Dear Great Book Guru,  There are some major events coming up this week- Silly Shakespeare’s “Richard the Nerd,” Springfest,  Stars and Stripes Concert at Clifton Park,  White Caps Awards at Metropolitan Bistro, and the James Joyce Jaunt – Sea Cliff’s own celebration of Bloomsday- quite a  week! In addition, we are celebrating a friend’s birthday and I would love to give him a great book to read- recommended, of course, by the Great Book Guru herself.  Any ideas?  Joyful June Celebrant

Dear Joyful June Celebrant,  I just finished a much acclaimed new book that should be on everyone’s summer reading list: BEFORE THE FALL by Noah Hawley.  The novel opens on a foggy summer night as passengers and crew are boarding a private plane bound from Martha’s Vineyard to New York: a media mogul – think Fox’s Roger Ailes- his young family, a billionaire friend about to be indicted for a massive money laundering scheme, an aspiring artist invited to join the group at the last minute, and four crew members.  We learn all this on the first page where we also learn that the plane crashes into the Atlantic after sixteen minutes in flight- with only two survivors.  Subsequent chapters give us the back story of each of these characters as the authorities struggle with the question:  malfunction or sabotage?  The relentless twisting of truth and exploitation of victims by 24 hour cable news outlets are described in brutal detail as is the political infighting of government agencies as they try to determine what actually happened on that fateful flight … A fascinating read and highly recommended!

And a very Happy Flag Day Birthday to Justin DiPietro!