readers' choice

I’m pleased to report that last month, the Books & Beyond discussion group celebrated its 14th anniversary here at O’Neal!  Thanks for keeping the conversation alive!

The next BAB meeting is Tuesday, August 30th. Since August is Women in Translation month, that is our topic!  This will include books WRITTEN by women that are translated into English and books translated into English BY women.  If you’re looking for inspiration, there is a display at the 2nd floor service desk and the BAB column (7th row down) on the library’s Shelf Care webpage has a great selection too. 

BAB met last night for one of our biannual Salon Discussions, where there is no assigned topic and we share anything we’ve been enjoying lately!

Enthralled by Katie MacAlister (not available in the JCLC system, find in WorldCat) 

Keeley Moore was happy when he found his Beloved, the one woman fated to be the love of his immortal life. And then she left him at the altar without so much as a single word of explanation. One hundred and thirty years later, he’s still trying NOT to think about her. Jenna Boyle has no idea who this tortured, tormented, and sexy-as-sin man is who claims she betrayed him a century ago, but she’s not overly worried about their past. It’s the present that concerns her, mostly in getting Keeley free from the monsters who have turned him from a peaceful vampire into a Thrall, the dreaded ancestor of all Dark Ones…one who is about to go into a murderous, unstoppable killing spree. One Thrall and his Beloved, a bestie with a male harem, and a group of intrepid tourists tackling an international organization bent on the destruction of the mortal world…it’s just another day in the world of Katie MacAlister’s Dark Ones.

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

Amateur sleuth Stevie Bell needs a good murder. After catching a killer at her high school, she’s back at home for a normal (that means boring) summer. But then she gets a message from the owner of Sunny Pines, formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls—the site of the notorious unsolved case, the Box in the Woods Murders. Back in 1978, four camp counselors were killed in the woods outside of the town of Barlow Corners, their bodies left in a gruesome display. The new owner offers Stevie an invitation: Come to the camp and help him work on a true crime podcast about the case.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again. This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women—including me—on an ice planet. Fall in love with the out-of-this-world romance between Georgie Carruthers, a human woman, and Vektal, an alien from another planet.

Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon by Michael Adams (not available in the JCLC system, find in WorldCat) 

In its seven years on television, Buffy the Vampire Slayer earned critical acclaim and a massive cult following among teen viewers. One of the most distinguishing features of the show is the innovative way its writers play with language--fabricating new words, morphing existing ones, and throwing usage on its head. The result has been a strikingly resonant lexicon that reflects the power of both youth culture and television in the evolution of American slang. Using the show to illustrate how new slang is formed, transformed, and transmitted, Slayer Slang is one of those rare books that combines a serious explanation of a pop culture phenomenon with an engrossing read for Buffy fans, language mavens, and pop culture critics.

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl.” But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father―a former Musketeer and her greatest champion. Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for new Musketeers: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a sword fight.

These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett

From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

Ken Russell’s Gothic (not available in the JCLC system, find streaming)

Lord Byron promises his guests a night of horror only a mad poet can deliver and after partaking in hallucinogens, the guests tell ghost stories while exploring the dark corridors of his home - and of their minds.

Impromptu (available via Hoopla at select libraries)

French novelist George Sand flirts with composer Frederic Chopin and the poet Alfred de Musset.

The Vanishing by Tim Krabbe

When Saskia Ehlvest, a young Dutch girl, disappears from a rest stop along a highway in rural France, her lover, Rex Hofmann, cannot accept her disappearance and embarks on an obsessive search for her that spans years.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

The Latinist by Mark Prins

A contemporary reimagining of the Daphne and Apollo myth, The Latinist is a page-turning exploration of power, ambition, and the intertwining of love and obsession.

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time. It’s almost impossible to live off the grid in the twenty-first century, but Amelia-now-Debra has the courage, the ingenuity, and the desperation, to try. Hopscotching from city to city, Debra especially is chased by a very dark secret. From heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, we are left to wonder…can she possibly outrun her past?

The River by Peter Heller

Wynn and Jack have been best friends since college orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant while Jack is more rugged. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey.From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival.

The Guide by Peter Heller

Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher Lodge offers a respite for wealthy clients. Now it also promises a second chance for Jack, a return to normalcy after a young life filled with loss. When he is assigned to guide a well-known singer, his only job is to rig her line, carry her gear, and steer her to the best trout he can find. But then a human scream pierces the night, and Jack soon realizes that this idyllic fishing lodge may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation. A novel as gripping as it is lyrical, as frightening as it is moving, The Guide is another masterpiece from Peter Heller.

The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan

Using new technology, recently discovered documents and sophisticated investigative techniques, an international team—led by an obsessed retired FBI agent—has finally solved the mystery that has haunted generations since World War II: Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family? And why?

Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford

In Dress Codes, law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a “deeply informative and entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) history of the laws of fashion from the middle ages to the present day, a walk down history’s red carpet to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing—rules that we often take for granted. After reading Dress Codes, you’ll never think of fashion as superficial again—and getting dressed will never be the same.

