After Harry Potter (our shorthand for the BIG release party) I took some time off to catch up on my reading. I had a pile of books as tall as I am, and knowing I couldn't possibly get through so many, I tried to be selective about what I actually picked up. I read Run by Ann Patchett (tremendous!); I read The Sharper the Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn (great for 'foodies'); I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by Rowling (my dessert); and I read Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. This latest novel by the author of Empire Falls. Nobody's Fool and Straight Man is 525 pages long so it means a lot that I would choose to read a novel that would take up several days of my precious time off, but I have absolutely no regrets!

Lou C. Lynch (nicknamed Lucy in kindergarten) is the narrator of Bridge of Sighs. He first introduces us to Thomaston, the small town in upstate New York where he grew up and has lived his entire life. "Some people, upon learning how we've lived our lives, are unable to conceal their chagrin on our behalf, that our lives should be so limited, as if experience so geographically circumscribed could be neither rich nor satisfying. When I assure them that it has been both, their smiles suggest we've been blessed with self-deception by way of compensation for all we've missed." These two sentences on page one gives the reader an immediate sense of the man Lucy has become and that view doesn't change for the entire novel; he is a man with a generous heart and blessed with just about everything he could want. He goes on to introduces Sarah, his wife of 40 years, his son, his parents and, eventually, his childhood friend Bobby Marconi. As with all of Russo's novels, Bridge of Sighs is about characters; it is about their perceptions and attitudes as the world revolves around them, but in particular, about the small town they populate. It is about how these fully imagined beings respond to the glories and follies of life.

The Bridge of Sighs is a limestone bridge in Venice which connects the Doge's Palace to the old prison. The name came from Lord Byron who said that prisoners would sigh at their final glimpse of Venice before entering the prison. Lucy and Sarah are planning their first trip abroad where they will visit Venice and hopefully reunite with Bobby Marconi, now an artist known as Robert Noonan. But the novel is replete with final views and there are many sighs, not the least of which is the sigh of a satisfied reader at the end of this exceptional work. ~Patti

Allan Bennett, the playwright of "The Madness of King George III" (and the Tony Award-winning "The History Boys"), gives a glimpse into the life of another monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in his latest novella. The Uncommon Reader is a sweet book and a quick read-the kind of volume perfect as a gift or a treat to put on your guest room's bedside table. With delightful prose, a respectful attitude toward the Queen and a reverence for reading, Bennett writes of Queen Elizabeth discovering reading at the ripe age of 80. He explores how someone who has led an insular yet transparent life without time or opportunity for introspection can become a different person through reading. Bennett's Queen Elizabeth (who is just like the queen we think we know from current events and popular culture, not an overly fictionalized construct) literally stumbles into reading when she follows her beloved corgis into a mobile book library. She develops a relationship with a young palace kitchen helper, Norman, who supports her reading forays, and begins a transformation, proving that it is never too late to read, learn and grow. I was charmed by Bennett's depiction of the Queen becoming a fulfilled and happier person as books become a part of her life. At one point the Queen picks up a book by Ivy Compton-Burnett, an author she had once deemed too difficult to follow, and finally enjoys it, realizing that "reading is, among other things, a muscle, and one that she had developed." This trim little book will not strain your reading muscle, but it will keep readers toned and satisfied-and ready for a longer Bennett work-out in the future. ~Jan

Escape to Jamaica, to sun and romance and rhythm. Margaret Cezair-Thompson's novel, The Pirate's Daughter, lets you do just that. As soon as I picked it up, I fell headlong into the stories of Ida and her daughter May. Ida is a gorgeous, willful girl whose charms enchant the Hollywood lothario Errol Flynn when storms strand him on Jamaica. Her coming-of-age story, influenced by her gentle and dreaming Libyan-born father who is a taxi driver and Justice of the Peace, her strong-spirited but ailing mother, her African-bush-magic grandmother Oni who lives high in the mountains and her studious friend Myrtle, is full of the rich and varied cultures of Jamaica. Ida's relationship with Errol Flynn offers her what she thinks is an opportunity to become the worldly woman she always knew she would be; Errol's glamour and Ida's dreams come together in an intense and doomed tropical seduction. I was reminded of The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jane Rhyss by the book's lush evocation of beauty of nature, the obeah magic, the lilting Jamaican patois dialogue, the rum-drinking and storytelling that play a big part in the island's social life and the heartbreak foreshadowed for a relationship between a girl of the islands and a white man from afar.

The book continues its fascinating portrait of a family, the island and the movie star as Ida raises her daughter, May. Through May's life, we learn more about the tensions in her world: ex-patriots and Jamaicans vie for each others' affections in complicated, adulterous affairs as political violence encroaches on the beautiful paradise that is her home.

This is the kind of absorbing, sweeping novel that can draw you in and make your forget everything else. If you feel the chills of fall, dive into these lush, warm, bougainvillea-covered pages. ~Tegan

Red Rover is an unusual mystery set in Montana where the opening pages set the scene (1920's) of the close relationship of the Tierney brothers, Aidan and Neil who have a great love of adventure when they set off alone on their horses for several days. The boys' lives change dramatically when WWII occurs. Aidan becomes an FBI agent in Argentina and Neil a pilot. Upon their return their lives take very different paths. Aidan mysteriously dies and Neil does not believe the coroner's report that it is suicide. The book spans fifty years with resolution at the end. The writing is absorbing and the characters with all their flaws are totally believable. If you like a good story with detailed descriptions of the Montana landscape and with characters you feel very drawn to I think you would like this book. ~Cindy

There has been a revolution in the kitchen in the last couple of years; people are rediscovering that it is fun and satisfying to cook. Leave it to the media types to jump on that bandwagon; "Top Chef," Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" and "Kitchen Nightmares," Bourdain's "No Reservations," "Iron Chef America" and of course the entire Food Network! Now I admit I watch many of those shows but I also love to read books about amateur and professional chefs. Two of my favorite books last year were the Julia Child autobiography, My Life in France and Bill Buford's memoir, Heat. Now there is The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by local author Kathleen Flinn.

In 2003, Flinn was fired from her high-powered corporate job in London. With some encouragement from her boyfriend (living in Seattle), she decided to try and fulfill her lifelong dream of attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. For such a prestigious school, the application process was as easy as it was expensive and Flinn found herself leaving London for Paris in a very short time.

This memoir is a result of that education. It is funny, poignant, informative and actually contains some terrific recipes. And, of course, there is l'amour.~Patti