Dog Days & Wolf Days of August

Seven Patients by Atul Kumar

This is one of my favorite books of the year, yet it seems to be unknown and under-appreciated. The writing is sharp, the characters alive, until, well they aren't....and the seven stories are tied together like a fine surgeon sutures a wound. Highly recommended. ♥♥♥♥

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Hig survived the flu that killed almost everyone on earth. Now he’s holed up with a crazy gun-toting vigilante. His only solace is flying a 1956 Cessna (his beloved dog as copilot) around what was once Colorado. ♥♥

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia after some less than ideal tours of duty, and becomes the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock. The job and island suit him well enough but that would make a boring story so he marries Isabel. Years later, after it’s obvious Isabel can’t have children; a mysterious boat washes up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. What to do, what to do…♥♥

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Fourteen-year-old June Elbus is devastated when her godfather/uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss dies of AIDS. Finn painted a canvas for June and her sister to remember him by, which is worth about a million bucks, but the girls take turns de-facing it. However, it’s the coded message Finn leaves that helps her understand the mysterious illness and her uncle’s very full life – oh, and the strange man who was at the funeral. ♥♥

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

Inspired by his grandparents, Bohjalian introduces us to "The Slaughter You Know Next to Nothing About," aka the Armenian genocide of 1915-16. The 20 second over-view: Elizabeth accompanies her father on his philanthropic mission to Syria, where she befriends Armenian engineer Armen. They are separated and write many letters. Years later, grand-daughter Laura hears about a photograph of a woman rumored to be her Armenian grandmother, taken by some brave photographers trying to bring the genocide to the attention of the world. ♥♥♥