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Summer Reading at the Austin Public Library

The accepted notion is that we have more time to read in the summer. Many magazines and newspapers print a summer reading list for our vacations at the beach. Most of us will not get to the beach, but we might spend a Sunday afternoon reading on the grassy hillside of Barton Springs. Wherever you are, a good book can help you escape the daily grind, change your mood, or give you a new outlook on life. Austin Public Library has created its own list of 2005 fiction and nonfiction recommendations for books that have already arrived on the shelves. For more book lists please see Good Reads.

Fiction

fiction | nonfiction

At Risk. Stella Rimmington. FIC Rim
British spy thriller.

Babylon Sisters. Pearl Cleage. FIC Cle
Domestic drama, romance, and a thriller all in one lively narrative.

Baker Towers. Jennifer Haigh. FIC Hai
Family drama in a post World War II mining town.

Bangkok Tattoo. John Burdett. M Bur
Eastern philosophy murder mystery.

Broken Prey. John Sandford. M San
Sexy, bloody, thriller.

Collected Stories. Carol Shields. SS Shi
Short stories about the serious and interesting lives of oridnary women.

Company Man. Joseph Finder. FIC Fin
Hyper-realistic thriller set in the business world.

Dating is Murder. Harley Kozak. M Koz
Cool, quirky LA murder mystery.

Empire of the Wolves. Jean-Christophe Grangbe. FIC Gra
Suspense thriller which delves into Turkish politics.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Jonathan Foer. FIC Foe
Moving 9-11 narrative told through the eyes of a 9-year old.

Fleshmarket Alley. Ian Rankin. M Ran
Moody detective investigates a Kurdish refugee's death in Edinburgh.

Going Postal: a Novel of Discworld. Terry Pratchett. FIC Pra
Clever alternative universe fantasy.

The Good Wife. Stewart O'Nan. FIC Ona
Woman endures her husband's 28-year incarceration with determination and grace.

The Ha-Ha. Dave King. FIC Kin
Touching drama about a brain-injured Vietnam vet who suddenly must care for a fatherless 9-year old boy.

Heart of the Hunter. Deon Meyer. FIC Mey
South African thriller.

The Historian. Elizabeth Kostova. FIC Kos
Long, artfully constructed historical thriller about a search for the truth behind Dracula.

The Illuminator. Brenda Vantrease. FIC Van
Historical novel captures the essence of feudal England.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. Alexander McCall Smith. M Mac
Sixth entry in the delightful series about a detective agency in Botswana.

The Innocent. Harlan Coben. M Cob
Ordinary people are thrown into extreme circumstances in this complex thriller.

A Long Way Down. Nick Hornby. FIC Hor
Grimly comic, but poignant, story of four people who meet while planning to jump to their deaths.

The Memory of Running. Ron McLarty. FIC Mac
A 43-year old, self-professed loser remembers his childhood on a cross-crounty bike trip.

The Mermaid Chair. Sue Monk Kidd. FIC Kid
Exploration of a woman's search for her own identity.

Miss Gazillions. R.H. Weber. FIC Web
Zany, light-hearted thriller.

Never Let Me Go. Kazuo Ishiguro. FIC Ish
Ethical horror story about humans cloned for their organs.

The Position. Meg Wolitzer. FIC Wol
Light, beach read of social and domestic change.

Pride of Carthage. David Anthony Durham. FIC Dur
Epic story of Hannibal's move on Rome.

Saturday. Ian McEwan. FIC Mac
A pivotal day in the life of a 43-year old neurosurgeon.

Small Island. Andrea Levy. FIC Lev
Tragicomedy of the diaspora of Jamaican immigrants to London.

Snobs. Julian Fellowes. FIC Fel
Tale of snobbery and marital tomfoolery in 1990s London.

Strange Affair. Peter Robinson. M Rob
Gripping story about human trafficking.

Sudden Rain. Maritta Wolff. FIC Wol
Detailed portrait of American marriage and politics in 1972.

The Third Secret. Steve Barry. FIC Ber
Vatican-centered conspiracy thriller.

Zorro. Isabel Allende. FIC All
Lively retelling of Zorro's boyhood.


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