Books

Dead Unti Dark by Charlaine Harris

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Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

260 pages

Published by Ace Books

Copyright May 2001

Looking for an enjoyable light read? Then Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is your book.  Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse Series (also known as the Southern Vampire Mysteries).  Charlaine Harris is an established mystery writer, having written several different series and additional non-series books: The Harper Connelly Mysteries, The Lily Bard Mysteries, The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, and more.  Born and raised in Mississippi, Harris has been writing for thirty years; earning her New York Times Best Selling Author status.  Having read over ten of her books, most more than once, I’d say she deserves this recognition.  Her latest books, including the Southern Vampire Mysteries, are in the urban fantasy genre.

Dead Until Dark, and the rest of the series, centers on Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana.  As the story is narrated from her point of view, you learn that she has a little quirk, what she calls a disability; she can read other people’s minds.  However, unlike most stories, where a character’s supernatural ability is the main focus of her life, Sookie treats her telepathy as routine and just another obstacle in life.  The story begins just a couple years after vampires have “come out of the coffin”.  When scientists in Japan created a new synthetic blood, which the vampires could survive off of, the vampire community was able to integrate into human society.  However, there were still a number of human-killing and blood-sucking incidents that occurred when some vampires were not amenable to the idea of living alongside humans.  Many humans did not agree with the idea of vampires having equal rights, either.  So, when a vampire, Bill Compton, walks into Merlotte’s, the restaurant where Sookie works, she is thrilled.  However, the sparks that fly between the two may be for the worse, when a murderer begins to go after women who sleep with vampires.

Harris sets herself apart from other authors in this genre by changing the background.  Instead of an average middle class hero, this book takes working class people in a small southern town.  “Rural America finally has a vampire story to call its own,” says Tanya Huff.

Dead Until Dark is a light read, yet it still offers great entertainment.  This vampire romance/mystery has been highly successful.  In 2001, it won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery, and the entire Sookie Stackhouse Series is a New York Times Best Selling series.  Publishers Weekly proclaims, “Harris is an author of rare talents.”  Additionally, Producer Alan Ball has created an HBO series, True Blood, based on the books.

Dead Until Dark is the perfect read for the beach or airplane.  In Dead Until Dark, Harris especially invites female readers to enjoy a tantalizing yet risqué story, but even my father admits that it is a “real page-turner.”  So far, there are eleven books in the Sookie Stackhouse Series, and the twelfth, Deadlocked, is finished but not yet released.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

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Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

350 pages

Copyright 2006

Published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a rare novel with a story so engrossing, once started; one cannot put it down.  This thrilling, romantic story is Gruen’s third novel.  She has also written the best selling Riding Lessons and Flying Changes.  Her environmental values show in all of her books, showing how animals can teach people about love.  This New York Times #1 best seller is set on a depression era traveling circus that is brought to life through Gruen’s words.  Her impeccable research shines throughout this book; her author’s note mentioning many trips to Sarasota, Florida’s Ringling Brothers Museum.

Though he doesn’t speak of them, Jacob Jankowski, at ninety-something-years old, can still remember the sound of the concessions, the sight of raising the big top, and everything else about his days with the Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

At twenty-three, Jacob is preparing to take the test that determines his future.  After he passes this veterinary exam, he will take on the family business.  However, an interruption in the classroom brings grave news when Jacob is asked to go identify his parents’ bodies from a car accident.  Following his parents’ death, Jacob finds himself losing his father’s practice and home to the bank.  Without money, a veterinary license, and family, he sees no other option than to leave his old town behind.  With no endpoint in mind, Jacob makes his way down the train tracks.  When a train comes by, he jumps aboard.

This rickety circus train holds the Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  Jacob’s veterinary skills are put to use as he gains the job as the circus’s own vet.  At this point in the Great Depression, everyone working on this third-rate circus is lucky to have a job at all.  When Jacob sees the equestrian act of the show, Marlena, the star, entrances him.  She is also the wife of the boss, August.  As the circus loses more and more hope each day, life aboard the Benzini Brothers’ train gets darker and darker.  A new optimism comes with Rosie, though.  Rosie is the great, loving elephant left behind by a rundown circus.  Bonds grow quickly between Jacob and Marlena as they worked alongside each other with Rosie.  Even with their new show though, life aboard the train continues to get bleaker, especially as August’s mean streaks shone through.  The trio’s bond may be their only hope in survival.

