Title: Forgotten: A Novel

Author: Catherine McKenzie

Publisher: William Morrow, An imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2012

Summary/Review: Emma Tupper’s mother passed away and leaves her a round trip ticket to Africa. Emma promised her dying mother that she would take the trip and not return for one month. However, Emma is a dedicated lawyer with a bright future at a big city law firm. Taking this trip means she will have to forfeit her partnership with the firm. When Emma’s boyfriend Craig offers to go with her on the trip, she tells him she wants to do this by herself so she can think about where her life is headed.

Emma becomes ill while on the tour in Africa. She is transported to a medical center to be cared for. While she is recovering, a massive earthquake occurs in Africa which leaves them without communication and transportation for several months. Because Emma’s illness was never reported to her tour guide company, her last known location was in the city of the earthquake, therefore, she was presumed dead.

Six months later, Emma returns home to London. She soon realizes that her friends, boyfriend, and colleagues thought she was dead, and that her life has moved on without her. She has no money, no job and no place to live. Read about Emma’s struggles to get her old life back and follow her on her most important journey of self-discovery. This book does not have a predictable ending. The question is….if you had a chance to start over, would you take it?

Who will like this book: Those who like fast-paced contemporary novels.

If you like this, try this: Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult. Catherine Mackenzie also writes a number of other novels if you are a fan of the writing style.

Recommended by: Beverly, Circulation

If you would like to check if this book is available or place a hold, visit the Fairfield  Public Library catalog [Link will open in a new window]

Title: The Next Thing on My List

Author: Jill Smolinski

Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books, Inc. 2007

Review/Summary: If you are looking for light-read with a good story, look no further than The Next Thing on My List.

Meet June Parker, single, in her mid-thirties, and the driver of the car that killed her passenger Marissa Jones. After the accident June discovers a list that Marissa made titled “20 Things to Do by My 25th Birthday”. In trying to figure out her own life, June decides to complete Melissa’s list for her. Some articles on the list, such as “go on a blind date” and “try boogie boarding” turn out to be total adventures. Other items, such as “run a 5K” and “pitch an idea at work” require more time and commitment. One of the most difficult challenges on the list is “change someone’s life”. As June becomes consumed with trying to change one life, she ends up changing several lives, including her own.

All in all, life shouldn’t be taken for granted. And yes, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort-zone to make something happen. This book is both inspirational and funny with characters you can relate to. After you finish reading it, you will want to start your own list.

Who will like this: Someone looking for a fun but thought provoking book.  Someone interested in starting their own list!

If you like this, try this:  If you’re into chick-lit, try anything by Elin Hilderbrand, who is known for her portrayal of women without being too fluffy,  or “Bright Side of Disaster” by Katherine Center, a funny and light-hearted but still fulfilling book about love and losing it.  If you like Jane Smolinski’s writing style, she has a number of other books both fiction and non-fiction.

If you’re interested in starting your own bucket list, there are a number of books out there about that on every subject- including a bucket list of books to read!

Recommended by: Sharyn, Circulation Assistant

If you think you’d like to read this, visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog to check if it’s available and place a hold! [Link will open in a new window]

Title: Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs

Author: Molly Harper

Publisher: Pocket Star, 2009

Summary/Review: This year brought Fairfield a light winter and an early spring, so I am channeling summer and diving into some good beach reads!

When Jane Jameson is unjustly fired from her position as the town’s Children’s Librarian, she heads off to the local pub. After a few rounds, she stumbles home only to be accidently mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead in a field. But, then a good-looking vampire – a group who has recently gone public thanks to a federal lawsuit – finds her and offers to turn her. She accepts the offer and three days later wakes up to find her world changed. Welcoming Jane to this new life is a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, as well as, a cute and mysterious sire, Gabriel.

When someone starts framing Jane for a series of murders in her small town of Moon Hollow, Jane sets out to prove she’s still the nice girl she has always been. This book is the first in a series about Jane Jameson and her supernatural friends, but very normal family.

