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Great Books to tote to the beach or anywhere this summer
by Rebecca Klein
Looking for a fun read to tote to the beach this summer? (or the backyard or bathtub) We sought out Eric Lapp, the Community Relations Manager with the downtown Baltimore Power Plant Barnes & Noble for some suggestions. Modern Babies & Children’s Co-Founder Karen Buck rounded out our list with Shopaholic & Baby after seeing just about everyone reading it at the airport, on the plane, and on the beach in the Bahamas. Whether you’re looking for something light and breezy or something far stormier, we’ve got you covered. So, grab a towel, take some time for yourself and read on…
Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
(New York: St. Martin’s Press 2006)
New Yorkers Claudia and Ben seem to be the perfect match. They’re high achievers, love traveling, enjoy exotic food, and want to live life baby-free. But, a couple years after saying “I do,” Ben confesses that he “has feelings.” Not for another woman. He wants to become a dad. Compromise isn’t an option. It’s try to conceive or leave. Can a couple’s love survive this change of heart or is the relationship doomed? “It’s a light read with some teeth,” notes Lapp. Emily Giffin is a New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed and Something Blue.
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain
(New York: HarperCollins 2006)
“Brief Encounters with Che Guevara is a delightful mix of snap-shot adventures of a taciturn group of ex-patriots and foreign-aid workers who entangle themselves in a hodgepodge of difficult yet painfully funny circumstances in faraway locales, such as Burma, Colombia, Haiti, and Sierra Leone,” reports Lapp. In each of the eight tales, author Ben Fountain’s rich narrative quickly lures you to the heart of conflict and controversy – from a wife struggling with her husband’s sudden devotion to a Haitian voodoo goddess to a golfer who travels to a foreign land to play for dollars and falls into an on and off course hole of deception. The short stories each end before you’re ready to move on to the next.
Inheritance by Natalie Danford
(New York: St. Martin’s Press 2007)
After her father’s death, Olivia Bonocchio uncovers a deed to a home in Italy that she never knew her immigrant father owned. News of the deed opens the door to her father’s mysterious past, including a tragedy that sent him packing his bags and moving from Italy to the United States as a young man. “Inheritance is as much a sojourn into the soul of Olivia’s father, Luigi Bonocchio, as it is an uncovering of his disturbing past life in the Italian town of Urbino during WWII,” shares Lapp. Natalie Danford’s debut novel weaves together two perspectives, shifting back and forth from Olivia’s voice to her father telling his story. Just when you think you may understand this troubling tale, there’s another twist.
Shopaholic & Baby by Sophia Kinsella
(New York: Random House 2007)
Brand dropping, material maven Becky Brandon’s idea of “investing in gold” for her baby-to-be is buying a Tiffany pendant. When it looks like Becky and husband Luke won’t get their dream house, she sweetens the deal with an offer to give the fashionista seller the calfskin boots off her feet – one boot for accepting the offer and the second after exchanging contracts. While on the prowl for pint-sized designer duds, she learns about an obstetrician to the stars and decides to ditch her doctor. But, it turns out the new doctor is none other than Becky’s husband’s college flame, creating concern that the fire in her own relationship could flicker. This is the 5th Shopaholic novel by New York Times best selling author Sophia Kinsella. No need to have read about Becky’s pre-pregnancy adventures to dive into Shopaholic & Baby.
The Shoe Queen by Anna Davis
(New York: Simon & Schuster 2007)
“Put your Ferragamos on and step into 1920s bohemian Paris where English society beauty Genevieve Shelby King ventures to win a shoe designer’s favor, but discovers that she can’t always get what she wants, forcing her to confront the emptiness of her ‘perfect’ life and a threatened marriage,” entices Lapp. What appears on the surface to be nothing more than a sole search is equally about a woman searching for her own soul. As Genevieve’s struggle to gain the shoes and the love of the shoe designer mounts, she must face a long buried painful experience.
