It should come as no surprise that many writers are voracious and thoughtful readers.

Recently, Real Simple magazine asked 12 bestselling authors to share their Favorite Summer Books - from One-Day Reads, Book for Long Weekends; Books to Savor All Summer. They even stick their necks out and share their Good and Trashy picks. They are: Augusten Burroughs, Jackie Collins, Nelson DeMille, Janet Evanovich, Linda Fairstein, Elizabeth Gilbert, Philippa Gregor, Sophie Kinsella, Debbie Macomber, James Patterson, Jodi Picoult and Danielle Stee.

Not to be outdone, School Library Journal asked children's authors like Kevin Henkes and Graeme Base "What’s On Your Summer Reading List?".

The New York Time asked 12 writers to recall their most memorable experiences of summer reading in an article entitled What I Read That Summer. Among them, Louise Erdrich, Walter Isaacson, Pico Iyer, Alexander McCall Smith, Ayana Mathis, Christopher Buckley, Junot Díaz, Chelsea Cain, and Cheryl Strayed.

Veronica Roth currently has all three titles from her Divergent series on Amazon's list of bestselling teen books. The first book, Divergent, is at #4 for Kindle and #14 in paperback. Insurgent for Kindle is #7. The third book in this hot series, Allegiant, is #18. Another book on the list that caught my eye is Looking for Alaska by superstar author John Green, currently #25 in paperback and #32 for Kindle. This book is on my summer reading list because I loved Green's The Fault in Our Stars. If you'd like to browse Amazon's full list of teen bestsellers, it's right here.

Secret Service agent Ethan Burke wakes up on a roadside with initially no recollection of how he got there, but knowing that he is badly injured. As he walks into the idyllic town of Wayward Pines, Idaho, some memories start to surface. He eventually recalls that he and his partner (wherever he is) were on their way to this town to locate two missing federal agents, but their car was struck by a semi. But does he have any proof of who he really is? of course not...Anyway to contact family or work? not a chance (although he tries!)...More mystery and suspense, not to mention a bit of horror and just plain weirdness, meld together into a book that is difficult to put down. If you like the writing stylings of Cormac McCarthy and the eerie storytelling of a Stephen King, then you will love Blake Crouch's Pines ! If you are interested to know more about the author check out his website, http://www.blakecrouch.com

He comments in the afterword that this story was inspired by his favorite TV show, Twin Peaks. And yes the story does take place in a beautiful small-town with odd folks in it and as he says, "...a pitch-black underbelly.", but his story goes somewhere altogether different...

It's a restaurant. It’s a cookbook. It’s a graphic novel. It’s worth checking out.

Dirt Candy: Flavor-forward food from the upstart New York City vegetarian restaurant, by Amanda Cohen & Ryan Dunlavey, is a graphic novel that tells the story of how the actual NYC restaurant came to be. It is also a cookbook as it includes recipes that are served at the restaurant interspersed with the story. The recipes include chapters on pickles, soups, salads, appetizers, sauces, entrees, pasta, desserts. All vegetarian, many with vegan variations. The book is honest and quite humorous and would be a fun read for foodies, graphic novel enthusiasts, and those who are in the restaurant business.

Michael Hastings, author and award-winning journalist for Buzzfeed, died yesterday in Los Angeles.

In the June 22, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Hastings wrote a blistering piece on then-General Stanley McChrystal who was commander of American forces in Afghanistan. Quotes from McChrystal and his aides were so highly critical of President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden that the General resigned shortly thereafter. Hastings received a 2010 Polk Award for this article.

Hastings' early career as a driven, heat-seeking missile for the truth included writing for Gentleman's Quarterly and Newsweek. Then in 2007, Hastings' world was rocked. He and his fiancee, Andi Parhamovich were both stationed in Baghdad (he was writing for Newsweek; she was an aide worker for The National Democratic Institute. Andi died in an ambush on January 17th and Hastings returned to his parents' home in Vermont, where holed up in their attic for two months while he wrote I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story (2008), a keening, bitter, loved-filled tribute to Andi.

Hastings' last hard copy book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War on Afghanistan came out last year. His last book, published earlier this year in Kindle-only format, is
Panic 2012: The Sublime and Terrifying Inside Story of Obama's Final Campaign

Lauren Graham (BA, Barnard and MFA, SMU) is better known for her roles on the hit TV series The Gilmore Girls and Parenthood. Her debut novel Someday, Someday, Maybe is a witty, charming, and hilariously relatable chronicle about a struggling young actress trying to get ahead and keep it together in New York City.

Franny Banks is coming up against the three-year deadline she set for herself when she came to New York, dreaming of Broadway. Other than some bit parts and commercials, waiting tables at a comedy club is all she has to show for. With a dwindling bank account and pressure from her father to move home, everything is riding on the upcoming showcase for her acting class, where she'll finally have a chance to perform for people who could actually hire her. That is if she won't be distracted by James Franklin, a notorious flirt and the most successful actor in her class.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is "a story about hopes and dreams, being young in a city, and wanting something deeply, madly, desperately. It's about finding love, finding yourself, and perhaps most difficult of all in New York City, finding an acting job".

