BOOK GROUPIE: 'Kiss,' 'Lavender Morning' perfect for Rapid Reads

Most of the books I recommend in this column are old; they were published years, sometimes even decades, before I ever write about them. I choose these old books on purpose. I want readers to have good books inexpensively available, either through the used-book market or new-paperback market.

Of course, the Pikes Peak Library District also offers a great deal on books (it doesn't get any better than free), but even through the PPLD, new books are often hard to come by.

The wait list for sought-after new books can be so long that the "new" books don't feel new when you get them.

And even books that weren't published in this year, but are just plain popular, can take awhile to get. That's why I love the library's Rapid Read program.

The Rapid Read program is a hodgepodge of popular books, many of them newly published, that are available for a seven-day checkout. There are special shelves housing the Rapid Reads in each library branch and you never know what's going to be on them.

There's a two-book limit on Rapid Reads, and I recently maxed out my limit with "Kiss" by the writing team of Ted Dekker and Erin Healy, and "Lavender Morning" by Jude Deveraux.

"Kiss" should inspire a new library program called "Very, Very Rapid Reads." This is one of those books that can make you forget to eat and sleep. The story begins with Shauna McAllister, the daughter of a United States presidential candidate, waking up from a six-week coma.

Shauna was injured in an automobile accident, but readers quickly suspect Shauna's roll into a river was carefully planned. Shauna doesn't know whom or what to trust, including the strange flashback images she receives almost any time she's touched. The story is fast and gripping. I read it in under three hours.

Deveraux's "Lavender Morning" took me a bit longer, but still within my seven-day limit. The story wasn't as fast-paced, but it was intriguing.

Thirty-something Jocelyn Minton inherits a historic house from an old friend, Edilean Harcourt. Jocelyn thinks she knows everything about Edi's past, but when she moves into Edi's old home, Jocelyn discovers her friend was keeping secrets. Unraveling the secrets leads Jocelyn closer to her own family and a brand-new love.

Both of these books are back at the library now, just waiting to be rapidly read.

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CONTACT THE WRITER: Anita Miller welcomes your book suggestions. Read her blog at bookgroupie.freedomblogging.com or e-mail anita.l.miller@worldnet.att.net.