Favorite summer reads so far

Howdy Nerds!
I've read two completely different and completely wonderful books so far this summer.  The first one is "The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver.  It is a great story, and is beautifully written. Here is a summary:

In a story told entirely through diary entries and letters, we meet Harrison William Shepherd, a half-Mexican, half-American boy who grows up with his mother in Mexico. He has no education, but his love of reading and writing nurtures his own inner dialog that leads to his success as a writer. First he passes his adolescence working for some of Mexico's most infamous residents in the 1930s - Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Lev Trotsky. His break with Mexico is abrupt, and Shepherd moves to America where he embarks on a writing career with the assistance of his invaluable stenographer, Mrs. Violet Brown.

The next book I want to share is one I just finished today. "Warm Bodies" by Isaac Marion.  Call him a zombie with a heart of gold, the main character "R"  is the romantic lead in this superb story.  If you can handle some grossness with your fiction (Sookie fans take note!) then this book is a Must Read!  There are very sweet moments in the book, and some really funny moments, too.  One reviewer called the book "cinematic", and I agree.  It would make a great movie.  Here is a summary:  R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.
After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

posted by Carol