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!