While reading this book, you can feel the wind blowing past you as you sit atop the train, you can hear the character’s voices echoing in your head.  “This is a fiction reader’s dream come true, “ says Jeanne Ray, author of Julie and Romeo Get Lucky.  The memories of the ninety-something man mix with your own as he tells his tale.  You will be completely swept off your feet and into the circus’s dark twist and turns, unable to get out till the last page.  This book is simply and positively incredible.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

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The Pact: a love story by Jodi Picoult

389 pages

Copyright 1998

Published by HarperCollins

Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of twenty novels, including My Sister’s Keeper.  She is known for creating provocative themes with family conflicts and difficult moral choices.  As one of the most powerful writers in contemporary fiction, Picoult has outdone herself in her fifth novel, The Pact. 

For eighteen years, the Hartes and the Golds have been nextdoor neighbors.  Their lives were intertwined.  The Hartes’ son Chris and The Golds’ daughter Emily were born just months apart and were inseparable since.  It was no surprise when their friendship blossomed into something more.  Everyone knew they were soul mates.  However, just when it seems like nothing could rip these families apart from eachother, tragedy strikes with midnight calls from the hospital.  Emily is dead from a gunshot wound to the head, inflicted by Chris as part of a suicide pact.  When a single additional bullet is found in the gun, Chris states it was meant for himself.  In spite of this, a local detective has his doubts.  As Chris finds himself on trial for murder, Jodi Picoult portrays, with extraordinary talent, families in anguish as guilt, loss, and betrayal enter their lives.

Picoult has a true gift in story telling.   Switching between different characters and different periods of time allow all points of the story to be heard.  “Engrossing… Picoult has a remarkable ability to make us share her characters’ feelings of confusion and horror… The Pact is compelling reading,” said People.  This deeply moving novel is filled with compassion and heartbreak.  The Pact made me smile and weep, but most of all it made me think.

 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

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Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

288 pages

Copyright 2007

Published by Razorbill

Jay Asher is an American author whose primary focus are contemporary novels for teens.  Inspired by events from high school, he has created a New York Times and international bestseller: Thirteen Reasons Why. 

Teenager Clay Jenson found a shoebox sized package addressed to him on his doorstep one afternoon.  Upon opening said package, he found seven audiotapes.  No note and no instructions were found, but the sides of the tapes were labeled one to thirteen.  Clay is instantly shocked when he hears Hannah Baker’s voice, for 16 year old Hannah killed herself just days ago.

Thirteen of Hannah’s classmates were selected to listen to and pass on the tapes that were mailed the day she committed suicide.  “I’m about to tell you the story of my life,” Hannah says, “more specifically, why my life ended.  And if you’re listening to these tapes, you’re one of the reasons why.”  Each tape was about a specific person, and the tapes were sent to everyone she talked about.  Hannah created a system that ensured the tapes would get to all of the intended audiences.  Whoever received the tapes would send them to whoever was mentioned after them in the tapes.

All through the night, Clay listens.  He follows Hannah’s words through the small town he lives in.  He is captivated, devastated, and what he learns changes his life forever.

As a reader, I was as captivated by Hannah’s words as much as Clay was.  Jay Asher skillfully combined Hannah’s story with Clay’s ever mounting anxiety and dread.  It was impossible to let go of this book after reading the first page.  Entertainment Weekly calls Thirteen Reasons Why, “suspenseful and addictive”.  This is a book that will stay with you long after you put it back on the shelf.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
213 pages

Published by MTV Books/Pocket Books

Copyright 1999

Stephen Chbosky was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, which served as the setting of his novel, Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Chbosky is an American novelist, film director, and screenplay writer (“Rent”).  For Perks of Being a Wallflower, he drew great inspiration from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; this novel being very similar yet focused on this day and age.  Chbosky grew up in Upper St. Clair and his book is greatly based off of his high school.  Even some of the teachers are exactly the same.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is centered on high school freshman, Charlie.  He is taken under the wings of two seniors, brother and sister, Patrick and Sam.  Charlie tells his story in anonymous letters addressed “Dear Friend”.  These letters are “more intimate than a diary”.  Charlie’s unique voice is both hilarious and devastating.  Family dramas, first dates, mixed tapes, and new friends are all becoming a part of Charlie’s world.  At the same time, sex, drugs, and new adventures are also entering his world.

