Reading Recommendations:

The Island

Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut backyard pond to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any mother of a bride to be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late night phone call from Chess abruptly announcing that she's canceled her engagement.

It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations. Before dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair. Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her thirty year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter, Tate, and her own sister, India. Soon all four are headed to beautiful, rustic, Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations. No phones, no television, no grocery store, a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles.

But when sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long kept secrets come together on a remote island, what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled and new loves make themselves known. It's a summertime story full of heartache, laughter and surprises.

Thank you, Donna Baxter, for putting me on to the Elin Hilderbrand books. I have not yet read The Castaways. I will soon.

Comes a Time for Burning

It's Spring, 1892. Busy stitching and bandaging lumberjack's injuries, young Dr. Thomas Parks has no idea that his worst enemy is lurking in the sleepy village of Port McKinney.

When one of the working girls at the Clarissa Hotel is brought to the clinic desperately ill, Thomas' newly arrived associate wastes no time in making the diagnosis, Asian Cholera has somehow found this backwater near Puget Sound. The cholera strikes viciously and kills in days, sometimes even hours. It soon becomes apparent that Thomas and his clinic have neither the supplies nor the means to provide effective treatment for the outbreak, and in hours, they are swamped.

Afraid for the safety of his wife and daughter, and all those close to him, Thomas is still driven by professional curiosity about the contagion's origins, especially when it appears that one of his own nurses is in some way responsible. Before he can mount a truly effective defense, the battle spreads, threatening the very life of the village. A man always driven by his own curiosities and ambitions, Thomas discovers that his greatest allies are those closest to him.

And, Superfoods, The Healthiest Foods on the Plant, Includes 200 Super Foods, Tonia Reinhard, Eat Better, Look Younger, Feel Healthier, Live Longer,

•A Comprehensive reference to the world's super foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, cereals, and meat and dairy products.

•Includes nutritional analysis of each food.

• Cuts through the marketing hype and exposes the truth about each super food.

• Provides preparation advice and essential tips on how to maximize the health benefits of each food.

And much more ---

See you at Rylander!