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I first encountered good ole Southern charm in middle school when Peyton, a teenage boy’s vision of a goddess, with long blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes appeared as a transfer student from Georgia. She was, unfortunately, a gifted athlete, beautiful, polite but reserved, smart and self confident-and to top it off she had the most musical Southern accent. All the girls were prepared to hate her (who ever heard of a girl named Peyton anyway?) but there was just something about her that was both mysterious and inviting.

That charm and the ability to arouse curiousity are also evident in many novels written by Southerners-not just the literary William Faulkners, Eudora Weltys or Robert Penn Warrens, but also more contemporary writers such as Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons. These writers depict the South so vividly that their images have a lasting effect on their readers.

If you want to spend some time in the Bayou, sit under a gnarled oak enjoying sweetened tea and pralines, yell from a mountain top or romp through coastal tides and windswept dunes, pick up a book set in the South. You may laugh, you may cry but you’ll certainly be moved! Here are a few titles you may have missed over the years.

Penumbra by Carolyn Haines
In a departure from her lighthearted Southern paranormal  mystery series, Haines brings to life this 1950s Mississippi story that has it all-melodrama, race relations, sexual tension and forbidden love. The kidnapping of a young girl and the beating of her mother are only two of the disturbing elements in this story. Racial barriers were still in place and life was not always pleasant for the black and mixed race characters in this story filled with heat, humidity and a sultry atmosphere.

The Bridge by Doug Marlette
Rick Cantrell returns to the Piedmont area of North Carolina after being fired from his cartoonist job at a New York newspaper. There is a historical perspective to the story as it traverses back and forth from the 1930s to the present detailing Rick’s Grandmother Lucy’s involvement in the 1934 Great Textile Strike and it’s long reaching effect on the town and its citizens. Family relationships and slowly emerging, long buried family secrets add depth and texture to this finely written book.  The talented Marlette’s life was cut short in a Mississippi car accident last year. At his funeral, his best friend and novelist, Pat Conroy eulogized him with these words, “The first person to cry, when he heard of Doug’s death, was God”.

Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith
This coming of age (and then some) tale is written as an epistolary novel in which the letters chronicle the life of Ivy, a young girl, living in the Virginia Appalachia region. Although there is much to be depressed about-poverty, family tragedies and social injustices, Ivy’s spirit transcends it all. Her love of life and indomitable spirit help her through many of life’s inequities and her spunky spirit will not be easily forgotten by the reader.

She Flew the Coop: a Novel Concerning Life, Death, Sex and Recipes in Limoges, Louisiana  by Michael Lee West
Living ain’t easy in this small Louisiana town. The gossip mill runs strong in the story as various residents weigh in on the plight of teenage Olive who is pregnant by the Baptist Minister and hospitalized when she attempts to take her life. Spousal abuse, infidelity and rape -all serious subjects-are thankfully tempered by Southern humor, quirky characters and great recipes.

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I’ve never liked to read series. It’s not that they’re not interesting but I don’t like to get caught up in having to wait for the next installment. I feel the same way about TV shows and anything that ends with “…to be continued.”

Having said this, there is a series of books that I have read. A customer (and longtime friend) suggested that I give Elizabeth George a try with her Inspector Lynley novels.

As usual I groaned when I realized that it is a series. I did start with the first book A Great Deliverance. This was not an easy read but I became intrigued by the characters although I felt as though I came in in the middle of the character’s lives.

I then jumped to the fourth book of the series A Suitable Vengeance which ended up being a prequel and defined the relationships between the major characters. This cleared up a lot of confusion in my mind.

Since these books are not easy reads and also quite long, I decided to go to the bookstore armed with a gift certificate to buy the title With No One As Witness. I get to the cash register, hand over my certificate and as the clerk is handing me my just-paid-for book she blurts out that this is a terrific book and what a shame that a tragedy happens to one of the major charcters and proceeds to tell me the details.

Despite wanting to scream, I decided to buy the book anyway. Although I already knew the ending, it was still a good story. I am now reading the latest in the series entitled Careless in Red.

Will I get involved in another series? It all depends. If I can bypass the “…to be continued” and be able to read them out of order, I’ll give it a try. One thing I can promise, however, is that I won’t spoil the ending for you.

Are you curious about Beijing now that the Summer Olympics have begun? Of course, on any given day you can watch NBC, PBS or the Travel Channel and see kaleidoscopic images and all the sights and sounds of this highly populated historic city. But, for a dose of the real unadulterated Beijing, pick up the book The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed by Michael Meyer. Meyer is a native Minnesotan who moved to China with the Peace Corps and volunteered to teach English in a Beijing elementary school. He’s one of the few Westerners who has had the opportunity to live among the native Chinese and experience the city, culture and cuisine in a manner that most outsiders could only dream of. This is a fascinating mix of history, politics and customs and gives an inside look at this mysterious city.