The novel is also soon to be made into a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson.  It is being filmed in Pittsburgh and will be released in 2012.

This coming of age story seized me from the very first page.  Chbosky created someone people can connect with and relate to through Charlie.  His voice expressed an uncommon innocence that was very appealing as a reader.  “The Perks of Being a Wallflower is part of an MTV Books series that targets teen-age readers. But it is more mature than most young adult literature and can be enjoyed by older readers as well,” says USA Today.

This matchless story is must-read.  After flying through this book, I couldn’t help but flip back to the beginning and start it again.

It’s Cold Outside…Warm up with these Books!

Richelle

To see if the item is available, click on the title.
eBook Titles are RED, eAudio Book Titles are Green

1225 Christmas Tree Lane By Debbie Macomber – Beth Morehouse expects this Christmas to be one of her best. Her small Christmas-tree farm is prospering, her daughters and her dogs are happy and well, and her new relationship with local vet Ted Reynolds is showing plenty of romantic promise. But someone left a basket filled with puppies on her doorstep, that’s complication number one. Number two is that her daughters have invited their dad, Beth’s ex-husband, Kent, to Cedar Cove for Christmas.

An Amish Christmas: A Novel By Cynthia Keller – Celebrating life’s simplest but most essential values, packed with laughter and tears, this is a story of forgiveness and the power of love. You will never forget the special moment in time that is An Amish Christmas.

Anne Perry’s Silent Nights: Two Victorian Christmas Mysteries by Anne Perry – Here are two holiday mysteries set in remote, snow-covered regions of Victorian Britain–where the nights are indeed silent but all is not calm, and where some will sleep in eternal peace.

A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber – Mother-to-be Mary Jo Wyse arrives in Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, searching for her baby’s father. David Rhodes had said he’d be in town. But he isn’t. Which leaves Mary Jo stranded, pregnant and alone. And there’s no room at the local inn…

A Chesapeake Shores Christmas by Sherryl Woods – After years apart, Mick and Megan O’Brien are finally ready to make it official…again. Most of their grown children couldn’t be happier about their rekindled love and impending marriage this holiday season. Only Connor is a holdout. Driven to become a divorce attorney after what he views as his mother’s abandonment of their family, Connor’s not about to give his blessing to this reunion romance.

The Christmas Box By Richard Paul Evans – Richard, a busy and preoccupied father, discovers a Christmas box full of love letters from an old woman to her dead daughter and, with the help of an angel, begins to learn the true meaning of Christmas.

The Christmas Brides by Linda Lael Miller – Lizzie McKettrick is homebound with a Christmas Eve surprise for her family—Whitley Carson. He might seem too interested in the McKettrick money, but she’s certain Whitley cares for her. But fate has a surprise for Lizzie—Morgan Shane. When their train is stranded by an avalanche the handsome doctor takes charge with Lizzie by his side. With faith, hard work and some unexpected help, it might be a joyous McKettrick family Christmas after all.

A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry – With Christmas just around the corner, Thomas Pitt’s sister-in-law, Emily Radley, is suddenly called from London to be with her dying aunt. Leaving her husband and two children behind, she makes the long journey to her aunt’s home in Connemara, an all-but-forgotten town on the coast of Western Ireland. Emily soon discovers that a tragic legacy is haunting the once close-knit community.

Christmas Letters By Debbie Macomber – When Catherine O’Connor, who writes Christmas letters for other people, meets Dr. Wynn Jeffries, a child psychologist, at the French cafe on Blossom Street, their opposing viewpoints on raising children ruins Catherine’s Christmas cheer.

The Christmas List By Richard Paul Evans – A successful but heartless businessman sees his own obituary in the newspaper after a case of mistaken identity, setting in motion a series of events that profoundly changes the lives of several people who have suffered due to his ruthless business practices.

A Christmas Carol: in prose being a ghost story of Christmas by Charles Dickens – Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly businessman, learns the true meaning of Christmas after he is visited by the ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future.

