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"The Last Secret of the Temple" is an historically accurate and deeply mysterious tale that blends the myths of the Templars with modern day conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians. A provocative visit to ideas touched on in "The DaVinci Code" , this book goes further into the realm of the believable and redirects the reader to a contemplation of modern and ancient conflicts. Holding out hope for the eventual resolution of the conflict, the narrative is a holds barred approach to the deeply conflicting emotions that swirl in the region. Definitely worth the time neededto drink in this marvelous story.

I have enjoyed Jerry Kennealy's books for many years, starting with his Polo series and now his new Carroll Quint series that debuted last year with Jigsaw . Still Shot is the newest book in this series and I'm hoping to read it this weekend. This review though, is on a much older title The Conductor . This is one of the only Kennealy title's in audio and over the past week or so, I have greatly enjoyed listening to this stand alone title.

When Mary Ariza stops to help a man having a heart attack, she doesn't know she will soon be targeted by a killer. Jack Kordic, the policeman assigned to the case after the first attack on Mary, is also caught up with a series of seemingly unrelated crimes which only he realizes may connect with Mary.

Kennealy's own direct knowledge of the workings of the San Francisco Police and Fire Departments is evident as the whole of The City is caught up in a series of murders and bombing of the opera house. Though published in 1996, this seems very today with elements of terrorism which Kennealy handles deftly, keeping the action going and the reader/listener wondering what can possibly happen next.

Overlook the title of Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy (New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2005) because it’s not a “princess” book in the usual genre. A Newberry Honor book, it tells the story of tiny Miri, a Mount Eskel girl whose life revolves around the linder quarry until the day the Prince’s messengers announce that the next Princess will be chosen from her village. In beautiful prose with poetic interludes, Hale has told a wonderful story here for children ages 7-12. You won’t predict the ending. Look for Hale’s other books (all Juvenile or Young Adult) Enna Burning; Goose Girl; River Secrets; and her newest, Book of a Thousand Days, based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

No I Don't Want To Join a Book Club: Diary of a Sixtieth Year , by Virginia Ironside

Marie is turning 60 and enjoying it. She has no desire to go bungee jumping or learn Italian. She has a large circle of great friends and is almost never home. She has sworn off men. In the course of this journal, her friend Penny takes up with a man 30 years younger than herself, her old gay friend, Hughie, suffers lung cancer, Gene, her first grandchild, is born, and, in spite of her determination to give up sex, an old crush is on the horizon.

This witty title had me laughing out loud. A fun read, even if you’re younger, or older, than 60.

The Rake by William F. Buckley Jr.

Reuben Castle, candidate for president, is charismatic, handsome and seemingly the perfect candiate for the Democratic Party. The follies of his youth, a forgotten marriage and son push this golden candidate into actions that are devastating to him and his party. It is an interesting study of our political system and its obsession with the pursuit of power and the illusion of a flawless life. During this election year, this book is an intellectual view of the complexities in our lives and culture. It echoes the drama of our current political climate and the fragility of a campaign. The blend of satire and suspense is typical of Buckley's writing. It's main character bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the defining liberals of our time. It is final gift from this well known conservative .

If I'm not reading mysteries, then the next best thing is a book about food. The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria not only talks about food but also takes place in Italy - a favorite place. I first met de Blasi in her book A ThousandDays in Venice which was an almost too good to be true love story.

Marlena de Blasi is a woman of great energy, who loves drama and making over homes and even lives. This is the third book chronicling her romance, marriage and subsequent moves and make overs in different romantic Italian locales.

The latest home in Umbria seems to be the one that may take and the issues around Italian home buying, the included recipes and de Blasi's travel and decorating stories are always fascinating. As elaborate as her approach to life may be, Marlena also conveys great feeling toward the land and food - food eaten according to seasons when at it's peak.

Without a Map by Meredith Hall  In this lovely memoir, the distinguished author Meredith Hall describes an idyllic childhood growing up in a small, safe community in New Hampshire. For sixteen years, she thrived, secure in the love of friends and family, earning straight A's at school and a perfect attendance record at church. But everything changed one day in 1965 when she told two friends that she was pregnant. Instantly, the community that had nurtured her shunned her and she was never allowed to attend church or school in her community again. Her mother’s reaction was, “Well, you can’t stay here,” so she was sent away to live with her father. Forced to give her son up for adoption at birth, she was subsequently banned from her father’s house as well. Because of Hall’s great heart and courage, what might have been a tale of resentment and bitterness became a roadmap to transcendence. After years of self-examination, she decided to forgive her parents and move forward, building a successful career and a loving family of her own. In the end she was even able to reunite with her eldest son who as it turned out, was desperately in need of family himself.

Margo Harrington, the lead character in Hellenga’s 1994 novel, Sixteen Pleasures, is a book conservator who came to Florence after the 1966 floods. She is now in her late fifties and has established a life in Florence. Margo faces the unusual experience of seeing her life turned into a motion picture. Her memoir, “Sixteen Pleasures”, told of her affair with an older Italian scholar and her discovery of a Renaissance book of erotic poetry. It is now being made into a film in her own neighborhood. Unknown to Margo, the producer has plans to make her intricate story into a popularized romantic comedy. The director, Michael, is terminally ill and is determined to produce a masterpiece.

