Cover art trend: Bare backs

A new trend in cover art?  These 5 books all came out in the last few months, even though they cover widely different topics, all five feature women's bare backs and necks as seen from behind.

• Unruly Passions of Eugenie R by Carole DeSanti - A tale set in France's Second Empire period finds young Eugâenie left pregnant and penniless by a man she thought she loved before struggling to reclaim the daughter she is forced to give up.
• All Woman and Springtime by Brandon Jones - Having grown up in a North Korean forced-labor camp, mathematical genius Gi and her friend Il-Sun escape to South Korea, only to be forced into the sex-worker industry there and in the United States.
• In One Person by John Irving - A tale inspired by the U.S. AIDS epidemic in the 1980s follows the experiences of individuals torn by devastating losses and political upheavals whose perspectives on tolerance and love are also irrevocably shaped by awareness of what might have been.
• I am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits - A novel spanning four decades, from pre-World War II Transylvania to contemporary New York, looks at the cause and effect of both belief and non-belief within the Jewish religion, in a tale that focuses on the relationship of two sisters within a Hasidicsect.
• The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg - The mysterious drowning of a little girl threatens to tear apart the resort town of Fjallbacka, as Patrik Hedstrom's investigation begins to uncover dark secrets of past generations.

19, 20, 22 Wives

In the new book Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon, Alice bares her soul in an anonymous survey for a marital happiness study, cataloging her stale marriage, unsatisfying job, and unfavorable prospects as she begins to question virtually every aspect of her life.  Interestingly, two additional unrelated library books include numbers and the word "wife" in their titles: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan.  Would-be authors take note: there seems to be room in the market for a book involving wives and the number 21.

Summer Reading Club Trends

Only halfway into this year's summer reading club and it's already obvious that most members have very diverse reading tastes. Still, a few books are already emerging as this summer's most popular reads. Leading the list is James Patterson's new book 10th Anniversary; six of the reading club's 300+ members read it. Four people gave it 5 stars and two people gave it 4 stars. His book Now You See Her has also been a popular choice, with three people reading it so far. Other popular reads include (in no particular order): Kiss of Midnight, The Postmistress, Buried Prey, Miles to Go, Quicksilver, and I'll Walk Alone. Two titles which are surprisingly popular given that they're not new releases are Stephen King's 2009 Under the Dome and Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, which was published in 2006 but has since been turned into a movie. Popular authors include James Patterson, Stephen King, Charlaine Harris, Stephenie Meyer, Nora Roberts, Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars series), and Richard Paul Evans.

Remember, even if you're not a Summer Reading Club member, you can see for yourself what others in the club have been reading here. Also, it's not too late to join: click here to do so & remember to stop by the Information desk the next time you're at the library to pick up your free sign-up prize, which consists of candy, a bookmark, and a luggage tag that fits this year's Club theme, "Novel Destinations."

Trend Watch: Cleopatra

Arguably one of the most famous women of ancient times, interest in Cleopatra has been surging lately, according to a recent article in Romantic Times Book Reviews. From the wildly popular 2010 biography Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff to the new paranormal story Queen of Kings, this ancient ruler has returned to beguile fiction and nonfiction readers alike. Two new books also pick up on the trend by telling the story of Cleopatra's fictional daughter: Lily of the Nile by Michelle Moran and Cleopatra's Daughter by Stephanie Dray. All four of these books are available from your Community Library; catch the Cleopatra bug & check one of them out today!

Mermaids are splashing into fiction

Tired of vampires and werewolves? Mermaids may be the hot new trend in paranormal romance, according to this article from USA Today. Even Stephenie Meyer, whose fame was built on the Twilight vampire series, is currently working on a story involving mermaids. Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon (which received a five-star review by a Mastics-Moriches-Shirley cardholder in this year's Winter Reading Club) is only one of many new mermaid titles. There's also Catch of a Lifetime, in which an environmentally-conscious mermaid convinces a gruff fisherman to join her fight against water pollution, and Siren's Surrender, about woman who denies her mermaid heritage until forced to work with covert agent Blake Whittaker to track the evil mermaid queen. Keep an eye out for forthcoming mermaid-themed books as this trend takes off.