Dear Great Book Guru, I love the summer; there is so much time for lounging and reading- my two favorite activities. And, of course, there is nothing better than sitting on Sea Cliff Beach under one of those beautiful blue stripped umbrellas, sipping an iced tea, and reading a great book. Do you have any suggestions: I'm thinking non-fiction for a change… Devoted Beach Goer- Book Reader

Dear Devoted, Summer is a wonderful time to experiment with different reading genres, and I have just the book for you. In the last month, both my son Daniel DiPietro and friend Barbara Murray sang the praises of IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS by Erik Larson. How right they were! This narrative non-fiction take on pre-World War II Germany is subtitled: " Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin." Told in real time, the book recounts the story of a mild mannered academic William Dodd who has just been appointed U.S. Ambassador to Germany (he was F.D.R.'s fifteenth choice- everyone else refused) and his beautiful, flirtatious daughter Martha. When they arrive in Berlin, they are both naïve and casually anti-Semitic; the elder Dodd is cautious and tries to overlook the growing violence which lies just below the surface in sophisticated, robust Berlin ("let these men work on their schemes") while his daughter is enamored of all things German and refuses to see the brutality that surrounds her magical daily existence ("we don't know the whole story"). As the year unfolds, we share the family's excitement, romantic intrigues, and finally their horror at the tragedies that befall their friends, neighbors, and colleagues. A compelling read!

Dear Great Book Guru,

This Saturday at 7pm in Spooky Park, the Sea Cliff Silly Shakespeare Company presents its hilarious production of The Merry Stepford Wives of Windsor. I am so excited- Elizabeth Sehring and her merry troupe always do such a great job, and I hear this year’s play might be the best yet. But that leaves me with the rest of the weekend- I will definitely be looking for something to read. Do you have a recommendation? Lover of the Bard


Dear Lover of the Bard, Yes, indeed, Spooky Park is the place to be this weekend. In fact, many people attend the Friday night 7 pm full dress rehearsal and the Saturday night performance. I’ll certainly be at both! For the rest of the weekend, I suggest you read a light but fascinating book about memory, friendship, and marriage: WHAT ALICE FORGOT by Liane Moriarty. My friend Eileen Kunkel, who is a very discerning reader, recommended it, and I enjoyed it tremendously. The story opens with Alice, unconscious on the gym floor, having fallen off her bicycle during a particularly strenuous spin class. As she regains consciousness, we realize she has lost her memory of the last ten years: her children, numerous deaths and marriages, and her own impending divorce- all obliterated-instead she is a young newlywed, expecting her first child, deliriously in love and, well- very casual about most things. Apparently the missing ten years have changed her considerably and friends, enemies, and family alike are all bewildered by the new/old Alice. We are left to ponder what was important to us ten years ago and what changes, if any, we might want to make in our lives A very thought-provoking book!

Dear Great Book Guru, Every Thursday at 7pm you can find me at the Sea Cliff Civic Association's Sunset Serenades at Memorial Park- last week it was the Corda Family- they were great and this week- Kris Rice- what fun! Well, while I was there someone told me that Heather and John Kenny were going on and on about a wonderful author you had recommended. Do you remember who it is and is there a particular book of his/hers I might enjoy? Sunset Serenade Super Fan

Dear Super Fan, Yes, those Sunset Serenades epitomize a Sea Cliff summer for me too. The last time I spoke with Heather Kenny we discussed Stewart O'Nan at great length so I am confident this is the author you are searching for - I have recommended three of his books: WISH YOU WERE HERE, EMILY ALONE, and LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER. Today I would like to suggest a fourth: SNOW ANGELS. This novel (330 pages but a very quick read) traces two families' intersecting lives: Annie, her parents, young daughter Tara, and her estranged husband Glenn; and Arthur Parkinson, his sister Astrid and his parents Louise and Don who are in the midst of a bitter divorce.When the story opens , Arthur is fourteen, living a life of quiet desperation - smoking marijuana, skipping class and hanging out with his classmate- Warren is Sancho Panza to Arthur's Don Quixote and there are many windmills tilted before the book closes. Annie, Arthur's beloved babysitter now a grown woman with her own child, has just been found murdered and it is not until the end of the book that we learn who the killer is. But the story is not a crime novel but instead a detailed examination of families who love each other but who hurt one another over and over in the most cruel and banal of ways. You will remember these characters long after you have finished the book.

Dear Great Book Guru,
I am so excited- the annual Summer Stroll is set for this weekend- to tour the porches and patios of Sea Cliff while feasting on delicious appetizers and drinks all on a lovely summer evening - perfection! Well, I know what I am doing this Saturday night- but what will I be reading on a lazy Sunday summer morning? Can you recommend something chillingly suspenseful but rich in characterization and plot? Summer Stroller

Dear Summer Stroller, I just finished reading a book which fits your criteria perfectly- SISTER by Rosemary Lupton. Set in present-day London, this first novel is written in the form of an extended letter from a 26 year-old woman to her sister. There are so many twists and turns that you are left literally breathless. As each piece of new information is revealed you are forced to reconsider your past assumptions. First, we discover that missing Tess is a twenty-one year-old art student; then we learn she is pregnant; finally, we learn she has already had the baby; also, she has been part of an experiment involving gene therapy to cure her unborn child of cystic fibrosis, but...there is much, much more. Possible suspects range from her art professor lover to a student stalker, to sinister scientists, physicians, and Big Pharma executives. Throughout, the story is told from the perspective of Bee, the older sister who is the conservative, uptight counterpart to her younger, more beautiful Bohemian sibling. While all the characters we meet are colorful, interestingly, one of the most vivid is London itself. The descriptions of its parks, neighborhoods, and institutions as we move from season to season make this novel all the more compelling. I could not turn the pages fast enough to unravel the mystery. A great summer read!