The leading actress, 29-year old Miranda, is surprised and annoyed that the older Italian leading actor, a notorious ladies man, is not interested in her but in an older woman, Michael’s wife.

Okay, this sounds very soap opera-ish but it is a step above a trivia romance and a lot of fun to read. We learn a great deal about Italian life, movies, art and food. Also, The Italian Lover  has some very witty moments. So for lovers of all things Italian, what’s not to like?

Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region by Doris Sloan Have you ever wondered about the rocks beneath your feet, where they came from, or how they got here? This book, part of the California Natural History Guides series, provides a great introduction to the geology of the Bay Area.

This book covers the different rock formations in the area and the geological process that brought them to their present state. It is not excessively technical in its presentation: one of the nice things about the book is how it provides a general introduction to geology as it discusses Bay Area's geological formations.

Another excellent feature is the abundance of illustrations, photos, and maps. It is one thing for the book to talk about how the soil in parts of San Francisco has settled over the years, causing buildings to sink. Adding a photo of a building that has sunk below street level as a result of this settlement adds an extra dimension to the reader's understanding.

This is a great introduction to the geography and the geology of the Bay Area.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak This thoughtful book designed for Young Adult and Adult readers is narrated by Death, Death with a ironic view on life. A young girl and her struggle to learn to read is blended with the horror of Nazi Germany and her family's efforts to hide a jew in their basement. Characters are well developed. They develop naturally throughout the narrative. Darkly humorous, it casts death as vulnerable and as frightened of the living as they are of him. As she steals her books she opens up possibilities for understanding the world that swirls around her and those who come in her orbit. Her first book is appropriated from the bottom of a Nazi book burning event. Covered with flamable liquid, it burns her skin as she hides it beneath her shirt and brings it home. From this book, "The Grave Digger's Handbook", her foster father teaches her to read. Zusak created a mesmerizing and original story written with poetic syntax It forces the readers to ponder his words and spurs them to action in the business of correcting wrongs in our modern world.

In Annals of a Former World, John McPhee has collected his four books on American geology in this, his magnum opus. His 650-page essay, much of it originally published in The New Yorker, recounts a geological field trip across the United States on Interstate 80, during which he was accompanied by several geologists. In the course of the journey, he combines travelogue, geologic history and human history with some of the finest writing I have come across. As a whole, it is simultaneously an admirable work of awe-inspiring description and astonishing detail and a frustratingly random compilation of theoretical research and overwhelming arcana.

Along the way, McPhee intersperses what he calls "set pieces" and "time lines," which place geological research in currently held theoretical and chronological contexts: the origins of coal and petroleum, the differences between field geologists and "black box" geologists, a reconstructed view of what Kansas may have looked like during the Middle Proterozoic era. He also interrupts his travels with riveting accounts of notable historical events, from the California Gold Rush to the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco. It is hard to imagine that a book on geologic history could be as fascinating and dazzlingly written as this is. What makes it even more of an achievement is the author’s ability to convey subject matter that is so complex and potentially dry in such an engrossing manner. In the course of the book, the reader begins to understand the vastness of geological time and the tremendous forces that were required to shape the landscape. Sometimes, the feat is accomplished with breathtaking ease, as when he states, “The summit of Mt. Everest is marine limestone.” This is a long book at almost 700 pages, and it is filled with complex terminology (I’m still not completely sure what an orogeny is), but it is well worth the effort. It will change the way you think about the world.

7th Heaven by James Patterson As fire consumes couples in expensive neighborthoods, San Francisco detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends in the Womens Murder Club race to find the arsonists responsible. Paterson is delivering unexpected twists and emotional extrems in this thriller.

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Pulitzer prize-winning author Tracy Kidder is the inspiring story of Harvard-educated Physician and Anthropologist Paul Farmer who has dedicated his life to bringing patient care, modern medicine and cures to the poorest of the poor in Haiti and other countries. The title comes from a Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains” meaning as you solve one problem, there is always another problem, so you solve that one, and the next one and the next one … It is a metaphor for life’s problems - once you scale one mountain, you look out and see another, and another and another. This book has become a word-of-mouth sensation and a mainstay of book clubs and college reading lists. Parents read it before giving it to their children to read in order to inspire them to make a difference in the world. Dr. Farmer’s message of humanity and hope, even in the face of horrendous living conditions and disease, provides for a heart wrenching, yet uplifting, reading experience. Highly recommended. SSF has this book in hardcopy and on CD .

This month’s display at the South San Francisco Main Library are titles read and recommended by local book clubs. One of the titles, The Fifth Child by Nobel Prize in Literature winner Doris Lessing, caught my eye. I was hooked as soon as I started reading. It is a tragic tale of a young couple who purchases a big house outside of London, have four beautiful children, and proceed to live the perfect life until the fifth child is born. This child seems to come from an earlier, pre-civilized time, with the build, speech and violent edge of a Neanderthal human. The story of the fracture of this family and how this child evolves and finds his own fit in the world makes this a compelling read. The New York Times Book Review calls this book “A horror story of maternity and the nightmare of social collapse…. A moral fable of the genre that includes Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four.”