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I recently visited the Phillips Collection and was thrilled to see Renoir’s famous painting Luncheon of the Boating Party.  After having a long discussion with friends about the intriguing people in the painting,  I decided that Susan Vreeland’s historical novel with the same title was moving to the top of my summer reading list.  I picked it up at the library today to read right after I finish my current book club book The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.

As you can imagine, we often have discussions at the office about what everyone is reading, especially leading up to Memorial Day weekend.  I learned that several of my colleagues are reading the Millenium Triology by Stieg Larsson. I didn’t even know the triology had a name. I bought the first two for my Dad for Christmas last year and hope to “borrow” them back when I see him in July. I heard there is already a line forming!

Below are some other books on staff summer reading lists, quite a variety as usual:

• Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
• The Shack by William P. Young
• Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus
• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

What books are catching your eye this summer?

Although technically this is not the story of a challenge or banning of a book, it is the story of how resilient a writer's work can be, even in the face of a repressive regime.

Suite Francaise was begun by Irene Nemirovsky in 1941. Its name describes the intent of the author who had dreamed of writing a book which was contructed like a symphony. Suite Francaise was never finished since Nemirovsky lived in France while it was occupied by the Germans. Because of her Jewish background, she could no longer be published except under a pseudonym -- a dangerous undertaking.

On July 13, 1942, the French police arrested Nemirovsky and she was deported to Auschwitz, where she died on August 17, 1942. At that point, Suite Francaise may never have been published. Her daughters were saved by the governess who removed the Jewish star and helped them flee. Following the war, they returned to their grandmother's home to ask for help. Not recognizing them, she refused.

Denise, one of her daughters, had put the manuscript of Suite Francaise into her suitcase as they fled, as a memento of her mother. Denise and sister Elizabeth hid the suitcase in precarious places as they fled and didn't read it until many years later. Denise decided to type out the pages of the manuscript with its minuscule handwriting and found what she thought was a masterpiece of her mother's work.

Sixty-four years after the death of its author, Suite Francaise was finally published. It is sad, however, to think about how it is considered part one and two of a five-part symphony.

And welcome, SLJ readers!

So, there's this really nice article about PGTL: The Book on School Library Journal's website today. Needless to say, Liz & I are beside ourselves with delight. In the immortal words of our patron saint, Flavor Flav, "yeeeeah, boyyy!"