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym

In this lucid and transfixing memoir, Kym reckons with the space left by her violin’s absence. She sees with new eyes her past as a child prodigy, with its isolation and crushing expectations; her combustible relationships with teachers and with a domineering boyfriend; and her navigation of two very different worlds, her traditional Korean family and her music. And in the stark yet clarifying light of her loss, she rediscovers her voice and herself.

Seven Steeples by Sara Baume

It is the winter following the summer they met. A couple, Bell and Sigh, move into a remote house in the Irish countryside with their dogs. Both solitary with misanthropic tendencies, they leave the conventional lives stretched out before them to build another—one embedded in ritual, and away from the friends and family from whom they’ve drifted. Seven Steeples is a beautiful and profound meditation on the nature of love and the resilience of nature. Through Bell and Sigh, and the life they create for themselves, Sara Baume explores what it means to escape the traditional paths laid out before us—and what it means to evolve in devotion to another person, and to the landscape.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson
Truly Devious
The Vanishing Stair
The Hand on the Wall
Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes of American history. True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder.

Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born: How Buffy Staked OurHearts by Evan Ross Katz

Over the course of its seven-year run, Buffy the Vampire Slayer cultivated a loyal fandom and featured a strong, complex female lead, at a time when such a character was a rarity. Evan Ross Katz explores the show’s cultural relevance through a book that is part oral history, part celebration, and part memoir of a personal fandom that has universal resonance still, decades later.

The Vanishing (Dutch film)

Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.

The Vanishing (American film)

A vacationing Seattle couple stops at a highway rest area where the woman disappears without a trace in this gut-wrenching remake.

Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series

Gabriel Allon is a master art restorer and sometime officer of Israeli intelligence.

The Revenant by Michael Punke (film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio)

The year is 1823, and the trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is among the company’s finest men, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker. But when a scouting mission puts him face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two company men are dispatched to stay behind and tend to Glass before he dies. When the men abandon him instead, Glass is driven to survive by one desire: revenge. 

Anne Frank The Whole Story miniseries (2001) Available on Youtube

The life of Anne Frank and her family from 1939 to 1945: pre-war fears, invasion of Netherlands by German troops, hiding in Amsterdam, deportation to the camps, return of Anne's father.

My Best Friend Anne Frank (Netflix)

Based on the real-life friendship between Anne Frank and Hannah Goslar, from Nazi-occupied Amsterdam to their harrowing reunion in a concentration camp.

Witch, Please podcast

A fortnightly podcast about the Harry Potter world hosted by Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman. “Those who have never read a Potter book can certainly listen to the Witch, Please podcast. Frankly, by just walking the earth with your eyes and ears open you have likely ingested enough Potter information to enjoy this funny and thought-provoking podcast.” - Vancouver Sun, 2020

Victoria Finlay

Victoria studied Social Anthropology at St Andrews University, Scotland and William & Mary College, Virginia, after spending time in Himalayan India, teaching in a Tibetan refugee camp and realizing how amazing it was to learn about different cultures.  A lifelong interest in color led to her first book, Color: A Natural History of the Palette, before branching out into other interests with Jewels: A Secret History and her most recent (June, 2022), Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World.

Game of Thrones: The Costumes by Michele Clapton (not available in the JCLC system, find in WorldCat)

The official guide to the complete costumes of HBO’s landmark television series Game of Thrones. Discover how BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning costume designer Michele Clapton dressed the heroes and villains of Westeros and beyond, including Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Jon Snow, and Arya Stark.

(image: A reading of Molière, Jean François de Troy, about 1728)

best books of 2022

 

TIME magazine has posted their picks for the best books of the year so far.  These selections pick apart what it means to grieve, how to love after loss, and what it takes to survive the unthinkable. These stories offer a comforting reminder that we all grapple with hardship—and that there is light, even in the darkest of situations.

The Naked Don’t Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees by Matthieu Aikins

In 2016, Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins went undercover, forgoing his passport and identity, to join his Afghan friend Omar who was fleeing his war-torn country and leaving the woman he loved behind. Their harrowing experience is the basis for Aikins’ book, which chronicles the duo’s dangerous and emotional journey on the refugee trail from Afghanistan to Europe. As they are confronted with the many realities of war, Aikins spares no details in his urgent and empathetic narrative.

In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom

The first pages of Amy Bloom’s memoir set up the book’s devastating ending: It’s January 2020 and Bloom and her husband are traveling to Switzerland, but only Bloom will return home. Her husband plans to end his life through a program based in Zurich. He has Alzheimer’s and wants to die on his terms. Though In Love is rooted in an impossibly sad situation, Bloom’s narrative is more than just an expertly crafted narrative on death and grief. It’s a beautiful love letter from a wife to her husband, rendered in the most delicate terms, about the life they shared together.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

In Jessamine Chan’s unsettling debut novel, we begin on Frida’s worst day, when her lack of sleep has caused a lapse in judgment, and she leaves her baby at home alone for two hours. Soon, Frida is sent to a government run facility with other mothers deemed “failures” by the state. Reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, this eerie page-turner is a captivating depiction of a dystopian world that feels entirely possible. It’s not only the gripping story of Frida’s personal struggle, but also a thought-provoking work of commentary on American motherhood.