If you are interested in attending the Sea Cliff Civic Association's Summer Stroll this Saturday, July 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 (ticket is $25), act quickly. Email tinamarie122@optonline.net or stop by the Children's Library.

Dear Great Book Guru, What a weekend I just had! First, an amazing Summer Solstice party with a bevy of Sea Cliff luminaries in attendance and then followed the next day by the loveliest of bridal showers for Gillian DiPietro and Joseph Anzalone hosted by Emily Gordon. The tasty treats were prepared by Ricky Silver (silvercaterers.com). During the Solstice party , news came of the passing of the New York State Marriage Equality Act and one of the first people to be interviewed by the media was Sea Cliff resident and author Sarah Ellis. Many of the partygoers had read her book but no one could remember its title. Do you know the book and have you read it? Weekend Partygoer

Dear Weekend Partygoer, I was at both events too and enjoyed them immensely. Yes, I have read Sarah's book that she co-authored with her partner Kristen Henderson: TIMES X TWO. I finished it in one evening and loved it. Funny, compassionate, suspenseful, and with multiple references to Sea Cliff- you can't get better than that! Sarah and Kristen are the parents of a beautiful boy and girl- weeks apart- twins of sort. The book traces the lives of the two women- Sarah, a highly successful executive at REAL SIMPLE magazine and Kristen, founder, songwriter, and lead guitarist of the famed ANTIGONE RISING band- their childhoods, their college years, their initial meeting and courtship, and finally the births of their children. The book is a beautiful tribute to Sarah and Kristen and all the people in their lives. Highly recommended!

Just a reminder- the Sea Cliff Civic Association's annual Fourth of July Celebration and Reading of the Declaration of Independence will be held on the Village Green outside the Sea Cliff Library at 10am on Monday, the 4th. This is a beautiful event -appropriate for both children and adults .

Dear Great Book Guru Tonight is the Ice Cream Social that the Sea Cliff Civic Association hosts on the last day of school. Matthew and Lorraine Garry, Deidre Mannix, Julie Gordon, and Laura Parker always do such a great job. My children and I love this event and I especially love that it is held in Spooky Park. There is something mysterious and magical about that park. Talking about mysterious…. I am a great lover of mysteries and am always looking for a new series to throw myself into. Do you have anything to recommend? Mystery Maven

Dear Mystery Maven, I too love a good mystery and just this weekend I discovered a new series- well, new to me -but the author Hazel Holt has written nineteen books over the last twenty five years, always with Shelia Malory as her heroine. I read GONE AWAY (first of the nineteen)) and then THE CRUELLEST MONTH. I so loved both that I plan on reading the entire series. Shelia Malory is a fiftyish widow living in a small town outside of London. She has a strong academic bent so the books contain many literary references; the title CRUELLEST MONTH refers to T.S. Eliot's "April is the cruelest month." Malory visits the Oxford home of old friends and spends part of each beautiful spring day in the Bodleian Library where a particularly unpleasant researcher has been found dead under a pile of ancient books. Was this an accident or was it murder? Old diaries, World War II crimes, forged coins and much more come into play before the mystery is solved. Of course, the beauty of these novels lies in their character and set development with the resolution almost an afterthought. Very enjoyable!

Dear Great Book Guru, I was at the fabulous Flag Day Concert this weekend sponsored by the Sea Cliff Civic Association and organized by Phil Como. The people I was sitting near were trying to come with a great book for Father's Day. Do you have any suggestions? Devoted Son

Dear Devoted, I thought that concert was wonderful, too. I was sitting next to the Mayor and First Lady of Sea Cliff Bruce and Robyn Kennedy and we all agreed it was a great afternoon, and interestingly, we did talk about a book that would make the perfect Father's Day gift: MY FATHER'S FORTUNE by Michael Frayn. Frayn was a young boy in England during World War II and in this biography of his father we learn much about that time in history and also the complicated relationship many if not all men have with their fathers. Frayn writes, “my father moved lightly over the earth, scarcely leaving a footprint, scarcely a shadow.” And herein lies the quiet beauty of the book- we become fascinated by a rather ordinary man as we see him through the eyes of his son- an extraordinarily successful novelist and playwright. Early on Frayn feels unable to live up to his father's rather mundane expectations and then as time goes on he eclipses his father's achievements. The guilt that accompanied both of these periods is finally resolved at the conclusion of the book when Frayn recognizes his father in himself and is left to wonder why it was so hard to express love and yes, gratitude.