The Christmas Pearl By Dorothea Benton Frank – The matriarch of a family of belligerent idiots, Theodora finds her efforts at bringing them together for a South Carolina Christmas reunion have gone badly awry, until a very special someone uses Gullah magic and common sense to bring about a miracle.

Christmas, Present By Jacquelyn Mitchard – When Eliot and Laura Banner learn that Laura has a terminal condition, they gather their children and family around themselves during the holiday season to convey her blessings to them for the future and remember their shared history.

The Christmas Quilt: an Elm Creek Quilts Novel By Jennifer Chiaverini – While decorating Elm Creek Manor on Christmas Eve, Sarah McClure discovers an incomplete Christmas quilt and sets out to uncover its history with the help of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, who reveals why the quilt had never been finished.

The Christmas Sweater By Glenn Beck – A holiday tale relates the story of a thirteen-year-old boy whose final gift from his mother, a sweater, is scorned in favor of more expensive gifts before a tragic car accident ends the mother’s life.

The Christmas Thief By Mary Higgins Clark – Lottery winner-turned-amateur sleuth Alvirah Meehan joins with private detective Regan Reilly to track down the ninety-foot tree, destined for display in Rockefeller Center, that vanished en route to the city.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci – On a train ride to Los Angeles, cash-strapped journalist Tom Langdon encounters a ridiculous cast of characters, unexpected romance, and an avalanche that changes everyone’s Christmas plans.

The Christmas Wedding By James Patterson – Relates the story of Gaby Summerhill, a widow planning a holiday wedding to a groom whose identity remains a surprise to her four children.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen – What appears as a typical Midwestern family is anything but as preparations are made for an ideal family holiday. Alfred, the father is losing his fight to control Parkinson’s disease and dementia. His wife, Enid is no longer in control of her household and feels her choices slipping away. Their three grown children are struggling with their own lives. But for this Christmas, Enid is determined to bring them together for the perfect family holiday.

Dashing Through the Snow By Mary Higgins Clark – In Branscombe, N.H., novelist Nora Regan Reilly and her PI daughter, Regan Reilly, and their close friends Alvirah and Will Meehan, track down a missing employee of Conklin’s Market who is connected with a $160 million lottery and the winnings.

Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-round for Christmas, Hannukah, and Winter Solstice By Melanie Falick with Betty Christiansen – For many people, the best part of the winter holidays is the anticipation: planning the perfect gifts, decorating the house, looking forward to seeing family and friends. Holidays can be particularly special for knitters, whose preparations often start months in advance and involve their own creations.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas By Agatha Christie – The cerebral Belgian detective uses impeccable logic to locate the murderer of a millionaire in the dreary English Midlands.

Holidays on Ice By David Sedaris – An anthology of humorous Christmas tales and essays features excerpts from the author’s “Barrel Fever” and “Naked,” as well as “The Santaland Diaries,” “Season’s Greetings to Our Friends and Family,” and a new tale of holiday mayhem.

Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Joan Nathan – Jewish holidays are defined by food. Yet Jewish cooking is always changing, encompassing the flavors of the world, embracing local culinary traditions of every place in which Jews have lived and adapting them to Jewish observance. This collection, the culmination of Joan Nathan’s decades of gathering Jewish recipes from around the world, is a tour through the Jewish holidays as told in food.

Kwanzaa: a Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture By Maulana Karenga – Written by the creator of the holiday, this book presents the continental African and African-American origins of the celebration, a chapter on each of the Seven Principles, explanations of the meaning of related symbols, suggested activities, and a wrap-up section in which Karenga answers frequently asked questions.

Lakeshore Christmas By Susan Wiggs – Prim librarian Maureen Davenport lives for Christmas–and there’s nothing more magical than Christmas on Willow Lake. Finally getting her chance to direct Avalon’s annual holiday pageant, she’s determined to make it truly spectacular.

Lost December By Richard Paul Evans – Presents a story inspired by the biblical tale of the prodigal son in which Luke, a recent MBA graduate, refuses to take over the family business and instead cashes out his trust funds to pursue a life of wanton pleasure.

The Mitford Snowmen: A Christmas Story By Jan Karon – The inhabitants of the small town of Mitford join together at Christmastime for a fun-filled snowman-building contest, complete with hot chocolate, doughnuts, and the joy of the holiday season.

