Spring reads to last all summer

Cosmopolitan's John Searles made a recent appearance on NBC's Weekend Today Show to recommend a beach bag full of new books. His pitch was so convincing I actually ran upstairs to the computer to order most of them from the library:

1. A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick - This one was already on my list. A man in the early 1900s places a newspaper ad (hence the title) and winds up with an unreliable gold-digger who wants to kill him for his money.

2. Handle with Care, by Jodi Picoult - Sadly, I'd already read this. And I say sadly because it's yet more histrionics from the queen of courtroom kitsch. I know Picoult has a loyal following, but this story about a family dealing with their daughter's rare disease (and the court opera that follows) is to me classic Picoult - melodrama, melodrama, melodrama.

3. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett - A novel set in the early '60s, this one features three characters - a white college student, a black maid, and the maid's friend, Minnie - with friendships and race relations on the side.

4. Lowboy, by John Wray - Seeking seclusion so he could focus, Wray reportedly rode the subway for hours at a stretch while writing this story, about a teen thought to be a mental hospital escapee who winds up in the New York City subway tunnels.

5. The Cradle, by Patrick Sommerville - Hopefully this one is better than it sounds. As Searles described it, it's about a pregnant woman obsessed with finding the cradle she used as a baby, and her husband's quest to locate it.

6. Thanks for the memories, by Cecilia Ahern - Chick-lit beach read about a woman who's going through a rough time of it. She thinks she's losing her mind, but in reality she's headed down a path that will lead to new love.

7. Darling Jim, by Christian Moerk - Two sisters and their aunt are the victims of an unsolved murder in Dublin. The locals have given up hopes of finding the killer, when a postal clerk stumbles upon the diary of one of the girls. The diary tells the tale of the victims' obsession with a man named Jim Quick. This definitely sounded like one of Searles' more intriguing recommendations.

8. Life Sentences, by Laura Lippman - A woman writes a memoir about a childhood acquaintance who spent seven years in prison for refusing to tell the whereabouts of her infant son. Illustrates how differently people recollect their own pasts.

9. happens every day, by Isabel Gillies - Searles raved so enthusiastically about this book, I decided I couldn't wait to order it and actually went to Border's. Unfortunately, I was looking for it in the fiction section, and it turns out it's a memoir. Searles touted the brutal honesty of the author, who describes how she falls madly in love, marries the man of her dreams, has a perfect life, and then begins to suspect her husband's cheating on her. The catch is she never has her suspicions confirmed, which is (so says Searles) both maddening and compelling.

10. Nudge, by Richard H. Thaler - Non-fiction piece on how humans go about making decisions and the unexpected factors that influence us.

I noticed when I placed my order on the Wallkill Public Library's inter-library loan system, I wasn't the first on any of the above books' lists, so either Weekend Today has an audience rich with local readers or people caught on to these books before I'd heard of most of them. Either way, they sound like decent tales to bring out to the lawn chair.

Runners (and readers) rejoice!

John L. Parker Jr.'s Once a Runner is back in print!

Originally self-published, the book has turned into a cult classic since its 1978 release. An avid runner himself, Parker has said in interviews that after failing to find a publisher for his book, he printed 5,000 copies himself and sold them by setting up tables at local races. He would tell people if they beat him in whatever race was being run, he'd give them a free copy of the book. It never happened.

The book tells the story of a young man's determination to become a champion.to run a four-minute mile, to win a match against the best miler out there. Though the story is told by an insider, you don't have to be a runner to appreciate the plot - the description of the main character's dogged perseverance is something anyone who's ever had a lifelong goal can relate to.

One other interesting note - the book is dedicated to Frank Shorter, the Olympic gold medalist and Middletown native who inspired the annual Classic 10K through the streets of his hometown (and still shows up to run it).

Did you know?

There are now more public libraries in the US than there are McDonald's.a total of 16,541 (including branches)!

Book of the Month

The Last Secret, by Mary McGarry Morris

Nora is a very fortunate woman - she's married into a wealthy family, to a smart, charming man with whom she's had two healthy and bright children. This despite what happened when she was 17, a painful secret she herself longs to forget. By the time her kids are teenagers, she's almost succeeded in letting the busy routine of daily life wipe out - or at least nicely blur - the events of one tragic night 26 years ago.

