| Staff Picks Here are a some of the titles that we find especially enjoyable.
Not only will you get to know more about some of the great materials – old and new –
which are available at this library, you'll get to know us a little better, too! Click on any title to check our catalog and place your request . This is a little gem of a book, about the last night of business for the Red Lobster restaurant. The Red Lobster sits at the end of a run-down mall on this last shift, four nights before Christmas as manager Manny rallies his staff for the final routine. Set in a near-blizzard, with disappointing customer turnout, the book is populated with “people you know,” with both characters and their relationships poised to move on. Manny can only take five workers with him to his new gig at the Olive Garden. The choices have already been made and that invokes yet another layer of complexity in navigating this last shift. Stewart O'Nan is known as “the bard of the working class,” and this little book is funny and sad and uplifting. I stayed up late to finish it. Lynn H. I thought this was Woody Allen at his best. The chapter entitled, “Strung Out,” is laugh out loud funny, as Allen explains such esoteric quantum physics theories as Planck length, black holes, string theories and the expanding universe. The conversations are outrageous, full of surprises, and wickedly on target--probably not a bedtime read unless you are going to bed early—these short pieces will keep you on your toes. Lynn H. My daughter gave me this little book for Christmas. It is the story of Quindlen's failing black Labrador retriever, Beau. Beau can't see or hear anymore; his gait is sore but stubborn, but he still teaches his family valuable lessons. Those of us with pets know that in all probability we will outlive them and they will break our hearts. Quindlen manages to inject humor and insight into even the most wrenching vignette. The three dozen or so photographs are spectacular testaments to the hilarity that dogs can add to their owners' lives, and they balance the somber subject of the book almost without the reader's awareness. I would recommend this title to anyone who loves animals, and especially to anyone who has ever lived with, and loved, a dog. Lynn H. Don't be put off by the size of this 500+ page book! It's a fast read with lots of illustrations. Twelve-year-old Hugo is an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931. He survives by stealing what he needs and is obsessed with repairing an automaton that his deceased clockmaker father found at the museum where he worked. The automaton is a mechanical man seated at a desk with pen in hand, posed to write. Hugo knows if he can get the automaton to work it will reveal a secret message. But his secret undercover life is in jeopardy when he is caught stealing by the bitter old man who runs the toy shop at the train station, along with his inquisitive goddaughter. The book is filled with wonderful illustrations that help to tell the story. You won't be disappointed. Mary D. The Secret Lives of Men and Women PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives These books are a product of the PostSecret blog (http://postsecret.blogspot.com), an ongoing community art project where people write down their secrets on a homemade postcard and mail them anonymously to a guy named Frank Warren in Maryland. The blog has won numerous Bloggie Awards including the 2007 Best Weblog of the Year. The secrets are sad and funny and disturbing and totally relatable. Amy R. You'll laugh... Denise W. Lovely holiday read, will get you misty in a really good feeling way. You will find there is love around the corner for everyone who looks for it. Darlene W. What do you do when you are a 90 something southern matriarch and has finally had enough of your dysfunctional, self centered, rude, and have had everything handed to them on "silver platters" (literally) family? Your mind wanders and the miracle of all miracles occur two days before Christmas. Ghosts of the past come to rescue you? With Southern charm and a little help from above, throw in a mix of Gullah magic and you will find a warn humorous tale. Darlene W. This was the best combination of mystery, suspense, and comedy I ever saw. London cop Nicholas Angel is so good he makes everyone else look bad. He gets re-assigned to the "quiet" village of Sandford where all is not what it seems as he investigates some bizarre murders with his easy-going partner Danny Butterman. Grace P. I really enjoyed reading all 900 pages of this historical fiction novel -packed full of adventure, romance and intrigue. The Middle Ages came alive for me as I read how ordinary people struggled to stay alive during England's civil wars, and still managed to build beautiful cathedrals during a destructive period. I can't wait to read World Without End, the sequel to Pillars of the Earth coming out this October. Barb H. One of my guiltiest pleasures, this cult classic has it all – sex, glamour, fame-whoring, backstabbing, as well as both uppers and downers – so stop saying no and just say YES to this book! Plus, you actually look cool carrying it around, which cannot be said for many other romance novels, like the one hidden at the bottom of your bag right now. Amy R.
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Amy W. Ad executive Michael Gill was the kind of person who, "thought he hit a home run when he was actually born on third base." After being downsized, he finds he must start life all over again - this time from home plate! In the process, Michael learns that life without privilege is harder than he had expected. More importantly, he discovers that he is a kinder, gentler, and happier person without all the trappings of his former wealth and privilege. Debby A. This is a fascinating story of the hardships people faced during the dust bowl. It's a fast read and when you're through, you feel you know the people. Pam R. This story is set in the 1920s and follows Charles Carter, a.k.a. Carter the Great, a magician whose skill exceeds even Houdini's. Carter's acts involve outrageous stunts, but his most outrageous stunt of all stars none other than President Warren Harding and nearly costs Carter the reputation he worked so hard to create. As a person who reads very little fiction, it's a pleasant surprise to find a book that is not only well-written, but a lot of fun as well. David N. This is the fourth book in the Thursday Next series, and is a riot for any book addict. Fforde bring beloved heroes to life quite literally in his plot. Anyone who believes in character development or is a Shakespeare buff is sure to fall in love with this series. Tina H. I recently finished Ironside, the latest of Holly Black’s Modern Faery’s Tales. It is a direct sequel to Tithe and ties Valiant into the Modern Faery Tale timeline. The characters are so real and the writing style very enjoyable. It’s an easy read but extremely worth it. Ironside is about Kaye’s (the heroine of Tithe) difficulty being part of both the mortal realm and the faery realm. Kaye gets manipulated into declaring herself for King’s consort and tries to complete a seemingly impossible quest while the politics of Feary keep the Unseelie Court at war with the Seelie court. Kaye finds herself telling her mortal mother the truth about her changeling state and trying to stop the Feary War. Luckily she gets help from some of the character introduced in Valiant. Things don’t turn out quite the way Kaye hopes though, they never do. Amy W. |
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