Vacation Reads For The High Country Adventurer

A compendium of 50 hikes in the Vail Valley with descriptions of local history, flora and hiking logistics that will help keep you on the path.

Set in Paris in 1937, The Invisible Bridge is focused on a young Hungarian Jew falling in love, attending architecture school on scholarship and dreaming of a life full of possibilities. This debut novel by the author of the short story collection How to Breathe Underwater is stunning in its knowledge of art, architecture, Hungarian labor camps and how much the human spirit can endure. Orringer's writing is so rich and descriptive that from the opening scene at the opera, readers become thoroughly invested in the characters' journey.

A glimpse behind the curtain at the life of Bolshoi ballerina Nina Revskaya. Kalotay's depiction of Revskaya is pitch-perfect — so much so you might forget she's fictional. With unexpected twists of memory and questioning of life's truths, Russian Winter, which has been a favorite in hardcover, was recently released in paperback.

A fictional tale set in the tiny Georgia hometown of famed author Flannery O'Connor, A Good Hard Look is filled with a cast of characters rich in southern charm and tradition. It's a summer read that satisfies with history and human drama but still leaves you feeling like you learned something about our literary past. Great for book clubs!