This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Curl Up with Some Great Reads

Whether you like to Kindle or hold a bound book in your hands, this is a great time to escape with a good novel.

I love good books because they take you on a journey. Whether it’s a trip to a place far away or somewhere close by, escaping is just a few pages away.

 If your mind wants to wander east, head to Nantucket with Elin Hilderbrand. All nine of Hilderbrand's novels are set in the Nantucket area, where she currently resides. Hilderbrand’s latest book, The Island, takes readers to an old family home on Tuckernut Island, just off the coast of Nantucket.  It is easy to get caught up in the drama of the Cousins women and this story may leave you dreaming of a visit to the New England Islands.    

If it's the green rolling of hills of Ireland that are calling to you, Maeve Binchy is there to welcome you with open arms. She got her start as a writer when her parents bundled up some of her letters to home and sent them to a local newspaper. Her newest book takes place in Dublin. Minding Frankie, will be available March 1. This story features a motherless baby and a close-knit Irish neighborhood and may give you a yearning to visit Dublin and the surrounding countryside.

Find out what's happening in Lemon Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Or maybe you just want to catch up with some old friends. Many  favorite writers introduced new books recently. Are you caught up?

  • Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, has a new novel out.  Ape House moves readers from the Midwest to New Mexico, with a little time spent in Hollywood.
  • Lisa Genova follows up Still Alice with a new story and cast of characters in Left Neglected. Her latest book shows the fate of a career-driven super-mom living in Boston who looks away from the road for a split second, because she needs to make "one more call."
  • Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, recently released The Lake of Dreams. The novel takes place in the Finger Lakes region of New York and follows a 29-year-old hydrologist as she makes her way from Japan back to her waterfront hometown. 
  • Alice Hoffman sets her newest story, The Red Garden, in the small New England town of Blackwell, MA. The people in the story are tied together by an extraordinary garden where only red plants grow.

Take a short break and spend some time away from home, even if it's wandering through the pages of a good novel.  Reading spares the expense of a plane ticket and there's no need to pack. Go on, enjoy the trip, and be sure to send a postcard.

Find out what's happening in Lemon Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?