Patch Reads: Try These Great New Books

Some recommendations from the staff at the :

Enjoying your summer? Why not celebrate this great season with a wonderful summer read? Here are a few choices for your reading enjoyment. 

Happy reading!

Island Apart By Steven Raichlen, June 2012, 288 pages. 

The award-winning PBS TV host and author of the best-selling Planet Barbecue presents a debut novel in which a New York book editor house-sits an oceanfront mansion to convalesce and finish a literary project before falling in love with a mysterious loner who harbors a devastating secret. Foodies will enjoy Raichlen’s first attempt at fiction. For those not familiar with his work, Nicholas Sparks fans may enjoy this debut novel.

The Next Best Thing By Jennifer Weiner, July 2012, 416 pages.

At 23, Ruth Saunders headed west with her 70-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to be hired as a television writer. Four years later, she's hit the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie's going to be the show-runner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on a boss, and her grandmother's impending nuptials. Weiner’s core base of fans will certainly be looking forward to this title. If you like Sophie Kinsella or Jen Lancaster you’ll probably enjoy Jennifer Weiner.

One Good Friend Deserves Another By Lisa Verge Higgins, March 2012, 338 pages.

Dhara, Kelly, Marta, and Wendy have been the closest of friends since college. So close, that after a series of romantic disasters, they bond together to create Rules of Relationships to keep their hearts safe. Years later, the rules seem to have worked . . . until Marta discovers that her hot boyfriend is married, Kelly begins a risky love affair, Wendy inches closer to a pre-marital infidelity, and, most shocking of all, Indian-American Dhara suddenly agrees to an arranged marriage. Hearts are about to be broken and the bonds of friendship are tested. Is it possible to find true love, when you're breaking all the rules? Fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Susan Mallery will enjoy this summer read.

Reviews brought to you each week by librarians Jennifer Niederhausen, Dona Stein and Heather Timko
, Adult Services Division.