Dear Great Book Guru,
While I was having breakfast down at Sea Cliff Beach last Sunday, someone mentioned that next week is Bloomsday- June 16- the annual celebration of James Joyce's famous ULYSSES. I'm not up to reading that 800 page classic but do you have something to recommend that I might read to put me in the mood for Bloomsday while enjoying the beach? Beach Booklover


Dear Booklover,
Last week, I was talking to my friend Cec, who too loves both the beach and books, and she asked for just such a recommendation. The book I suggested was THE LONELY PASSION OF JUDITH HEARNE by Brian Moore. This book originally came out in 1955 but remains fresh and pertinent in 2010. Set in Belfast, Ireland, the novel introduces us to a fortyish unmarried woman of limited financial means, but grand illusions. She has a small annuity inherited from an aunt whom she had cared for over many years ; she supplements this income with earnings from a few reluctant piano students. Judith is a woman who desperately wants to keep up appearances but finds her life spinning out of control as she moves into yet another shabby boarding house (her fifth move in two years). When she is courted by her landlady's brother, we sense impending disaster but Judith sees only romance and redemption. Alas, our fears are confirmed as we begin to realize the nature of Judith's problem- her real passion. A new edition of this novel is coming out June 15 with an afterword by Mary Gordon, one of my favorite writers. Enjoy the beach and yes, Happy Bloomsday!