* That Summer by Sarah Dessen
* Summer Knight, book #4 in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
* The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
* A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
* Summer by Edith Wharton
* Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson
* Summer House by Nancy Thayer
* Summer On Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
* Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry
* The Summer Kitchen by Karen Weinreb or by Lisa Wingate — two different novels, one name
* Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy
* The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin
* The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
* Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand
* Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
* Life Without Summer by Lynne Griffin
* Dragons of Summer Flame by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
* A Summer of Hummingbirds: Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Martin Johnson Heade by Christopher Benfey
* Summer’s End by Danielle Steel
* Once Upon a Summer, book #1 in the Seasons of the Heart series by Janette Oke
* Summer Pleasures and Summer Desserts, both by Nora Roberts
* How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

And finally, one that I can vouch for: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver.

Enjoy your summer reading!

* Running With Scissors author Augusten Burroughs, who comes from a writing family with a poetic mother, philosopher father, and memoirist brother, didn’t have formal schooling beyond elementary school. Following him on different forms of social media I have learned that, although he likes eating at restaurants, he would never be caught at an “it” restaurant and enjoys vending machines.

* The Lovely Bones author Alice Sebold originally wanted to tell her story (of how she was raped and attacked) in poetic form. She didn’t really dive into becoming a successful writer until she moved to California and worked as a caretaker of an arts colony. During this time she lived on less than $400 a month, in a cabin in the woods without electricity, and wrote by the light of a propane lamp. Her story was published in 1999 as the memoir Lucky.

* Audrey Niffenegger, best known for penning The Time Traveler’s Wife, has only written this one novel. Most of her other work, aside from a few short stories, is in pictures. She has written visual books and graphic novels including one very “special” one called The Three Incestuous Sisters (cover shown here).

* Historical fiction author Sarah Dunant, who previously wrote In the Company of the Courtesan and The Birth of Venus, released her newest novel - Sacred Hearts - yesterday, July 14. This story, like Dunant’s others, takes place in ancient Italy. This time it’s 1560 and the characters are noblewomen who are finding refuge in a local convent.

* No surprise here, but Dean Koontz and Danielle Steel both have new books out that are already topping the best-seller charts. Koontz’s new book is Relentless; Steel’s is Rogue. And don’t forget Nora Roberts either, with Black Hills.

* Known best for her Ya-Ya series that inspired the film version of The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood starring Sandra Bullock, Rebecca Wells breaks away from her beloved regular characters with her new release The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder. Plenty of Wells’ specialty - heartache brought on by the ones you love most - should abound in this novel as a young girl turns the pain of a first broken heart into healing inspiration.

* In the upper level chick lit realm, we have Jennifer Weiner’s Best Friends Forever and Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl.

* Dan Brown, the infamous Da Vinci Code writer, is preparing for a September release of The Lost Symbol , a sequel to his first best-seller which was written six years ago.

Wait. What? Lauren “L.C.” Conrad’s L.A. Candy is a New York Times best seller? Surely she jests.

Conrad’s blogging went on: “A big THANK YOU to everyone who bought my book!! It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 2 weeks and this week it’s #1….. YAY! This is such an honor!! I really appreciate everyone’s support and nice comments about the book. My next book should be released sometime in February and there will be another book tour. I will keep you all posted.”

I was in such disbelief that I simply had to go see for myself; I headed to scope out the current best sellers. I wonder which category hers is topping the charts in …

Hardback fiction? Nope, that’s Swimsuit by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.

Trade fiction? No, that’s Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, and mass-market fiction is Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan.

Conrad’s book also wasn’t to be found on the nonfiction, advice, or children’s lists. In fact, L.A. Candy wasn’t even in the top five of any of these categories.

After much digging around on the New York Times’ site, I finally found the book listed somewhere - Children’s chapter books - and yes, it was in the number one position.

Well, Lauren, I suppose congrats and apologies (for my continued total disbelief) are in order. And after reading your MySpace messages, I also must commend your editor, who probably had to delete many an exclamation mark.

