"Showboat Summer" is the third book in Rosamond Du Jardin's series about the Howard twins. Pam and Penny Howard get to take an exciting class aboard a showboat. They get to learn all about putting on plays and they experience the magic of life on a real showboat. Because living with a lot of people is not easy, there are bound to be personality clashes which call for compromises and adjustments. One person in particular makes life very hard for Pam. During the course of the trip, Penny and Pam learn a lot about unders-tanding, compassion, and ultimately, how to forgive. Pam also makes an important decision about her future. It is wonderful to see Penny and Pam evolve as mature young women. At the end of "Showboat Summer" a crises arises that could endanger everyone on board. In each novel in the series, the Howard twins grow up a little bit more. The twins, their grandmother, and their mother Celia learn about the pain of loss and eventually, how to open their hearts to love again. Through the course of these novels, it is clear that their mother has raised them very well. The final book in the series about the Howard twins is called "Double Weding." Look for my review!

No seeker of Jesus Christ should be without this book. It is the most heart-touching I have ever read. A Christian Classic!

This book captivated both me and my best friend. The issue of the book I read was printed in 1907 and is titled The Solitary Summer by the author of "Elizabeth and her German Garden". Nowhere else in the book does it ever reveal the author's name. The book starts out with a dedication "To the man of Wrath with some apologies and much love". The book is a diary (May-September) of a woman with 3 small babies (referred to only as my April baby, my May baby, my June baby) who wants to spend the entire summer to herself.The first page of the book begins. "May 2nd - Last night after dinner, when we were in the garden, I said, "I want to be alone for a whole summer, and get to the very dregs of life. I want to be as idle as I can, so that my soul may have time to grow. Nobody shall be invited to stay with me, and if any one calls they will be told that I am out, or away, or sick. I shall spend the months in the garden, and on the plain, and in the forests. I shall watch the things that happen in my garden, and see where I have made mistakes. On wet days I will go into the thickest parts of the forests, where the pine needles are everlastingly dry, and when the sun shines I'll lie on the heath and see how the broom flares against the clouds. I shall be perpetually happy, because there will be no one to worry me." And so begins her solitary summer, filled with books, the garden(s), nature, her thoughts and reflections. And conversations with her husband who does not believe she can endure an entire summer without visitors.

Ted Wood's Somebody Else's Summer is dated 1973 and is a collection of fine short stories. This book is 188 pages and the short stories are indeed short. One is four pages.

The opening story, Somebody Else's Summer (10 pages) deals with a man who soberly attends his daughter's wedding while his ex-wife warns him not to drink. Excellent writing.

Bed and Breakfast is about an amorous young man (but written so gentlemanly) who gets his wish.

Mr. Wood is a well-known Canadian mystery writer and this book is a collector's item: Excellent writing and style. Many more stories in this book to delight the discriminating reader.

For the record, Ted Wood isn't related to me.

Sonoran Desert Summer is another of John Alcock's easy to read introductions to this desert's more fascinating creatures. The reader not only gets to experience the desert inhabitants' comings and goings during a typical summer in the Sonoran Desert, he or she does it in comfort! As informative as it is entertaining, this book gives the reader valuable insights into the wonderful adaptations of some of the desert's most interesting plants and animals. Written by a biologist who can also write, this book is fun to read, easy to digest, and makes every jaunt into the desert just that much more meaningful. And, the illustrations are charming as well. All in all, a good buy whether you are a tourist or a long-time desert rat.

One summer day while sitting on the front porch and mulling over bits and pieces of information about himself and his family, eleven year old Patrick Q. Tolson concludes that one of his aunts is, in fact, his mother. This conclusion alarms him since it means that everyone in his family, his two maiden aunts, his Uncle Darius and even Mavis, the cook, has been lying to him for years. No doubt the woman they claimed had given birth to him and then died had, in fact, never existed.

From this day on he uses his talents for eavesdropping to slowly but persistently search for the truth. He hides in trees and hunkers down in the back seats of cars listening and listening until his true origins become clear. When he finally learns the truth he also learns something about love, God and forgiveness.

This gentle tale of a young boy's spiritual journey to his true identity will both charm and amuse readers as they follow Patrick back to his surprising beginnings.

Most of us have ideas, desires, wants...we hear others teach, we read, we hope, we dream. But Zsuzsana and Myriam have erased the line between wishing and doing, between what could be and what is. They have taken what others only talk about, put it on the table, examined it, tried it, and gotten results. The authors are unique because they both look at things from the perspective of what you can make happen, instead of what you can't. They have shown the rest of us, that where magic truly begins is all a matter of perspective.

If you are a Summer Olympics fan, this is THE book for you. The book contains every modern Olympiad from 1896 Athens to 1992 Barcelona. Every event, every athlete in a top score, every Olympic record, every country and over 1,500 anecdotes and dramatic moments in the Olympic Games is here. A valuable list can also be found of the medal count of all countries participated. See for yourself which country won the most gold medals and total medals. You might be surprised. Over 860 pages of information you just need to know with more than 200 classic photographs of Olympic athletes. Know the Olympic record before it appears on the tv screen and watch the record get broken right before your eyes.

Barbara Goodman-Scott was inspired by the foods visible in the markets and gardens of Long Island's east end. She uses her training as an artist and her instincts as a cook to create a collection of easy, yet flexible recipes that are sure to impress. The preparation of most recipes is, as she promised, no more exerting ..."than pouring another glass of iced tea". The dishes 'travel' well for pot luck suppers or spontaneous gatherings. The 'Asparagus Vinaigrette' and 'Roasted Red Potato Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese' are easily prepared in advance and served at room temperature making it possible to enjoy the leisurely afternoons or spectacular sunsets of summer while enjoying gourmet-style cuisine.