Books for Lunch, as well...

As I am reading TEARS IN THE DARKNESS: THE STORY OF THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH AND ITS AFTERMATH, I think about all of the atrocities of American soldiers and how little I have read about them (other than during the Vietnam War). I want to read about that.

Then, I started thinking about how quiet it has been since I stopped checking my email account and moved to Facebook. Where are the book recommendations? What has made your summer or changed your year? What is your all-time favorite book that you cannot believe I have overlooked?

41. JOSEF JAEGER - Jere' M. Fishback

As I read more YA books, I wonder, "Where were you when I was a teen - and stuck with Gone With the Wind?"

JOSEF JAEGER is no exception. Based on Hitler's Germany, Josef is a 13-year-old who lives with his uncle after his mother's death. His uncle, Ernst Roehm, is the openly gay chief of the Nazi brown shirts. Through his personal experiences, Josef realizes that he is gay, as well.

After Josef is chosen to play the lead in a propaganda film, he finally feels safe. He loves his work, he loves a Jewish boy, and he loves his life in Berlin. However, he hears rumors that his mother's death was not natural, so he does what he can to find out the truth.

I knew I would like this book due to the historical elements, but I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Rather than using a heavy hand with the stories that we have all read - the deaths, the extermination of Jews, the Nazi power - the author uses Josef as a metaphor for the German people. He is a teenager who is trying to find himself during a time when politics truly meant life or death.

My only gripe was that Josef is portrayed as a 13-year-old. Since I live with one, I felt that some of the experiences would have been more believable in a 15- or 16-year-old. While I kept in mind the cultural and time differences, I still have difficulties. Even the cover drawing looks like a much older boy.

Outside of this, the writing is clean and concise. There are beautiful passages of imagery, like jagged snow peaks "looking like monstrous teeth biting into brilliant sky." Fishback's use of language is poetic at points, like a master brushing paint on a canvas. For the author's sake, I hope this book gets banned because then it will receive the attention it deserves.

4.0 out of 5.0 Summer Beers.

40. NATURE GIRL - Carl Hiaasen

I love me some Carl Hiaasen. He has perfected the quirky characters, strange yet predictable plotting, and hilarious flashbacks to the point where I wonder if he even thinks about it when he writes. I know that I hardly think at all when I read what he writes, which is the whole point. Lovely escapism with a few laughs.

In this case, Honey is furious at a telemarketer, so she scams him into coming for an eco-trip in Florida with his mistress. Of course, the plot is much more complicated, but the general point is that she is out to screw over Boyd.

After reading so many of his books, I think I could give a doctoral thesis oral exam about his writing style, thematic purposes, and use of sex for laughs. Since a Ph.D. in Literature is not in my immediate future, I will simply say that he has written another good vacation book. Not my favorite of his, but good enough.

2.75 out of 5.0 Key Lime Martinis.

39. LITTLE CHILDREN - Tom Perrotta

I adore the film, ELECTION. It's probably the last time that I have liked Matthew Broderick's work. Still, the book is even more incredible, which is why I chose to read this rather than watch a lovely, sweaty Kate Winslet in the role.

Stay at home parents are akin to propaganda-spewing Nazis. I can say that because I was one for several years. Every parent has starch-stiff beliefs (no TV as a babysitter! home school! flashcards! no violent toys!). This book takes a group of parents, mostly stay at home mothers and fathers, and allows them to bump along, similar to that video game, "The Sims."

Perrotta is both empathetic and cruel in his characterizations, but he is always funny. After closing the book, I was thankful to be out of those mind-numbing years, though I do miss the naps.

3.0 out of 5.0 Sour Patch Bombs.

38. MY SISTER'S KEEPER - Jodi Picoult

Every time that I want to flick the dust of Jodi Picoult off my liter-ahry map of books, she surprises me again. Yes, she is writing women's literature, but she uses imagery like Maya Angelou and dialogue like Quentin Tarantino. Plus, she intrigues me with her "what if" scenarios, which is why I enjoy writing.

The movie is out. I have heard it does not compare to the book, so I will not go there.

Simply, Anna was created to have the cord blood to help her older sister fight cancer. When that didn't work, she repeatedly donates plasma, blood, and bone marrow. Finally, at the age of thirteen, Anna wants her body left alone, but that means her sister will die without the vital kidney transplant. So, Anna hires a lawyer.

This is a "what if" scenario of the highest degree, but I found myself angry with the mother and frustrated by the father. However, by the end, I was bawling through the last pages. Yes, it is women's lit, but it is of the highest quality. Picoult, as a mother, knows just how to hit the solar plexus and make one gasp for breath.

3.75 out of 5.0 Silent Erasers.

Hot Books for the Hottest Month

I love it when Barnes and Noble has its dollar days. Thick, fresh-smelling hardcover books for $1.99, woody paperbacks for a buck. Of course, I need to spend $20 for free shipping, but that is the price I must pay.

I have always dreamed of this: a child pulling apart the packing tape with small fingers, hacking at cardboard with dull scissors. He shuffles through the books until he sees the blazing titles and crazy cartoonish fonts that indicate a book Mom does not want. He flings himself at his mother in gratitude. "You know me so well," he cries out. "You knew exactly what I would want to read!"

That moment filled my cup for days.

I begin my new job on July 21 as assistant professor of English. It is a reward after several years of hard work, but I will miss two things - my time for writing and reading. I expect that I will have to change some habits (10 hours of sleep per day? really?) in order to finish writing my novel, but I know I will always find time for a quick read (burned chicken for dinner, anyone?).

