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THE BEST OF SUMMER READING
There are many reasons why we look forward to the arrival of summer each year: longer days and nights, much-needed vacations from the daily work grind, more time to spend with family and friends, fun trips to the beach and amusement parks --- and let's not forget that summertime gives us the opportunity to catch up on all the reading we neglected to do earlier in the year.

In honor of this "book-friendly" season, Bookreporter.com brings you our lists of great Summer Beach Reads --- 10 hardcovers, 10 paperbacks, and 14 suspense/thriller titles that you don't want to miss!

THE LAKE HOUSE by James Patterson (Thriller)
The six children from James Patterson's WHEN THE WIND BLOWS are back. They have escaped horrifying government experiments, a childhood in captivity, and a frightening brush with death. Now, they yearn to be reunited with the couple who saved their lives. But the leader of the flock is seized by an overpowering fear that the kids are about to face a danger greater than any they have ever known. Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day and excerpted.

FLIRTING WITH PETE by Barbara Delinsky (Fiction)
Casey Ellis holds much resentment toward her recently deceased father, Dr. Cornelius Unger, a man who she believes never made an attempt to actually be a father to her. It therefore comes as quite a shock when she learns that he has bequeathed to her his beautiful Boston townhouse. What she discovers in this house ultimately proves to be the key to understanding her father and a past she never knew about. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad and excerpted.

A BODY TO DIE FOR by Kate White (Mystery)
In this follow-up to the bestselling IF LOOKS COULD KILL, Bailey Weggins visits the Cedar Inn Spa for some R&R. But when Bailey finds a dead body in the massage room, her detective instincts are unable to take a vacation. As Bailey uncovers the victim's mysterious past, she finds herself becoming infatuated with Jeffrey Beck, a detective working on the case. Meanwhile, another horrifying murder is committed at the inn --- and Bailey finds herself the killer's next target. Reviewed by Maggie Harding and excerpted.

BABYVILLE by Jane Green (Fiction)
Jane Green has written a witty and tender story about three friends whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by the life-changing event that hangs over the heads of many women: motherhood. Reviewed by Carlie Kraft and excerpted.

A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING by Bill Bryson (Science)
Bestselling author Bill Bryson sets out to understand everything he can about life and the universe, including the birth of the universe, the creation of life, evolution, the discovery of the elements, and natural disasters. His goal is to take subjects like geology, chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics and see if there is some way to make them comprehensible to people who are completely bored by science. Reviewed by Kate Ayers and excerpted.

SUSHI FOR BEGINNERS by Marian Keyes (Fiction)
Marian Keyes examines the on-the-job trials of three Dublin women who are searching for happiness in their respective lives. Their intersecting stories culminate when all three face life-shattering revelations. Reviewed by Norah Piehl and excerpted.

LAND OF THE LIVING by Nicci French (Thriller)
Kidnapped, gagged and held in an airless shed by some unknown assailant, Abbie Devereaux has somehow managed to survive her ordeal and escape. However, no one seems to believe her, and Abbie can't remember anything immediately prior to her abduction. Determined to prove that she's not making this all up, Abbie sets out to retrace her steps --- and comes face-to-face with a very real killer. Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara.

THE TEAMMATES: A Portrait of Friendship by David Halberstam (Sports)
David Halberstam, the bestselling author of the baseball classic SUMMER OF '49, reveals how four members of the famed 1940's Boston Red Sox --- Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky --- became friends and how that friendship thrived for more than 60 years. Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.

TRUE BELIEVERS: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans by Joe Queenan (Sports/Humor)
Why do people root so passionately for poor teams? Why do some people organize their emotional lives around lackluster franchises that have never won a single championship in their entire history? Humorist and lifelong Phillies fan Joe Queenan answers these and many other questions, as he sheds light on the culture and psychology of countless fellow fans. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE LAST GOOD DAY by Peter Blauner (Suspense)
Lynn and Barry Schulman moved their family to the suburb of Riverside, New York to be surrounded by family and old friends and escape the danger of city life. But when a headless body --- which turns out to belong to Lynn's oldest friend --- floats to the surface of the Hudson River, they realize that Riverside may not be the sanctuary they were seeking after all. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

AUTO DA FAY: A Memoir by Fay Weldon (Memoir)
In this honest and absorbing memoir, novelist and playwright Fay Weldon discusses her somewhat turbulent childhood, the difficult times she faced as a single parent, her relationship with men, and the beginning of her writing career. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

THE PHOTOGRAPH by Penelope Lively (Fiction)
In Penelope Lively's newest novel, half a dozen people revisit time spent with Kath, an enigmatic woman who was once close to them but is now gone from their lives --- and they begin to see her in an astonishing new light. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

SOMEBODY'S KNOCKING AT MY DOOR by Francis Ray (Fiction)
Francis Ray tells the powerful and wonderfully crafted story of Kristen Wakefield and Angelique Fleming, best friends and next-door neighbors who are searching for fulfillment in both life and love. Reviewed by Sharon Hudson.