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

Egan spins fresh commentary on technology, memory, and privacy through 14 interlinked stories. In them, a machine called Own your Unconscious allows people to revisit any memories from their past whenever they want—if only they make those memories accessible to everyone else. It’s a thrilling concept brought together by Egan’s astute hand, offering a powerful look at how we live in an increasingly interconnected world.

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

It’s the summer of 2017 and Olga Acevedo is seemingly thriving: She’s a wedding planner for the Manhattan elite and living in a posh (and rapidly gentrifying) Brooklyn neighborhood. The protagonist of Xochitl Gonzalez’s absorbing debut novel had humble origins as the daughter of Puerto Rican activists, raised by her grandmother in another part of the borough where she taught herself everything she needed to know to be where she is today. But in Olga Dies Dreaming, the reality of Olga’s self-made success is more complicated. She struggles with the loneliness that has accompanied meeting her lofty goals, and she’s haunted by the absence of the mother who abandoned her family when Olga was just 12 years old. As hurricane season in Puerto Rico amps up, Olga begins to grapple with family secrets just as she falls in love for the first time. What ensues is a thoughtfully depicted romantic comedy full of domestic strife, executed in Gonzalez’s vibrant prose.

Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho

In her debut short story collection, Jean Chen Ho traces the evolution of a friendship between two Taiwanese American women for two decades. In interlinked narratives, told in alternating voices, Ho captures what makes female friendship so special by following these characters from their adolescence and beyond. In intimate and layered terms, Ho describes the love that keeps their friendship together, even when life tries to pull them apart.

Constructing A Nervous System: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson

In 2015, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Margo Jefferson released her debut memoir Negroland. In the award-winning book, Jefferson reflected on her life as she reckoned with what it meant to grow up as a privileged Black person in a wealthy area of Chicago, crafting a searing examination of race and class in America. The author now returns with a bruising second memoir that goes beyond her personal story, blending criticism and autobiography. Constructing A Nervous System is an exciting collection of Jefferson’s thoughts and musings on the world, from her love of Ella Fitzgerald and Bud Powell to her own writing process.

Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

Julia May Jonas’ outrageously fun and discomfiting debut Vladimir puts an unexpected twist on the traditional campus novel. Her narrator is a prickly English professor at a small liberal arts college who has developed a crush on her department’s latest recruit. Meanwhile, an investigation into her husband, the chair of the same department, looms large. He’s been accused of having inappropriate relationships with former students, but our protagonist could care less. As her feelings for the new hire enter increasingly dark territory, Jonas unravels a taut and bold narrative about power, ambition, and female desire.

Life Between the Tides by Adam Nicolson

Historian Adam Nicolson dissects all aspects of marine life to make stirring observations about crustaceans, humans, and the world in which we all live in this deftly reported book. Blending scientific research, philosophy, and moving commentary on what it means to live, Nicolson’s book defies genre categorization as the author, with the help of stunning illustrations, strives to tackle the biggest questions about humanity through investigating a sliver of the sea’s inhabitants.

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

The latest novel from Douglas Stuart shares a lot in common with his first, the Booker Prize-winning Shuggie Bain. In both, young men live in working-class Glasglow in the late 20th century with their alcoholic mothers. This time, the narrative focuses on the love story between two boys, Mungo and James, and the dangers that surround their romance. It’s a piercing examination of the violence inflicted upon queer people and a gripping portrayal of the lengths to which one will go to fight for love.

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk

It’s been such a treat to read through Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk’s catalog as her books are being translated from Polish and released in English. The latest, translated by Jennifer Croft, is perhaps the author’s most ambitious. The Books of Jacob is a sprawling narrative set in the mid-18th century about a self-proclaimed Messiah who travels the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires. Tokarczuk fills the chapters with delectable prose to paint a portrait of this complicated man—based on a real-life figure—through the perspectives of the people in his life, creating a compelling psychological profile of a mysterious leader that masterfully oscillates between humor and tragedy.

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong’s second poetry collection finds the acclaimed writer wrestling with grief after he lost his mother to breast cancer in 2019. Like his novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, this collection is a tender exploration of memory, loss, and love. Through 28 poems, Vuong showcases his original voice as he asks pressing questions about the limits of language and the power of poetry in times of crisis.

https://time.com/6178674/best-books-2022-so-far/

 

small towns, big personalities

Small towns always seem to be full of big personalities, all of whom want to play their own part, leading to hijinks and hilarious disasters.  Find your next read (or audiobook!) among this list of small towns around the world populated with quirky characters in funny, sentimental stories.

TheRoad To Rose Bend by Naima Simone
Sydney Collins left the small Berkshires town of Rose Bend eight years ago, grieving her sister’s death—and heartbroken over her parents’ rejection. But now the rebel is back—newly divorced and pregnant—ready to face her fears and make a home for her child in the caring community she once knew. The last thing she needs is trouble. But trouble just set her body on fire with one hot, hot smile.

ThePatron Saint of Second Chances by Christine Simon
The self-appointed mayor of a tiny Italian village is determined to save his hometown no matter the cost in this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming debut novel.

Britt-MarieWas Here by Fredrik Backman
When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—the fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

SecondChance on Cypress Lane by Reese Ryan
Set in Holly Grove Island, North Carolina, a reporter heads back home to recover from a scandal, only to find herself working with the man who once broke her heart.