Meyer resided in what’s known as a hutong, one of a vast multitude of traditional lanes or streets, surrounded by a courtyard that housed hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Chinese citizens during the past century. Under the guise of progress, these hutongs have been slowly demolished over the last decade in an effort to ‘modernize’ the city and replace these neighborhoods with new high rises, highways and shopping malls. Modernization is considered more important than protecting historical sites and architecture and is going hand in hand with the new ‘pseudo-capitalism’ that is thriving in communist China. On any given day, people who live in the remaining hutongs wake up in the morning to find what’s known as THE HAND plastered on their door. THE HAND is a Chinese symbol indicating that their building is going to be razed. Often the families are given only a few weeks or months to find a new place to live. The effect is that neighbors and friends who have lived together in neighborhoods for generations are separated and dispersed around this mammoth city.

This relocation will probably not be highlighted during the Summer Olympics. Rather, the pride that the Chinese people feel for their country and government will most likely be emphasized. While the country has been preparing for the Olympics and the chance to showcase the new modernized Beiing for years they have also been preparing their citizens by offering mandatory etiquette classes for those Chinese who will be meeting foreign visitors. Meyer also mentions some of the signs that could be found on the street or in public buildings as reminders that the Olympics were coming. Some translate into peculiar English such as “BE CLEAN THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING”.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie is a little slip of a story that won critical acclaim and has been very popular with book clubs and reading groups over the past five years. Pick it up and read it during the Olympic commercials! Many young people were forcibly removed from their villages to be ‘reeducated’ by the government during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. The two young teens in the book are banished to the mountains where they’re given the job of entertaining the villagers with stories and plays. They come upon a suitcase filled with forbidden Western novels and begin to read. They’re enthralled by the contents and find themselves immersed in Balzac and Dumas letting their minds and spirits soar beyond their forced imprisonment. One of the boys falls in love with a simple country seamstress and begins to read her Balzac thinking the moving stories will make her return his love. This is a deceptively complex and poignant story that captures 1970s China and will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

A new mystery series by Diane Wei Liang is set in contemporary Beijing and begins with The Eye of Jade,  featuring Mei Wang, a young woman who opens a private investigation agency. She is asked to search for an ancient piece of jade and her quest leads her and the reader to various parts of Beijing - hutongs, parks,antique stores, government offices and restaurants. The realistic portrayal of everyday life and family relationships in contemporary Beijing paints a very atmospheric picture and may be just what the Olympic watcher needs as a break from his or her television viewing.

So pick up one of these books before you watch the Mens’ badminton finals. Oh, and good luck U.S.A!

My First Summer Without Philip Craig
Technically, this is my second summer without Philip Craig. Last year I lived in blissful ignorance as I read the eighteenth mystery in his Martha Vineyard series not knowing that he had died in May of 2007. Then I stumbled across a tribute to him  written by his good friend and Boston author, William Tapply.
http://www.williamgtapply/phil.html

Whenever I needed a beach fix, Philip was there for me. The salt in the air, the seagulls and those unmistakable ocean smells and sounds were always just a page away. I’ve never tasted bluefish pate but I felt that I had and I always knew I could because that recipe and many others were included in his books. J.W. Jackson, Craig’s protagonist, always said that the pate was ‘delish’. Delish is also the name of the cookbook Craig and his wife, Shirley Craig wrote. Now some might say that J.W. and his wife Zee drank too many martinis on their second floor porch overlooking the ocean but I imagine it must be stressful solving crimes you have no business being involved in.

 Reading the J.W. Jackson series was like spending time with an old friend. J.W., a Vietnam veteran and ex-Boston cop, moved back to his father’s cottage on Martha’s Vineyard. That might sound like the life of Riley but Jackson and Zee and their two small children lived on the working class side of the Vineyard. Yet they all fully appreciated living in such an idyllic location and they made me appreciate it, too.

I can’t believe that I won’t be able to visit the Jacksons any longer. Luckily, there is one last posthumous Vineyard mystery that came out this summer called Vineyard Chill. I’ve put off reading it since it means I will have to say goodbye as my relationship with Philip Craig and his Martha’s Vineyard series comes to an end.

With travel so expensive these days and prices on Martha’s Vineyard so high, it’s about time you visit the Island and give this series a try. Start with the first book, A Beautiful Place To Die, and read them all as you get to know J.W. and watch as he evolves, matures, falls in love with Zee and creates a happy family with good old fashioned values. I envy you! You have nineteen visits with J.W. to look forward to as you experience his wit, knowledge and charm and you’ll get to tag along on his fishing and beach trips and watch as he prepares ‘delish’ meals for his family. He’ll even take you along on unexpected investigative gigs on his beloved island.

