If only summer was as long as the list of books released every June, July and August. Publishers again are releasing a variety of works this summer for every and any reader's enjoyment.
Here's a preview of some new and notable books:
JUNE
"Boogaloo: The Quintessence of American Popular Music" by Arthur Kempton (Pantheon, $27.95). A meditation on the art and influence of black music in America. Kempton's book spans the 20th century, from Thomas Dorsey to Sam Cooke and Berry Gordy to Tupac Shakur.
"The Lake House" by James Patterson (Little, Brown, $27.95). One of the most prolific writers in contemporary fiction returns with another thriller, reintroducing characters from his 1998 novel "When the Wind Blows."
"Die in Plain Sight" by Elizabeth Lowell (Morrow, $24.95). A suspense novel about history, ancestry and art by Lowell, the best-selling author of "Eden Burning" and "Running Scared."
"Eastertown" by Max Crawford (University of Oklahoma Press, $29.95). Crawford is a relatively unknown author, but one worth getting to know. His novels are often classified as Westerns, but his themes are truly American. "Eastertown" is about a high school's stage productions that help a small western plains community recover from a tragedy just after World War II.
"Flynn's World" by Gregory Mcdonald (Pantheon, $23). Mystery writer Mcdonald brings back police inspector -- and international spy -- Francis Xavier Flynn for the first time in almost two decades. Mcdonald is the author of the popular "Fletch" series.
"Hell at the Breech" by Tom Franklin (Morrow, $23.95). Franklin's debut novel is a richly imagined story of a young boy and an old sheriff who are embroiled in the middle of a feud between poor sharecroppers and the land-owning upper class in Clarke County, Alabama. It's based on real events.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic, $29.99). The child wizard returns bigger -- 869 pages! -- than ever. But will he measure up to the first four volumes in this popular series?
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead. $24.95). Heralded as the first book about contemporary Afghanistan to be written in English, Hosseini's debut novel is about an Afghan immigrant to the United States who returns to his homeland to rescue the son of a childhood friend.
"True Believers: The Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans" by Joe Queenan (Henry Holt, $23). In a book that should resonate with long-suffering Pirates fans, Queenan's book asks the ultimate questions: Why do we care so much about sports, and what do we get out of it?
"Dogs of Babel" by Carolyn Parkhust (Little, Brown, $21.95). A debut with an intriguing premise -- a man's wife falls from a tree and dies, and the only witness is the family dog. Suspecting foul play, the widower then tries to teach the dog to speak.
"Scaredy Cat" by Mark Billingham (Morrow, $23.95). A best-selling author in Great Britain, Billingham was introduced to American mystery fans last year with "Sleepyhead," an intense psychological thriller that featured every-man detective Tom Thorne. "Scaredy Cat" is the second book in the series.
"But Does It Travel" by Calvin Trillin (Random House, $22.95). Humorist Trillin presents a travelogue of cuisines that have struggled to go beyond their place-specific origins: Cajun boudin in Louisiana, posole in northern New Mexico, ceviche in Ecuador.
JULY
"Elegance" by Kathleen Tessaro (Morrow, $13.95). Tessaro is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University who lives in London. "Elegance," her debut effort, concerns a woman who discovers an old book about glamour and beauty secrets, and how it transforms her unhappy marriage.
"Fear Itself: A Fearless Jones Novel" by Walter Mosely (Little, Brown, $24.95). Mosely's second novel featuring used-bookstore owner Paris Minton and Fearless Jones, who is as bold as his name implies. Using the same era that served him so well in the Easy Rawlins mysteries, the author's portrayal of Los Angeles during the 1950s is a memorable character itself.
"Frankie's Place" by Jim Sterba (Grove/Atlantic, $23). A foreign correspondent during the Vietnam War, Sterba's book recounts his clash-of-cultures romance with Frances "Frankie" FitzGerald, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, and their days at a scenic retreat in Maine.
"The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley" by Alanna Nash (Simon & Schuster, $25). For those who have not yet whetted their appetite for all things Elvis, "The Colonel" tells the story of his relationship with the controversial Parker. Worth noting: Nash, a feature writer for Entertainment Weekly, was the first journalist to see Presley's body after his death.
