Nothing But A Smile by Steve Amick

Release date: March 10, 2009

Reading this book was like watching a movie from the 1940s, with lots of screwball moments and a good love story developing throughout. And the pinup photo shoot scenes would be hilarious.

Reading this book was like watching a movie from the 1940s, with lots of screwball moments and a good love story developing throughout. And the pinup photo shoot scenes would be hilarious.

The characters were perfectly portrayed, Sal with her mix of spunk and business sense and Wink’s easy-going nature and corny jokes. I thought the dialogue was dead on, never sounding forced, never unrealistic, even with the hearty helping of 1940s slang. The romance and humor was balanced by the lousy treatment of women in the workplace and the challenges of housing and employment for returning GIs. It put the reader in a snapshot of the time and place, exactly as a novel should.

Overall, it was light and funny and captivating without being consuming. A very nice break from required reading. — Sara Wedell, Adult Services Librarian

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Released: December 2, 2008

“Finally, after four hit novels, Carrie Fisher comes clean (well, sort of ) with the crazy truth that is her life in her first-ever memoir. In Wishful Drinking, adapted from her one-woman stage show, Fisher reveals what it was really like to grow up a product of “Hollywood in-breeding,” come of age on the set of a little movie called Star Wars, and become a cultural icon and bestselling action figure at the age of nineteen.

Intimate, hilarious, and sobering, Wishful Drinking is Fisher, looking at her life as she best remembers it (what do you expect after electroshock therapy?). It’s an incredible tale: the child of Hollywood royalty — Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher — homewrecked by Elizabeth Taylor, marrying (then divorcing, then dating) Paul Simon, having her likeness merchandized on everything from Princess Leia shampoo to PEZ dispensers, learning the father of her daughter forgot to tell her he was gay, and ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.

Wishful Drinking, the show, has been a runaway success. Entertainment Weekly declared it “drolly hysterical” and the Los Angeles Times called it a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.” This is Carrie Fisher at her best — revealing her worst. She tells her true and outrageous story of her bizarre reality with her inimitable wit, unabashed self-deprecation, and buoyant, infectious humor.”  – Amazon.com

Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin

Released August 12, 2008

This is the fourth novel starring Jaz Parks, a smart-mouthed CIA assassin who, with her vampire boss Vayl, battles paranormal activity and the threats of mythological beings.  These mysteries are light-hearted, laugh-out-loud funny romps through a well-imagined supernatural side of the world.

In “BItten to Death,” more of Jaz and Vayl’s personal histories are revealed against the dramatic backdrop of an ancient Greek city plagued by a shadowy Vampire Trust and a devious criminal mastermind.  Jump in and get carried away with Jaz’ fast-paced and funny narration, or start at the beginning with Book 1 – “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”, Book 2 – “Another One BItes the Dust” and Book 3 – “Biting the Bullet.”

Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer

Released: May 20, 2008

“Two best friends reconcile 11 years after high school, wondering if they can trust each other again. Clare and Lexi made bad man choices back in the day, and now that their biological clocks are ticking, well, anything can happen in Nantucket in the summer. Thayer (“Hot Flash Club” series) easily switches to younger characters in this quick and romantic getaway read.” Library Journal