O, Ghostly Night by Tennant Redbank – This 32-page early reader re-tells part of the Walt Disney Studio feature film, A Christmas Carol, the timeless tale of an old miser who must face Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come.

The Perfect Christmas By Debbie Macomber – Thirty-three-year-old Cassie wants a husband and kids, and she turns to Simon Dodson, a professional matchmaker for help. Dodson assigns her three tasks to complete, and despite a number of comical mishaps, Cassie completes them all. Her Christmas match turns out to be a wonderful surprise.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg – A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa Claus.

Promise Me By Richard Paul Evans – Beth Cardall’s life was falling apart: her six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, was suffering from an unidentifiable illness; her marriage transformed from a seemingly happy and loving relationship to one full of betrayal and pain; her job was increasingly at risk; and she had lost her ability to trust, to hope, or to believe in herself. Then, on Christmas day, Beth encountered Matthew.

A Redbird Christmas By Fannie Flagg – In a tiny and remote Alabama town, an unexpected, unusual, and life-transforming event that occurs on one Christmas morning changes a family and a town forever, in a heartwarming holiday novel by the author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

Santa Cruise: a Holiday Mystery at Sea By Mary Higgins Clark – Embarking on a mystery seminar cruise during the holiday season, amateur sleuth Alvirah, private detective Regan, and their family members find their voyage overshadowed by a ghost spotting, the disappearance of a fan, and an unexpected storm.

Shakespeare’s Christmas By Charlaine Harris – While attending her sister’s wedding the cleaning lady and karate expert, Lily Bard of Arkansas, investigates an unsolved kidnapping which occurred eight years earlier. It seems both the child and the kidnapper are in town.

Skipping Christmas By John Grisham – Luther and Nora Krank have decided to set sail on a Caribbean cruise on December 25th and skip Christmas. They are about to discover that their decision brings enormous consequences–and isn’t half as easy as they imagined.

The Stupidest Angel: a Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror By Christopher Moore – A humorous tale of what happens when a none-too-clever angel overhears a little boy, who, having witnessed Santa taking a shovel to the head, prays for Santa to return from the dead.

The Thanksgiving Visitor; One Christmas; & A Christmas Memory By Truman Capote – Three stories describe a boy’s relationship with his elderly cousin and alcoholic father and the indelible holiday memories they provided him.

White Christmas Pie By Wanda E. Brunstetter – In this bittersweet holiday romance set in Amish country, Will Henderson, a young man tortured by his past, meets Karen Yoder, a young woman looking for answers as they both become involved with a desperate father searching for his son.

Wishin’ and Hopin: A Christmas Story By Wally Lamb – It’s 1964 and ten-year-old Felix is sure of a few things: the birds and the bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he’ll never forget.

 

To see even more Holiday Books, Click Here.

New Nonfiction Books- October 2011

Lynne

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
Charles C. Mann
909.4 MAN 2011
The author of 1491, explores the explosive changes that occurred following the discovery of the “new world.”

Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy
John Julius Norwich
262.19 NOR 2011
A sweeping chronicle of the most significant popes and what they meant politically, culturally, and socially to Rome and to the world.

An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine
Howard Markel
362.29 MAR 2011
An astonishing account of the years-long cocaine use of Sigmund Freud as well as William Halsted, an innovative surgeon, both of who were practicing medicine at the same time in the 1880’s.

The End of Country
Seamus McGraw
333.79 MCG 2011
The author relates the story of Marcellus Shale discovery on the landowners of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Topical and informative.

End Game: The End of the Debt Supercycle and How It Changes Everthing
John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper
336.34 MAU 2011
What if the bigger financial crisis is ahead of us, not behind us?

Everything Is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer
Duncan J. Watts
153.4 WAT 2011
Does common sense fail us? Do we think we understand more about human behavior than we really do?

Forbidden Lessons in a Kabul Guesthouse: The True Story of a Woman Who Risked Everything to Bring Hope to Afghanistan
Suraya Sadeed
958.104 SAD 2011
The amazing life story of a woman, the daughter of a former governor of Kabul, who after living in the United States, returned to Afghanistan to deliver hope to orphans, refugees and women and girls.

Haiti After the Earthquake
Paul Farmer
972.94 FAR 2011
The noted physician who has worked in Haiti for nearly thirty years, describes the earthquake’s devastating impact on the impoverished country.

