Good Reads & Views

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Fiction

What it’s about: “In this satisfying page-turner from "the queen of beach reads" (New York Magazine), a Nantucket novelist has one final summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on earth learn to live without their golden girl” (Amazon).

Reviewers say: "In her 25th novel, Hilderbrand gets everything right and leaves her ardent fans hungry for No. 26. Hilderbrand sets the gold standard in escapist fiction" (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: Now that you mention it by Kristan Higgins or The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult.

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I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart
Nonfiction

What’s it about: “New York Times bestselling author, superstar comedian, and Hollywood box office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the written word in this “hilarious but also heartfelt” (Elle) memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself” (Amazon).

Reviewers say: "Hart is an incredibly magnetic storyteller, on the page as he is onstage, and that’s what shines through…a genial, entertaining guide to a life in comedy”  (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin or Fail Until You Don’t: Fight, Grind, Repeat by Bobby Bones

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Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer
Fiction

Reviewers say: “Nancy Thayer has a deep and masterly understanding of love and friendship, of where the two complement and where they collide” (Elin Hilderbrand).

You might also like: First Comes Love by Emily Giffin or The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand.

What’s it about: Set in the Berkshires on Dragonfly Lake, three women come together to reassess their lives and, in the process, become fast friends. During a summer Natalie, Bella and Morgan struggle to reconcile their desires and dreams with the cards they've been dealt. 

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After Anna by Lisa Scottoline
Fiction

Reviewers say: "A deliciously distracting thriller...Scottoline illuminat[es] the landing strip of revelations and truths in a deliciously slow and intense way" (The Washington Post).

What it’s about:  Maggie Ippolitti loses custody of her daughter Anna as an infant. After 17 years they are reunited, and Anna comes to live with her and her second husband Dr. Noah Alderman and her stepson. Life seems perfect until everything starts to go wrong and after Anna is murdered and her husband is accused, things still aren’t as they seem. 

You might also like:  The Secrets You Keep by Kate White or Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell.

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The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis  
Fiction 

Reviewers say: “Davis gives readers a mystery and a historical novel all in one absorbing tale” (Library Journal).

For fans of: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles or The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

About the author: Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Masterpiece. She lives in New York City and is a graduate of the College of William & Mary in Virginia and the Columbia Journalism School.

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The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis
Fiction  

Reviewers say: “With richly drawn characters living in two storied eras, there is much to be enchanted by” (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer or The Secret life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams

About the Author:  Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Lions of Fifth Avenue. She lives in New York City and is a graduate of the College of William & Mary in Virginia and the Columbia Journalism School.

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Forever Wild, Forever Home by Melanie and Mark Shellenbarger
Nonfiction

What it’s about: Today more than 460 rescued animals enjoy peace, comfort, and contentment in enormous habitats on thousands of acres of prairie and canyonlands. This is the story of The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.

Why it's significant: Animals at the sanctuary are rescued from mostly horrific situations and the thousands of people who visit, support, work, and volunteer there know that this is the place where hope begins for all of the animals who end up there. They are survivors.   

About the authors: Melanie and Mark Shellenbarger visited The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and because of the impact that the place had on them they set out to commemorate its 40-year history by writing this book. Melanie is an architectural historian and retired faculty member of the Department of Architecture at the University of Colorado. Mark is a retired business executive. They live in Denver, CO.

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Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
Nonfiction

Reviewers say: “Fans of Seinfeld will eat this up, and aspiring comics will want to study how he shapes his seemingly effortless humor” (Kirkus Reviews).

What it’s about: Since the author began his standup comedy career in 1975, he has always written his own material. He wrote his ideas and jokes on big yellow legal pads and saved them “in one of those old school accordion folders.” In this book he goes through those legal pads, selects his favorite material, and shares forty-five-years’ worth.   

You might also like:  I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This by Bob Newhart or A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost.

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The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand  
Fiction  

Reviewers say: "Engaging family relationships mixed with vivid landscape descriptions create an effortless read" (Library Journal).

What it's about:  A tale of identical twins who are raised on separate islands after their parents’ divorce. They are now 39 years old, they don’t get along, and the book explores complications caused by twinship and small island worlds.

You might also like: The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe or Surfside Sisters by Nancy Thayer.

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The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander
Fiction

What it's about: A novel about a Blüthner piano, which for eight-year-old Katya becomes her love and passion until the family emigrates to America. Fifty years later, twenty-six-year old Clara inherits the same piano, but never learns to play and decides to sell it. In doing so she learns about its unique history.

Reviewers say: “Strong characterization and attention to detail, whether in the manufacture of a piano or in the desolate beauty of Death Valley, elevate Cander's tale about learning to let go of the past” (Booklist).

About the Author: Chris Cander graduated from the Honors College at the University of Houston, in the city where she was raised and still lives, with her husband, daughter, and son. Her first novel, 11 Stories, won the Independent Publisher Gold Medal for Popular Fiction, and her most recent, Whisper Hollow, was long-listed for the Great Santini Fiction Prize by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.

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