Meanwhile, packages are still arriving from B&N, along with more envelopes with new, exciting books, like Tears in the Darkness (wow, I have to take it slow because it is so heart-wrenching), Josef Jaeger (YA historical with gay heroes - where were you when I was a teen?), and Hume's Fork (I don't even know how to describe this book yet, but I can't wait to try). Books piled into a three-foot tall tower, books tucked under my journals and planner, books hidden in magazine racks and bathrooms.

I may rinse my mind with some easy reads as I wade through the next weeks, full of family plans and commitments. Or I may tackle a tough tome during vacation, something to lug on planes and boats... something to read to appear intelligent and distinguished. Or I may just plunge in, like the old Nestea pool commercials: sip and fall back into the coolness of pulped pages.

37. OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS - Malcolm Gladwell

For decades, there is always at least one how-to book that crops up like a dandelion in a strawberry patch. You know the names, even if you never read past the title: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus or Dianetics. I remember "the Secret," as well as "the Word."

Still, Outliers is different. It shows the correlation between success and behaviors, situations, and just plain luck. For example, most Canadian professional hockey players are born in January, February, and March. Do you think that parents plan that? They might start thinking about it, now.

With fantastic interviews that build on basic principals, it is a book that encourages more discussion - even prompting a huge talk about how many hours one must read and write to become a successful author (with my 10-year-old).

4.5 out of 5.0 Knock-Outs.

36. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - Stieg Larsson

Originally titled, "Men Who Hate Women," this is the first of a series of three (or four - there are rumors abound) books by author Stieg Larsson, a talented plotter who died from a heart attack before the books were published.

"The Girl," in this case, is Lisbeth Salander, a punkish, asocial 20-something with a knack for finding anyone's secrets. She is called in to help Mikhael Blomkvist, a journalist who is hired to find answers to a 50-year-old mystery: what happened to Harriet Vanger, niece to the powerhouse Henrik Vanger.

The mystery is reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" (I forgot the politically correct version of the title), where everyone is on an island and no one escaped. Therefore, did Harriet die? Was she murdered?

This book is not just a mystery. The author has statistics about sexual abuse, rape, and assault of Swedish women at the beginning of each major section. Half of the book involves Lisbeth's backstory before meeting up with Mikhael. The end is not the triumphant answer to the mystery.

I know I am a bit late to this party, but the unique style and anti-formulaic approach fascinated me, as it has for many readers and critics. It is just a shame that the author did not live longer to share his gift through other stories.

4.0 out of 5.0 Dragon Breaths.

35. THE PHYSICK BOOK OF DELIVERANCE DANE - Katherine Howe

As I adore asking the question, "What if?" this book was a wonderful treat. What if one of those accused during the Salem Witch trials was, in fact, a witch? I use the term loosely because, as in the novel, there is the current fads of reiki healing, energy work, and aura readings that account for helpful modern "physicks."

This debut novel explores the possibility of a true physick/magic-healer named Deliverance Dane. As 1990s student, Connie Goodwin, a doctoral student of colonial history at Harvard, begins to empty out her grandmother's New England home, she finds clues that lead her on an academic adventure. Her mother, a "healer" who moved to be near energy centers in the southwest United States, makes Connie roll her eyes in frustration. Therefore, the deeper Connie is involved in the mystery, the more she must give up her preconceived notions.

Fascinating premise; however, the book is best for light summer reading due to a sub-plot about a crazed professor and the forced romance between Connie and a local. Still, it held my interest enough to keep me reading late into the night.

3.0 out of 5.0 Salem Witches.

34. THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN - Kate Morton

A toddler is left on the wharf in Brisbane, Australia, in the early 1900s. A dock worker takes her home, and when no family searches for her, he and his wife move and pretend that Nell is their own daughter. Still, Nell remembers something about "The Authoress," and a book of fairy tales is all that remains from her voyage.

The narrative switches from Nell's childhood memories to her search for her "real" parents in the 1970s to her granddaughter's attempt to solve every snippet of the mystery.

Personally, this whiplash storytelling became frustrating, and too many coincidences (a clue falls out of a book... not once, but twice!) had me skimming to the end.

1.75 out of 5.0 Adios Cabachos.

XX. THE EMBERS - Hyatt Bass

Death, family tragedy, dysfunctional relationships - all of the makings of a great Russian novel. Unfortunately, this is the debut fiction of Hyatt Bass, a book that has been glorified by many reviewers.

Not this one.

After 63 pages, I grew exhausted by the whiny, self-absorbed characters. The plot could have pulled me deeper into this tornado, but a quick flip proved that there would be no redemption, just frustration. My wall has enough dents from past clunkers.

32. IN THE WAKE OF THE BOATMAN - Jonathon Scott Fuqua

The relationship between fathers and sons is rocky, precarious, tenuous at times, as I watch my boys, as I watch my friends' families. I wonder at adult males who like their fathers.

IN THE WAKE OF THE BOATMAN explores this relationship from before the main character, Puttnam Steward, is born until a crumbling mid-life crisis that makes him reassess everything about himself. Not to be coy, but all that he learned, he learned as a kindergartner - rough lessons from a damaged, pathetic father.

As Putt tries to figure out himself as a teen and young adult, he ends up putting himself in situations where he is in danger, yet he comes out as a hero each time. This further enrages him because he cannot connect the person he is with the one others see. The person he is wants to wear dresses and be pretty.

The descriptions are so vivid and consuming that one feels itchy within Putt's skin, just as he did. It is lovely writing regarding a fascinating subject.

4.25 out of 5.0 Boat Drinks.