How Literature Works: 50 Key Concepts
John Sutherland
803 SUT 2011
Fun stuff for the literary-minded.

How to Click with People: The Secret to Better Relationships in Business and in Life
Rick Kirschner
158.2 KIR 2011
An interpersonal communications expert explains tips on relating to others and solving problems both in person and online.

I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59
Douglas Edwards
338.761 EDW 2011
One of Google’s early employees takes a trip inside the company that has changed the world.

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
David Eagleman
153 EAG 2011
If the conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest of the brain doing?

The Interrogator: An Education
Glenn L. Carle
327.12 CAR 2011
An undercover CIA spy tells the story of his most serious assignment as an interrogator in the U.S. global war on terror.

The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral — And How it Changed the American West
Jeff Guinn
978.02 GUI 2011
On the afternoon of October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona a deadly shootout among eight armed men shaped how future generations came to view the old West.

Lincoln on War
Harold Holzer, ed.
973.7 LIN 2011
With his speeches, letters, and memoranda, President Lincoln fought the Civil War as brilliantly as any general who took the field.

Lip Service: Smiles in Life, Death, Trust, Lies, Work, Memory, Sex, and Politics
Marianne LaFrance
153.69 LAF 2011
A smile may not be quite as simple as it first appears. Smiles are indeed social acts with serious consequences.

Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West
Dorothy Wickenden
371.1 WIC 2011
In the summer of 1916 two young society ladies leave their home in Auburn, New York for the wilds of Colorado to become teachers, to the shock and dismay of their families and friends.

Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World
Jay Bahadur
364.164 BAH 2011
Caught up in a decades-long civil war, Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Included in the country’s chaos is the scourge of piracy.

Saved by Beauty: Adventures of an American Romantic in Iran
Roger Housden
955 HOU 2011
The author traveled to Iran to meet with artists, writers, filmmakers, and religious scholars who embody the long Iranian tradition of humanism.

La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life
Elaine Sciolino 02.35 SCI 2011
Seduction is more than a game to the French: it is the key to understanding France.

Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper
Geoffrey Gray
364.165 GRA 2011
The fascinating unsolved mystery of the man who parachuted into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest with $200,000 he had extorted from an airline.

Tangled Webs: How False Statements Are Undermining America from Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff
James B. Stewart
364.134 STE 2011
The Pulitizer Prize-winning author asserts that America is facing a crisis of perjury and false statements occurring at the highest levels of business, politics, sports and culture.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading
Nina Sankovitch
028.9 SAN 2011
When the author’s older sister died at the age of forty-six, Nina Sankovitch turned to books for comfort, escape, and introspection.  Reading became the ultimate therapy.

Visions of a Better World: Howard Thurman’s Pilgrimage to India and the Origins of African American Nonviolence
Quinton Dixie and Peter Eisenstadt
303.61 DIX 2011
In 1935, Howard Thurman, an influential African American religious thinker took a pivotal trip to India that would forever change him and that would ultimately shape the course of the civil rights movement in the United States.

The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners that Shape Who We Are Today
Rob Dunn
612 DUN 2011
According to the author a professor of biology, our “clean living” has benefited us in some ways, but it has also made us sicker in others.

 

New Biographies – September 2011

Lynne

Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing
Alan Paul
B PAUL
When the author’s wife was offered the job as the Wall Street Journal’s China bureau chief, he saw it as an amazing opportunity to shake up their staid suburban life.

Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards
Josh Wilker
B WILKER
A baseball-haunted memoir that moves through the author’s coming-of-age through a collection of portraits of Topps baseball cards from 1974-1981.

The Churchills: In Love and War
Mary S. Lovell
B CHURCHILL
The extraordinary lives of the famous family, beginning with the first Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722), is recounted by a noted biographer.

Come to the Edge: A Memoir
Christina Haag
B HAAG
An account of the author’s life and relationship with the late John F. Kennedy, Jr.

Does the Noise in My Head Bother You: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir
Steven Tyler
B TYLER
An old rocker remembers the good old days of “wretched excess in dandified duds.”

Every Day by the Sun: A Memoir of the Faulkners of Mississippi
Dean Faulkner Wells
B FAULKNER
An evocative portrait of the Faulkners of Mississippi and the family’s famous member, William Faulkner.

