Glen Ellyn Public Library Staff Favorites

What We Read

2009-12-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

Click here to see a list of recent staff picks.

HOME by Marilynne Robinson

2009-04-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

FIC
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

2009-03-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-24T10:43:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-24T08:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

153.83
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

2009-03-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

FIC
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

2009-02-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

FIC/MYS

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

2009-02-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

FIC/MYS/PBK

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

2009-02-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

MYS/PBK

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

2009-02-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

PBK/MYS

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

2009-02-28T13:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

FIC/MYS
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

2009-02-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

FIC/MYS
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

2009-02-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T18:19:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

FIC/MYS

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

2009-02-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

FIC/MYS

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

2009-02-11T16:59:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-11T16:51:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

FIC
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

2009-01-29T09:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

BIOG
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

2009-01-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

BIOG

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

2009-01-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

BIOG

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

2009-01-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

BIOG

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

2009-01-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

BIOG
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

2009-01-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

FIC
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

2009-01-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

FIC

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

2009-01-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

FIC

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.

DEATH IN THE DEVIL'S ACRE by Anne Perry

2008-12-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

PBK/MYS
PERRY, A.

A series of brutal murders takes place in the red light district of London during the late 1880s. Police Inspector Thomas Pitt is called to investigate to see if there's a tie between the murder victims: a middle aged doctor, a former footman, a very rich and titled gentleman, and a math teacher. All were stabbed in the back and mutilated.

Pitt and his wife Charlotte race against time to find the killer. The search leads them to aristocratic families with secrets to hide, as well as to the underside of Victorian London.

THE RITUAL BATH by Faye Kellerman

2008-12-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

FIC

KELLERMAN

Detective Peter Decker is sent to investigate a rape in the sheltered community of a Los Angeles yeshiva. He finds the Orthodox Jewish residents to be uncooperative, but the beautiful widow Rina Lazarus is helpful. The attraction between them complicates everything, especially when it seems the rapist's intended target was and still is Rina. The many details of Orthodox Jewish life are fascinating. This first book is a terrific start to the now-established series.

DEATH AND THE DEVIL by Frank Schatzing

2008-12-08T18:01:00.001-08:00

FIC

SCHATZING

In Early Medieval Cologne, a petty thief, Jacob the Fox, witnesses Gerhard Morart, Architect of the New Cathedral, being pushed to his death from its scaffolding. He has been seen by the murderer, a longhaired, seemingly superhuman man who is a professional assassin. Jacob is now his target for he must protect a larger conspiracy which reaches to the very top of Cologne's government. This book features non-stop action as well as interesting details of Medieval Life.

POSSESSIONS by Judith Michaels

2008-12-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

FIC

MICHAELS

When Craig Fraser doesn't return from his business trip, his plain wife Katherine, a stay-at-home mom, cannot believe he has fled from embezzlement charges, as his boss claims. Then Ross Hayward, who claims to be Craig's cousin, comes to Vancouver to tell her that Craig, who said he was an orphan, has a wealthy family in San Francisco from whom he also fled. A college friend of Katherine's offers her a job in San Francisco. As Katherine tries to make a new and independent life, she comes to know the Haywards and the missing Craig far better. Always pulled between her new life and the possibility of rebuilding what she had with Craig, Katherine must eventually make several painful choices. Possessions is for readers for enjoy novels about the rich and famous by such authors as Danielle Steel.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks

2008-12-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

FIC
BROOKS

Hanna Heath, Rare Book Conservator, jumps at the change to work on the Sarajevo Haggadah. The book is an example of the earliest Jewish illuminated manuscripts, and Hanna traces its history using clues found in the book's binding. The trail leads through WWII-era Bosnia, late 19th century
Vienna, Venice during the Inquisition, and finally to the manuscript's creation around 1480 in Spain. The reader is privy to the Haggadah's secrets, though Hanna is not. She must cope with the newly-discovered identity of her father and the machinations of the art forgers.

ONE GOOD TURN by Kate Atkinson

2008-10-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

FIC
Atkinson

This sequel to Case Histories features ex-cop Jackson Brodie, again becoming involved in a series of complex, inter-connected cases which begins with an incident of road rage in Edinburgh. Set amidst the Edinburgh Festival where
Jackson’s girlfriend Julia is appearing in a Fringe production, this is another dazzling thriller full of twists and surprises.

CARAMELO by Sandra Cisneros

2008-10-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

FIC

CISNEROS
This is the epic tale of the Reyes family as it moves from 1920s Mexico City to 1950s
Chicago. This multigenerational story of a working class immigrant family has as its center Lala Reyes as she grows from childhood to young adulthood. Lala is the youngest in a family of seven and the only girl who regularly makes the trip from Chicago to The Awful Grandmother’s house in Mexico. She gradually forms an uneasy bond with her grandmother,inheriting from her the family stories, legends, and scandals. The family members’ destinies include experiences in the U.S. military, blue collar jobs, poverty and homelessness. Despite the harsh struggle to survive, the family never loses sight of its culture and traditions.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN by Lionel Shriver

2008-10-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

FIC
SHRIVER

Through dozens of letters written to her absent husband, Eva Khatchadourian tries to make sense of the events that have unfolded in her life. From the onset the reader knows that her son, Kevin, has committed a brutal crime —- he killed seven of his high school classmates, a cafeteria worker and a well-liked teacher. Eva visits him in prison though their relationship has never been close. She wonders

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carolos Ruiz Zafon

2008-10-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

FIC

RUIZ-ZAFON

This adventure story begins in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in post WWII Barcelona. Daniel Sempere is taken there by his father, a bookseller, and told that he can choose one book. Daniel chooses The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. He loves the book, but when he tries to find other works by Carax, he finds that someone is systematically destroying Carax’s books.
As Daniel tries to solve this mystery, he is drawn into the dangerous aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.
This novel features intriguing characters and a strong sense of place.

FAST WOMEN: A NOVEL by Jennifer Crusie

2008-10-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

Fic

Crusie

Romance — with elements of suspense and
adventure — is at the heart of this novel. If
you call dognapping an adventure. Heroine
Nell, just divorced from a cheating husband,
applies for a secretarial position at a detective
agency. After she fumbles a few investigations,
her life changes drastically when she uncovers
murder, blackmail and embezzlement.
Crusie blends humor and romance, the funny and
the serious in this antiquated detective story set
in historical Ohio. Despite Gabe and Nell’s daily
battles over trivial office matters, they fall in
love, fight some more and have mad passionate
sex. The fast-paced romance develops the plot
neatly with a predictable ending, allowing the
reader to sit back and enjoy.

IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES by Julia Alvarez

2008-10-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

YA/PBK

by Julia Alvarez

This book embodies the wonder, horror and mystique of the era of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. It tells the heroically heart-breaking, perhaps mythic story of the Mirabel sisters, enemies to the Failed Cattle Thief, folk heroes to the pueblo. The story is told in flashback, beginning in the present day with an interview with the one surviving sister. The story then launches into a chronological build-up to the sisters’ acts of resistance toward the ruthless dictator. This is an engrossing tale that will appeal to fans of history and magical realism, or anyone who admires strong women’s defiance in the face of heavy oppression

GHOST TRAIN TO THE EASTERN STAR by Paul Theroux

2008-10-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

915
THE

Theroux retraces his 1973 journey for “The Great Railway Bazaar” although he cannot revisit Iran and Afghanistan. This time around, however, he is able to visit Cambodia whose people are still scarred from the horrors of the Pol Pot regime and the new Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, many now isolated under their own home-grown dictatorships. Although Theroux may have mellowed, he is still an observant and skilled interviewer.

FOUR SOULS by Louise Erdrich

2008-09-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

FIC

ERDRICH

Fleur Pillager seeks revenge against a wealthy land baron for the deforestation of her Ojibwe lands. She hires on as a laundress in the home of John James Mauser in order to murder him.

Her scheme becomes complicated when she decides to first cure him of a mysterious illness to enhance the cruelty of his death. Eventually, compassion rules and Fleur and Mauser marry.

Fleur, who adopts her mother's name of "Four Souls," gives birth to an autistic son who eventually helps her reclaim her ancestral lands.

Narrated by several characters, including Nanapush and his wife Margaret, and Polly Elizabeth, a member of the Mauser household who befriends Fleur, this novel picks up where Tracks ended.

HEARTS AND BONES by Margaret Lawrence

2008-08-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

FIC

LAWRENCE, M.

This story of historical suspense takes place in post Revolutionary War Maine and features Hannah Trevor, the village midwife, a woman who lives with her illegitimate daughter outside the bounds of convention-a sort of Hester Prynne without apologies.

A brutal murder rocks the normal activities of the village when a young woman is raped and strangled, leaving behind a letter accusing three prominent men of being her murderers. One names is Daniel Josselyn, Hannah's former lover and the father of her daughter.

With Will Quaid, the village constable, Hannah sets out to discover the truth of the tragedy, and discovers her won heart's desire as well.

THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by Iain Lawrence

2008-08-30T14:00:00.003-07:00

FIC

LAWRENCE

When seventeen-year-old Squid returns from a four-year absence to visit her parents on their isolated island off the coast of British Columbia, she brings her three-year-old daughter. The account of her visit is interspersed with the story of what happened during the last year Squid lived on the island, leading to death of her brother and her own departure.

Though there are hints that incest might have been involved, it was not. The true story is nonetheless heartbreaking, involving family dysfunction, statutory rape, and suicide. The writing is beautiful; the story is not, though is is certainly memorable.

HARVESTING THE HEART by Jodi Picoult

2008-08-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

FIC

PICOULT, J.

This is the story of the growth of a young woman who needs to deal with the past and her unsettled relationship with her mother before becoming who she wants to be for her own child.

Paige O'Toole was abandoned by her mother when she was just five years old and subsequently is plagued by feelings of worthlessness. Overwhelmed by marriage and motherhood, Paige leaves her family and journeys to find her own mother. Harvesting the Heart is realistic, moving and beautifully told.

A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby

2008-08-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

FIC

HORNBY

The setting is New Year's Eve 2003 on the roof of Topper's House in London, a popular suicide spot. Four strangers converge there, each wanting to end his life in privacy. Maureen is a devout Catholic and single mother to a severely disable adult son. Martin, a former TV host, is just out of prison for statutory rape. JJ is an American who broke up with his girlfriend and was fired from his dream job in a rock band. Teenage Jess, the flighty daughter of a politician, was dumped by her boyfriend. The result of their rooftop meeting is a special bond. That night they forge an agreement not to kill themselves for ninety days. In their attempts to support each other, they provide a moving and lively read.

WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS by Kazuo Ishiguro

2008-08-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

FIC

ISH

This book is challenging, and, to my mind, much more effective as a book on tape. One reading might be inclined to skip ahead of what is incomprehensible, and therefore boring, without allowing seemingly insignificant details and images to coalesce and become meaningful.

Christoper Banks is a renowned London detective with a tragic past: his parents disappeared from their home in Shanghai when he was ten. Twenty years later he decides to return to Shanghai to solve the mystery. Why did he wait so long? Why are the only people who penetrate his isolation fellow orphans? Why do people surrounding him bolster his delusions?

When We Were Orphans is a fascinating book, certainly not for everyone, by a rewarding reading experience nonetheless.

THE GREAT INDIAN NOVEL by Shashi Tharoor

2008-08-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

FIC

THA

This is a brilliant, fictionalized account of modern Indian history from the time of Gandhi's struggle for independence from Great Britain to the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

Although based on the 2,000-year-old epic THE MAHABHARATA, you do not need to be familiar with this work to appreciate the novel, which is written with great insight and humor.

A SIMPLE HABANA MELODY by Oscar Hijuelos

2008-08-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

FIC

HIJUELOS, O

World-famous Cuban composer Israel Levis returns home after being imprisoned in a World War II concentration camp. His spirit seems broken but a spark remains for the love of his life, Rita Valladores, for whom he wrote a famous rumba. This is an enchanting and captivating books.

THE DEVIL'S FEATHER by Minette Walters

2008-08-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

FIC

WALTERS

International war correspondent Connie Burns suspects a British mercenary with many aliases of the rapes and vicious murders of several women in Sierra Leone. When Burns is transferred to Iraq, she is taken captive by this man (aka Keith MacKenzie, who is now training Iraqi security forces) tortured and then released after three days.

Trying to recover from this devastating experience, Burns returns to England and rents an isolated house in the Dorset countryside, with the certainty that MacKenzie will come looking for her.

This is an interesting psychological thriller which incorporates several contemporary issues.

BURDEN OF PROOF by Scott Turow

2008-08-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

FIC

TUROW. S.

Sandy Stem, a leading defense attorney, comes home from a business trip to find that Clara, his wife of many years has committed suicide. Clara's death takes him completely by surprise. Her death forces him to examine all of his close relationships, especially his connection to his children.

Woven throughout the book is Stem's defense of his brother-in-law, Dixon Hartnell. Dixon owns a commodities brokerage and has employed Stem to keep him one step ahead of the law. Dixon's freewheeling style frustrates Stem.

The story offers suspenseful twists, and devastating revelations as Stern seeks to unravel the puzzle of Clara's death and maze of Dixon's complicated financial dealings.

AND GIVE YOU PEACE by Jessica Treadway

2008-08-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

FIC

TRE

This is a stunning and moving novel about a family's devastating loss and its aftermath. One summer morning Tom Dolan goes into the bedroom of his sleeping 15-year old daughter, shoots her in the head, and then shoots himself. His estranged wife Margaret, and younger daughter, Justine, respond with stupefied disbelief. The oldest daughter, Anastasia, is the only one who struggles above her own grief and shock to find the truth at the heart of the tragedy.

The author is masterful at depicting small-town life, familiar neighborhoods, the rhymes of family interplay. Especially genuine are the small ordinary words and actions that form the backdrop of earth-shattering events-cheerleaders' shouts ringing through a cemetery where the loved one's grave is newly dug. The author does not tie up all the loose ends or bestow redemption and resolution upon her characters. She leaves them damaged, but functioning and whole.

COME AND GO, MOLLY SNOW by Mary Ann Taylor-Hall

2008-08-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

FIC

TAYLOR-HALL. M.

This novel's appealing heroine is a bluegrass fiddler who is finally being noticed by recording companies, She has a nervous breakdown and during the course of the book comes to grips with her loss and her guilt.

An interesting look at the life of a single mom in the music business, who creates her own world almost independent of any man.

THE BEACH HOUSE by James Patterson

2008-08-26T07:55:00.001-07:00

FIC

PAT

Jack Mullen is a law school student who grew up in the Hamptons. He frequently heads home to his widowed father's home where his brother Patrick and grandfather also live. Jack is devastated to learn that his beloved younger brother, Peter, has drowned while working as a valet at a ritzy part. When Jack sees the body he concludes that Peter was beaten to death. The rick folk and local authorities insist the death was an accident. Jack investigates, discovering that his brother had a secret life. With the help of his grandfather and friends Jack sets out to avenge his brother's death in a way that the Hamptons will not soon forget.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT by Michael Ondaatje

2008-08-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

FIC

ONDAATJE

Brilliantly told tale of the mystery of the "English patient," a badly-burned man of unknown identity being cared for by a young nurse, Hannah, in a deserted Italian villa at the end of World War II.

It can be read with pleasure after seeing the movie since the book contains much that was sketch in the film version, including the romance between Hannah and Kip, the young Sikh engineer.

THE HADES FACTOR by Robert Ludlum

2008-08-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

FIC

LUD

What a thriller! This fast-paced novel follows a virus that threatens the lives of people around the world. Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, a physician and researcher notices that three unrelated people in different locations have all died of the same virus. An old FBI friend calls Smith in the middle of the night to warn that he is in danger.

Once Smith and his fiancee, Dr. Sophia Russell, start to investigate the deaths, a number of attempts are made on Smith's life. When Sophia contracts the virus, Smith realizes her death is not an accident.

Smith vows to find out who is responsible. From Washington to Baghdad, the tension mounts as our hero struggles to discover the truth behind the deadly virus.

BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett

2008-08-21T13:24:00.001-07:00

FIC
PATCHETT

When terrorist storm the vice presidential palace of a nameless South American country during a birthday concert for the CEO of a major Japanese corporation, they take the performer, renowned soprano Roxanne Coss, and the audience members hostage. Rather than writing an account of a grim ordeal, Patchett has written a novel with a surprising sense of humor that pays tribute to the transforming power of music.

STARS FOR A LIGHT by Lynn Morris & Gilbert Morris

2008-08-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

FIC
MORRIS

Dr. Cheny Duvall has recently graduated from medical school. The year is 1865 and prejudice against women doctors is strong. She applies for a job as a ship's physician and the ship's owner is delighted. The ship will carry 100 marriageable women bound for Seattle via the Panama Isthmus. For the long journey Dr. Duvall needs to stock appropriate medication for malaria and other diseases. As she makes her way through the docks to the local pharmacy a couple of rough-looking characters confront and menace her. The ship's nurse rescues her. A reasonable task for the nurse, a Civil War veteran who will need both brawn and brain for the adventures and setbacks that await them on the long trip to Seattle. An interesting read and acceptable for a younger reader.

GAP CREEK by Robert Morgan

2008-08-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

FIC

MOR

This "Oprah" novel is set in turn-of-the-century Appalachia where life is all work and little pleasure. Teenager Julie supports her family's farm after her father dies. She expects life to be a little easier after she marries Hank, but tragedies befall their first year together. Julie deals with these difficult trials with grace.

THE SONGCATCHER by Sharon McCrumb

2008-08-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

FIC

McCRUMB, S.

This book is another of McCrumb's wonderful ballad novels. Like those that preceded it, The Songcatcher weaves back and forth through time, in this case 250 years, and a number of characters, past and present.

Lark McCourrie is a famous folksinger flying home to Appalachia to see her estranged and dying father and to undearth one authentic old ballad which has not yet been "discover." She is aided by the familiar Hamlin Characters, most notably Sheriff Arrowood and the redoubtable Nora Bonesteel.

McCrumb entices us throughout the snatches of the sought-after song and the accompanying tale of Malcolm McCourie, Lark's Scottish ancestor and the bearer of the song from the old country. Lovely.

MADAME BOVARY by Gustave Flaubert

2008-07-22T10:25:00.001-07:00

FIC

FLAUBERT

Emma is the daughter of a simple farmer. She marries Dr. Charles Bovary, a equally simple doctor. Emma becomes disillusioned with marriage, and terrible bored. In truth, she craves the passion and romance she has read about in books.

Madame Bovary embarks on an affair with Leon, a law clerk. After he leaves her, Rodolphe is next. She steadily loses control, taking risks, borrowing more and more money. The hapless doctor is oblivious. Rodolphe's desertion precipitates her downfall.

MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH by Ariana Frankllin

2008-07-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

FIC

FRANKLIN
A serial child murderer is on the loose in 12th-century Cambridge and suspicion has fallen on the local Jewish population. King Henry II wants to find the killer (and needs the Jewish tax revenues). He sends for a medical examiner, or master of the art of death, from one of the most advanced medical schools of the time, the University of Salerno. What he gets is a “mistress of the art of death” in the form of young Dr. Adelia Aguilar who must do her work in secret because of the English prejudice against female doctors. The mystery is entertaining but perhaps more interesting are the many historical details of life in this distant time.

LIFE, DEATH AND BIALYS: A FATHER/SON BAKING STORY by Dylan Schaffer

2008-07-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

BIOG

Schaffer
Schaffer, an attorney and author of two legal thrillers, receives a call from his father, Flip, asking him to participate in a bread baking class. Flip is dying of cancer and the class is seven months away. Schaffer has doubts whether his father will live long enough to attend, yet agrees to sign up. Flip had abandoned Schaffer and his brothers thirty years before to life with a mentally unstable mother; there had been little contact since. Throughout the week-long class Schaffer realizes his father is asking for forgiveness. Schaffer has to work through years of pain and rejection , accepting his father’s flaws before it is too late.
This is a humorous, touching memoir, an honest account of a complicated relationship.

LICK CREEK by Brad Kessler

2008-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

FIC

KESSLER

Emily Jenkins and her widowed mother Ada live in the hills of West Virginia in the 1920s. Power is coming to the valley along with “electric men” who make a deal with the women for the right of way on their land. All turns to dust when the supervisor, Robert Daniels, plies her with liquor and rapes her. Overwhelmed with rage, Emily vows revenge on the power company through acts of sabotage.
Her life is altered when a young lineman, Joseph Gershon, is struck by lightning and brought to the Jenkins house to recuperate. His tales of immigration from Russia enthrall Emily and the two fall in love. Only Emily’s obsessive hatred for Daniels stands in the way of their happiness. A dramatic conclusion brings the story full circle.

KNITTING CIRCLE by Ann Hood

2008-07-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

FIC
HOOD
Mary Baxter loses her only child, little Stella.
In their grief Mary and her husband find themselves isolated and disconnected, even fromeach other. Mary’s mother encourages her daughter to go to Big Alice’s shop to learn to knit. At the knitting circle six ladies surround Mary: Scarlet, Lulu,Beth,Harriet, Ellen and Alice. Each member shares with Mary a new knitting technique, along with her own story of loss and recovery. Initially, Mary is reluctant to tell her story. Eventually hours of knitting and listening help her to relate her own experience of suffering. Soon Mary begins to reclaim her life and rediscovers a renewed love for her husband.

AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND by Brock Clarke

2008-07-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

FIC
Clarke
Sam Pulsifer served 10 years in jail for accidentally setting fire to Emily Dickinson’s house, killing two occupants. He rebuilt his life after being released and is now happily married with two children. All goes well until the son of the two persons killed reappears and other famous writers’ homes go up in flames. Guess who’s the obvious suspect? This offbeat novel is both funny and moving.

The Obituary Writer by Porter Shreve

2008-07-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

FIC

SHREVE

Gordon Hatch is a 22-year old aspiring newspaper reporter,trying to live up to the
legacy of his late father, who covered the JFK assassination. He is a lowly obituary writer, inflating his position to his mother and ex-girlfriend. He senses his chance has come when he gets a phone call from Alicia, a young widow promising an enthralling story. As they become lovers and her story emerges, her capacity for falsehood makes him look like an amateur. Alicia’s lies (and his own) offer a choice between truth and fiction that must be resolved before he can evolve into the kind of newspaperman his father would have respected.

PAY THE DEVIL by Jack Higgins

2008-05-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

FIC/PBK
HIGGINS

As the Civil War is ending, Confederate Colonel Clay Fitzgerald learns he has inherited a fortune and estate from an Irish uncle. Weary of war, the Colonel and his black aide and friend, Josh, set off to claim this inheritance. Despite his wish to remain neutral, Clay is shocked by the English government's treatment of the Irish. He cannot help but become involved in the resistance. The colonel also falls in love with the sympathetic daughter of an English landlord.
The tale of Colonel Fitzgerald's adventures, while at times melodramatic, will appeal to t hose with an interest in history, particularly Irish history, and to readers wanting action and a plot that moves briskly.

THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES by Robert Hellenga

2008-05-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

FIC

HELLENGA

Margot Harrington is on leave from her job as a book conservator at the Newberry Library. She has volunteered to help Florence, Italy after the flood of 1967. A convent has found a unique book of Renaissance erotica. They would like Margot to help them sell the item-discreetly.

The book, The Sixteen Pleasures, becomes the adventure that Margot has been looking for. She finds romance and professional fulfillment, and herself.

A wonderful book with lots of details about the rare book trade.

EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett

2008-05-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

pbk.
FOLLETT, K.

Eye of the Needle is a terrific spy/espionage/romance, appropriate for men and women readers, because unlike many espionage writers, Follett is savvy enough to create admirable, sympathetic female characters.

Die Nadel (the Needle) is a cold calculating German spy, quick to kill and utterly ruthless. He is sent to a remote British island in order to determine whether the Allies are planning an invasion from that point. His boat is wrecked, and he is taken in by David and Lucy Rose, a young couple with a small child. David is paralyzed from an accident that occurred on their wedding day, and consequently become embittered and hateful. Lucy is valiant, but love-starved. The end is thrilling and one is left wondering - was it lover or part of the game?

GRANGE HOUSE by Sarah Blake

2008-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

FIC

BLA

Though Maisie has always spent her summers in Maine at Grange House, the summer of 1898, when Maisie is seventeen, is different. The girl's parents are pushing her toward marriage, and the owner of Grange House, Miss Grange, hopes Maisie will have the mysterious "gift." She tries to show Maisie some of the Grange family history, real or imagined.

A terrible accident, however, kills Maisie's father, prompting Maisie to write about him after she returns home. On receiving Maisie's biography of her father, Miss Grange sends Maisie her own diaries.

Only when Maisie and her mother return to Grange House can Maisie sort fact from fiction and learn who she herself is and who she wants to be. This very Victorian telling of Maisie's story should appeal to women and girls who enjoy a Gothic atmosphere, beautiful detailed writing, and complex characterization.

INDEPENDENCE DAY by Richard Ford

2008-05-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

FIC
FOR

Not to be confused with the movie, this novel won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. The main character, Frank Bascombe, spends a contemplative Fourth of July weekend. He is a realtor trying to find housing for some difficult customers, a man dealing with women problems-- his ex-wife and current girlfriend-and a father, treating his son to a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Somehow this well-intentioned fellow ends up in the hospital.

This decent and bewildered man is gradually, inevitably and humorously wrenched out of his private existence to a new awareness of the world and people around him.

A LESSON BEFORE DYING by Earnest Gaines

2008-05-10T12:41:00.001-07:00

FIC

GAINES

Jefferson, a poor and uneducated black man, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he is in jail, convicted of murder. Jefferson's godmother does not want him to go to the electric chair like the ignorant hog is white lawyer says he is, so Grant Wiggins, the black schoolteacher, is under pressure to visit Jefferson. Grant's job is to make Jefferson a man before he is executed.

Grant Wiggins worried that he is not making a difference in the lives of his students. How he will make a difference in Jefferson's life in the short time he has Grant has no idea. He does know that the sheriff and Mr. Giteau, for whom most of the black people in the Quarter work, want him to fail. They do everything they canto take away the teacher's dignity. Grant Wiggins succeeds in a way he could never have foreseen, however, teaching not only Jefferson, but himself, a lesson before dying.

BEE SEASON by Myla Goldberg

2008-05-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

FIC
GOLDBERG

Eliza Naumann, usually an indifferent student, wins the 5th grade spelling bee, surprising her somewhat dysfunctional family and herself.
There are many themes in this amazing book, including parents' expectations of their children, mental illness, and the search for God.

A surprising twist in the plot will have readers going back in the text to search for clues.

COLD MOUNTAIN by Charles Frazier

2008-05-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

FIC
FRAZIER

A love story and adventure featuring Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who walks out of a hospital ward, tired of war and senseless killing. He begins a long journey to see Ada, his sweetheart. Ada too has seen some hard times since her father's death. She has not a clue as to making the farm work and seems destined for failure until the arrival of Ruby.

Inman's trip back to his true love is long and treacherous, filled with solitude and savagery. Like Ada, Inman acquires the courage and tenacity to reach the end of his goal.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon

2008-05-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

FIC

HADDON

Christopher Boone is an exceptional 15-year. He is blessed with a genius for math and an exceptionally logical mind, but is autistic and has no understanding of human emotions. As the narrator of this story his world begins to fall apart after finding the neighbor's dog impaled by a garden fork. He makes it his mission to find the murderer, modeling his investigation after his favorite character, Sherlock Holmes. Christopher embarks upon a journey that forces him to deal with his parents' divorce and his father's lies. The novel, told in the format of a murder mystery, is the honest and sometimes funny account of what might go on in the mind of an autistic child.

ELLEN FOSTER by Kaye Gibbons

2008-05-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

FIC
GIBBONS
Ellen's heart-wrenching descriptions of life in her very dysfunctional family would make unbearably depressing reading if they were not interspersed with revelations of her present life with her delightful new foster family.
Until she arrived at her "new mother's" home, Ellen had suffered the suicide of her mother, threats of murder, sexual abuse, and a variety of dreadful homes.
Her only respite was a brief stint living with her art teacher and visits to her African American friend's family. Fortunately, Ellen's sturdy good sense and strong spirit carry her through to a decent life.

GODS IN ALABAMA by Joshilyn Jackson

2008-05-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

FIC

JACKSON

Arlene Fleet is a graduate student living in Chicago. For reasons unbeknownst to the reader. Arlene had left home in Alabama at the age of eighteen, and promised God to never return, to remain celibate and to never tell a lie.

She has been able to keep her promises until her African-American boyfriend wants to accompany her to Alabama to meet her lily-white family. Arlene would rather die. Not only is Arlene reluctant to introduce him to her crazy and bigoted family, but she has a deep dark secret that threatens to come out. Arlene finds she is no longer able to keep her promises.