You’ll also want to read the three collaborative mysteries that Craig wrote with his pal William Tapply that also take place on the Island. They feature J.W. Jackson and his family as well as Tapply’s character, Boston attorney, Brady Coyne, J.W.’s good friend. Start with First Strike.

If you enjoy mysteries that have a rustic charm and an evocative sense of place, then these books are for you. They’re all great fun, relaxing and often humorous reads and they’ll make great companions for your summer vacation-on Martha’s Vineyard, of course!

Whenever anyone finds out that you work in a library this is usually one of the first questions asked.

Whenever I tell people what I read they are either very interested or they back slowly and politely away.

My interest in quirky books and subjects goes back to childhood when I would read everything and anything that I could. My mom did not drive until she was in her thirties and while my dad was at work, she, my brother and I would walk to the library at least once a week. This started my love of reading which continues to today.

If you ask me what I like to read, don’t be surprised if it’s a story about a serial killer, or how champagne was invented, how maps were made, or what happens at a body farm. It can also be a biography about a rock star, or a series of books about Route 66 or Abraham Lincoln (that was my last quest).

All I ask is that you keep an open mind and come along for the ride.

If you didn’t love books you probably wouldn’t be checking out our Readers’ Advisory blog site. So, I imagine you’ve heard how books can inspire you, change your life or entertain you, etc, etc. But, have you ever heard that books can upgrade you to first class?

Here’s the scenario and how it worked for me. Try it at your own risk.

It was a dark and stormy night (really) at Logan Airport in Boston. I was sitting and reading in the crowded concourse waiting to fly back home when our flight was delayed. I decided I had more than enough time to go back down the hall to the Hudson Newsstand to pick up a Boston magazine. As I made my purchase I noticed that the clerk had copies of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret and Jodi Picoult‘s 19 Minutes (best sellers at the time) stacked next to the register. We started talking about books and she told me what she liked to read and what kind of books airline customers usually seem to buy.

Our conversation continued until I glanced down the concourse and could not see any of my fellow passengers sitting at our gate. I ran down there to find one lone airline employee at the check in desk. She said that the plane was leaving earlier than expected and everyone was on board-except me. They had apparently been paging me while I was engrossed in my newsstand book discussion.

The employee escorted me on the plane and asked if I would mind sitting in first class since it was the closest open seat. Without much hesitation, I agreed. As I sank into the leather seat and was offered a warm washcloth, I felt slightly guilty for keeping my fellow passengers waiting. However, when I was served a lovely glass of wine, lobster bisque and a chicken Caesar salad my guilt faded and I contemplated how rich and caloric my love of reading had made my trip home!

You might want to try this yourself. But, if not, just make sure you pack some reading material in your carry on bag in case of a delay: May I suggest the following:

Avoiding Prison and other Noble Vacation Goals by Wendy Dale
 Ms. Dale has traveled a great deal partially because she grew up in a family that moved at the drop of the hat so she’s learned to be quite adventurous. Unlike your typical traveler, she managed to fall in love with an inmate while visiting a Costa Rican prison. Experience a quirky Latin America through the eyes of this young and talented writer.

A Year in the World : Journeys of a Passionate Traveler  by Frances Mayes
 In this book Mayes leaves Tuscany to travel to Spain, Portugal, Crete, and Turkey. Her attention to detail and the poetic language she honed as a Creative Writing Professor are very evident as she brings alive these destinations for the reader.

Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
 I must confess I’m still on the waiting list (number 87) for this one. Written in the form of a complaint letter to the airlines, this is the first novel by the cocktail writer for the NY Times. The main character, on his way to his estranged daughter’s wedding, finds himself stranded in the airport when his flight is cancelled. In the following 181 pages he vents about everything that has gone wrong with his life most of which he now blames on the airline’s lack of punctuality. Sounds a little wacky but I especially like to discover new authors -plus this book got great reviews!

The Complete Travel Detective Bible: The Consummate Insider Tells You What You Need to Know in an Increasingly Complex World! By Peter Greenberg
 This is more an informational book that gives valuable information on all sorts of travel such as how to pick the safest seat on an airplane or how to get a better room at a hotel. Think of it as an almanac on how to travel.

Living in a Foreign Language: a Memoir of Food, Wine and  Love in Italy  by Michael Tucker
 Foodies will devour this descriptive book written by the former L.A. Law television star. It showcases his love for Italy and its cuisine, his Umbrian cottage and his wife, Jill.

