By all accounts, today is June 22. My calendar says so and my computer agrees. Flipping through channels this morning I found that the good people at the Today Show and Good Morning America are also under the impression that this is June 22. The weather doesn't support that, but we're getting used to crazy weather in June in these parts.
But on June 22nd (and perhaps even before that) school supplies are showing up on store shelves! That's insane. I bet even the most dedicated teachers are crying "Foul. This isn't funny. STOP". Being one season ahead of real time is something I have never gotten a good grip on. Last year I cringed when employees started displaying Christmas books on the 4th of July and Easter books on January 1st. OK - perhaps their efforts weren't that premature, but it still seemed awkward to me.
Last week ARCs (advance reader copy) of new books started rolling in, and it looks like creepy is in. Yup, publishers are already promoting what they hope will be big, scary books for Halloween. There are too many to share with you, and far too many to have read over the weekend. Besides that, "Three coins in a Fountain" was on Sunday afternoon right in the middle of my planned reading time. No contest. Dorothy Maguire and Louis Jordan won. But, from the pile, I picked out a couple and will share the back of the book blurbs with you.
Second Souls by Christopher Moore - lovable...oddball....classic bender....I'm a fan and will read this book soon.
In San Francisco the souls of the dead are mysteriously disappearing - and you know that can't be good -...buckle in for a weird and wild ride
Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day...first chapter got me hooked and I might read the entire novel at some point.
Juliet Townsend is used to losing. Back in high school she lost every track team race to her best friend. Then one night, Maddy checks in (to the motel where Juliet works). By the next morning, Juliet is no longer jealous of Maddy - she's the chief suspect in her murder.
The Book of Speculation by Erica Swyler...I've started this twice and walked away twice. The reviews are mixed, no middle of the road, either glowing or down right nasty. I'll give it one more try but the whole mermaid business doesn't work for me. (Lizzer, let me know what you think of this book)
Books matter to Simon Watson, a young librarian who finds himself increasingly drawn to the one that has arrived on his doorstep. It seems to be some kind of journal from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700's who reports many strange and magical things - including the drowning death of a circus mermaid.
Conversion by Katherine Howe....one of my favorite plays to teach my high school kids was Arthur Miller's The Crucible an allegory about the McCarthy era veiled as the Salem witch trials. Might be fun to read this fresh twist.
First the Queen Bee starts having loud, uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. More students and stranger symptoms follow...the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts as school officials, angry partents and the board of health scramble to find something, or someone to blame. But Colleen Rowley, who has been reading The Crucible for extra credit comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuriess ago...
There you have it, a jump start to your October reading. In between books, you can work on your Halloween costume and stock up on trick or treat candy. After all, it's already June 22nd.
Me? I'm getting out the shovel, salt, and having the oil changed in the snow blower.
Thanks for stopping by.