VILLA INCOGNITO by Tom Robbins (Fiction)
Mars Albert Stubblefield, Dickie Goldwire and Dern Foley are American MIA's who choose to remain missing after being shot down over Laos in 1973. The arrest of Foley for drug possession leads to the arrival of Goldwire's girlfriend, Lisa Ko, along with Colonel Patt Thomas and CIA agent Mayflower Cabot, who try to find the other two MIA's. Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman-Nicol.

THE SONG READER by Lisa Tucker (Fiction)
Mary Beth and her younger sister Leeann are trying to support themselves in their small Southern hometown. Mary Beth works to make ends meet by practicing her own unique talent --- "song reading", in which she uses the song lyrics stuck in people's minds to help them make sense of their lives. But Mary Beth eventually uncovers a devastating secret about one woman that affects the entire town --- and nearly destroys Mary Beth and Leeann. Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara.

AMANDA BRIGHT@HOME by Danielle Crittenden (Fiction)
At age 35, Amanda Bright finds herself at home with two children, baking cookies and singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider." It certainly doesn't help that her husband's face is all over national television, that her best friend is dating a billionaire, and that every woman she knows seems to have a plastic surgeon and an interior decorator. While everyone else is racing up the fast track, Amanda wonders why she ever left work in the first place. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

THE MANGO SEASON by Amulya Malladi (Fiction)
Twenty-seven year old Priya returns to her native India for a visit during the season that mango fruit ripens, a treasured memory from her childhood. But this trip is an overwhelming experience for Priya. Her mother and father have insisted that it's time they arranged her marriage to a "nice Indian boy," while her extended family talks of nothing but marriage. So how on earth can she tell them that she is engaged to an American man? Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

THE ACCIDENTAL VIRGIN by Valerie Frankel (Fiction)
Stacey Temple, a designer at thongs.com, hasn't had a man in her life since breaking up with her lover almost a year ago. This doesn't bother her much, until she reads an article about women who haven't had sex in a year being "revirginized." This means that Stacy has only one week to find a willing partner before returning to "virgin status." Is Stacy doomed to return to life as a virgin, or will her risqué business pay off? Reviewed by Melissa Brown.

GETTYSBURG: A Novel of the Civil War by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen (Historical Fiction)
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and Dr. William R. Forstchen, Associate Professor of history at Montreat College in North Carolina, imagine a Confederate victory at Gettysburg, and how it would have changed the destiny of the nation forever. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

STAR OF THE SEA by Joseph O'Connor (Historical Fiction)
On a ship heading to New York with passengers fleeing the Irish potato blight of 1847, a murderer stalks his victim while a bankrupt lord, his nanny and an American journalist look back over their lives in an attempt to understand what brought them to these desperate circumstances. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

REUNION by Michael B. Oren (Historical Fiction)
Set in Belgium's Ardennes Forest, the site of a brutal, last-ditch assault by the Nazis in December 1944, Michael B. Oren's debut novel reunites the surviving members of the 133rd Infantry Battalion for one last chance to relive their youth, bury some old ghosts, and try to find answers to the mystery that has haunted them for fifty years. Reviewed by David Exum.

FREQUENCIES by Joshua Ortega (Fiction)
Joshua Ortega welcomes readers to the year 2051 in Seattle, where cars and cities float in the sky and people's thoughts are monitored as electromagnetic frequencies. This is the future world of FBI agents Marc McCready and Morris Ignacio, who are sent to investigate a downtown riot, unaware that this is just the beginning of the chaotic upheavals to come. Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day.

THE SOUTHERN BELLE'S HANDBOOK: Sissy LeBlanc's Rules to Live By by Loraine Despres (Humor)
In this short and sassy book, Sissy LeBlanc will teach women how to find, hold on to, and handle any man, as well as conquer any personal situation with the poise and confidence of a sophisticated female. Reviewed by Melissa Brown.

CERULEAN SINS: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel by Laurell K. Hamilton (Fiction)
In Laurell K. Hamilton's eleventh novel in the ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER series, our heroine learns what it is like to be at the new end of a centuries-old bloodline --- and just how far she'll let herself get pushed around by one of the oldest vampires alive. Reviewed by Barb Wright.

BLINDED BY THE RIGHT: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative by David Brock (Memoir )
In this powerful and deeply personal memoir, David Brock, the original right-wing scandal reporter, chronicles his rise to the pinnacle of the conservative movement and his painful break with it. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

GULAG: A History by Anne Applebaum (History)
Using newly available documents, as well as her own original historical research, Anne Applebaum has written the first full-scale history of Soviet concentration camps, from its origins in the Russian Revolution to its collapse in the era of glasnost. Reviewed by Hal Cordry.