Written with humor (and a few jokes only a Children’s Librarian would understand), Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs is great for those readers who enjoy a little paranormal romance in their lives.

Who Will Like This Book: Fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Nora Roberts fans, and adult readers of the Twilight saga.

If You Like This, Try This: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon,  Sign of the Seven Trilogy by Nora Roberts,  The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley,  Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Recommended by: Mary Sorhus, Head of Children’s Services

Does this look like your kind of book?  Visit the Fairfield Public Library Catalog to check if it’s available and/or place a hold!

Author: David Baldacci

Title: The Last Time I Saw You

Author:  Elizabeth Berg

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, April 2010

Summary: Do you remember those dreaded high school reunions? You know, trying to lose weight, getting your hair done, wondering if you should drag your spouse along.  Elizabeth Berg’s new book is about that and more.  She touches on several groups of people who will be attending their 40th high school reunion.  The in-crowd, the out-crowd and all of the silly high school crushes. Several of the characters, who might never have gotten together in high school, suddenly find themselves enjoying each others’ company.  If you’re moving into that boomer category, you will enjoy this trip back to those sweet, and sometimes not, ole days of high school.

Recommended by: Nancy, Deputy Town Librarian

Title: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Author:  Beth Hoffman

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books, January 2010

Summary: Twelve year old CeeCee Honeycut is struggling to find normalcy in her chaotic life. Her mother is suffering from a mental illness and her father stays away from home as much as possible. Ceecee is left alone to care for her mother, confiding in her only friend, Mrs. Odell. When a tragic event turns CeeCee’s world upside down, it’s her Great Aunt Tootie to the rescue. Tootie brings CeeCee down to her home in beautiful Savannah where  CeeCee learns about her mother’s childhood and what it feels like to be unconditionally loved. This is a delightful debut novel that brings to life the beauty of the south and the strength of a family’s love.

Who will like this book? Fans of women’s fiction and anyone who liked The Secret Life of Bees should try this.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Title: Family Acts

Author: Louise Shaffer

Summary: The author, who is an Emmy-Award winning soap actress for Ryan’s Hope and screenwriter, turns her love of the theater inot a delightful novel set in the Old South. Katharine ‘Kate’ Harder, a New York scriptwriter and Miranda ‘Randa’ Jennings, a Hollywood business writer, seem to have little in common, except names from Shakespearean plays and a thespian parent. A letter from a lawyer brings them the news that they have jointly inherited the Venable Opera House in Massonville, Georgia. After traveling to see the crumbling century-old theatre, the two women, with the help of Randa’s precocious 11 year-old daughter, delve into the lives of the owners who struggled to keep the theatre alive.

The story alternates betwen the present and flashbacks to tell a family epic that is rich in its theatrical setting. The ending links this book to Shaffer’s other two novels: The Three Margarets and Ladies of Garrison Gardens.

Who will like this book? Definately a women’s read, especially lovers of the theater and soaps.

If you like this, try this: Shaffer’s previous novels: The Three Margarets and Ladies of Garrison Gardens.

Recommended by: Sandy, Technical Services

Title: The Godmother

Author: Carrie Adams

Summary: Thirty-something Tessa King has seven best friends, four godchildren, and no life of her own. Returning home to London after a five-week vacation (or, escape from her harrassing former boss) she is thrown back into her familar role of drinking buddy/fairy godmother/crisis counselor. But will Tessa ever get over her unrequited love, meet her true Prince Charming and have babies of her own?

While this novel sounds like another carbon copy beach book, the plot takes some unexpected turns and becomes something more substantial that traditional chick lit fare.  Tessa is a well-developed, painfully believable heroine, and her circle of friends and godchildren are well-developed but still familiar characters, each with their own secrets that are revealed over the course of the story. These are the sort of characters that stay with you, and leave you wishing for a sequel!

Who will like this book? People with godchildren, nieces and/or nephews whom they adore, and ‘women who do too much.’

If you like this, try this: Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner, Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian