What We Read

Click here to see a list of recent staff picks.

HOME by Marilynne Robinson

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Robinson

HOME is set in the same location as Robinson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel GILEAD but in a different household. Thirty-eight year old Glory Boughton has returned to her hometown to care for her dying father, Reverend Robert Boughton, and nurse her wounds after a broken engagement. Shortly after her arrival, her long-estranged older brother, Jack, appears at the doorstep. No one had heard from him in twenty years, his life unraveling in a haze of alcoholism, unemployment and bad decisions. Glory provides a mediating guidance between bad boy Jack and his traditional father. HOME is a moving novel, spiritual and focused on the healing power of families and faith.

DEWEY: THE SMALL-TOWN LIBRARY CAT WHO TOUCHED THE WORLD, by Vicki Myron

636.8

MYR

Dewey arrived at the Spencer Public Library in Iowa via the book drop on a freezing winter night. He was adopted by the library staff and soon took to greeting patrons at the door and keeping them company while he napped in their laps.

Dewey was such a success as a library cat that eleven people attempted to claim credit for abandoning him in the book drop. He lived at the Spencer Public Library to the ripe age of 17.

THE RED LEATHER DIARY by Lily Koppel

974.71092

KOP

When Lily Koppel, a 20-something writer in New York, hurried to work one fall morning, she noticed a dumpster filled with antique trunks in front of her building. Finding them irresistible she climbed in to pull out the locked trunks from their landfill destination. One item changed her life - a diary written by a teenager over an unbroken 5-year span from 1929-1934. Manhattanite Florence Wolfson received the diary on her 14th birthday. From that day until she turned 19 she recorded her life from her first kiss to her crushes on women as well as men, to her interest in writing and art.

In a chance phone call, Koppel discovers Wolfson is still alive and living in Florida. They meet and develop a relationship that neither one could have anticipated.

DOWN THE NILE: ALONE IN A FISHERMAN'S SKIFF by Rosemary Mahoney

962.0455

MAH

Mahoney fulfills her ambition to row herself down the Nile, but not without some difficulty. Mahoney is an experienced and enthusiastic rower so the difficulty is not physical but cultural. In the Islamic country of Egypt, women do not row and Mahoney must pretend to be buying a boat for her nonexistent husband in order to be taken seriously. And then there is the matter of the police.

This is a well-written picture of contemporary Egyptian society and of those who came down the Nile before Mahoney, including Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale.

LOOK ME IN THE EYE by John Elder Robison

362.196858

ROB

This is a fascinating and funny memoir of a man who grew up a misfit only to figure out late in life that he was afflicted with Asperger's syndrome. Older brother of Augusten Burroughs, John knew he was different. He dropped out of high school and discovered a genius for electronics. When he was in his forties, the discovery that his eccentricities had a name gave him the confidence to work on his social interactions. This is a compelling story that helps the reader understand someone struggling with a disability.

MIM CHIMPSKY: THE CHIMP WHO WOULD BE HUMAN by Elizabeth Hess

636.9885
HES
Part of an experiment to determine whether non-humans could acquire language, the chimpanzee named Mim was raised as a human child in a family, wore clothers and was taught American sign language. Nim became a celebrity in t he early 1970's, appearing on talk shows and as the subject of magazine articles. When the funding ran out, however, he was shipped back to the chimp breeders facility in Oklahoma where he was born. He was then shunted from place to place, (including a facility which used animals for medical experimentation) before ending his days at Cleveland Armory's Black Beauty Ranch in Texas.

THE RESCUE ARTIST by Edward Dolnick

364.162

DOLNICK

The 1994 theft of Edward Munch's renowned painting "The Scream" from Norway's National Gallery was shockingly easy. Dolnick, a writer for the Boston Globe recounts the compelling story of the investigation and recovery by a Scotland Yard Art Squad team led by Charley Hill. He is a fascinating undercover officer whose life is straight from the pages of a detective novel.

The book describes his work recovering lost treasure and the compulsion that leads him to become familiar with famous art thieves.

His absorbing escapades will leave you at the edge of your seat as you read about the little-known world of art theft.

THE WORST HARD TIME by Timothy Egan

978.032

EAG

A counterpart to John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, Egan's nonfiction work tells the lesser-known story of those who stayed behind and survived t he dustbowl of the 1030's. Filled with incredible details, like boiling tumbleweeed to eat. This book will fill you with admiration for the toughness and resourcefulness of the farmers and others who stayed because they had no choice.

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE: A YEAR OF FOOD LIFE, by Barbara Kingsolver

641.0973

KIN

Kingsolver moved family and flock from arid Arizona to a family farm in southern Appalachia. This book chronicles a year of their lives dedicated to eating only foods grown locally and in season. They have a large garden which provides their own meat. They even learn how to make cheese.

Her story is entertaining, educational and admirable. Kingsolver explores such topics as use of fossil fuel in transporting "exotic" foods, the losing battle in the use of pesticides, and fair trade. Interspersed with editorials from 19-year-old daughter Camille are recipes, weekly family menus, and humorous family stories. This year-long diary tackles important issues that make you think about what you eat and where it comes from.

PARADOX OF CHOICE: WHY MORE IS LESS by Barry Schwartz

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SCH
Barry Schwartz discusses how an abundance of choice can become detrimental to our psychological and emotional well being. He explains the irony that having more choices, which would seem to encourage autonomy, actually causes us more stress and unhappiness than when choices are fewer. He spends some time suggesting that our expectations influence our attitude toward things and that the more choices we have, the higher the expectations, resulting in a greater chance that we will be dissatisfied. This is a fascinating look at a subject that effects us all.

THE LAZARUS PROJECT by Aleksandar Hemon

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HEMON
In 1908, Lazarus Averbuch, and Easter European immigrant, is shot and killed by the Chicago Chief of Police when he attempts to deliver a note at the chief's home. One hundred years later, Vladimir Brik, a Bosnian immigrant, investigates this act of violence by tracing Lazarus's journey from Russia where his family was the victim of an infamous pogrom.
Brik ends up in Sarajevo, which he has not visited since the war, only to be confronted by another act of violence.

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE VICIOUS VET by M.C. Beaton

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BEATON, M.

This book is a delightful English "cozy," i.e. a mystery set in a quaint village. Agatha Raisin is not exactly the Miss Marple type, however. She has retired from her public relations company in London and settled down to the deceptively peaceful idyll of the Cotswolds.

She might be retired, but Agatha wouldn't be averse to a little romance and excitement. When a handsome new vet arrives in town, Agatha-true to her charmingly self-centered, vaguely dishonest self will try anything to get her claws into him. Whoops! He winds up dead!

THE BODY IN THE VESTIBULE, by Katherine Hall Page

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PAGE

Charming American "cozy" mystery featuring Faith Fairchild, former Manhattan caterer, now a New England minister's wife.

This entry in the series finds the Fairchilds in Lyon, France for a month while Tom does research for his doctorate.

Great French atmosphere, and, of course, great food.

THE ICE HOUSE by Minette Walters

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WALTERS

British author Walters' first novel is considered a modern classic. A decomposing body is found in an outdoor ice house on the grounds of Streech Grange. Is this Phoebe's husband who disappeared years ago? Many surprises and twists in this original plot.

A MORBID TASTE FOR BONES

FIC/MYS

PETERS, E.

Though Brother Cadfael is skeptical of Prior Robert's motives in fetching Saint Winifred's bones from her grave in Wales to the abbey, it is a good thing Cadfael accompanies the delegation sent accomplish the task. Brother Cadfael is needed to interpret between the Welsh villagers and the English monks. He must also find the murderer of the villager leading the opposition to moving Winifred. Cadfael solves the murder, assists in pairing off two sets of lovers, and keeps Winifred in Wales without disappointing his own abbey.

Readers with an interest in medieval history or in mysteries, or who just enjoy a good story with many humorous touches, should try this first of Brother Cadfael's adventures.

BITTER MEDICINE by Sara Paretsky

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Paretsky, S.

A riveting Chicago-based whodunit which starts out with private detective V.I. Warshawski taking Consuelo, sixteen years old and pregnant, to a Schaumburg hospital for delivery of her premature baby. Neither mother nor baby live out the night. The next day the doctor who treated her is found brutally murdered, and Vic (short of Victoria) is hip-deep in a highly personal investigation. What she uncovers is an explosive nightmare of conspiracy and greed in which human life takes a back seat to the bottom line.

HARM DONE by Ruth Rendell

FIC/MYS

RENDELL, R.

Domestic violence is the theme of this Inspector Wexford mystery which finds Wexford's daughter Sylvia volunteering on a help-line at the Hide, a refuge for abused women. Rendell's in-depth characterizations illuminate this serious social problem as Wexford investigates three kidnappings, one murder, and a recently paroled pedophile.

CLOUDS WITHOUT RAIN: AN AMISH MYSTER by P.L. Gaus

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GAUS
Professor Michael Branden is working undercover to investigate buggy robberies in the Amish community. He is in Amish dress and driving a buggy when he encounters a deadly accident between a police car, a tractor-trailer, and a buggy. An investigation reveals that this was not necessarily just an "accident."

Two of Professor Branden's friends are deeply affected by the incident, so he helps them unravel the mystery of what really happened. During their inquiry the Amish lifestyle is depicted in detail. The plot thickens as community members differ over a proposed land development scheme. Will these Amish abide by tradition, or embrace a more modern point of view?

A well-told engrossing story.

CONCOURSE by S.J. Rozan

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ROZAN, S. J.
When a protege of his old mentor Bobby Moran is murdered while working as a security guard at a nursing home in the Bronx, PI Bill Smith investigates by going undercover, also as a security guard. Bill first calls in Lydia Chin to research what appear to be questionable business arrangements. When another guard is beaten to death and a doctor blown away, it becomes clear that more than one illegal operation is based at the nursing home.

DANGEROUS TO KNOW by Margaret Yorke

FIC/MYS

YORKE

Now that her daughters have grown, Hermione Brown is slowly beginning to excape from husband Walter's abusive hold over her life. Walter, however, is becoming increasingly "dangerous to know."

Something of a departure from Yorke's usual mysteries, this novel still retains the suspense and sharp characterizations her fans have come to expect.

CHINA TRADE by S. J. Rozan

PBK/MYS

ROZAN

Young New York PI Lydia Chin is hired by the China Pride Museum to find their stolen porcelains, despite the wishes of her brother Tim..Lydia's unladylike job is a source of embarrassment to her family. Tim has no idea that Lydia will be interviewing the heads of two rival Chinese gangs, and he thinks her failure to solve the case will mean a loss of face for him. The reader will enjoy not only Lydia's neat solution, but also her guts in pursuing it. Most will also find glimpses of Chinese culture fascinating. Romantic tension between Lydia and her fellow PI Bill Smith adds a little extra sizzle to the story, the first in a very good series.

SHAPE SHIFTER by Tony Hillerman

FIC/MYS

HILLERMAN

Lt. Joe Leaphorn has recently retired from the Navajo Tribal police. He receives a copy of an article about an old and priceless Navajo rug from the 1860's, when the Navajo people started their long walk home. Eventually the "woven sorrow rug" was purchased and displayed at a trading post. When that building burned down, the rug was supposedly lost as well. The insurance company paid the owner.

Now Joe's friend Mel Bork, who is investigating the owner of a supposed copy, has gone missing only to be found dead a few days later. An atmospheric and suspenseful read.

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER by Julia Spencer-Fleming

FIC/MYS

Spencer-Fleming

Clare Fergusson, former army helicopter pilot, is the first Episcopal woman priest in small-town Miller's Kill, N.Y. Clare is having enough trouble with the cold weather and her conservative parishioners when she finds a baby abandoned in the church. This event brings police chief Russ Van Alstyne, a religious skeptic, to her door. Opposites are forced together when the baby's mother is found murdered. Since the policeman is married, both suppress the growing attraction between them. As this is the first in a series, their relationship is sure to be explored further.

NOT IN THE FLESH by Ruth Rendell

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RENDELL
The discovery of skeletal remains by a truffle hunting dog draws Inspector Wexford into a difficult missing person investigation. When his assistant Mike Burden discovers another body in the basement of the deserted cottage on the property they must find the link between the two cases. A subplot involving genital mutilation among the immigrant Somali population of Kingsmarkham keeps this long-running series current.

L.A. REQUIEM by Robert Crais

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CRAIS

The police think it premature to look for Frank Garcia's missing daughter so Frank ask Joe Pike, an ex-cop and old boyfriend of Teresa's, to find her. Joe and his fellow P.I., Elvis Cole, soon fear Frank's concerns are warranted. Their fears are realized when a couple of joggers find Teresa's body. It's clear to Elvis and Joe that the police are closing in on the wrong suspect. When that suspect is eliminated beyond doubt, the police again fix on the wrong man. This time, though, it's Joe.

This dark mystery ;is for readers who like their heroes bigger than life and who can tolerate considerable violence.

ALMOST FRENCH by Sarah Turnbull

944.361

TUR

When Sarah Turnbull, a young Australian journalist on sabbatical in Europe, meets Frederic, a Frenchman (complete with ascot), little does she realize that she is about to embark on a lifelong love affair with him and his native city of Paris. Full of amusing anecdotes about her skirmishes with prickly Parisians, Turnbull sheds light on the French love of aesthetics and the countryside as well as their perplexing behavior at cocktail parties. By the time she and Frederic decide to marry, Turnbull has developed a real understanding of his country, so much so that she feels "almost French."

DAVE BARRY DOES JAPAN by Dave Barry

818.5402

BAR

After a short vacation in Japan funded by his publisher, Barry wrote this very entertaining report of his findings. His encounters and sometimes clashes with Japanese culture give the comic plenty of material. Barry sometimes criticizes and often praises his host country, but always evokes a laugh. One serious and touching passage describes his visit to Hiroshima, including the memorial.

THE RELUCTANT TUSCAN by Phil Doran, 2005

945.5

DOR

Phil Doran, a tv script writer living in California, gets a telephone call from his wife Nancy, who is working on a marble sculpture in Italy. She tells him she has bought a house in Tuscany and asks that he come to see it immediately. Nancy feels that Phil is burnt out and needs to make a serious life change. Upon arrival Phil discovers that the house is a hovel without running water or electricity. Thus begins Phil's journey through the forest of Italian red tape necessary to make their home habitable. Phil has no patience with how things are done and complains bitterly and often until the day Nancy and he are involved in a car accident. He realizes he almost lost his life and vows to change.

This highly amusing memoir is fun to read as it gives a wonderful view of the drama of Italian life, families and of course, the cuisine.

I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF by Bill Bryson

973.92

BRY

These brief chapters are a compilation of newspaper columns written by Bryson for a British audience during his first three years in the United States after a twenty-year absence. As always, Bryson is entertaining and funny. He also helps the reader see the United States through the eyes of someone to whom some of its ways are unfamiliar. The things we do and have that are wonderful, but that we take for granted, and those that are silly, but that we are so accustomed to that we no longer notice, stand out large and clear.

Bryson's work is enjoyable at any time, but these little snippets are especially nice for those odd minutes waiting in line or for a quick break from work.

THE HILLS IS LONELY by Lillian Beckwith

914.17

BEC

A former schoolteacher who went to live on Bruach, an island in the Hebrides, for a rest cure, wrote this entertaining yearn. She did not get much rest, but if laughter is indeed the best medicine, she must have been cured. Many of her more hilarious adventures and experiences resulted from the cultural and language differences between the people of Bruach and the English writer. Miss Beckwith's, or as she was called by Bruachites, Miss Peckwit's stories are often earthy, but seem likely to appeal to a broad audience.

A YEAR IN THE WORLD by Frances Mayes

910.4

May

Frances Mayes leaves her Tuscan home to travel.. Her journeys are primarily in the Mediterranean area and are as beautifully described as her home in Cortona has been in her previous bestselling books. She and her husband Ed like Portugal, Naples, Sicily, Capri, and the coast of Turkey. They are less enthusiastic about Fex, Morocco, where Ed succumbs to food poisoning. But even when adversity strikes, the journeys are fascinating.

THE SEX LIVES OF CANNIBALS: ADRIFT IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC, by J. Maarten Troost

996.81

TRO

Troost debunks the myth of the South Sea island paradise in this hilarious account of the two years he and his wife spent on the Pacific atoll of Kiribati. Just as funny as Bill Bryson, Troost has found lots of material to work with on this Third World island ignored by the rest of the world. He and his wife survive years of eating only fish, no coffee, and music which is a constant replay of "La Macarena" to become truly fond of the Kiribati people by the time they leave to return to the United States.

THE SPELLMAN FILES by Lisa Lutz

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LUTZ

In the hilarious tradition of Stephanie Plum, Isabel "Izzy" Spellman's adventures are laugh-out-loud-funny, but she has her own unique situation and voice, Izzy works for her own unique situation and voice, Izzy works for her dysfunctional family's PI business, and the Spellman family relationships are all too similar to their business transactions.

When Izzy's twelve-year -old sister Rae disappears, the family wonders if her obsession with "recreational" surveillance has gotten her into trouble and must use all its collective professional expertise to find her before it's too late.

A SKATING LIFE, by Dorothy Hamill

796.912092

HAMILL

Dorothy Hamill won the Olympic gold medal for figure skating in 1976. In this autobiography she discusses the difficult training regimen and her rise through the ranks to competitive success. She also tell of turmoil in her personal life. Both of her parents suffered from depression at a time when the illness was not understood. She describes the impact their behavior had on her life as well as her own battles with depression in recent years. She also talks about the relationship and financial issues that plagued her as an adult. While there is much to find discouraging in her memoir, there are happy moments and an uplifting ending.

CIRCLE OF SISTERS by Judith Flanders

920.72

FLA

The sisters are Alice Kipling, Georgiana Burne-Jones, Agnes Poynter, and Louisa Baldwin.

From their humble beginnings as daughters of a Methodist minister in mid-nineteenth century England, they are known to us today through their husbands and children. Alice was the mother of Rudyard Kipling, England's unofficial poet laureate of empire, Georgiana was married to Edward Burne-Jones, the famous Pre-Raphaelite artist, Agnes was the wife of Edward Poynter, the head of the Royal Academy of the Arts, and Louisa Baldwin was the mother of Stanley Baldwin, three-time Prime Minister of Great Britain.

A fascinating look at the daily life of women in the Victorian era as well as a glimpse of these famous lives.

WEST WITH THE NIGHT by Beryl Markham

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MARKHAM, B.

Pioneer aviator Markham recounts memories of her childhood and young adulthood in Africa, first on her father's farm and then, after its sale and the end of that way of life, as a horse trainer and, later, pilot. Her descriptions of the people with whom she lived and worked bring them to life even today, and her stories of Africa conjure up a place long gone. This memoir is a pleasure to read.

WHEN A CROCODILE EATS THE SUN by Peter Godwin

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GODWIN

Journalist Peter Godwin grew up in Zimbabwe and returned to his native country when his father suffered a serious heart attack. His country's decline during the last 10 years is juxtaposed with his parent's decline, both physical and economic (due to the policies of dictator Robert Mugabe). This is a moving story that will appeal to fans of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight.

ONE DROP: MY FATHER'S HIDDEN LIFE by Bliss Broyard

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BROYARD

Bliss Broyard knew her father, Anatole Broyard, as the successful book critic for the New York Times and later, as the editor of the New York Times Book Review. In the months before he died of cancer, he yearned to reveal a lifelong secret to his children but succumbed before he mustered up the courage.

It was their mother who told the children that their father had actually been African-American. His light-skinned parents had moved from New Orleans to New York in 1927 where they passed for white in order to get work.

For Bliss, "raised white in Connecticut," this revelation set off a search for identity and reunions with a large extended family in the South. One Drop is a compelling look at the complexities of race from a very personal perspective.

JOHN ADAMS, by David McCullough

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ADAMS

Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for biography, John Adams is brought to life through the skill of historian David McCullough. Adams was an extraordinary many whose work significantly affected our country's future. From his early days as a country lawyer, through to his work at the Continental congress and White House, Adams was a patriot whose devotion to his country was unsurpassed. His relationships with Jefferson, Franklin, as well as his wife and son are explored fully. You will read about famous events as well as those less famous with a fresh perspective, and get to know the man that some regarded as "out of his senses."

THE FILM CLUB by David Gilmour

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GILMOUR

In this memoir Canadian movie critic David Gilmour and his ex-wife decide to let their struggling 10th grade son, Jesse, drop out of school if he agrees to watch a film three times a week. Gilmour gets to pick our the films and they have to watch them together. Gilmour reasons that by choosing every possible genre, he would at least be offering Jesse some kind of education that would help make his way in the world--something public school had failed to provide.

Jesse learns many lessons during these sessions with his father and realizes that growing up is a lot more than just going to school. He does return to the educational system, but on his own terms. Gilmour also finds his life changed in surprising ways during the many hours he spends with his son.

BLACK and WHITE by Dani Shapiro

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SHAPIRO

Clara Brodeur is an adult now but has spent most of her life rebelling against her famous mother, photographer Ruth Dunne. She has been estranged from Ruth for 14 years, living in Maine with her husband and daughter.

One day she receives a phone call from her sister informing her of her mother's imminent death. Clara reluctantly returns to Manhattan to find her mother surrounded protectively by adoring interns and assistants. She realizes that she must come to terms with the past for the sake of her daughter and her own sanity.

The emotional scars of Ruth's questionable photographs of Clara, taken throughout her childhood, are slowly healed with the help of her family and the maturity that comes with age.

DEAD LINES by Greg Bear

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BEA

Peter Russell's career as a soft-porn director fell victim to the more popular hardcore pornography. His marriage disintegrated after the murder of his daughter. When his best friend dies, little is left Peter besides his job as a general dogsbody to a multi-millionaire.

Asked to help sell the "Trans," a sort of cell phone with unlimited bandwidth and perfect reception, Peter accepts a boxful of them. Soon Peter starts seeing dead people. Peter's story is not so much science fiction as horror. Readers who like Dean Koontz's milder horror stories are a likely audience.

HONOR AMONG THIEVES by Jeffrey Archer

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ARCHER

Saddam Hussein has hired the Mafia and stolen the Declaration of Independence. He plans to burn it in front of reporters and the eyes of the world on the Fourth of July. Law professor and CIA agent Scott Bradely is to star in a scheme to recover the Declaration, hopefully with the help of Hannah Kopec, a Mossad agent and Bradley's former lover. Hannah, however, is heartbroken, believing she successfully assassinated Scott under orders from Mossad. Plots and counterplots interweave seamlessly, keeping the reader guessing. While nearly all of this story is wildly improbable, it is lots of fun, and Archer seems to write with tongue in cheek.