The story is about a couple who conceives a second child to save the life of their first daughter who is battling with leukemia. The real life family behind the novel, the Nashes, were the first couple to use Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to create an embryo that could save a sibling’s life. They got help from a fertility specialist to select a healthy embryo that was a genetic match for their sick daughter Molly. This would be Molly’s little brother Adam. The cord blood from Adam’s placenta was used for a blood transfusion that saved Molly’s life. Later a second embryo from the couple became the couple’s third child, Delaine.

“I appreciate the public discussion of the ethical issues raised by the book, and now the movie,” said Molly’s mom, Lisa Nash. “But it’s important to remember Jodi Picoult’s story is in many ways a worst case scenario and our reality was one of miracles and hope.”

“We stress to people that the book is fiction and that our family is reality,” explains Jack Nash. “The reality is that because of amazing reproductive medicine advances, we have been able to have a family. Without the science, Molly would have died and we wouldn’t have tried to have any other children for fear they’d die of FA too. That’s the reality.”

Today all the Nash children are thriving … and so are the book and film, My Sister’s Keeper.

I fell in love with Lisa See’s writing after reading her fifth novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which was released in 2005. Loving both her style and the historical fiction genre, I snagged her next novel, 2007’s Peony in Love. The latter was a story with a unique twist: Much like Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, the main character passes away near the beginning of the book and spend most of the story as a ghost. In addition to learning all about 17th century Chinese beliefs about women, literature, and marriage, the reader also gets a first-hand look at the beliefs and rites surrounding death and the afterlife.

While if you are only going to read one of these two See’s novel I certainly recommend Snow Flower over Peony, both of these books are extremely entertaining and historically educational.

In addition to these two novels, See has written four before and one since these, all of which are on my “to read” list:

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family (1995)
Flower Net (1997)
The Interior (1999)
Dragon Bones (2003)
Shanghai Girls (2009)

“Our annual Gift of Reading Gala is a way for Reading Is Fundamental to acknowledge those who have committed themselves to improving children’s literacy throughout this country,” commented Carol H. Rasco, CEO and President of RIF.

Also during the fund-raising gala, Macy*s was presented with the Legacy of Literacy award for their outstanding commitment to children’s literacy through continued support and commitment to helping all children discover the joy of reading.

Check out RIF’s Web site to find out how you can volunteer to help encourage the kids in your community to read.

The Girls ventured to the book store on the day L.A. Candy was released and quietly picked up a copy so that all of us curious about it, but too embarrassed to actually be seen buying the book, could learn all of the details. Get the gossip on Lauren’s writing ability, the obvious connections and allusions to her real life, and more over at the Fug Girls’ review on the Cut.

Five individual CliffNotes apps, the first in a series of more than 40, provide comprehensive character, theme, and plot summaries and analysis; multiple choice quizzes; text highlighting; character maps and profiles, and audio CramCasts covering five classics:

* The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
* Macbeth by William Shakespeare
* Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
* The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
* To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

These first five CliffsNotes study guides are available for just $0.99 per application now, and additional titles will debut later in 2009.

Conrad recently celebrated the upcoming June 16 release of L.A. Candy at the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills with BFF and reality costar Lo Bosworth by her side.

According to Faded Youth Blog, the first installment “tells the story of Jane Roberts, a young beauty most notable for her sweet nature and innocence. She eventually packs up and moves to L.A. with her BFF from kindergarten, the gorgeous, smart–mouthed Scarlett. After only a few nights out on the town, the duo are swept up by a producer making a new reality show.”

About the overwhelming similarities between her real life and that of her story’s character, Conrad said that “some of the characters may symbolize people in my life, but it is in no way calling anyone out.”

As for the writing quality and actual content, Teen Vogue helps give a glimpse with the exclusive inside look.
Read an excerpt over at Teen Vogue.