A Short Autobiography
F. Scott Fitzgerald
James L.W. West III, ed.
B FITZGERALD
The personal essays of the famous author are an intriguing look into his life and times.

Familyhood
Paul Reiser
B REISER
Following his two books, Couplehood and Babyhood, the author humorously shares his view from further down the road in life.

Finding Sarah: A Duchess’s Journey to Find Herself
Sarah Ferguson
B FERGUSON
The personal memoir of Sarah’s journey to “find herself” when her life became off course.

From This Moment On
Shania Twain
B TWAIN
The tumultuous life story of the well-known performer.

Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant
Jennifer Grant
B GRANT
The only child of the elegant, sophisticated actor reveals him as a loving father.

The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, The Making of a Navy Seal
Eric Greitens
B GREITENS
The author relates the story of life, his humanitarian work, and his grueling training as a Navy Seal. The heart of his story is the paradox that sometimes you have to be strong to do good, but you also have to do good to be strong.

In Spite of Everything: A Memoir
Susan Gregory Thomas
B THOMAS
A brilliantly told account of a mother’s fight to protect her children’s world and make sense of her troubled past.

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
Manning Marable
B X MALCOLM
The story of one of the most complex, multifaceted and controversial figures in the history of civil rights.

A Man from Another Land: How Finding My Roots Changed My Life
Isaiah Washington
B WASHINGTON
The actor shares his adventure as he searches for both his
American and African identity.

Modigliani: A Life
Meryle Secrest
B MODIGLIANI
Considered to be the quintessential bohemian artist, Modigliani’s legend is almost as infamous as Van Gogh’s.

My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business
Dick Van Dyke
B VAN DYKE
One of the greats of the golden age of television presents his own heartwarming story.

My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir
Noelle Hancock
B HANCOCK
After losing her job, the author was crippled by anxiety, until she was inspired by a quote on a coffee shop chalkboard: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Paper Garden: An Artist {Begins Her Life’s Work} at 72
Molly Peacock
B DELANY
The wonderful story of Mary Granville Pendarves Delany (1700-1788) who created a new art form: mixed-media collage, and whose art works are now housed in the British Museum.

Reading My Father: A Memoir
Alexandra Styron
B STYRON
The story of a daughter who comes to know her father at last: William Styron, a noted author and a man whose devastating depression darkened the lives of his family.

Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper
Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
B WASDIN
A behind-the-scenes look into the world of Navy SEALs and Special Forces snipers and the toughest military training in the world.

Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way
Molly Birnbaum
B BIRNBAUM
As an aspiring chef, the author was devastated when an accident destroyed her sense of smell.  A look at an often overlooked sense.

A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother
Janny Scott
B DUNHAM
The life story of an unconventional woman and whom President Obama has credited with “what is best in me.”

Small Memories
José Saramago
B SARAMAGO
The respected Portuguese writer presents a simple, yet affecting look into his boyhood and youth.

Stan Musial: An American Life
George Vecsey
B MUSIAL
A tribute to the great “Stan the Man.”

Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography
Rob Lowe
B LOWE
After spending almost his entire in the public eye, the celebrity actor relates his story.

Through My Eyes
B TEBOW
Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker
The firsthand story of the young football quarterback’s rise to fame.

“21”: The Story of Roberto Clemente
Wilfred Santiago
B CLEMENTE
A graphic biographical story of the great and beloved baseball player and humanitarian.

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love
Matthew Logelin
B LOGELIN
The author describes his heartbreaking loss after the sudden death of his wife and his new life with his baby daughter, Madeline.

New Mysteries-September 2011

Lynne

Back of Beyond
C.J. Box
M BOX
Where do you go when there’s no turning back? Cody Hoyt is about to find out.

A Bad Day for Scandal
Sophie Littlefield
M LIT
A small-town mystery with a “funny and endearing heroine — with just a hint of Dirty Harry thrown in.”

Bad Intentions
Karin Fossum
M FOS
Inspector Konrad Sejer must face down his own memories and fears as he investigates the deaths of two troubled young men.

A Bali conspiracy most foul : Inspector Singh investigates
Shamini Flint
M FLI
Inspector Singh is sent to Bali to help with the investigation of a skull fragment of man who was killed before a bomb went off.