But then things begin falling apart. First she discovers the husband she adores has been cheating on her for the past four years. Devastated, she's trying to find a way to cope with that gut-wrenching betrayal when the only other person who knows what happened to her 26 years ago shows up on her doorstep..

Mary McGarry Morris has a knack for nailing the tortured nuances of day-to-day life for the almost-broken (be it -spirited, -minded, or -hearted). Her fiction illustrates repeatedly the fact that we're all in fact closer to breakable than we'd like to think, even when everything seems to be on track in our lives. The Last Secret is, for this reason and others, another great book by a riveting writer.

No book donations, please!

Due to lack of on-site storage space, the Wallkill Public Library is not accepting donations of books at this time. Please contact the following local libraries about their donation policies:

· Josephine Louise Public Library, Walden - 778-7621

· Newburgh Free Library - 563-3600

· Gardiner Public Library - 255-1255

· Elting Memorial Library, New Paltz - 255-5030

The New York Times Bestsellers

Hardcover Fiction

1. Just Take My Heart, by Mary Higgins Clark

2. Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline

3. Turn Coat, by Jim Butcher

4. Long Lost, by Harlan Coben

5. The Host, by Stephenie Meyer

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. Liberty and Tyranny, by Mark R. Levin

2. Always Looking Up, by Michael J. Fox

3. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

4. Mommywood, by Tori Spelling with Hilary Liftin

5. Columbine, by Dave Cullen

Paperback Trade Fiction

1. The Shack, by William P. Young

2. 7^th Heaven, by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

3. City of Thieves, by David Benioff

4. Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri

5. Firefly Lane, by Kristin Hannah

Fiction club holds first meeting

The Wallkill Public Library's new fiction club met for the first time in April and selected their first book, Arthur Golden's The Memoirs of a Geisha. For those who would like to join, we welcome new members. Our next meeting will be at 6:30p.m.Thursday, May 14, here at the library. Don't worry if you haven't finished (or started) Golden's novel - we'll be choosing another book to read at the May meeting, and you can participate in the June discussion!

New in May

The following are either on the shelves or coming soon to the Wallkill Public Library:

Fiction

· Intent to Kill, by James Grippando

· Last Child, by John Hart

· Wide Smiles of Girls, by Jennifer Manske Fenske

· Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly

· Beach Trip, by Cathy Holton

· Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child

· Wicked Prey, by John Sandford

· Cemetery Dance, by Douglas J. Preston

· Family Man, by Elinor Lipman

· Razor Sharp, by Fern Michaels

· Secret, by Beverly Lewis

· Lost Boy, by Brent W. Jeffs

· Summer on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber

Nonfiction

· Mariel's Kitchen: Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life, by Mariel Hemingway

· Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, by Steve Harvey

· Burn This Book: Pen Writers Speak Out on the Power of the Word, by Toni Morrison

· Diet Myths that Keep Us Fat: and the 101 Truths That Will Save Your Waistline - and Maybe Even Your Life, by Nancy L. Snyderman

· Jenkins at the Majors: Sixty Years of World's Best Golf Writing from Hogan to Tiger, by Dan Jenkins

· Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience, by Ricki Lake

· Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, by Robyn O'Brien

· Walking with Friends: An Inspirational Year on the PGA Tour, by D.J. Gregory

· Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer, by Phil Chalmers

· G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide, by Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Biography

· Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride, by Daniel Brown

· Step by Step: A Pedestrian Memoir, by Lawrence Block

· Paul Newman: A Life, by Shawn Levy

· Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities, by Elizabeth Edwards

· My Remarkable Journey, by Larry King

Audiobooks

· Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child

· Scarecrow, by Michael Connelly

· Summer on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber

· Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption, by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino

· Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You the Job, by Tony Beshara

Wallkill Public Library

P.O. Box C

7 Bona Ventura Ave.

Wallkill, NY 12589

(845)-895-3707

http://www.wallkillpubliclibrary.org/

E-mail: wak@rcls.org