DelilahGreen Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood and a cold and distant stepfamily. When her estranged stepsister pressures her into photographing her wedding, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town she used to call home. Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...

TheLast Chance Library by Freya Sampson
June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

TheReaders of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
Katarina Bivald's The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a sweet, smart, and uplifting story about how books find us, change us, and connect us.

Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
Filled with colorful characters and irresistible charm, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is a luminous reminder of the unbreakable bonds of family, and shows that having someone to embrace life with is always better than simply getting by on your own.

MyItalian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
Paul Stuart, a renowned food writer, finds himself at loose ends after his longtime girlfriend leaves him for her personal trainer. To cheer him up, Paul’s editor, Gloria, encourages him to finish his latest cookbook on-site in Tuscany, hoping that a change of scenery (plus the occasional truffled pasta and glass of red wine) will offer a cure for both heartache and writer’s block. But upon Paul’s arrival, things don’t quite go as planned. A mishap with his rental-car reservation leaves him stranded, until a newfound friend leads him to an intriguing alternative: a bulldozer.

SouthPole Station by Ashley Shelby
A warmhearted comedy of errors set in the world’s harshest place, Ashley Shelby's South Pole Station is a wry and witty debut novel about the courage it takes to band together when everything around you falls apart.

BlackberryWine by Joanne Harris
Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, to which he longs to return. A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide the key to an old mystery. As the unusual properties of the strange brew take effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet. There, a ghost from the past waits to confront him.

TheStoried Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew.

ColdSassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Olive Ann Burns has given us a timeless, funny, resplendent novel - about a romance that rocks an entire town, about a boy's passage through the momentous but elusive year when childhood melts into adolescence, and about just how people lived and died in a small Southern town at the turn of the century. Inhabited by characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Cold Sassy, Georgia, is the perfect setting for the debut of a storyteller of rare brio, exuberance, and style.

TheSecret of Rainy Days by Leslie Hooton
Growing up in Erob, Alabama, Nina "Little Bit" Barnes Enloe lived in the shadow of her imposing and harsh grandmother, Nina "Biggie" Barnes Enloe. Bit believes she can escape her grandmother’s controlling grip once and for all by moving somewhere where she is the only Nina Enloe listed: New York. Yet her world is turned upside down when an unexpected loss forces her to leave her new life in the city and return to Erob, where she must face everything―and everyone―she left behind. In the process, Bit discovers her true identity, learns the hard lessons of acceptance and forgiveness, finds herself falling in love in unexpected places, and finds comfort in the secrets of rainy days.

BigStone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Self-proclaimed spinster, Ave Maria Mulligan reaches her thirty-fifth year and resigns herself to the single life, filling her days with hard work, fun friends, and good books. Then, one fateful day, Ave Maria’s past opens wide with the revelation of a long-buried secret that will alter the course of her life. Before she knows it, Ave Maria is fielding marriage proposals, trying to claim her rightful inheritance, and planning the trip of a lifetime to Italy—one that will change her view of the world and her own place in it forever.

GardenSpells by Sarah Addison Allen
In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it....

ColdComfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
When a well-educated young socialite in 1930s England is left orphaned and unable to support herself at age twenty-two, she moves in with her eccentric relatives on their farm.

Midnightat the Blackbird Café by Heather Weber
Nestled in the mountain shadows of Alabama lies the little town of Wicklow. It is here that Anna Kate has returned to bury her beloved Granny Zee, owner of the Blackbird Café. It was supposed to be a quick trip to close the café and settle her grandmother’s estate, but despite her best intentions to avoid forming ties or even getting to know her father’s side of the family, Anna Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to the quirky Southern town her mother ran away from so many years ago, and the mysterious blackbird pie everybody can’t stop talking about.

SweetTea and Sympathy by Molly Harper
Nestled on the shore of Lake Sackett, Georgia is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. (What, you have a problem with one-stop shopping?) Two McCready brothers started two separate businesses in the same building back in 1928, and now it’s become one big family affair. And true to form in small Southern towns, family business becomes everybody’s business.

ItHappened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who’s cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong. 

MajorPettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
When retired Major Pettigrew strikes up an unlikely friendship with Mrs. Ali, the Pakistani village shopkeeper, he is drawn out of his regimented world and forced to confront the realities of life in the twenty-first century. Brought together by a shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship on the cusp of blossoming into something more. 

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

comfort reads

I have a few books that I read over and over and never tire of them.  A bad mood, rough day, challenging circumstance…they all drift away when I open the cover on that familiar world.  A few of those for me are Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall trilogy beginning with Dragonsong (fantasy), Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell (gritty crime), The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (contemporary fiction), Claiming Ground by Laura Bell (memoir), Stay by Allie Larkin (humor fiction) and Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (romance). Here are a few other great suggestions from readers online!

The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux

Jacquie says: “My favorite comfort go-to read is The Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux. It’s a few years old but deals with friendships, loss, a bit of magic, and second chances. Who could want more?”

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Amy says: “It is the one book that I can read over and over, and it puts life into perspective.”

