Dear Great Book Guru,  I have been enjoying Friday nights at Sea Cliff Beach with its great bands every week, beautiful sunsets,  delicious treats from the Beach Café, and the added fun of meeting up with almost all of Sea Cliff. While waiting for the music to begin, I would love to have something light but worthwhile to read.  Any suggestions?                 Lover of Sea Cliff Beach Music

Dear Lover of Sea Cliff Beach Music, I have just the book for you: VINEGAR GIRL by one of my favorite authors- Anne Tyler.  This is a retelling of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” set in present day Baltimore- home to much of Tyler’s fiction.  Kate Battista is unhappy in her job, her home, her life.  She is smart, funny, and thoroughly underappreciated.  Her father is on the verge of a major scientific breakthrough, but he desperately needs the continued help of his soon- to -be deported Russian lab assistant.  He turns in madcap fashion to Kate who immediately sees through her father’s scheming machinations. We soon find ourselves immersed in a sweet albeit wildly funny family drama with Tyler’s usual array of quirkily loveable characters. VINEGAR GIRL is definitely more Tyler than Shakespeare, and fans of hers will be delighted with this latest addition to her oeuvre.  Recommended!