Dear Great Book Guru,  I am headed off with my family on a tour of Ireland and I am bringing along books by Colm Toibin,  Mary Costello, and  Deirdre Madden- Irish novelists you have recommended in the past.  I would also love to read something about Irish history- any suggestions?  Emerald Isle Enthusiast

Dear Emerald Isle Enthusiast, I have two books to recommend: MODERN IRELAND: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION by Senia Paseta and THE FAMINE PLOT by Tim Pat Coogan- both I think you will find useful during your visit. The first is part of a series of over 100 books with topics ranging from Astronomy to Zen Buddhism- all are about 150 pages, concise and easy to understand. MODERN IRELAND gives you a great overview of the characters, events, and locations that will make  your journey all the more enjoyable. THE FAMINE PLOT is an in- depth, fascinating, and horrifying look at a piece of history many of us know superficially. Coogan lays out in meticulous detail the suffering the Irish endured in the 1840's when the potato crop failed catastrophically. He strongly believes that this was a plot on the part of British politicians to reduce the population of rural Ireland- in fact, he stops just short of accusing England of genocide.  While the Ireland he describes is far different from the Ireland of today, much of its politics, customs, and world-view have their origins in that horrific time.  Recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru,  I am one excited music lover- two of my absolute favorite groups will be performing over the next week: The Roger Street Friedman Band on Friday, July 24at 7pm at Sea Cliff Beach and then Hunt and Hughes (Heidi Hunt and Joe Hughes) on Thursday, July 30 at  Sunset Serenade at Memorial Park-  also at 7pm. What an exciting lineup of musical talent! I would like to have a good book to read between these two performances… any suggestions?  Lover of Great Music

Dear Lover of Great Music,  How lucky are we to have such a week of musical delights, and yes- I have a very fine book for you to read: I SAW A MAN  by Owen Sheers- a Welsh author, poet, and playwright.   The novel opens with the recently widowed Michael Turner entering his neighbors’ home- curious as to why the back door is open.  As he walks from room to room, deeper and deeper into the house, we learn  about his life, his wife, the man responsible for her death, and the family that has helped him begin to heal. When we finally realize the horrific burden he carries, all the pieces come together in a chilling but satisfying conclusion.  What responsibility we bear for the unintended consequences of our actions is the underlying question that resonates throughout this book.  Highly recommended!  

Dear Great Book Guru,  This weekend  I plan to spend Saturday morning at the Beach Café- I love their omelets and there is nothing more fun than meeting up with friends, chatting,  and looking out on Hempstead Harbor.  Of course, that leaves the rest of the day to settle down with a good book….do you have one in mind?  Summering in Sea Cliff

Dear Summering in Sea Cliff, I just finished a really good book about vacationing- actually a vacationer’s nightmare- so much so that I may never leave Sea Cliff again…. THE DIVER’S CLOTHES LIE EMPTY by Vendela Vida.  The novel opens with our narrator on a flight to Casablanca. We don’t know the purpose of her trip, but from the start there are mysterious clues that all is not as it seems.  When she arrives at the Golden Tulip - after passing up some lovely, luxurious hotels - her backpack containing passport, credit cards, and cash is stolen- apparently in full view of the hotel staff. Every traveler’s nightmare!   But wait… the police chief finds someone else’s backpack with passport, credit cards, etc.  and insists she take it;  so begins a mesmerizing  tale of intrigue, humor, and deceit.  This is a psychological thriller, a lush travelogue, and a literary puzzle- best read in one sitting so put aside three or four hours this weekend for a real treat.  Highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru,  This Friday, Music at Sea Cliff Beach 2015 begins and I am very excited. First, I love the setting: the beautiful band shell right on the shore, the setting sun, a beach filled with enthusiastic music lovers… and then the added attraction of one of my favorite singers opening the season: Jenn Gerrity. The only thing I need now is a good book  for the rest of the weekend.  Do you have a recommendation?                          Great Fan of Music on the Beach

Dear Great Fan, I too can’t wait to hear Jenn perform Friday, and I do have a book to recommend- a fascinating historical/literary mystery set in 1840’s Dublin: THE CONVICTIONS OF JOHN DELAHUNT by Andrew Hughes.  Hughes is a social historian and archivist who became intrigued with the story of John Delahunt, a convicted murderer who was hanged before a mob of 10,000 angry Dubliners in 1842.  The novel is written in the first person voice of Delahunt, a poor young Trinity College student who became a paid informant for the brutal  secret police of the time known as “the Castle.” Hughes paints a shockingly vivid portrait of Victorian Dublin with its teeming tenements,  squalid public houses, corrupt police officials, and  perennially doomed politicians- all  presented through the eyes of the sociopath Delahunt.  The book opens as he is about to be hanged  for a horrific murder and we begin to learn of the events that led up to this moment. Recommended and, yes- highly recommended- if you are as intrigued by Irish history as I am!    