In Montaro Caine, Sidney Poitier's debut, a baby is born with a coin in her hand. An orphan crafts a mysterious wooden object. Montaro Caine, the CEO of Fitzer Corporation finds himself under extraordinary pressure at work and at home. And on a remote hilltop on a Caribbean island, a medicine man seems to understand the meaning of all these events and to hold the key to the future.

When a man and woman appear at his office with a coin of unknown provenance, composed of a metal unknown on Earth. Montaro immediately recognizes it as the companion of a coin he analyzed as a graduate student working in a lab at MIT. Drawing attention from scientists, collectors, financiers, and thieves while Montaro himself hopes that the discovery of the coin will save his company.

"Sidney Poitier (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) takes us on a wild and unexpected adventure from New York to Europe to the Caribbean and beyond, and offers a heartfelt message about the potential each of us has within ourselves, and about being open to the possibility that there are mysteries in the universe. An enthralling journey into the magic of existence, Montaro Caine is a radiant debut from an American legend".

10 years in the making, Hawk Quest * by Robert Lyndon is an epic adventure set in the aftermath of the Norman conquest.

In 1072, the world is at war, hunger and disease are widespread. Sir Walter is held captive by Süleyman, the emir of Anatolia (now Turkey). The ransom: four pure-white gyrfalcons. In medieval England, the price of a gyrfalcon is roughly equivalent to half of the yearly income of a knight, and a monarch's expense to send a ship to Norway to buy a falcon could have bought 250 cows, or 1200 sheep, or paid for 50 peasant workers for a year.

Vallon, a Frankish soldier of fortune with reasons of his own, accepts the seemingly impossible task of capturing four gyrfalcons. The journey takes his motley crew from England to Iceland, Greenland (home of the gyrfalcons), and on to Russia and Anatolia, pitting them against Arctic seas, Viking warlords and other formidable challenges.

"...first-novelist Lyndon never loses control of his material, mixing fascinating descriptions of the inhospitable landscape with full-bodied portrayals of the principal characters (including a bit of romance), all the while ratcheting the tension and sense of danger to ever-higher levels".

"...utterly engrossing", teeming with historically accurate details of medieval warfare and falconry, from an author who is himself a lifelong falconer, a climber and traveler to exotic places. For fans for Bernard Cornwell's Agincourt, Robyn Young's Brethren, and Conn Iggulden's Conqueror Series.

* = starred review

Just some reading resources to get you started:

My favorite: NPR's Critics' Lists.

Publishers Weekly's Best Books Summer Reads.

Slate Magazine's Summer 2013 Staff Picks - brilliant and quirky.

This is the 5th year that the smart librarians over at Swarthmore college ask the faculty & staff to recommend a book read in the past year, or one they plan to read during the upcoming summer. You will find a wonderful mix of fiction and non-fiction, new and old classics, comedy and drama. Here is the 2013 list.

If you are one who'd rather work on your mind than your tan, here is The Washington Post's The innovator’s 2013 summer reading list: Eight books to make you smarter. Actually, you could work on both at the same time...

What's in my beach bag? I am taking the cue from the LA Times' Summer Reading Guide, with a total of 156 picks. Some are the hottest titles to hit the shelves this summer. Don't miss out.

You don't need me to remind you, Summer Game 2013 has started. Here is the info. to play.

Meet O.J., a dog like no other, in When Life Gives You O.J. by Erica S. Perl.

When Zelly Fried’s parents refuse to let her get a dog, her grandfather comes up with a crazy plan. Zelly will care for a “practice dog” to show her parents she is responsible enough to care for a dog of her own. The problem? This “practice dog” just happens to be an old orange juice container, and Zelly is terrified about what her classmates will think if they see her feeding it and taking it for walks! Will Zelly be able to stick it out long enough to earn a real live dog?

While the hilarious “practice dog” plot is sure to hook listeners, there is also much more to this heartfelt story. It takes on timely kid issues like being the new kid, feeling like an outsider, dealing with the death of a grandparent and worrying about losing a best friend. This book is also a 2012 Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Older Readers, awarded for its authentic portrayal of the Jewish experience.

If you enjoy realistic stories with just the right blend of humor and heart, you should definitely check out When Life Gives Your O.J. You'll find it on our NEW shelf.

AADL continues to grow its collection of films that have a Descriptive Video Service or DVS feature. More films are being produced for children and adults that are Described Video Recordings for L Card users to borrow. There are comedies, action, animation, horror and science fiction films available. Many can be sent by mail to our WLBPD patrons as Free Matter for the Blind. If your vision isn't what it used to be, you may want to try watching a film with described narration. That way you don't have to ask other folks what's happening on the screen and can concentrate on the film.