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Karen says: “I have several (or more!) comfort reads, but my most recent is the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I feel like I am catching up with long-absent friends, and I find out something new about them with each reread.”

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Louise says: “It haunts your heart.”

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Amber says: “I have read it six times, and each time, I have found a new meaning and message. Whenever I have a big change in life or any type of difficulty, this is my go-to book. It is so beautifully written with something for everyone. It reads like a fairy tale but includes wisdom and guidance for those who seek it. Getting ready for my seventh read!”

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Patty says: “It is the best for comfort and calming and feeling good.”

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Katrina says: “If I had one book to be stranded on an island with, this book would keep me happy. John and Owen just feel like home.”

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Susan says: “Any time I’m feeling really down, it sweeps me away to a different place and time, with complex characters I can really feel, and the story not just of a love affair, but of a marriage to stand the test of time.”

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Marsha says: “It’s a great perspective on how, when losing someone, we are also grieving for the person we used to be, who we used to be when they were here, and how we are different now with them gone. It’s both a sad but comforting read.”

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

Kim says: “I’ve read it 23 times since January 2017, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. The characters are like old friends, and my heart is always so full after I finish yet another reread.”

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

Emma says: “Such an uplifting and emotional read.”

Still Life by Louise Penny

Jo says: “Any of Louise Penny’s Gamache series because Three Pines and all the characters feel very much like home/family. The writing is wonderful. And no matter how many times I read them, I always find something new in each book.”

Photo by Inside Weather on Unsplash

 https://www.bookbub.com/blog/favorite-comfort-reads

good enough to eat

 

The recent popularity of the Netflix special, High on the Hog, has readers and foodies clamoring for Dr. Jessica B. Harris’s writings, as well as these cookbooks:

Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin

The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty

Rice: A Savor the South Cookbook by Michael W. Twitty

Bress ‘n’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer by Matthew Riafor and Amy Paige Condon

Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing by Jerrelle Guy

Sallie Ann Robinson’s Kitchen: Food and Family Lore from the Lowcountry by Sallie Ann Robinson

The Twisted Soul Cookbook: Modern Soul Food with Global Flavors by Deborah VanTrece

 

Love food, but not much for cooking?  Serve yourself one of these delicious novels!

 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

In Talia Hibbert’s newest rom-com, the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.                              

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer....

Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly

The insightful, audacious, and deeply romantic story of a woman whose life turns upside down after she meets an enigmatic chef on vacation in Italy.

A Phở Love Story by Loan Le

All's fair in love, war and noodles! This delicious debut is perfect for fans of teen romcoms like When Dimple Met Rishi and Jenny Han's To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning story of first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by a beautiful yet ruthless pirate. He will be spared, Mad Hannah Mabbot tells him, as long as he can conjure an exquisite meal every Sunday from the ship's meager supplies.

The Café by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

Funny and heartfelt, The Café by the Sea is a delightful summertime novel that puts a modern twist on the classic Seven Brides for Seven Brothers story.

The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison

New York Times bestselling author Beth Harbison whips together a witty and charming--and delicious--story about the secrets we keep, the friends we make, and the food we cook.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer, from the bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest.

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim

Lush and visual, chock-full of delicious recipes, Roselle Lim’s magical debut novel is about food, heritage, and finding family in the most unexpected places. 

The Optimist’s Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert

Three generations. Seven days. One big secret. The author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake unfolds a mother-daughter story told by three women whose time to reckon with a life-altering secret is running out.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

Award-winning author Sonali Dev launches a new series about the Rajes, an immigrant Indian family descended from royalty, who have built their lives in San Francisco...

The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman

In The Recipe Box, beloved author Viola Shipman spins a tale about a lost young woman and the family recipe box that changes her life.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

From the author of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick The Scent Keeper comes a “heartbreakingly delicious” national bestseller about a chef, her students, and the evocative lessons that food teaches about life. 

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein bites into her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the slice. To her horror, she finds that her cheerful mother tastes of despair. Soon, she’s  privy to the secret knowledge that most families keep hidden

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the extraordinary people who tend it....

The Seaside Café by Rochelle Alers

Set on breathtaking Coates Island, off the coast of North Carolina, bestselling author Rochelle Alers’ new series debut brings together three book-loving women whose summer will offer a chance to rewrite their own stories . . .

The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Verant

A disgraced chef rediscovers her passion for food and her roots in this stunning novel rich in culture and full of delectable recipes.

Georgia’s Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

At thirty-three, talented chef Georgia Gray has everything a woman could want until a scathing restaurant review destroys her reputation. Brokenhearted, Georgia escapes to the Italian countryside, where she sharpens her skills at a trattoria run by a world-class chef who seems to have it all—a devoted lover, a magnificent villa, and most important, a kitchen of her own.

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith

Nikki DiMarco knew life wouldn’t be all sunshine and coconuts when she quit her dream job to help her mom serve up mouthwatering Filipino dishes to hungry beach goers, but she didn’t expect the Maui food truck scene to be so eat-or-be-eaten—or the competition to be so smoking hot.

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman

A trio of second-born daughters sets out on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love, by New York Times bestseller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.