Dear Great Book Guru, The Fourth of July has always been a favorite holiday of mine and its celebration in Sea Cliff is especially grand.  Every year Carol Vogt and her merry band of Sea Cliff Civic Association folk present a rousing reading of the Declaration of Independence, a short play, songs, and refreshments-  all on the Village Green. At 10am the bell rings and it all begins… Do you have something to keep me in the patriotic mood for the day?  Lover of the Red, White, and Blue

Dear Lover of the Red, White, and Blue,  I too love this iconic Sea Cliff event and would like to suggest something that will add to your enjoyment of the celebration: a reading and watching of  1776.  Written in 1969, this play retains an enthusiastic freshness that draws me back each year.  We find ourselves magically transported to “foul, fetid, fuming, foggy, filthy Philadelphia” throughout those momentous weeks leading up to the Fourth.  I love to read  the book because it includes a valuable addendum that points out just where the play veers from the total truth (and, of course, is there ever such a thing?).  While affirming its basic historical accuracy, the authors show why for dramatic and aesthetic reasons, there were additions, deletions, suppositions, and rearrangements. Later in the day, check out Amazon Video for a glorious streaming of the film.  See you on the Village Green! 

A fascinating perspective on the reasons for the   American War for Independence ! 

Dear Great Book Guru, With the summer months comes one of my favorite Sea Cliff traditions: the Sunset Serenades in Memorial Park- music every Thursday at 7pm from now through August. The brain child of Petrice Kaider, these concerts are such fun for everyone from our youngest to our oldest residents. I like to get there early, find a  shady spot, and read for an hour or so before the music begins. Do you have a good book to recommend?  Sunset Serenade Supporter

Dear Sunset Serenade Supporter, I too love those concerts and I am going to recommend a book I read a few months ago: THE ORPHAN TRAIN by Christina Baker Kline.  Kline writes about an almost forgotten piece of American history: from 1853 until 1929, over 250.000 orphaned, abandoned or homeless   children were placed on trains from crowded East coast cities and taken to rural towns in the Midwest where they were placed with farm families. The lives of these children were sometimes improved,  frequently  not…. and this is where Kline’s story begins. Vivian Daly is a ninety-one year-old Irish immigrant who rode the Orphan Train and found hardship, pain, and some kindness along the way.  Her counterpart is Molly Ayres, a rebellious unhappy seventeen year-old who is aging out of foster care. The novel traces the parallel histories of these two women, and while we see the damage inflicted on both we also learn that lives can be recast.  This book is a favorite with book clubs across the country for its sociological, historical and mutigenerational appeal.  Highly recommended!

Dear Great Book Guru,

We will be celebrating the Summer Solstice this Saturday followed by a Father’s Day gathering on Sunday. Of course, I will want to have a good book on hand –can you suggest something that reflects the shared events of this weekend ?                   Celebrating in Sea Cliff

Dear Celebrating,  Amazingly, I do have a book to combine your weekend pursuits: H IS FOR HAWK  by Helen Macdonald. I heard about this book from Daniel DiPietro who highly recommended it.  Part memoir, part nature study, part autobiography, and part biography, the book is hard to classify but a joy to read.  Macdonald decided to purchase and train a goshawk falcon to help her cope with the sudden death of her father, a world famous British photographer. She had adored her father and fell into a deep, paralyzing grief with his death.  She had always been fascinated by raptors and the goshawk is the fiercest of the fierce- a stealth, highly intelligent killer of prey.  She saw in this bird a way to unravel the mysteries of life and death. But this is much more than a grief memoir- at one point she writes touchingly of T.H. White- author  most famously of “The Once and Future King”- the story of King Arthur and Merlin,  and then she goes on to illuminate  the role falconry has played throughout history.   Macdonald’s book is hard to tag… beautifully written, it gives us insight into the shared nature of living creatures, human and otherwise.  Highly recommended!