Monday, July 30, 2012

Browsing thru a few late summer literary treats


With the approach of August fast upon our heels,the remaining days of summer are truly numbered yet that doesn't mean all of the fun is far behind us. Considering how hotter than usual it's been lately,staying indoors to enjoy a good book is looking to be the best option and to make those moments in the shade all the more pleasant,here are a few suggestions of both upcoming and already released books worth a leisurely look.

We begin with The Lost Prince,a follow-up to Selden Edwards' small sensation The Little Book. The heroine of that story enters this one with a new name(Eleanor Burden)and engages in the life that a woman of her time was expected to lead in Boston during the 1890s.

However,she has something that none of her contemporaries possesses,a journal that predicts every major historical event to come. Eleanor's faith in that book keeps her going through trying times but a sudden turn of events involving a young man in her life gives her pause and a reason to risk everything to find him. While I haven't read The Little Book,it sounds as if The Lost Prince will be a welcome guide to this tale of timeless devotion:




Another long awaited sequel,The Prisoner of Heaven picks up where author Carlos Ruiz Zafron left off in his world wide bestseller,The Shadow of the Wind. Daniel,the son of Sempere & Sons bookshop in Barcelona,gets involved in another mystery as the mysterious purchaser of a rare edition of The Count of Monte Cristo uses that book to deliver a strange message to an assistant in the store.

Daniel's curiosity leads him and his new family down a couple of dangerous roads,including one that takes him back to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books,the place where all of his book related troubles started. This novel is the last volume in a trilogy but don't despair of more wonderful works to come from it's rather creative creator:




For sci-fi/fantasy fans,a new Terry Pratchett book is a delight and the pleasure is doubled with The Long Earth,which Pratchett co-wrote with Stephen Baxter. In this futuristic tale,the bridge between our Earth and similar planets in other dimensions has now been extended,thanks to a device called The Stepper.

With human beings only existing on our world,the possibilities for unlimited resources may be truly endless and that leads two people,Joshua,who has the natural ability to cross realities and Lobsang,an AI creation,on a journey to map the entirety of this new realm.

However,their discoveries caused them to ask more questions than answer them about the nature of the universe and may turn out to be more risky to the continuation of the human race than anyone could imagine. This book is meant to be the lead-off to a brand new series for both authors and sounds like a trip worth taking:




I received a lovely surprise in my mailbox last week,as the book chosen to be sent to folks who signed up for Simon & Schuster's newsletter at Facebook in June arrived.

My book was The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley,which begins with emotionally weary concert pianist Julia Forrester taking a much needed break from her troubles at her grandparents' estate in Wharton Park.

While reconnecting with an old flame,Julia comes across a old diary that revels a secret romance that nearly tore two families apart. Since this former fling happens to include an ancestor of her newly rekindled love,she is determined to seek out the truth,no matter what the cost.

This is exactly the kind of steadfast saga that I would pick out for myself and how well I was matched to it is very uncanny,indeed. My thanks to the good fairy that sent it my way and I hope that the rest of my fellow S&S newsletter joiners were just as fortunate in their introductory gift:



I do wish that whatever new book you decide to try before the autumn leaves fall gives you plenty to indulge in and doesn't cause anyone to complain to their local book adviser about the quality of the writing(not to mention demanding to speak to dead authors to address their reader grievances directly to the source):




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