THIS WEEK IN JULY

1. Thursday Jul 23 PAUL GRINER THURSDAY, JULY 23; 7-8 PM @ The Greene PAUL GRINER will introduce his novel, The German Woman, which Kirkus says is “Complex, authentic, compelling.” Spanning both world wars, we meet beautiful Kate Zweig, the English widow of a German surgeon, and...
2. Saturday Jul 25 KID’S STORYTIMES SATURDAY,July 25; 11:15 AM @ T&C We’ll feature a Beach theme, with fun activities and games....

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HOT BOOKS

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  DOC by Mary Doria Russell

  Doc in the title is Dr. John Henry Holliday, known in U.S. Western lore as Doc Holliday; frontier dentist, gambler, and gunslinger. In Russell’s capable hands, the West of the 1878 era comes alive in the telling of the relationship between Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, a fearless Texas lawman. It was an unrestrained time in our history where arguments were settled with guns and saloons were filled with card sharks eager to relieve the cattlemen of their wages. Among the events depicted in the book is the famous battle at the O.K. Corral that forever links the names Holliday with Earp. It’s a wild, memorable read!

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  IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS by Erik Larson

  Subtitled Love, Terror and an American Family in Hilter’s Berlin, this book vividly shows us the early years of Hitler’s Nazi Germany seen through the eyes and experiences of an American diplomat, William E. Dodd, and his family. At first enthralled with the Berlin assignment, Dodd soon became more and more troubled as he witnessed violence becoming common-place, especially toward the Jewish population. By following the Dodd family, Larson shows us a microcosm of life in Nazi Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. He also shows why the world did not realize early on the true nature of Hitler and his ruthless plan for domination.

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  KINGDOM KEEPERS IV: POWER PLAY by Ridley Pearson

  If you have Disney World fans in your house, they are going to enjoy the fourth book in the popular children’s Kingdom Keepers series. Not everything in the CyberSpace Mountain is as it should be. It’s the job of the young Kingdom Keepers to find out who is causing havoc and right it. It seems the Overtakers are at it again trying to steal the Disney “magic.”

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PAUL GRINER

THURSDAY, JULY 23; 7-8 PM @ The Greene

PAUL GRINER will introduce his novel, The German Woman, which Kirkus says is “Complex, authentic, compelling.” Spanning both world wars, we meet beautiful Kate Zweig, the English widow of a German surgeon, and Claus Murphy, an exiled American with German roots.  That year is 1944.  Going back in history to 1918, we find that Kate and her husband, Horst, had been taken for spies by Russian soldiers and forced to flee their field hospital on the eastern front, barely escaping with their lives.  

Years later, in London during the Nazis’ V-1 reign of terror, Claus spends his days making propaganda films and his nights as a British spy, worn down by the war and his own many secrets.  When Claus meets the widow Kate, he finds himself powerfully drawn to her—even after evidence surfaces that she might not be exactly who she seems.  As the war hurtles to a violent end, Claus must define where his own loyalties lie, whether he can make a difference in the war—and what might be gained by taking a leap of faith with Kate.  Reminiscent of the haunting romance of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient, The German Woman takes us inside the two world wars that defined the twentieth century and the hidden histories of two characters whose love story will haunt readers’ hearts and minds.  HOUGHTIN MIFFLIN 

Paul Griner has also written Collectors and the story collection, Follow Me.  He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.