A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos

From talented new writer, Yaffa S. Santos, comes this unforgettable, heartwarming, and hilarious rom-com about chefs, cooking, love, and self-discovery that is a cross between The Hating Game and Sweetbitter.

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber

THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER Heather Webber's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is a captivating blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance, and small-town Southern charm.

The Wedding Thief by Mary Simses

Two sisters in love with the same man -- one engaged to him and the other about to sabotage the wedding -- struggle to reconcile in this delicious novel from the bestselling author of The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café.

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark

Luciano, a penniless orphan with a quick wit and an even faster hand, is plucked up by an illustrious chef and hired, for reasons he cannot yet begin to understand, as an apprentice in the palace kitchen. There, in the lavish home of the most powerful man in Venice, he is initiated into the chef's rich and aromatic world, with all its seductive ingredients and secrets.

 

 

vacation reads

The “travel bug” is back this summer!  Don’t forget to pack a good book (or three) alongside your sunscreen and sandals!

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

The perfect read for a rainy summer day, this escapist classic begins when one woman reads an advertisement for a small tumble-down medieval castle addressed to “Those Who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine.” She is suddenly struck by desire on this dreary, dripping day and finds a partner-in-travel to get away for a month. The two friends seek out two strangers to make a party of four women—one young, one old, two somewhere in the middle. As they travel to the Italian castle and spend the month finding out what they have in common, they find they are all unhappy with the life they find themselves leading. It's no spoiler to tell you: they come into their own.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

This backlist book takes readers to the island of Mallorca, where Franny and Jim have invited their close family and friends to celebrate some major milestones. It all seems like sunshine and swimming pools until secrets come to light and longstanding rivalries reemerge. When it comes to complicated family dramas, you can count on Emma Straub to deliver. Her characterization shines, and though you may not like any of the people here, you will want to know what happens to them. 

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

In this enemies-to-lovers romance, bridesmaid Olive steels herself to get through her twin sister's wedding, which forces her to spend the day with her sworn enemy and best man Ethan. But when the rest of the party falls prey to food poisoning, Olive and Ethan find themselves on an all-expenses-paid honeymoon trip to Hawaii, determined to leave each other alone—until they are forced into pretending to be newlyweds to save Olive's job. They quickly discover that pretending can be a whole lot of fun.

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

In this fast-paced YA debut, a girl travels halfway around the world to find herself, and maybe find love, too. Ever Wong is an eighteen-year-old Asian American girl in Ohio, a talented dancer who, unbeknownst to her family, harbors dreams of pursuing professional dance. When her parents find out she’s considering dance instead of med school, they send her to Taiwan to spend the rest of the summer at Chien Tan—an immersive high school program devoted to language and culture. When Ever arrives she’s surprised to discover that far from the scholarly summer she expected, the students themselves call the program “Loveboat,” because it’s tons of fun and so many long-term relationships begin here. The sequel is coming in early 2022. 

Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach

Journalist Alice Steinbach took a four-month sabbatical from work to travel to London, Oxford, Paris, and Milan when she was in her 50s (what a dream!). Her memoir is as much about the places she goes as it is about the people she befriends, such as one acquaintance who asks her, “Why not turn this mishap into an adventure?” Witty, wise, and transporting, Steinbach's journey will make you feel as though you're traveling far from your own armchair—and perhaps inspire you to plan your own solo trip. 

A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes

Frances Mayes is best known for her memoirs exploring life as an expat in Tuscany, but here she shares about travels to Spain, Portugal, France, the British Isles, Turkey, Greece, the South of Italy, and North Africa. As much as possible, she rented a house and did her best to shop and eat like a local, thinking all the while about what it would be like to call that place home. Full of descriptive detail, this travel memoir is best suited for readers who love all things art and architecture, or who enjoy a slow meandering walk down an unfamiliar cobblestone street. 

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever

“I am a storyteller. I go places, I come back. I tell you how the places made me feel.” — Anthony Bourdain. Before he died, Bourdain’s co-author and long-time collaborator Laurie Woolever met with him about this project just once, a meeting she details in the book’s heartfelt opening. Yet she managed to deliver a transporting reading experience in a true travel guide that combines Bourdain’s stories and travel tips with colorful essays from his friends and colleagues. Vicariously experience Bourdain’s favorite destinations near and far—from Toronto to Tanzania, Manhattan to Myanmar—as Bourdain tells you how to get there, where to stay, and, perhaps most importantly, what to eat. Jam-packed with potential for adventure and exploration (real or imagined).  

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Globetrot with Alex and Poppy in this modern twist on When Harry Met Sally. The pair of opposites once shared a ride home from college and their witty banter ignited a decade-long friendship. Now free-spirit Poppy lives in NYC, working as a travel writer for a posh magazine. Strait-laced Alex lives in their small Ohio hometown, longing to start a family and live that picket-fence lifestyle. Connecting once a year for an epic vacation, these besties were always in sync…until they weren’t. Now they haven’t spoken in two painful years, and against all odds, Poppy is hoping one great vacation can save them. 

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

Jake cited this "champagne cocktail in book form" as a recent favorite in WSIRN Episode 277: Books that feel like a vacation for your brain. You do not need to be familiar with E.M. Forster's classic Room With a View in order to enjoy this glittery, glamorous, and gossipy retelling that opens on an island holiday in Capri—and then jumps forward seven years later to a decadent summer vacation in East Hampton. 

