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Health & Fitness

Old and New to Satisfy Summer Reading

Check out these great reading suggestions from the Library!

Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Marriage of the Century by Sam Kashner  (2010)
With the death of Elizabeth Taylor last year, and the casting of Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth in a Lifetime movie this year, Taylor fans should turn to the source of that movie:  Furious Love.   The majority of this book is of Taylor’s first meeting with Richard Burton, and then their second meeting, on the set of "Cleopatra”.  A love affair for the ages began.  Their relationship lasted for eleven years; their first marriage in 1965, till their second divorce in 1976. But it never really ended.  Just a couple of days before his death, Richard Burton wrote and sent Elizabeth (what would be) his final love letter. "Home was where Elizabeth was, and he wanted to come home." The most interesting piece of information to me was reading that Burton actually considered doing American episodic television with Elizabeth, so they could settle in one place for a while. (Imagine Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as Roseanne and Dan Connor.  It WOULD work!)   This book is addicting.  As for me, it showed women named Taylor have a thing for sexy Welshmen!   ~  Recommended by Michele

Of the Farm by John Updike (1965)
The protagonist Joey visits his mother at her farm with his new wife, Peggy, and his stepson, Richard.  Joey’s mother is struggling with aging and feels useless.  She has never really let go of her son, and Peggy is angry when Joey does not stand up to his mother for her.  At times, Richard is a pawn in the conflict between Peggy and Joey’s mother.  When Joey’s mother’s health problems worsen, she seems to finally accept his independence.  Updike’s use of descriptive language allows readers to easily visualize his characters’ surroundings as the story unfolds.  ~ Recommended by Jennifer

The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill (2004)  
This first Laotian investigation mystery set in 1976, introduces the delightful Dr. Siri Paiboun, a doctor and a widower who is made the chief medical examiner and the only coroner in the country of Laos. Without training or even supplies to use in performing his duties, Dr. Siri performs autopsies while investigating murder and mayhem in his country.  Though living under communist rule is difficult, Dr. Siri, his friends, neighbors and co-workers enjoy small everyday acts of subversion and rebellion.  The book includes many one-liners and clever dramas that, in the end, come to a completely satisfying conclusion.  ~ Recommended by Kathy

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The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan (2011) 
This short novel is arranged like a dictionary and offers powerful and enlightening glimpses into a couple’s relationship through brief definitions of words that seem, at first, almost randomly chosen.  The story doesn’t progress in a linear fashion; instead it reads like fragments of memories.  The characters are flawed, their relationship isn’t perfect, but it is eminently realistic and relatable.  Levithan tells a beautiful and personal love story in this book, and the short entries and sparse language only accentuate the powerful emotions.   ~  Recommended by Jody

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)
On their fifth wedding anniversary, Nick heads off to work while his wife, Amy, stays at home. Later that afternoon, his nosy neighbor calls him to say their front door is wide open and their cat is sitting on the front steps. Nick returns home to find his wife missing and a hastily cleaned up crime scene in his living room. Alternating between the ongoing missing person investigation and Amy's detailed diary entries prior to the abduction, Gone Girl is an intriguing and suspenseful psychological thriller.   ~ Recommended by Rebekah

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You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know by Heather Sellers  (2010) 
Imagine never being able to recognize members of your family, your friends, your students!  Heather's memoir of coming to terms with face blindness, her mentally ill mother, and a father far too fond of the bottle, reads like a novel but is the true story of her life.    Many years passed and much research was needed before she understood that she was not incompetent or intentionally rude to friends and family when she did not recognize them on the way to school, grocery store, or her boyfriend on a date. Tests at a Harvard University research laboratory confirmed the diagnosis that she had a rare neurological disease (Prosopagnosia) that would not let her recognize facial features.  Although there is no cure, Heather learned the hard way to accept herself and forgive her mother whose schizophrenic behavior caused her so much grief in her childhood and teen years.  Today she is a popular professor at Hope College who wishes her students would wear name tags!  A 2011 Michigan Notable Book Award winner.   ~ Recommended by Regina

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