Summer is a book lover’s dream. TV shows are on hiatus, the light lasts longer and beaches beckon to pull up a lounge chair and fall into that novel or memoir you’ve been looking forward to for months.

In a quest to find the best books for our summer reading lists, we asked members of the ForbesWoman community on Facebook and Twitter to share the books they’re reading now and which they are planning to crack. Some are classics and some are hot off the presses, but all are great reads for lazy days spent by the pool or on the porch.

Gearing up for the movie starring Julia Roberts, several people said they were enjoying Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which chronicles the author’s trip around the world fueled by exotic food, meditation and a new love. Olga Pashenina said it’s an “amazing book” and M.m. Diaz said she is reading it now and looking forward to its debut on the silver screen. Meanwhile, the book holds the No. 1 spot on @anacristina13‘s summer reading list.

View complete list: Top 50 Books for Summer

article courtesy of Jenna Goudreau,

Posted by Realtor.com

Photo Courtesy of Mary Menard, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Mountain Lakes

Both MacRumors’ Arnold Kim and the Examiner have heard from tipsters that Apple stores will begin selling the iPad on Friday, March 26 at 6 p.m. The Examiner added that “People who camp out for the iPad will receive a special gift.”

That would be similar to the launch of the original iPhone, which began selling 6 p.m. on Friday, June 29, 2007. (I don’t remember receiving any gifts when I camped out for the iPhone, but employees did hand out some coffee.)

Apple has said the iPad without 3G will begin shipping late March. The iPad including 3G should be shipping about 30 days later, according to Apple.

An analyst spread a rumor earlier this week that tight inventories might delay iPad shipments by a month, but an Apple spokeswoman told Wired.com that the iPad was on schedule to ship by late March.

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/ipad-rumor-launch/#ixzz0h7BbGiep

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By Brian X. Chen /Wired.com

If your teen is college-bound, the scores he will achieve on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) will help to determine which college he will attend. It’s no wonder, then, that preparing for these tests has become an obsession for some. Many companies and/or individuals offer courses and materials to prepare students in hopes of boosting their scores. There are many options, from little- or no-cost programs offered by high schools, to one-on-one tutoring, to formal classes costing $1,500 or more. Which is right for your teen? Read the whole story at New Jersey Family

We all want important life moments — like graduating from school, getting married or having your first baby — to be perfect. For many couples, your wedding is a chance to celebrate with everyone you care about; it’s also the largest, most complicated party you’ll ever host. From tracking guest RSVPs, to picking the right florist, DJ and caterer, to coordinating every last detail with your wedding party, it’s no surprise that the process can become overwhelming and expensive.

After proposing to the woman of my dreams with 100 red roses, six months ago I started planning my own wedding. My fiancee and I decided to use Google Docs to manage every aspect of our wedding, starting with shared budget, guest list, to-do list and venue-tracking spreadsheets and keeping all our docs in our “Wedding” shared folder. I ended up talking to other couples who planned their weddings using Google Docs and discovered I wasn’t alone in thinking that it helped save time and avoid headaches.

Today, I’m happy to share this knowledge in the form of over 20 wedding templates available in the Google Docs template gallery. These tools make it easy to estimate and track your wedding budget, collect addresses for invitations, compare vendors and much more. For example, take a look at the address book template below. Instead of emailing hundreds of guests and copy/pasting hundreds of addresses into a spreadsheet, you can send a Google form and collect addresses in a spreadsheet automatically:

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Parent Teacher Conference Scheduler by SOIN

 

Parent Teacher Conferences on
Schools-On-I-Net School Management System

By allowing parents to select their own appointment times on a first come, first served basis, parents can setup an appointment schedule that works for them, works for the teachers and avoids hours of pen and paper scheduling or hours of standing in line. That makes it school administrators to manage the overall conference process and spend less time on the logistics of managing appointments.

Parents love it because they see all and ONLY the teachers that their children have classes with – eliminating the need for parents to select teachers from a full directory of staff members.
Parents love seeing available times, conflict detections and the ability to request a phone call instead of an in-person timeslot.

Teachers love it because it allows them to manage their conference session times, plan their breaks, and prepare for the sequence of parents they will see in one conference event.

Administrators love it because it simply makes sense. SOIN PTCs allow admins to schedule global breaks, individual breaks, set open sign ups, help parents schedule appointments, and hide certain subjects. Plus the reports make it easy to manage the project and avoid conflict.

Thank you for visiting Schools-On-I-Net’s Parent Teacher Conference Scheduler for Parents space online.

>>Note: Click on the links to the left hand side for parent support files.

SOIN Administrators please request the Admin PTC Guide for system setup and advanced project managemnet.

To learn more about Schools-On-I-Net Online school management system, please click here to visit their website

What are your favorites? Undo Send, Google Transliteration, Google Image Swirl, Google News Timeline?

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Bridget Connor, owner of Lotus Boutique, will host a Fashion’s Night Out suit donation drive called “Dress for Success” in conjunction with the Mountain Lakes Women’s Club the Nite Owls on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Lotus Boutique, located at 908 Main St., is calling for women around the area to bring in lightly worn work and interview-appropriate attire to promote the economic independence and career development of disenfranchised women around the area. Slacks, jackets, shirts and blouses in good condition are all welcome.

Family-owned Lotus Boutique will host the clothing drive at her classic clothing store from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with wine and hors d’oeuvres served at 7 p.m.

“You can help other people and help yourself,” said Connor. “You can help someone feel good about themselves while at the same time purging yourself of things that you don’t use anymore.”

As a “thank you” to all who donate, Lotus Boutique will slash 15 percent off its eclectic inventory from lines like Weston Wear, Free People, David Kahn Jeanswear, and Velvet by Graham and Spencer. Visit Lotus Boutique at www.shoplotus.com to preview what the boutique has to offer.

The building’s landlord has allowed Lotus Boutique to use the 600-square-foot vacant storefront to house the donations. All donated clothing will be given to the Morris County Office in Madison, which services the northern New Jersey area.

Connor approached the Nite Owls, a social organization open to all women residing in Mt. Lakes and surrounding towns, to see if they would take part in the suits for self-sufficiency donation drive. The Nite Owls will be in-store to help with the donation drive.

For more information, visit www.nite-owls.org