Summer Reading Suggestions

Seventeen years ago the inaugural Orange Prize for fiction was awarded. The  prize is awarded for excellence, originality and accessibility in a novel written by a woman.  Helen Dunmore won the first prize in 1996 for her book "A Spell of Winter".  A "Short List" of finalists is announced before the final award is made.  When I studied the archive of winners and Short List finalists there were names from my own library: Annie Proulx, Carol Shields, and Jane Smiley.  And new names beckoning: Rosina Lippi, "Homestead"; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "Purple Hibiscus"; and Heather O"Neill, "Lullabies for Little Criminals".  Visit the website yourself.  Read about the 2012 winner, former classics teacher Madeline Miller who won with her first book,  "The Song of Achilles".  The archived lists of winners and finalists offer a feast for the lazy days ahead.  Bon Appetite !