EVENTIDE by Kent Haruf

2008-05-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

FIC

HARUF

In the previous novel Plainsong the bachelor McPheran brothers taken in pregnant teenager Victoria Rubido. When she at last delivers her baby, the brothers are enthralled. In this sequel Victoria and baby move away from the small town of Holt, Colorado, leaving the brothers alone again.

Other Holt residents come into their lives. Raymond meets Rose Tyler, a social worker. Through her he becomes aware of the Betty and Luther Wallace and their two children who live in a trailer on the edge of town. When Betty's uncle moves in, he beats the children and the parents, weak and dispirited, do nothing to stop the abuse. Enter Rose and the brothers.

Other sad situations touch the lives of Holt's residents, including the McPheran household itself. The novel ends, leaving a sense of more to be told.

WHEN MADELINE WAS YOUNG by Jane Hamilton

2008-05-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

FIC
HAMILTON

This novel is set in 1950's Chicago with Aaron and Julia McIver and their two children, Timothy (Mac) and Louise. What sets their family apart is the presence of Madeline who has the mental capacity of a seven-year-old since a bicycle accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. Mac gradually becomes aware that Madeline, his adult "sister," is actually his father''s first wife.

Mac tells the story looking back from middle age and a life spent in medicine. Preparing to attend the funeral of a cousin's son, killed in combat, Mac reflects on the complexities and tensions, the relationships, rivalries and regrets within his own family.

This is a fascinating book about a family dynamic that is intriguing and unusual.

MIDWIVES by Chris Bohjalian

2008-05-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

FIC
BOHJALIAN,C.

Vermont midwife Sybil Danforth performs an emergency Caesarian to save a baby's life when the mother, Charlotte Bedford, dies during a difficult labor in her home, unable to get to a hospital because of an ice storm.

In the aftermath a question arises: Was Charlotte Bedford really dead when Sybil performed the caesarean? Midwives is a gripping story of the ensuing trial from the point of view of Sybil's 14-year old daughter.

CRAZY IN ALABAMA by Mark Childress

2008-05-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

FIC
CHILDRESS, M.

Peter Joseph, a successful screenwriter, remembers the summer of 1965 when he lived in Alabama and was known as Peejoe. His Aunt Lucille goes crazy and kills her husband and takes off for Hollywood. Back in Alabama, everyone else goes crazy as integration hits Peejoe's town and violence follows.

A good story with eccentric characters and a surprise ending.

BARCHESTER TOWERS by Anthony Trollope

2008-05-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

FIC

TRO

To the modern reader, this Victorian novel is reminiscent of those of Barbara Pym with its keen interest in the lives and foibles of the Anglican clergy. It is also full of humor and romance and characters who remain fresh and real after 150 years.

CHARMS FOR THE EASY LIFE by Kaye Gibbons

2008-04-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

FIC
GIBBONS

Charlie Kate was a strong southern woman. A successful midwife and self-educated doctor of the needy, she put more conventionally trained doctors to shame. She was not so successful in her marriage, however, and her husband left her and her beautiful daughter, Sophia. Sophia also married a weak man, despite her mother's advice, but he died prematurely. Fortunately, he had already fathered Margaret, the narrator of the stories of these three generations of women.

Margaret shares the stories of all three, including their doctoring adventures and their experience of World War II. Despite her own unsuccessful marriage, Charlie Kate has excellent advice for Sophia and Margaret regarding men.

Women who enjoy southern writers, humorous stories, and recent historical fiction are likely to be charmed by the no-so-easy but most interesting lives of Charlie Kate, Sophia, and Margaret.

MR. IVES'S CHRISTMAS by Oscar Hijuelos

2008-04-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

FIC

HIJUELOS,O.

This touching book details the life of Mr. Ives, a foundling in New York. From his modest beginnings he finds love and spiritual fulfillment.

One Christmas tragedy strikes: his son is senselessly murdered. Mr. Ives questions his faith in God and man. He contacts the family of the murderer and in time begins a correspondence with the man who killed his son. Eventually he reconnects with his life and his God but the Journey is not easy.

A very good read at any time of the year.