Spring is a difficult time to get anything done. Putting a check mark beside an item on your “To-Do” list is a rare and luxurious event. So dive into some short stories, because you can actually finish one or two in one sitting. Here are a few suggestions for those of you who would rather pick and choose the stories you feel like reading.
For sheer variety, pick up any edition of the The Best American Short Stories. The 2009 edition presents a collection of stories selected from magazines in the United States and Canada and edited by Alice Sebold and Heidi Pitlor and include stories by Annie Proulx, Joseph Epstein, Ron Rash, and Jill McCorkle.
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**Highly Recommended by readers

Arsenault, Emily. The Broken Teaglass. Literary debut mystery for dictionary & word lovers.

Baldacci, David. True Blue. Suspense. Start of new sister series.

Barr, Nevada. 13 1/2. Suspense stand-alone.
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The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama is a great novel for those readers who enjoyed The #1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Continue »

First in a Paranormal Romance series that will continue in Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men. (Due 9/09)

In Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs by Molly Harper, Continue »

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

I wait for a Michael Connelly crime title like I used to await Christmas morning with great expectation and a bit of dizzy joy. Although instead of ripping off the paper cover and devouring it like a chocolate-covered cherry—I take my time reading it—savoring his musical language and getting to know his characters as they and I are engaged with the clever and stimulating plot. Continue »

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
Unexpectedly promoted to detective when his predecessor goes missing and a supervisor is killed, agency clerk Charles Unwin struggles with inexperience and nerves during a case in which he encounters bizarre clues and is framed for murder. Continue »