian Ocean.

THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN, by Jennifer Probst. (Entangled Publishing.) A billionaire who needs a wife offers a one-year marriage in name only to a bookstore owner.

THE ROAD TO GRACE, by Richard Paul Evans. (Simon & Schuster.) The continuing story of an ad executive who loses everything and embarks on a walk from Seattle to Key West; a sequel to “The Walk” and “Miles to Go.”

From "Shorely Chic":

The Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri
In the latest in the author's series, take another journey to Sicily with Inspector Montalbano, who seeks to penetrate the mystery surrounding two yachts and the discovery of a mutilated corpse.

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes
Can a woman create a new life after her husband's infidelity? The answer is yes for Amanda, who ditches that fellow (a French chef) and belongs to a fabulously wealthy San Francisco family.

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
A summer bonfire for the students of Nantucket High ends with a deadly accident and with painful mysteries that their parents will struggle to understand in the months that follow.

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin
Marian Caldwell is a TV producer in her 30s who has put her youthful indiscretions behind her: until the most memorable of them, 18-year-old Kirby, comes knocking at the door of her New York apartment.

Reader's Digest List of 10 Unforgettable Beach Reads:

1. The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand. On the rebound from a bad love affair, Adrienne Dealey escapes to Nantucket for the summer. Through sheer luck, she lands a job at The Blue Bistro, Nantucket’s hottest restaurant — owned by Nantucket’s hottest bachelor. The summer heats up both in and out of the kitchen as Adrienne learns the truth about her boss and his relationship with the restaurant’s brilliant and reclusive young female chef. This brand-new book is sure to become a summer favorite.

2. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Part science fiction, part love story, this unusual and inventive first novel has deservedly become a favorite of book groups everywhere. Clare De Tamble’s husband Henry is a librarian with an unusual quirk: He has the ability to travel both into the past and into the future. This leads to a, shall we say, unusual marriage. But through assorted odd situations and difficult times, Clare and Henry’s love never wavers. This novel is an imaginative and emotionally resonant wallow.

3. The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky. Julia Bechtel is at a crossroads. Her marriage is not what it should be and her daughter is all grown up. When she survives a terrible boating accident off the coast of Maine, it’s time to reassess her life, her love, herself and find out what comes after the moment that changes everything. Haunting women’s fiction at its finest.

4. Northern Lights by Nora Roberts. Roberts has written dozens of novels, but this is one of her all-time best. Set in the Alaskan wilderness, this unforgettable tale features murder, mystery, quirky characters, and of course, romance and a surprise ending. A spot-on portrayal of small-town life and the powerful bonds of community make this an extraordinary summer read.

5. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. This first novel from super-popular Jennifer Weiner is perhaps the funniest and most poignant of them all. When Candace Shapiro learns that her ex-boyfriend writes an advice column called “Good in Bed” for a new women’s magazine, she is mortified. Cannie’s trials and tribulations — weight troubles, men troubles, job troubles — will ring all too true. Don’t miss this talented author’s debut novel — it’ll have you laughing out loud between reaching for your hankie.

6. Mosaic by Soheir Khashoggi. Dina Ahmed has been blessed with success, beauty, and, most important, a happy family. But one fateful day she returns home to discover that her six-year-old twins have vanished and suddenly her once comfortable life is turned upside down. This is a gripping, moving novel about family and loyalty by the sister of Adnan Khashoggi.

7. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. Imagine confiding intimate details of your life to a handsome stranger sitting next to you on a plane, thinking you’ll never see him again. Imagine learning that he is, in fact, your new boss. This flirty, funny, fast-paced romance will have your beach chair neighbors wondering what you keep laughing about while your nose is stuck in this addictive book. Fabulous fluff, the quintessential escapist summer read.

8. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. For a change of pace, try this long, debut historical novel that’s receiving rave reviews. In 1972 an American teen living in Amsterdam discovers a mysterious book belonging to her diplomat father that has only the word “Drakula” on the cover, and is filled with strange letters. What could it mean? The young girl gradually pieces together a terrifying and mysterious tale about you-know-who. Don’t forget to keep your strand of garlic handy.

9. Gutted by Lawrence LaRose. When the author and his new wife decide to buy and renovate a “handyman special” near the exclusive Hamptons, it doesn’t take long for their fledgling marriage to begin crumbling. Things only get worse when the author loses his white-collar job and becomes the world’s most clueless carpenter. But love prevails in this touching, honest, and often hilarious true story of one couple’s struggle to build their dream home and dream life together.

10. How Tough Could It Be? by Austin Murphy. What’s so hard about staying home to take care of two young children? Sports Illustrated writer Austin Murphy finds out for himself when he and his wife trade places for six months. Uproarious, unforgettable fun with passages you’ll have to read out loud to your significant other.

I like to read but don't necessarily have to read the most current books all the time. Here's another list you might want to check out - Oprah's Book Club: The Complete List. It's from November 2010, but who cares? A good book is timeless! Plus you might be able to snag one for a good price!

I knew that when you said you recently read James Patterson's 4th of July. His books are absolutely a good read. I do most of my reading in the winter. The only exception is that I read a lot when we cruise. Besides James Patterson, I like Kathy Reichs, Tammy Hoag and others.