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It's time for our summer reading assignments and unlike our children, no
tests will follow. If you're a regular reader, you're familiar with this, my
ninth annual summer reading list. Books to prop in the sand and to stuff in your
backpack.

Now, forget about the price of gas and grab the lounge chair and your shades.
It's summer and the reading is easy. "The Blue Zone," Andrew Gross. Gross, who
has co-written five bestsellers with James Patterson, makes his solo debut with
"Blue Zone." This is the perfect vacation read, so just go ahead and bend back
the cover and

coat the cover in sunscreen. The fast-paced thriller is about a gold trader
who is laundering money for a Colombian drug cartel. He and most of his family
end up in the government's witness protection program.

However, the gold trader skips his cover and enters what the witness
protection program calls "the blue zone" — a place even the government can't
find. The gold trader's daughter has refused protection and is left to find her
father and the rest of her family. Perhaps it's a little far-fetched, but the
book is remarkably engaging. I can't wait until Gross puts another book on the
best-sellers' list.

"Sundays at Tiffany's," James Patterson and Gabrielle Charnonnet. Anne Bills
says she can't stop thinking about this book. So pack it along with shorts and
sandals too.

"Sundays at Tiffany's" features Jane, a little girl all alone.

Her mother is the head of a Broadway theater company and is all consumed by
her career so Jane copes by cozying up to Michael, the comforting, handsome
friend that only she can see.

Fast forward to Jane as an adult — and alone as always. Guess who comes to
save the day? Strange, huh? You can try, but you don't figure out the reason.
"Sundays at Tiffany's" is an unexpected love story — perfect for reading and
relaxing and recharging your battery.

"The Last Lecture," Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow.

If you don't know about Randy Pausch, then it's high time you learn. Pausch,
a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, has become famous for his
remarks at the school's "Last Lecture" series where professors are asked to
consider their mortality and wax poetic about what matters most to them.

The compelling fact here is that Pausch is facing his own mortality — he's
been battling pancreatic cancer for 21 months. Pausch's lecture, "Really
Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" was such a brilliant display of wisdom in the
face of near-certain death that it's been made into a book. "Everyone needs to
read this," Anne Bills says.

If you've gotten hooked on Pausch's story, you can get regular updates on his
health at http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/index.html.

"A Walk In the Woods" and "In a Sunburned Country," Bill Bryson.

OK, here's a twist — read about vacations while you take one. As always,
Elizabeth Walsh has unearthed some fascinatingly entertaining books. "These are
both travel books and are so funny you can hardly breathe," Elizabeth says. Need
I say more? Probably not, but I will.

First, with "A Walk in the Woods," Bryson introduces us to the history and
ecology of the Appalachian Trail and to some of the wacky, entertaining folks —
and bears — he meets while exploring this attraction in our own backyard.

Though I'm not the most trailworthy person, I love the way Bryson approaches
this topic. In fact, it may even inspire you to lace up the hiking boots and hit
the trail. Or not. Hey, I've got a deck chair under a tree - that might have to
do for now.

Bryson's next book is "In a Sunburned Country." Once again, this entertaining
travel guide takes us to the not-so-touristy spots in the land down under. Some
of his discoveries: the world's largest earthworms (12 feet) and quirky places
with equally quirky names like Mullumbimby Ewylamartup and Tittybong. Warning,
this is not your father's travel guide.

FYI, Bryson has a number of other titles, so although his books read quickly,
you can keep going back for more.

"The Geography of Bliss," Eric Weiner.

Elizabeth Walsh supplies us with yet another author in the travel genre. This
she calls "my favorite book in a long time." Weiner, world-famous magazine and
newspaper writer, spent a year traveling the word in search of what makes people
truly happy.

"I thought it was a self-help book when Tom gave it to me at Christmas so I
dreaded reading it, but absolutely loved it. It is sort of a travel book that is
humorous and inspires one to reflect on one's own goals and desires in life….
Cannot wait for his next book."

Weiner travels to places such as Iceland, Bhutan, Qatar, Holland and Thailand
in search of happiness — or at least in search of what makes people happy.

And what he finds is that some of the world's wealthiest people (like those
in Qatar) aren't very happy, but folks in Iceland are. Weiner tells us exactly
what he sees and then lends a bit of his trademark smugness, which we gobble
up.

As always, please e-mail me with more suggestions. I'll happily add them to
the stack by my side of the bed — oh, and I'll pass the names on to the rest of
the readers, too.

Contact Cathy Weaver at cweaverNR@gmail.com or at 883-4422, Ext.
243.