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

If The Underground Railroad or The Nickel Boys made your favorites list, have you dipped into Colson Whitehead's backlist yet? This humorous coming of age story will take you to 1985 Manhattan, where 15-year-old Benji Cooper, the only Black student at his prep school, attempts to fit in with his classmates. Trying to break free of his label as a bona fide nerd proves exhausting, but escape comes every summer when Benji's family stays in Sag Harbor, along with a whole community of upper-middle class Black families in their social circle. With freedom from school, parents, and the perception of his peers, Benji thinks this summer might be the perfect time to reinvent himself. Travel to the Hamptons with Benji for summer vacation vibes, teenage angst, and Whitehead's stunning writing style. 

If you like the creepier, more dangerous side of fiction, seek out these intense tales of vacations gone horribly wrong!

Descent by Tim Johnston

This heart-pounding thriller is set in the Rocky Mountains, where the whole Courtland family hoped to enjoy a wilderness vacation, and the parents specifically hope to reconnect and patch up their broken marriage. Daughter Caitlin is about to begin college on a track scholarship and sees the mountain trails as a challenge for her running strength and stamina. But their peaceful vacation turns into a nightmare when Caitlin and her younger brother Sean set off on a hike together, and only Sean returns. Each member of the family deals with Caitlin’s disappearance alone, yet they grapple with the same unspeakable questions. 

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy

Liv and Nora are cousins, close as sisters. After a rough year and lots of family drama, they're in desperate need of a low-key family getaway. The cruise was going to be perfect. And it is, for a while. But then on a normal—almost boring—Central American shore excursion, a series of misunderstandings and misjudgments ends with terrifying confusion—where are the children? Soon enough, the adults realize six children have vanished—and from alternating points of view, we discover where they went, and why, and who's to blame. (There's lots to go around.) Readers take note: this is messy, and a little racy.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Moriarty says this story actually started as a joke: after a stressful season, she began saying her next novel would take place at a tropical resort, and she'd have to spend a lot of time vacationing "for research purposes." But as she thought about it, she realized it really would make a good story. Swap out the tropical setting for a luxurious health retreat, bring in nine strangers, each with their own reason for renewal, and you're in for a great reading experience. The miniseries boasts a star-studded cast and is set to premiere on Amazon Prime August 20th. 

The River at Night by Erica Ferencik

When Winifred Allen's best friends suggest a wilderness adventure in Maine for their annual girls' trip, she reluctantly agrees. Swimming in depression and grief, Wini could really go for more of a beach vacation. But hiking and rafting through the Allagash Wilderness proves to be revitalizing...until their trip takes a treacherous turn. After a freak accident, Wini and her friends are stranded and forced to rely on strangers for supplies and shelter. Just when the women think they're safe, the battle for survival really begins, and Wini must prove her strength. 

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Does Hercule Poirot ever get a vacation? It seems that wherever he goes, he must investigate. His cruise along the Nile is interrupted by a shocking murder (of course). Honeymooner Linett Ridgeway has been shot, and Poirot might know the culprit: he overheard a passenger say incriminating, threatening things about the beautiful (and filthy rich) young woman. But it wouldn't be a Christie novel without a few unexpected twists and turns. Devoted Poirot fans will enjoy several references to his other mysteries sprinkled throughout the novel and heads up: it's been adapted for another Kenneth Branagh film, set to release in 2022. 

The Ruins by Scott Smith

Trapped in the Mexican jungle, a group of friends stumble upon a creeping horror unlike anything they could ever imagine.Two young couples are on a lazy Mexican vacation–sun-drenched days, drunken nights, making friends with fellow tourists. When the brother of one of those friends disappears, they decide to venture into the jungle to look for him. What started out as a fun day-trip slowly spirals into a nightmare when they find an ancient ruins site . . . and the terrifying presence that lurks there.

The Beach by Alex Garland

The Khao San Road, Bangkok -- first stop for the hordes of rootless young Westerners traveling in Southeast Asia. On Richard's first night there, in a low-budget guest house, a fellow traveler slashes his wrists, bequeathing to Richard a meticulously drawn map to "the Beach." It is as beautiful and idyllic as it is reputed to be. Yet over time it becomes clear that Beach culture, as Richard calls it, has troubling, even deadly, undercurrents.

Day Four by Sarah Lotz

Hundreds of pleasure-seekers stream aboard The Beautiful Dreamer cruise ship for five days of cut-price fun in the Caribbean sun. On the fourth day, disaster strikes: smoke roils out of the engine room, and the ship is stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon supplies run low, a virus plagues the ship, and there are whispered rumors that the cabins on the lower decks are haunted by shadowy figures. Irritation escalates to panic, the crew loses control, factions form, and violent chaos erupts among the survivors. When, at last, the ship is spotted drifting off the coast of Key West, the world's press reports it empty. But the gloomy headlines may be covering up an even more disturbing reality.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

In this richly atmospheric locked-room mystery, an exclusive list of guests harboring dark secrets are invited to a secluded and eerie island off the coast of Ireland for the wedding of a glamorous magazine publisher to a rising television star. The tension between the guests is underscored by the unforgiving landscape and sense of impending doom, not to mention the haunted history of the island.

