by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
Can you believe the Fourth of July is next week? Summer is in full swing. What’s on your summer reading list?
The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand is one I keep seeing in our deliveries
of items that customers have ordered. On
one recent afternoon, there were three copies waiting here for Litchfield
people to pick up! Hilderbrand is a
modern standard author for beach reads. The
Rumor is about two seemingly-perfect families on the island of Nantucket and
the rumors that begin to swirl about them: the author’s writer’s block, her
best friend’s close working relationship with her landscaper, their children’s
rocky romance… Everyone is talking about how things aren’t as perfect as they
seem.
In a whole different vein for summer books, Stephen King has
a new novel out, Finders Keepers. It’s
the sequel to last year’s Mr. Mercedes, although you don’t need to read that
book first. It’s a bit like King’s novel Misery, since it is also about an obsessed, dangerous fan of an author. In Finders Keepers, the fan has already
killed the author and stolen his money and manuscripts. He hides them before going to prison for
decades. In the meantime, a teenage boy
finds them, and then finds his life in danger when the murderer is
paroled. Book reviewers have fantastic
things to say about this one.
Judy Blume, another always-popular author with decades of
best sellers, has a new novel out for adults.
In the Unlikely Event is set in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where Blume
grew up and where three airplanes crashed in three months in the early
1950’s. Blume tells the story of three
generations in a heartwarming novel that encourages readers not to be
afraid. Book critics like this one, too.
Everyone’s looking for the next Gone Girl. One that’s being compared to it this summer
is Disclaimer by Renee Knight. This
psychological thriller is told by two narrators, leaving the reader to wonder
who to believe. The book begins with the
main character finding a novel next to her bed that tells the secrets she has
hidden for years that only one other person knew, and that person is dead. The disclaimer at the front of the book
mentioning “any resemblance to persons living or dead” has been crossed out in
red ink. Sounds exciting!
One really unique nonfiction book this summer is writer and
director Judd Apatow’s Sick in the Head: Conversations about Life and Comedy. Apatow is known for the TV
shows “Freaks and Geeks” and “Girls” and movies such as “The 40-Year-Old
Virgin” and “Knocked Up.” He started
interviewing stand-up comics for his high school radio station in New York when
he was sixteen. These included Jerry
Seinfeld, Steve Allen, and Jay Leno in 1983 and 1984. He has continued to talk to comedians, and
now he has put together a whole book of these conversations. Because Apatow is now an entertainment
insider himself, more recent discussions are especially candid and unlike
typical press interviews. Reviewers say
it’s insightful as well as funny.
Whether your idea of a great beach read is humor, thriller,
or romance, we can get you what you need.
Order one of these or another intriguing book and add some fun and
excitement to your summer.
