Claude & Camille: a Novel of Monet, by Stephanie Cowell, focuses on Claude Monet’s early life and work during the 1860s and 1870s.  The book takes place in Paris and throughout the French countryside.  Monet, his wife Camille Doncieux, and his artist friends struggled to make a living long before they became the famous Impressionists.  Readers who enjoy this book may also enjoy Light by Eva Figes or Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. Sarah

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. (Sound Recording).  The story of this best seller centers around three women living in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962.  One woman is young and white and a graduate of Ole Miss – Skeeter.  The other two women are African-American and work as maids for white women – Aibileen and Minny.  Skeeter, an aspiring writer, decides to collect stories from these women and others about their lives. This is an intellectual decision for her, but a dangerous decision for the women telling the stories. The book is written in their voices, and this is what makes it so perfect for an audio recording.  The readers are superb at making the characters come alive, and since there are four different voices, it is easy to distinguish them.  The use of dialect is another reason to listen to the story.  I thought that the readers were great actors, and, in fact, this recording is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner.  Susan

Black Wave: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them, by John and Jean Silverwood. John and Jean had a dream of sailing the world with their four children, showing them the beauty of life at sea and the natural world.  Two years into the voyage, their 55 foot catamaran hit a coral reef in the South Pacific. The following days of survival and loss change their lives forever and rapidly promote the maturity that was already developing in their children.  Their story, along with the story of their sister ship, Julia Ann, who suffered the same fate on that island in 1855, is told with honesty and an open mind and heart. Lori

Unfinished Portrait, by Anthea Fraser. Biographer Rona Parish is asked to write the life story of the British artist Elspeth Wilding.  As she gathers information from family and friends, Rona finds herself investigating the artist's sudden disappearance.  Set in modern-day London, this is the seventh Rona Parish mystery written by Anthea Fraser.  I enjoyed getting acquainted with the main characters, eventually learning whose portrait remained "unfinished." Nancy

Insatiable, by Meg Cabot. FUN - SUMMER/BEACH - READ -“Sick of hearing about vampires?" So is Meena Harper, a dialogue writer for the soap opera – Insatiable.  Meena finds out that the producers want the show to move in a new direction – All Vampires.  Meeting a Romanian prince and falling for him is not helping her situation.  By the way Meena has a gift - she can tell when people are going to die.  So why don’t her powers work on her new boyfriend?  What’s with that?  Laurie

The Astronomer: a Novel of Suspense, by Lawrence Goldstone. Like murder mysteries? Like well-researched historical fiction? This is the book for you! Set in Paris in the late 1500’s, Goldstone intertwines a murder mystery with all the religious and scientific upheaval of that time period. Easy to read but full of realistic settings and intelligent intrigue. Robert