CHECK IT OUT

In a digitally driven age, when many are turned off by anything they

can’t turn on, 198 book lovers older than 18 participated in the Newport

Beach Public Library’s 2001 adult summer reading program. Whether

motivated by the sheer joy of reading, the opportunity to win prizes and

be a role model for their children, or the chance to discuss books with

others, they enjoyed virtual adventure, fiction, biographies and

self-improvement selections.

From Michelle Natan comes a recommendation for “Back Roads,” an

Oprah’s Book Club pick narrated by a 19-year-old struggling to raise his

siblings after Mom goes to jail for Dad’s murder. “Tawni O’Dell’s first

novel is witty, poetic and compelling . . . one of the best I’ve read,”

Natan writes.

For lighter diversion, Judy Booth suggests “Julie and Romeo,” Jeanne

Ray’s debut novel about rival families in the florist business. In this

contemporary twist on the Shakespeare-inspired tale, the hero and heroine

are professional adults in their 60s who ignite family enmities when they

start seeing each other romantically.

It’s real life that inspires Melinda and Robert Blanchard’s “A Trip to

the Beach,” a favorite of Gloria Noelke. Of the couple’s story about

leaving Vermont to open a restaurant in the Caribbean, Noelke says,

“Reading this book was like going on vacation.”

For more stimulating armchair escapism, Chris Cramer suggests “Two For

the Summit,” one of the newer adventure-as-personal-milestone sagas on

library shelves. What sets Geoffrey Norman’s tale apart is insight

gleaned from celebrating his 50th birthday by scaling a 14,000-foot peak with his 15-year-old daughter. “Having teenagers myself, I wasn’t sure

which was going to be the bigger challenge: climbing the Grand Teton or

raising his daughter,” Cramer reflects.

Relationships with friends, family and oneself also form the core of

Anna Quindlen’s “A Short Guide to a Happy Life.” For Janet Lochead, “this

short book was truly a treasure: an instructional guide written in

lyrical prose, that touched my heart deeply.”

A plethora of tips for finding gateways into the heart are in “Lessons

in Love.”

“Guy Corneau helps us discard outdated methods of relating, dictated

by outside pressures from religion, economics, society and family,”

writes Grace Wickersham. “He offers creative solutions for dealing with

change that will help us move toward personal fulfillment.”

The approach to self-improvement is holistic in “The Food-Mood-Body

Connection,” covering vitamin deficiencies, food allergies, hormonal

imbalances and environmental factors. Of this bestseller, Ruth McBain

observes, “Health and fitness expert Gary Null frequently lectures on PBS

and makes it all sound very plausible.”

Reviews by these and other adult summer reading program participants

are published in “Great Reading from Make Space for Books,” due soon at

all Newport Beach public libraries.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams. All titles may be

reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at o7

https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.f7