Betrayal of Trust
J.A. Jance
M JAN
Seattle investigator J.P. Beaumont uncovers a dark conspiracy that reaches deep into the halls of state government.

Camouflage
Bill Pronzini
M PRO
The Nameless Detective has a job that seems simple enough: find David Virden’s ex-wife and deliver some papers to her. Of course, it really isn’t simple enough.

Close Your Eyes
Amanda Eyre Ward
M WAR
For most of her life, Lauren Mahdian has been certain of two things: that her mother is dead, and that her father is a murderer.
The Craigslist Murders
Brenda Cullerton
M CUL
When interior decorator, Charlotte Wolfe, discovers that New York trophy wives are selling off possessions from their husbands’ first wives, her rage provokes her to bite the well-manicured hands that feed her.

A Death in Summer
Benjamin Black
M BLA
One of Dublin’s most powerful men meets a violent end and Detective Inspector Hackett calls in his old friend Quirke to help in unraveling a dark web of intrigue.

The Durham Deception
Philip Gooden
M GOO
Newlyweds Tom and Helen Ansell are drawn into the world of Victorian spiritualism and stage magic when they embark on a double mission to the cathedral city of Durham.

Escape Artist
Ed Ifkovic
M IFK
Edna Ferber and Harry Houdini are involved in solving the mystery of a young woman who disappears from a high school in 1904 Appleton, Wisconsin. Good reviews.

Flash and Bones
Kathy Reichs
M REI
After a body is found near the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a NASCAR crew member shares a devastating story with forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan.

Fly Me to the Morgue
Robert J. Randisi
M RAN
The Rat Pack, as in Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, are in on a mystery, along with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

The Good Thief’s Guide to Venice
Chris Ewan
M EWA
Charlie Howard, part-time crime writer and part-time thief, retreats to Venice, vowing to give up a life of crime to write mysteries, full–time.
Hideout
Kathleen George
M GEO
Nominated for an Edgar Award for her last novel, the Pittsburgh author returns with another police procedural featuring Detective Colleen Greer. Great reviews.

The Hypnotist
Lars Kepler
M KEP
In the frigid climate of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna. Scandinavian crime is hot.

Infernal Angels 
Loren D. Estleman
M EST
P.I. Amos Walker knows where to find people who fence hot merchandise, but when he stumbles onto a dead body, he thinks that something more than stolen merchandise is involved.

Long Gone
Alafair Burke
M BUR
Working at an art gallery, Alice Humphrey arrives at work one morning and finds the whole place stripped bare and the man who had hired her, dead on the floor.

Monument to Murder
Margaret Truman
M TRU
Times are tough in Savannah for former cop and current PI Robert Brixton, so when he takes on a twenty-year-old murder case, he figures he’s got nothing to lose.

The Nightmare Thief
Meg Gardiner
M GAR
Forensic psychologist Jo Beckett finds herself involved in a “ultimate urban reality” game that turns into a deadly nightmare.

No Rest for the Dead
M NO
Twenty-six name-brand mystery authors hand off a great mystery chapter by chapter.

Shut Your Eyes Tight
John Verdon
M VER
As NYPD’s top homicide investigator, Dave Gurney was never comfortable with the label the press gave him: super detective. He just always knew that there was always a trace left behind by a murderer. But what if one day there wasn’t?

The Silent Girl
Tess Gerritsen
M GER
“Every crime scene tells a story. Some keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams.” For homicide cop Jane Rizzoli a murder in Boston’s Chinatown will do both.

Turn of Mind
Alice LaPlante M LAP
Dr. Jennifer White is entering the beginning stages of dementia when her life-long friend, Amanda, is murdered.

Watch Me Die
Erica Spindler
M SPI
Before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Mira Gallier had it all: work she loved and an idyllic marriage. What comes afterward is a worse nightmare than a hurricane.

White Heat
M.J. McGrath
M MCG
Half Inuit and half outsider, Edie Kiglatuk is a hunting guide on the brutal, yet beautiful island of Ellesmere. While leading two men on an expedition, one man is shot and killed. An accident, or murder?

The Woodcutter
Reginald Hill
M HIL
Outstanding reviews accompany this mystery by a noted master of the genre.