I am looking forward to going to the Outer Banks later this month for our annual summer beach trip. While I have traveled to Toronto, Phoenix, Denver (and most of the rest of Colorado) and Atlanta this summer, all of those trips have been for business, for visiting or for looking at scenery. Trust me that when you are in Colorado where the palette is so spectacular, it's hard to concentrate on reading. So, I did knitting as we drove. Lots of knitting. But very little reading.

I am writing from Atlanta where I am attending the Romance Writers of America annual convention. Atlanta is hot and sticky enough to ensure that I will wear all of the clothes I brought with me as I seem to be changing three times a day. This convention is one where fashion gets as much discussion as writing and books. There is shoe chatter, jewelry chatter and most conversations do start with ---- "you look great!" before "what are you working on?"

I spent part of the time at ThrillerFest in Phoenix a few weekends ago reading THE MEPHISTO CLUB by Tess Gerritsen. Tess and I have gotten to know each other these past few years, and as I was sitting in the pool reading (literally IN the pool with the book propped up on the side of the pool) I kept looking up to see if she was walking by. I imagine for an author it's quite interesting (most say it's disconcerting) to watch someone reading your book. I finished it a few days later in Colorado and once again it's pure Gerritsen, full of blood, spine-tingling scenes and moments that will have you checking the doors. Here's a bit...a woman is found dead and above her head in Latin are the words, "I have sinned." Ready to be thrilled? Tess is our latest Suspense/Thriller author and we have 20 copies of THE MEPHISTO CLUB to give away to 20 readers who are interested in reading and commenting. Interested? Then send your name and email address to SuspenseThriller@bookreporter.com by Friday, August 4th.

Our Kidsreads.com update is extra-special this month with new books and a special way for you to participate on Kidsreads.com. Let's start with how you can be part of the site in a new way this summer!

Our Kidsreads.com update is extra-special this month with new books and a special way for your kids to participate on Kidsreads.com. Let's start with how they can be part of the site in a new way this summer!

We are so excited by the number of suggestions that we've received for our Teenreads.com Ultimate Summer Reading List at our SummerReading@Teenreads.com mailbox. It's exciting to see your recommendations. A number of you mentioned A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray, THIS LULLABY and JUST LISTEN by Sarah Dessen; there were an equal number of classics like 1984 by George Orwell and THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger as there were current titles like MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult and the Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. Haven't weighed in yet? Be sure you write to SummerReading@Teenreads.com and tell us what your "Ultimate Summer Reading List" would be. We have something special planned for the end of the summer when we compile all these entries.