Fairfax County Public Library
Adult Summer Reading List for 2007

• Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout FIC STR
  A minister struggles to regain happiness and respect in the face of a terrible loss.
• Black Swan Green by David Mitchell JFIC MIT
  Thirteen connected stories provide a snapshot of a 13-year-old’s life in a little English village.
• Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides 978 S
  Kit Carson, the Mexican War and the forced roundup of Navajo at the Canyon de Chelly.
• Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg FIC FLA
  A woman falls out of a tree and, when revived, tells about her temporary visit to heaven.
• Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream by Thomas Hoobler B SMITH
  A look at how John Smith’s leadership helped the Jamestown colony survive and thrive.
• The Conjurer's Bird by Martin Davies FIC DAV
  A naturalist joins the search for the remains of an unusual bird that was captured in 1774.
• Deceit by James Siegel FIC SIE
  A disgraced journalist investigates a story that may help resurrect his career.
• The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman FIC HOL
  A potter’s assistant supports her ailing child through prostitution.
• The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery by D. T. Max 616.83 M
  An exploration of Prion diseases, including the fatal insomnia that plagued an Italian family.
• Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert 363.7387 K
  An exploration of the global environment and what can be done to save the planet.
• Fragile Innocence: A Father's Memoir of His Daughter's Courageous Journey by James Reston B RESTON
  A toddler is struck with an unknown medical condition that leaves her developmentally disabled.
• Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien FIC OBR
  A private deserts his post in Vietnam and walks 8,000 miles to the Paris peace talks.
• The Good, Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery 636.4 M
  A sickly runt achieves celebrity status and entertains a New Hampshire village with his antics.
• His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis B WASHINGTON
  Washington’s personal letters and papers reveal a deeper understanding of the legend.
• His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik SF NOV
  Warriors defend Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, not on ships but on the backs of dragons.
• The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld FIC RUB
  A Freud protégé tries to nail a killer by helping an “almost-victim” remember what happened.
• Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell B POWELL
  A woman chronicles her year-long odyssey making every recipe in a Julia Child cookbook.
• Kindred by Octavia Butler FIC BUT
  A young woman is transported back in time to save the son of a slave-owning ancestor.
• A Land as God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America by 975.5425 H
  Jamestown’s first 18 years and the relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans.
• Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas and the Heart of a New Nation by David Price 975.5425 P
  The incredible hardships faced by the founders of the U.S.’ s first permanent English settlement.
• Murder Between the Covers: A Dead-End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets MYS VIE
  Helen goes to great lengths to prove her friend is innocent of murdering a bookstore owner.
• My Antonia by Willa Cather FIC CAT
  Profiles the courage of a daughter of Bohemian immigrants who settled on the frontier.
• Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich FIC DIE
  Ethan Gage uses an Egyptian medallion to solve one of history’s greatest mysteries.
• Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews MYS AND
  A yard sale is interrupted when a local antiques dealer is found stuffed in a trunk.
• The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar FIC UMR
  The bond between a widow and her elderly housekeeper transcend the caste system.
• A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher FIC UMR
  Despite her resentment, a woman follows her husband and joins the 1847 Oregon migration.
• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky FIC NEM
  Stories about those who fled, stayed and survived the German occupation of France.
• Sweet Summer: Growing Up With and Without My Dad by Bebe Moore Campbell B CAMPBELL
  The author shares her changing views about the father she saw only in the summer.
• A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas B THOMAS
  Canine companions help a couple cope with the husband’s traumatic head injury.
• The Trouble With Poetry: And Other Poems by Billy Collins 811 C
  A witty author helps us take a second look at the everyday things of life.
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen FIC GRU
  Jacob joins a second-rate circus when he learns his parents’ deaths have left him destitute.
• The Widow's War by Sally Gunning FIC GUN
  A whaling captain’s widow learns that she must depend on the good will of her son-in-law.