Reading and cookouts are two of my favorite things. Summer is great because it gives me the chance to combine my interests by hosting a book club cookout. Here is my recipe for a great bookish summer soiree:

• Choose a book with a summer setting, like Anita Shreve's Body Surfing.
• Use these tips for hosting a book club dinner to plan your discussion and schedule.
• Check out these summer cookout recipes for some delicious menu options.

With a good book, a tall glass of iced tea and a party of friends, what more could you ask for?

_{Courtesy Little, Brown}

Wit's End by Karen Joy Fowler is a funny, quick-paced mystery novel about a woman who learns more about her family history by moving in with her godmother, a reclusive mystery writer. Fowler is best known for writing The Jane Austen Book Club, and her new novel is likely to entertain her loyal fans.

• Read a complete review of Wit's End by Karen Joy Fowler
• Wit's End Book Club Discussion Questions

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Penguin}

The renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright has received much historical attention, but author Nancy Horan turns her gaze on Mamah Borthwick, Wright’s lover -- their long-term affair scandalized the public -- who deserves attention in her own right for her work as a feminist. Loving Frank tells the story of Cheney’s affair with Wright and her struggles to mesh her own independence and intelligence with the traditional roles of wife and mother.

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Ballantine Books}

Mother's Day is just around the corner. Check out this list of Mother's Day Books to find something for the mom who loves to read.

One of our Top 10 Books of 2007, The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, is now available in paperback.

• Read a complete review of The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
• The Yiddish Policemen's Union Book Club Discussion Questions

_{Cover Photo Courtesy HarperCollins}

I have several friends and family members graduating from college and graduate schools in the next couple weeks, so I've been thinking about what to give them. I'm pretty sure they would love large cash gifts or maybe a new house or car, but I'm working with a budget that's closer to $30 or less, so I have to be more creative. Fortunately, there are many, many great books out there for people entering new stages of life.

Interested in giving an inspirational, practical or funny book to the graduate in your life? Check out this list of 5 good books for grads.

“Richard Price is the greatest writer of dialogue, living or dead, this country has ever produced.” – Dennis Lehane

With that kind of proclamation, I bet you’re wondering “why haven’t I heard of him?” Sadly, many novel readers haven’t read Price because his work resides within a genre many fear or consider lightweight: urban mystery/crime. But Price writes like a true blueblood reporter on the clues of what makes us human. No fat. No lies. Just the truth of how people speak and act towards each other in a place where bodies rise and fall in a city that never rests its crime and success, death and resurrection.

• Read a complete review of Lush Life by Richard Price
• Lush Life Book Club Discussion Questions

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Farrar, Straus and Giroux}

Jhumpa Lahiri is one of today’s most acclaimed writers, having won a Pulitzer Prize for her first collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies. Her placid, poetic writing is back in another collection of stories, Unaccustomed Earth.

• Read a complete review of Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Unaccustomed Earth Book Club Discussion Questions

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Knopf}

Oprah's latest book club selection, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, is a move away from the fiction and narrative nonfiction she often chooses. Additionally, Winfrey has been hosting a webinar for readers who want to go deeper into the book. If you joined her webinar, what do you think? Do you hope she continues this direction with her book club or returns to narratives?

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Penguin}

I missed the premiere of the movie adaptation of The Memory Keeper's Daughter on Lifetime this past weekend. While I usually don't think movies based on books are as good as the novels, I often can't resist watching my favorite characters brought to life by actors. The Memory Keeper's Daughter is not scheduled to air in my area again soon, but when it does, should I make time to watch it? I'd love to hear from anyone who read the book and saw the movie.

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Penguin}