Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This book was so amazing I never wanted it to end. The characters are so real, so true to themselves, that I felt I knew them, could recognize them across a crowded room, could call them up for dinner.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

I absolutely loved this book. I haven't read such a blisteringly brilliant work in years. I am in love with Lisbeth Salander, and this second work beats the first hands-down, a feat of gigantic proportions.

Killer Instinct: Joseph Finder

I picked this up at the local library from the recently-returned stack. Honestly, I didn't expect much from a corporate version of John Grisham, especially a book that proclaimed so, and proudly. Nonetheless this is well-written, and when I turned it in, i was disappointed to find nothing of Finder's other works on the shelf. If you liked the movie Notes on a Scandal, add this to your summer reading list.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians:Book Two: the Sea of Monsters

The first book in the series made me fall in love with it & with its characters. Now, with the second, I find something nearly equal to Percy's debut. I feel, however, that the Lightning Thief will not be surpasssed for a long, long time.

The Graveyard Book: Neil Gaiman

Gaiman delivers a coming of age story that is so perfectly woven, we don't realize it. Again, his dark and beautiful sense of storytelling is beyond reproach. Highly recommended for readers of all ages, and especially for anyone looking for a reminder of why life is worth living, and worth living Right Now.

Fearless Fourteen: Janet Evanovich

Not as funny as thirteen, but still a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

man and boy: tony parsons

Many others have written of how much they cried when they read this book, but I was moved differently: I cheered, repeatedly and often. This is the tale of manhood, heroism in its most modern form, genuine to a fault and brilliant throughout as we accompany Harry's navigation of what it means to be a man, a father, a husband, a son, a partner. Don't miss this one.