In June I saw a charming group
Of roses all begin to droop
I pepped them up with chicken soup!
Sprinkle once, sprinkle twice
Sprinkle chicken soup with rice

Chicken Soup With Rice (A Book of Months) was originally written by children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak and published as part of his Nutshell Collection in 1962. However, my first exposure to this fun title was when it was sung by Carole King and my grade school music teacher would play it in our class. How we loved to sing along! It wasn't until later that I discovered what an amazing artist Carole King is in her own right.

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller interweaves the lives, loves and careers of these extraordinary songstresses. Each had a vastly different childhood and upbringing, but all three became music pioneers and a hallmark for women everywhere. King's signature album Tapestry was number one on the Billboard chart for 15 weeks (still the record for a solo female artist); Carly Simon has won multiple grammys and an academy award in 1988 for Best Song ("Let the River Run" from Working Girl); and Joni Mitchell's Blue made the New York Times list of the top 25 "most significant albums of the last century" (Jan. 3, 2000). Read Girls Like Us to experience the music, learn where it came from, and what it means to Carole, Carly, Joni, and the rest of us.

 For fun, check out Chicken Soup from the 1975 TV special!

NPR is the best! I present to you Summer Books 2011: The Complete List. Indie books, hot summer reads, suspense, cooking, science. Here's the start of the summer reading post:

'Indie Booksellers Target Summer's Best Reads'

Recommended by Lucia Silva, Portrait of a Bookstore
The Great Night, by Chris Adrian, hardcover, 304 pages
The Ada Poems, by Cynthia Zarin, hardcover, 80 pages
The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson, hardcover, 320 pages
The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt, hardcover, 336 pages
A Moment In The Sun, by John Sayles, hardcover, 968 pages

For the complete list, click here

Wow, it just started raining like crazy! I'm wondering if it's all the water pouring out of the sky or the fact that I was watching the movie on TV the other night, but today I offer you The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger.

A storm, a cold front and a hurricane all crashed together on the Atlantic Ocean in October of 1991. The fishing boat Andrea Gail was caught in 100 foot tall waves and over 100 miles per hour winds. Though all the crew was lost at sea, Junger masterfully recounts what would happen to a vessel in that situation. Through interviews and research of other fisherman, sailors and ocean rescue crews who survived the storm (or who had been in similar situations), a compelling and dramatic story is told- a frighteningly real tale of modern seafaring life.

"She's comm' on, boys, and she's comm' on strong", radioed Captain Billy Tyne of the Andrea Gail off the coast of Nova Scotia. ~ Last words from the Andrea Gail before the boat and her crew disappeared.

Last October, I had the pleasure of attending Cincinnati's annual Books by the Banks Festival. There were tons of authors, publishers, librarians, and people who just came to enjoy the day. I was lucky enough to host a panel of authors talking about their current books and answering questions from the audience.

One of the authors was Beth Hoffman who lives in Northern Kentucky, and I'm so glad I got to read her debut novel Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. It takes place in 1967, starting in Ohio. CeeCee is 12 and essentially taking care of her mentally unstable mother, who thinks it's still 1951 and she has been crowned the Vidalia Onion Queen. When a tragedy occurs, unknown great aunt Tootie comes to the rescue, taking CeeCee to live with her in Savannah. CeeCee is introduced into a world of wealth; odd and eccentric ladies; injustices that must be fought; and the fun that life can be. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Help, or Clare Luce Booth's play/film The Women, or just likes books with interesting and inspiring female characters.

This year's Books by the Banks is being held on Saturday, October 22 at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Mark your calendars and hope to see you there!