IN THE COMPANY OF HEROES by Michael J. Durant (Memoir/History)
Black Hawk pilot Michael J. Durant was shot down and taken prisoner during America's biggest firefight since the Vietnam War. Published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Somali conflict, this gripping personal account finally tells the world about Durant's harrowing captivity and the heroic deeds of his doomed comrades. Reviewed by Melissa Brown.

NOTHING SACRED: The Truth About Judaism by Douglas Rushkoff (Religion/Judaism)
In this controversial book, Douglas Rushkoff takes the difficult stance that today's Judaism has strayed far from the principle themes and values that are the core of the tradition. He asks if the Judaism that is practiced in modern homes, temples and synagogues --- and is promoted by modern Jewish organizations --- is, in fact, a viable and authentic Judaism at all. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

BETWEEN THEIR WORLD AND OURS: Breakthroughs with Autistic Children by Karen Zelan (Family/Child Care)
In this important book about how autism affects our youth, Karen Zelan profiles a number of children whom she has encountered and/or treated over the years who have been classified as autistic. She documents, among other things, how psychotherapy with autistic children helps them overcome their problems in communicating, playing, feeling, thinking, and interacting with people on a personal level. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

WORRIED ALL THE TIME: Overparenting in an Age of Anxiety and How to Stop It by David Anderegg, Ph.D. (Parenting/Psychology and Psychiatry)
Dr. David Anderegg draws on social science research and his more than twenty years' experience as a therapist treating both parents and their children to clarify facts and fantasies about kids' lives today and the key issues that preoccupy parents. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

GOT A REVOLUTION! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane by Jeff Tamarkin (Biography)
Veteran music writer and historian Jeff Tamarkin has written the first ever full-length biography of Jefferson Airplane, the most successful and influential rock band to emerge from San Francisco during the 1960s. The band members, as well as their families, friends, lovers, crew members, and fellow musicians, all contribute in telling this complex yet fascinating story. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

HIT AND HOPE: How the Rest of Us Play Golf by David Owen (Sports )
Acclaimed columnist and author David Owen has gathered a selection of his columns from Golf Digest magazine. In these essays he talks about the mundane and frustrating aspects of the sport in a candid, thoughtful, and quite humorous way. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

FEEDING A YEN: Savoring Local Specialties from Kansas City to Cuzco by Calvin Trillin (Biography/Autobiography)
Calvin Trillin's latest book on eating contains 14 of his essays, which first appeared in the New Yorker and other magazines. Each essay covers a different local specialty, including pumpernickel bagels in New York City, pimientos de Padron (a dish made with tiny green peppers) in Galicia, Spain, boudin (a kind of Cajun sausage) in New Iberia, Louisiana, ceviche (a cold fish soup) in Ecuador --- and much more along the way. Reviewed by Bob Rhubart.

THE LAST WITNESS by KJ Erickson (Mystery)
Tayron "T-Jack" Jackman, star forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves, is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of his wife. But Minneapolis Police Detective Mars Bahr discovers that when the murder occurred, T-Jack was with his wife's parents and her lawyer --- the perfect alibi. Nevertheless, it is up to Mars and his partner Nettie Frisch to prove that he did it. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.

July Author: Tess Gerritsen

June Author: Lisa Gardner

April Author: William Lashner

• May Author: D.W. Buffa
• March Author: Jeffery Deaver
• February Author: Stephen White
• January Author: Stephen Frey

5/16/03: Is there a book that you are just relentless about telling people about because you like it so much? If so, what is it?

5/02/03: Who are some of your "favorite mothers" in books that you have read?

Previous Questions

FATHER'S DAY FAVORITES
Father's Day is right around the corner, and we at Bookreporter.com know how difficult it is to come up with "the perfect gift" for your dad. No need to worry though, because we have compiled a list of recently published books that we think your father will enjoy.

Bookreporter's own Ron Kaplan reviews three books, two of which strive to make men more useful around the house and one that may bring both smiles and tears to fathers everywhere. We also have some great fiction and nonfiction titles, suspense/thrillers, and sports books that are sure to make your dad one happy camper on his special day.

The highly anticipated sequel to the 1999 film The Matrix, winner of four Academy Awards, is finally in theaters. In The Matrix: Reloaded, Neo, Morpheus, Trinity and the rest of the crew continue to battle the machines that have enslaved the human race in the Matrix. Now, humans are waking up out of the matrix and trying to live in the real world. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

If you're a fan of The Matrix and want to learn more about this first film, then THE ART OF THE MATRIX, published by Newmarket Press, should be required reading. It is jam-packed with illustrations and behind-the-scenes info, not to mention the movie's complete shooting script. It also contains the complete storyboards prepared by the filmmakers, a 32-page color photo album of memorable stills and photographs, deleted script excerpts, and so much more! However, if you're looking for a book that's lightweight and easy-to-carry, then THE MATRIX: THE SHOOTING SCRIPT in paperback would be the perfect choice. As the title suggests, the movie's complete 122-page script is featured, in addition to eight movie stills and fascinating scene notes on the film's production. These are two books that no Matrix fans will want to be without.

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