We RATS have been reading historical fiction lately and I decided that I should wrench myself out of medieval England and read something different. I came across The Women of Magdalene by Rosemary Poole-Carter set in post Civil War Lousiana. Certainly something different. It involves a young doctor, estranged from his family, who is walking to Magdalene, an asylum for women, to take a position as the house doctor. He has been given the job as a favor from one of his father’s former colleagues. On the way he finds the body of a woman in a creek. She is one of the inmates and he arrives carrying her body and thus begins his career at Magdalene. Sounds odd–and depressing, but what a beautifully written book it turned out to be. The prose is very evocative and has a melancholy, almost sepia quality like a worn, antique photograph. It reminded me of a short film I saw long ago called An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce of the same name. It has almost the same rhythm, but the ending is less of a jerk and more of a slide to the inevitable. Though racism and the paternalistic almost mysogynistic attitude toward women are themes, they take their place within the context of the whole–touching, moving without being strident. I hope Ms. Poole-Carter will write more. This is only her second book and the first is out of print. I’m waiting for my interloaned copy to come in so I can spend more time in the places she creates.

Ever since I read Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy and Tacy Go Over The Big Hill as a little girl I’ve traveled through my reading. I always wanted to know what was over that hill, around the corner or down the street.
I look for that strong sense of place when I’m picking a book for myself.  I want that book to transport me to another city or place, one I might like to learn more about or visit. I love authors who can make you feel and smell and experience the essence of that “sense of place’ in their story. I’ve traveled a bit but not anywhere near as much as I’ve been able to travel in my reading. One day I might be sitting in a coffee shop in Seattle and the next day I’m riding a train through Switzerland. It’s just like virtual travel. How cool is that?

Check out the strong sense of place in some of my favorite mystery series:
The Boston series of William Tapply, Jeremiah Healy or Cecelia Tishy
The down home North Carolina series of Margaret Maron
The Connecticut series of David Handler or Karen E. Olson
The Martha’s Vineyard series of the late wonderful Philip R Craig
The zany over the top Miami and Key West series of Paul J. Levine
The Cleveland series of Michael Koryta and the first three thrillers by local author Richard Montanari.
The upstate New York series of Julia Spencer-Fleming
The Lake Tahoe series of Perri O’Shaughnessy
The Seattle series of J.A. Jance
The Hilton Head and low country series of Kathryn R. Wall

But don’t stop there. Other fiction and many nonfiction books can also have a strong sense of place. Try these on for size.

 Enjoy the beautiful country and people of Bhutan in Beyond the Sky And Earth by Jamie Zeppa.

 Imagine the rolling hills, age old homes and mouthwatering olives, pastas and cheeses of Tuscany in Frances Mayes’ A Year in Tuscany.

Trek across the dangerous craggy mountains of Yemen and cross to a desert island in the Red Sea in Motoring with Mohammed: Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea by Eric Hansen.

Travel across the United States and make your way through the Cook Islands, Europe, Russia and Africa in American Traveler: the Life and Adventures of James Ledyard  by James Zug.

Experience the infamous mistral winds, the incomparable inhabitants and the cuisine of Provence in A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.

Track down orchids in southern Florida and the Fakahatchee swamp in The Orchid Thief by Susan Orleans.

Take in the sights, sounds and smells of frenetic Bombay in Shantaram, Gregory David Robert’s autobiographical novel scheduled to be released as a motion picture in January, 2009.

Break bread with the Bedouins in the Jordanian desert, visit a bakery in a walled Moroccan city, travel to a pub in Ireland and tour the Wonder bread factory in Susan Seligson’s Going with the Grain. 

But now I must stop because there’s a whole world out there to explore-hurry up and join me- and start reading!

        I’m the kind of person who always has to have something to read.  It’s like an addiction.  I always have at least two books on hand that I haven’t started (one as a back up in case I’m not in the mood for the other) and I’m usually in the middle of two or three books (the mood thing again).  Usually I’ll start reading one book exclusively as I get toward the end–or not.  Sometimes I can’t bear to finish because I know what’s coming and I don’t want it to happen (it took me ten years from starting it to finish Nigel Nicholson’s biography of Virginia Woolf because I knew how it ended and I couldn’t bear to see her die in print).   

       My reading tastes are also not exclusive.  I’ll read nearly anything (except maybe romance–more about that later).  If I am so unfortunate as to be caught without a book or magazine in hand, I read posters or menues or cereal boxes or mustard labels.  You get the idea.  I read to alter my mood, balance my mood or just to escape.  I can’t imagine life without books and the wonderful worlds they open to anyone who wanders in.