"For Matrimonial Purposes" by Kavita Daswani (Putnam, $23.95). A correspondent for CNN International, CNBC Asia and Women's Wear Daily magazine, Daswani's debut novel concerns an Indian woman who is considered odd by her family because she's not married -- at 33.
"Tietam Brown" by Mick Foley (Knopf, $23.95). Foley is the same guy who masqueraded as Mankind in professional wrestling circles. But he's also rumored to be a savvy writer. This debut novel is about an abused teenager's trials after he is reunited with his real father.
AUGUST
"The Teeth of the Tiger" by Tom Clancy (Putnam, $28.95). In a letter accompanying promotional materials for his new novel, Clancy writes about the Soviets being fine enemies, who were ruthless, resourceful -- and predictable. So Clancy adjusts his sights and takes on the War on Terrorism in his 13th novel, with a familiar-but-new hero: Jack Ryan Jr.
"Reading New York: A Celebration of New York Writers, the Essence of the City, and the Transforming Effects of Reading" by John Tytell (Knopf, $25). Part biography, part love letter to New York, Tytell's book is about his childhood encounters with books and writers, including Walt Whitman and Henry Miller. Tytell's previous books include biographies of Ezra Pound and the Beat poets.
"The Mammoth Cheese" by Sheri Holman (Grove/Atlantic, $24). The residents of Three Chimneys, Va., re-create the making of the 1,235-pound cheese that was given to President Thomas Jefferson. A novel about the debts we owe to history by the author of "The Dress Lodger."
"Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball" by Stefan Kanter (Knopf, $26.95). The revival of interest in the life of Lucille Ball continues in this biography by the author of "The Essential Groucho."
"The Sinner" by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine, $24.95) Suspense writer Gerritsen revisits her character Maura Isles, a medical examiner, in this book about senseless murders in a cloistered convent.
| Local sellers' suggestions |
Here's what two local independent bookstores are recommending for summer reading:
Jay Dantry of Jay's Book Stall, Oakland:
"God Secretaries" by Adam Nicolson (HarperCollins, $24.95). "It's about the making of the King James Bible, the story of the committee that produced the greatest book in the English language."
"Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" by Michael Lewis (Dimensions, $24.95). "You don't have to know anything about baseball, and don't have to look good in a uniform to follow the Oakland A's."
"The Kalahari Typing School for Men" by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon, $19.95). "Once you've read this book, you'll want to go back and read the first three books in the series."
Mary Alice Gorman of Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont:
"Fear Itself" by Walter Mosely (Little, Brown, $24.95). "Introduced in last year's 'Fearless Jones,' this summer's book finds bookstore owner Paris Minton pulled into pretty deep waters by his friend Fearless Jones' own problems with a missing man that everyone, including the police, are looking for. With a setting in early '50 Los Angeles, Mosley has plenty of scope to examine the nature of race relations in that era and implicitly contrast them with the present, while keeping up a breakneck pace in plotting and suspense."
"A Time Gone By" by William Heffernan (Simon & Schuster $24). "Veteran thriller writer Heffernan provides a suspenseful and atmospheric puzzler which begins with the murder of a prominent New York judge in 1945. Two cops investigate, one of whom will later become police commissioner. In the present day, the commissioner decides to reopen the case in which he knew that political pressure had resulted in a wrongful conviction and execution. Heffernan smoothly moves the story between past and present narratives with a wonderful evocation of New York in the '40s."
"Judgment Call" by Alafair Burke (Henry Holt, $23). "Proving that Allegheny County politics is not the only place that kids follow in their parents' footsteps is the debut legal thriller 'Judgment Call' by Alafair Burke, daughter of James Lee Burke, who appropriated her name for his own Dave Robicheux series. While Burke may have gotten a few writing tips from Dad, the background is all her own with a very tough-minded Portland prosecutor, Samantha Kincaid, drawn from her own experiences as a deputy DA. A complex, hard-hitting debut."