The French Girl by Lexie Elliott

While on summer break a decade ago, a group of friends from Oxford spent a blissful week together in an idyllic French farmhouse… until their vacation was torpedoed by Severine, the beautiful and cunning girl next door, who wreaked havoc on the group and then disappeared, never to be seen again. Ten years later, Severine’s body is found in the well behind the house, and suddenly the group are all suspects. This psychological suspense is a slow-burn, but the shifting alliances and tensions between the friends keep the mystery alive until the end.

The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John

Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth. But when her best friend, Summer, invites her on a glamorous getaway to the Mediterranean aboard her billionaire boyfriend's yacht, the only sensible answer is yes. Belle hopes the trip will be a much-needed break from her stalled acting career and uniquely humiliating waitressing job, but once she's aboard the luxurious Lion's Den, it soon becomes clear this jet-setting holiday is not as advertised.

https://modernmrsdarcy.com/vicarious-vacation-books/

https://crimereads.com/11-novels-of-vacations-gone-horribly-awry/

Still waiting on the opportunity to freely travel?  Maybe not, as these films showcase some of the worse-case scenarios for trips of all kinds.

The Evil Dead

Ashley "Ash" Williams (Bruce Campbell), his girlfriend and three pals hike into the woods to a cabin for a fun night away. There they find an old book, the Necronomicon, whose text reawakens the dead when it's read aloud. The friends inadvertently release a flood of evil and must fight for their lives or become one of the evil dead. Ash watches his friends become possessed, and must make a difficult decision before daybreak to save his own life in this, the first of Sam Raimi's trilogy.

National Lampoon’s Vacation

Accompanied by their children (Dana Barron, Anthony Michael Hall), Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), are driving from Illinois to a California amusement park. As Clark increasingly fixates on a beautiful woman driving a sports car, the Griswolds deal with car problems and the death of a family member. They reach Los Angeles, but, when Clark worries that the trip is being derailed again, he acts impulsively to get his family to the park.

Weekend at Bernie’s

Fun-loving salesmen Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy) are invited by their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser), to stay the weekend at his posh beach house. Little do they know that Bernie is the perpetrator of a fraud they've uncovered and is arranging to have them killed. When the plan backfires and Bernie is killed instead, the buddies decide not to let a little death spoil their vacation. They pretend Bernie is still alive, leading to hijinks and corpse desecration galore.

Thelma & Louise

Meek housewife Thelma (Geena Davis) joins her friend Louise (Susan Sarandon), an independent waitress, on a short fishing trip. However, their trip becomes a flight from the law when Louise shoots and kills a man who tries to rape Thelma at a bar. Louise decides to flee to Mexico, and Thelma joins her. On the way, Thelma falls for sexy young thief J.D. (Brad Pitt) and the sympathetic Detective Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) tries to convince the two women to surrender before their fates are sealed.

Jurassic Park

In Steven Spielberg's massive blockbuster, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park's mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt.

Little Miss Sunshine

The Hoover family -- a man (Greg Kinnear), his wife (Toni Collette), an uncle (Steve Carell), a brother (Paul Dano) and a grandfather (Alan Arkin) -- puts the fun back in dysfunctional by piling into a VW bus and heading to California to support a daughter (Abigail Breslin) in her bid to win the Little Miss Sunshine Contest. The sanity of everyone involved is stretched to the limit as the group's quirks cause epic problems as they travel along their interstate route.

Snakes on a Plane

FBI agent Nelville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) boards a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, escorting a witness to trial. An on-board assassin releases a crate of deadly serpents in an attempt to kill the witness. Flynn and a host of frightened passengers and crew must band together to survive the slithery threat.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) is better-known as the boyfriend of TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). After she unceremoniously dumps him, he feels lost and alone but makes a last-ditch bid to get over it by going to Hawaii. However, she and her new boyfriend (Russell Brand) are there in the same hotel.

The Hangover

Two days before his wedding, Doug (Justin Bartha) and three friends (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) drive to Las Vegas for a wild and memorable stag party. In fact, when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can't remember a thing; nor can they find Doug. With little time to spare, the three hazy pals try to re-trace their steps and find Doug so they can get him back to Los Angeles in time to walk down the aisle.

Spring Breakers

College students Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Faith (Selena Gomez), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) are short of the cash they need for a spring-break trip, so they rob a diner and head down to Florida. However, the police soon break up the party and arrest them. The curvaceous quartet are unexpectedly bailed out by a drug dealer and aspiring rap artist named Alien (James Franco). Soon after, three of the four gal pals decide to join Alien in a life of crime.

Sightseers

A couple's (Alice Lowe, Steve Oram) cross-country road trip takes a deadly turn when they decide to start killing everyone who annoys them.

Midsommar

A young American couple, their relationship foundering, travel to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival where a seemingly pastoral paradise transforms into a sinister, dread-soaked nightmare as the locals reveal their terrifying agenda.

www.vulture.com/article/best-vacations-gone-wrong-movies.html

www.rottentomatoes.com