Dear Great Book Guru, I have just taken the New York State law boards and after months of arduous study, I have an overwhelming desire to read for pleasure and excitement.  I plan on checking out your past recommendations but is there something this week you would particularly recommend?                                                         Law School 2012 Grad Seeking Literary Pleasure

Dear Law School Grad,  What a relief to have that exam completed and now to a summer of reading delights!  I just finished  a first novel that you might enjoy:  THE AGE OF MIRACLES  BY Karen Thompson Walker.   Set in present day California, the novel opens on the most ordinary of days: eleven-year old Julia is having typical middle school problems: her best friend seems distant, her parents are irritating, her teachers unreasonably demanding, the school bus is late… and then the world begins to slow down- literally. The day is no longer  24 hours- it is 24 hours 36 minutes and this is only the beginning. Quickly the world is coping with 6 weeks of daylight followed by 6 weeks of darkness. Life on earth changes completely and yet Julia’s life, dominated by concerns of parents, friends, and school, remains  much the same in this eerily apocalyptically transformed world.  We see what little control humans have when the physics that control the earth go awry, but there is also a sense of joy in the small miracles that continue to color people’s lives.  A quick read but one that you will remember for a long time!

In Memoriam:  Donald Sobel- author of the Encyclopedia Brown series of mysteries- a favorite of many, many children and adults and a special favorite of Daniel and Justin DiPietro.