Laura loves Tom. Tom loves Laura. So why is Tom marrying Lila? And who are the Romantics anyway? It turns out that the Romantics is a group of college friends so named because of the various and changing romantic entanglements among the members.

Now it is 6 years after college graduation and they have settled into more or less permanent pairs, some already married, others engaged. They reunite for the wedding of Lila and Tom with Laura as the maid of honor. The story takes place over the 24 hours prior to the wedding ceremony but the author skillfully integrates group history into her narrative so readers are up to date on the characters’ pasts and the development of the group dynamics. Hope and despair collide as the ceremony nears. Is this the moment when Laura realizes she has outgrown Tom, or will his impending marriage break her heart? Will Tom go through with the marriage? Read The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer and find out. Or watch the movie.

The Silicon Valley Reads 2011 selected novel is The Year of Fog by award-winning Bay Area author, Michelle Richmond.

Meet Michelle at a free author talk and book signing on Saturday, March 26, at 3:00-4:00 PM in the Community Room of Almaden Library and Community Center.

The Year of Fog “follows the journey of a young woman through the mysteries of memory and guilt after her fiance's six-year-old daughter disappears while in her care.” Michelle’s book will be on sale at the author visit, which is co-sponsored by the Friends of Almaden Library.

The Silicon Valley Reads 2011 selected novel is The Year of Fog by award-winning Bay Area author, Michelle Richmond.

You are warmly invited to meet Michelle at a free author talk and book signing on Saturday, March 26, at 3:00-4:00 PM in the Community Room of Almaden Library and Community Center.

The Year of Fog “follows the journey of a young woman through the mysteries of memory and guilt after her fiance's six-year-old daughter disappears while in her care.” Michelle’s book will be on sale at the author visit, which is co-sponsored by the Friends of Almaden Library.

The 2009 debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, is a sensitive look back at Seattle during WWII, the trauma of being considered different, and the internment of American citizens of Japanese descent. The sweet coming-of-age story of Henry and Keiko is told with great historic detail.
 

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks, is also a 2009 debut novel that is quirky, charming, humorous and suspenseful. In it an obsessive-compulsive Barista burgles the houses of people he calls his "clients," and begins trying to improve their lives.
 

The Little Stranger by veteran author Sarah Waters, is almost more of a suspenseful English country house/family story than a ghost story. Yet its creepy moments are so realistic they will continue to haunt the reader long after finishing the story. In fact, I was left with the nagging feeling that the story was not really over, that somehow the shattered lives of the characters would be re-visited.

In the beautifully-written 2010 debut, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, the characters of the Major and his late-in-life lady love appear full-blown, as if they could be our neighbors. The poignant cross-cultural family and community complications add heft to the emotional core of the Major's story.

If you like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series by Swedish author Steig Larsson, you might like the novels of Norwegian author Jo Nesbo. His latest, featuring detective Harry Hole, is

The Devil's Star. The main character, Harry, is complex and the plot developments twisty and engrossing!

And a big (lliterally!) novel to read might be: The Passage by Justin Cronin, which has gotten lots of good reviews.  The characters in this post-apocalyptic quest-for-safety story make it a page-turner similar to Stephen King's The Stand. 

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan is an engrossing vampire tale set in modern day New York City.  A passenger jet lands and goes dark on the tarmac at JFK airport.  When airport security enter the plane, they discover all the passengers are dead, though they cannot determine the cause.  The Centers for Disease Control is called in and discover 4 passengers that were left alive.  Meanwhile, an elderly jewish man is watching the news footage about the mystery plane and knows exactly what is going on.  A vampire has arrived and all those dead bodies are about to rise as vampires themselves!  This book is a real page-turner that I just couldn't stop reading!  If you are expecting the sexy vampires of Twilight or True Blood, think again!  These vampires are vermin - a literal human virus that threatens to eliminate all of humanity.