Spin Cycle: Books!!

Even though I just did a reading challenge update, I saw that Jen, at Sprite's Keeper has brought back a favorite of mine.... The Spin Cycle!  This week's spin is about books.  What we're reading now, what are our favorite books and authors.  

Here's my spin.

I just finished Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.  I listened to these books in my car.  I loved them!!!  I was rooting for Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist throughout the books!  I'm sad that Stieg Larsson has passed away and we won't get to enjoy any more wonderful books from this gifted author.

The Pond is a wonderfully spooky book!   "A small boy drowns in a Pennsylvania pond, enters the ranks of the ghostly and seemingly returns decades later to haunt the family indirectly responsible for his demise." ~KIrkus Reviews   Although this story is strictly fiction, the idea for the book is based on an actual event that occurred many years ago in the Reading, Pennsylvania area.  You may have to get this book from Amazon, and it is available for Kindle!

Right now I'm reading False Dawn, the third of the Jake Lassiter series by Paul Levine.  Jake Lassiter is a former pro football player, turned attorney-at-law in Miami, Florida.  In the course of his job, Jake manages to find himself in the middle of murders and intrigue.  I like the subtle humor in these books too!

If you like beach books, you can't go wrong with any or all of Elin Hilderbrand's books!  All of Elin's books take place on Nantucket, and each story is unique.  The first book of Elin's that I read was Barefoot, about a woman going through chemotherapy for lung cancer and how her summer on Nantucket affects those around her, including her sister and her friend, as well as her husband and children.  I loved this book!  My favorite was The Blue Bistro about a woman working in a restaurant over one summer on Nantucket.  Maybe it's because I also work in a restaurant, I wanted to work here!!  If I did, I could have taken the rest of the year off!  All of Elin's books are wonderful!  I'm waiting for her newest novel, Silver Girl to be delivered to my Kindle any day now!

This is my new very favorite author, Sarah Pekkanen!  Her first book, The Opposite Of Me, I read in less than 3 days!  I haven't done that in years!  She was recommended by Jennifer Weiner (another favorite of mine!)  and I'm so glad she did!  The Opposite Of Me is the story of twins and how different they really are!  Not long after I read it,  her second novel came out, Skipping A Beat.  This one was equally enjoyable! Skipping A Beat is about a married couple whose lives are completely changed when the husband suffers cardiac arrest and he dies for several minutes.  Even Oprah says to pick up this book!  Sarah just finished her third novel, but I have to be patient, because it won't hit the book store until April 2012! 

So there are my recommendations for reading this summer!  Enjoy!