Books are Like American Express: Don't Leave Home Without Them!

Vacation destination: Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Using Mapquest to cut the quickest path to the cabin we had rented in the mountains, we set out on our excursion, making our way into the heart of Tennessee, where the Mapquest directions began to get a little dicey, because each road turned into another. Reading one street sign after another, I marveled at the originality of the names. When we passed a sign that read, "Stinky Creek Road," my first thought was, "Oh boy; I hope that doesn't turn into the Little Valley Road we're in search of!" Luckily, it did not, but the more we drove the more Twilight Zone-y things got. Watching street signs like it was my job, I read each one out loud. "Shiloh," I said as we passed a road that cut to the right. The next was "Old Shiloh," and after that, "Shiloh Church," and the next, "Little Shiloh." By now, I'm getting the picture, and decided to read something other than street signs!

To me, books are like American Express; I never leave home without them. Opening "Love Mercy" by Earlene Fowler, I was instantly transported to Morro Bay, California, where the main character, Love Mercy Johnson, is living her life, running her restaurant, The Buttercream. Estranged from her three granddaughters and giving up hope of ever seeing any of them again, Love's predictable life gets turned upside down when her eighteen year old granddaughter, Rett, hitches her way across the country in search of her grandma, hoping to make a connection with her. As the story unfolds, both women, each grieving in her own way for the losses she has experienced, forge a bond, realizing the possibility of reestablishing their lost family ties.

Looking for more "vacation destination" titles to read? Check out the new adult fiction from the Jasper County Public Library listed here!

Sharing a nursery business and twelve years of marriage, Charlie and Laura Rider are settled and happy in their daily lives. Crossing their paths is Jenna Faroli, the host of the most popular radio show in town. Forming a bond with Jenna via email correspondence, Charlie allows Laura to hone her writing skills, crafting colorful stories through the emails sent to Jenna, transforming each woman's views of themselves, and blurring Charlie's feelings enough to complicate things in "Laura Rider's Masterpiece" by Jane Hamilton.

Vampires are more popular to the fiction genre than ever, their immortal lives spilling over tenaciously into the mainstream, and the Dark-Hunter Novels by Sherrilyn Kenyon are no exception. Tormented and inventive hero, Kyrian of Thrace, journeys through the night, happily stalking his prey, until he becomes the victim, finding himself handcuffed to Amanda, a smart, sexy woman who, unlike other women, wants nothing to do with the attraction he finds himself feeling toward her. "Night Pleasures" by Sherrilyn Kenyon is the fourth book in the Dark-Hunter Series, a story that rattles the toughest of the vampire breed, Kyrian of Thrace, an immortal hero who finds himself more than just a little disturbed by a human who may turn out to be his worst nightmare.

Haunted by years of past trouble, rebellion and bad behavior, Chris Flynn finally gets it right, and settles into the routine of a daily job at his father's company. Things are looking up for Chris, with stability and his mistakes firmly in the past, he forms what he hopes to be a lasting bond with a woman he respects and admires. When the temptation of his past behavior comes knocking, threatening his new-found peace and the hope of redemption, Chris must look to his father and most trusted friends to pull him back from the brink of is own destruction in "The Way Home" by George Pelecanos.

The way home from Little Valley Road took me in the reverse, passing Little Shiloh Road, Shiloh Church Road, Old Shiloh Road, and finally, just plain Shiloh Road. When we passed Stinky Creek Road, I knew we were headed in the right direction. Now that we're home, and I'm through reading "Love Mercy," all roads lead to JCPL, where the next great story is set to "transport" me to a brand new destination!