Even Dinosaurs Like to Read!

Art Linkletter used to host a program called, "Kids Say the Darndest Things." That was back, oh say, in the day of the dinosaur. That must be why I remember it; because I AM a dinosaur. That is the uncontested observation of my three year old granddaughter, who, I am sure, tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. With her, it came out the blue, but earlier in the week, I had an appointment with a dermatologist, who, probably unwittingly, basically told me the very same thing. I had a spot on my back that had begun to plague me with worry. Too many news stories about greenhouse gasses and holes in the ozone persuaded me to have it checked out, not to mention the episodes of Grey's Anatomy that led poor Izzy to be the cliffhanger at the end of the season last spring. As I sat in the examining room, a very young, very pretty, blond woman came in, took one look at the spot in question and called it a medical term that, she explained in English, meant, "old age spot." Relieved, but sort of reeling from what I now perceived as "old age syndrome," I was in such a tizzy I almost left without the library book I had brought with me for company. It's a new title, "Castaways," by Elin Hilderbrand, and its cast of characters kept me occupied during my life or death verdict. Here are more, great new fiction titles from the Jasper County Public Library that may make or break your next moment of truth!

Shock is an understatement for the way that Isabel Raines feels when her perfect world is shattered by one truth after another in the wake of her husband's untimely disappearance. "Die for You" by Lisa Unger finds Isabel bound by one lie after another as the web of deceit left behind by her husband leads her and the police on a chase for the stranger who was able to dupe her and everyone around him for five years.

Charleston, South Carolina is the setting for Pat Conroy's newest novel, "South of Broad." Narrated by Leopold Bloom King, this saga spans two decades, from the turbulent 1960's to the AIDS crisis of the '80's, revealing the struggles encountered by Leo's family after his older brother commits suicide, and the friendships that strengthen Leo through his college years and into his adulthood.

With their once affluent family on the verge of bankruptcy, May and Pearl, two sophisticated sisters from Shanghai, travel to LA in the hopes of marrying "Gold Mountain Men." But the harsh reality that is their new life greets them when they arrive at Angel's Island only to discover that a clash of cultures awaits them in "Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See.

Hairdressers know that their touch is not only healing to a person's hair, but sometimes, to their very soul, and that on any given day, they may be the only person to physically touch that other person. "The Crowning Glory of Call Lily Ponder" by Rebecca Wells reveals the compassion and healing power that comes from the art of "fixing hair," and features Calla Lily, a main character whose own soul is touched by the power that soothes others. This stand-alone novel, brought to you by the author of "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," is a tale of family, friendship, loss, and the sweetness of new love.

There's a lot of hype out there about "real age." You can spend time taking a test to find out your "real age," or you can just ask a three year old, who will give you the unvarnished version of the truth; you are a dinosaur. But, there is one thing that even my three year old granddaughter does not know, and that is that her grandma is a special breed of dinosaur; a decorated dinoaur; a dinosaur with spots.