And now it is summer- welcome to it! Looking over NPR's list of Best Beach Books, I noticed that although they've put together a great list of reading choices, one of my all time favorite beach reads is not on it. Today I rectify that matter.

The book is Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart, and it is a wonderful combination of humor, touching personal moments, and sadness. When Cee Cee Bloom and Bertie Barron meet in 1951 on an beach in Atlantic city, it is the beginning of a friendship that will last a lifetime. Cee Cee has great talent and over the years works her way to the top of the show business world, while Bertie decides to focus on marriage, desperately wanting a child of her own. They keep in contact with letters and phone calls, and always seem to connect with each other near beaches, from Hawaii, to Malibu, to Sarasota. Despite their imperfect lives, personal discontent, and deep misunderstandings, the love of the friends lasts through good times, and bad.

The 1988 movie of Beaches stars Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. It changes some things from the book, but the overall story and theme of friendship remains. And yes, I cried at the end.

It's summer reading time! I know summer doesn't officially start until June 21, but I know you're ready to start picking those vacation books now! Be a part of the Kenton County Public Library Summer Reading Club and get a chance to win $25 gift cards:


Adults 

*Earn one raffle ticket for every book read or program attended

*Raffle tickets available at all reference desks and programs

*One winner will be drawn every week

*Prizes will include $25 gift cards to restaurants and entertainment organizations

I found a list on the NPR website with some perfect titles. Check out Audience Picks: 100 Best Beach Books Ever, and then reserve them from KCPL. Now grab a book and enjoy the summer!

Flashback! When I was a kid, getting up for school Monday through Friday was always hard. Morning always came too soon. But on Saturdays, there was a very important reason to be up early- Saturday morning cartoons! My favorite part was watching Schoolhouse Rock in between shows- do you remember singing along with "A noun is a person, place or thing", "Conjunction junction" and "I'm just a bill"? I can still sing the preamble to the constitution.

I Can See Clearly Now by Brendan Halpin is a fun novel set in 1972 New York City about a group of young people hired to write educational but hip jingles. These songs will run in a series called Pop Goes the Classroom and will air between cartoons on Saturday mornings (sound familiar?). Sarah is shy, Peter soulful, Levon's stage name is Apollo Von Funkenburg, and only Julie really understands the business. Taking lead of the group is semi-famous folksinger Pamela Sanchez, whose free spirited ways do not exactly mesh with the corporate world of television. It all seems like an Age of Aquarius dream, until relationships and deadlines become a very vivid reality. Forcast: Warm and Sunny. And I'd love to hear the "Funky solar system" song!

Ok, I admit when I heard the title The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, my first thought was that there would be alot of talk about cows in the book. Guernsey cows. I wondered why people would be so enamored with a book about a dairy farm. Now that I've read the book, I discovered that's not what it's about at all- and in a good way!

The book is written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (her niece) in a series of letters, and Guernsey refers to an island in the English Channel. Set just after World War II, writer Juliet Ashton has become popular with her book Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War. She receives a letter from a man named Dawsey Adams who found her name in a used book, and a correspondence ensues. Juliet is intriguied by Dawsey's mention of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which turns out to be a group formed on the spur of the moment to avoid capture by the Germans. Letters from other society members follow, and Juliet is so intrigued by their stories that she goes to visit Guernsey, where she learns about their lives during the war, and how the literary society brought them together. With fewer cows than I expected, but lots of both humorous and meaningful moments, this book goes in my "what an enjoyable read" category!