Most nights I can be found sitting out on our covered deck enjoying the new patio furniture. The weather as been awesome this week; cooling off in the early evening so that we can enjoy our awesome lake view. 
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a
passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate
circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night
stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his
degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there
that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is
married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets
Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach
her.Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense
of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes
incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can
afford.
With fierce intelligence and emotional intensity, Alice Sebold brings us a
searing portrait of a mother-daughter bond that descends into murder.Clair and
Helen Knightly are a parent and child locked in a relationship so unrelenting
that they have become the center of each other's worlds. But as this
electrifying novel opens, Helen crosses a boundary she never thought she would
approach. And while her act is almost unconscious, it somehow seems like the
fulfillment of a lifetime's unspoken wishes.Over the next twenty-four hours,
Helen's life rushes in at her as she is forced to confront the choices that have
brought her to this one riveting crossroad. As a woman who spent years trying to
win the love of someone who had none to spare, she now faces an uncertain and
dangerous freedom.With her unflinching ability to confront the violence and
danger that lurk beneath life's everyday surface, Sebold explores the complex
ties within families, the meaning of devotion, and the thin line that separates
us from our most haunting impulses. The Almost Moon is unforgettable, a raw and
powerful story of passion and redemption written with the strength of voice that
only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.Images and book description courtesy of Paperbackswap.com
This kid loves the beach and was nice enough to sit for a few {hundred} pictures. It helped that he found the video function on my camera, so as long as we made an adequate amount of videos at the beach, he was happy to stand still a moment and pose.
