Staff Picks
Looking for something good to read? Here are a few titles that our staff has enjoyed. Most are available here at the library. Click on the links to check the library catalog.
Brown, Cupcake. A Piece of Cake. 2006
An inspirational, frequently disturbing memoir of a troubled youth describes how the author fell victim to the ills of the child welfare system, detailing her experiences with sexual abuse, neglect, drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution, and gang banging, as well as her long and difficult struggle to rebuild her life.Chevalier, Tracy. Falling Angels. 2002
In a novel of manners and social divisions set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century England, two girls from different classes become friends, and their families' lives become intertwined in the process. By the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring.Chiaverini, Jennifer. Quilter's Apprentice. 1999
In this heartwarming debut novel, Sarah, struggling to find a job and a sense of place in her new town, finds herself learning how to quilt from a cantankerous old woman who also teaches her about the deep love that can exist between friends. Cox, Lynne. Grayson. 2006
In her first book since Swimming to Antarctica, long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox tells the story of a miraculous ocean encounter she had at seventeen while training for a big seim. In the early morning dark, Lynne was swimming her last half mile back to shore when she realized tht a baby gray whale was alongside her. The eighteen-foot long baby would die if it followd Lynne to shore. This is the story of what happened....Dai, Sijie. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. 2002
At the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, two young boys are sent to the country for "reeducation" at a remote mountain village, where their lives take an unexpected turn when they meet the beautiful daughter of a local tailor and stumble upon a forbidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translations.DeMille, Nelson. The Lion's Game. 2006
Chafing under the claustrophobic care of her liberal parents, Frederica Hatch finds her snug world transformed by Laura Lee French, a new college dorm mother who had once been married to Frederica's earnest and unglamorous father.Dunn, Jancee. But enough about me. 2006
In an entertaining memoir, a journalist details her odyssey from an ordinary family life in suburban central New Jersey to the hip, stylish, and celebrity world of Rolling Stone magazine, chronicling zany moments ranging from being mistaken for Ben Affleck's girlfriend to eating Velveeta in Dolly Parton's kitchen.
Enoch, Suzanne. Flirting with Danger. 2005
While robbing the Palm Beach mansion of British playboy millionaire Rick Addison of a valuable ancient artifact, beautiful thief Samanthan Jellicoe gets more than she had bargained for when a mysterious explosion lands her in the arms of her all-too-handsome target.
Evanovich, Janet. Motor Mouth.2006
Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby returns to take on a whole new set of bad guys, Florida heat, colorful and dangerous characters, and high-stakes adventure, all the while romancing gorgeous race car driver Sam Hooker, in an action-packed sequel to Metro Girl.Evanick, Marcia. A Berry Merry Christmas
Amber McAllister gets a special gift for Christmas when her late husband's business partner arrives in the town of Misty Harbor with a proposition that teaches her how to once again revel in the magic of the holiday season and fall in love.Frazier, Charles. Thirteen Moons. 2006
From the age of twelve, when he is sent alone into the Indian Nation to run a trading post, Will's life becomes intertwined with the destiny of the Cherokee Indians, as he falls in love with a mysterious girl named Claire, builds a friendship with a Cherokee Chief named Bear, learns to fight and survive, and battles Washington to preserve the Cherokee homeland and culture.Grafton, Sue. S is for Silence. 2005
Thirty-four years after Violet Sullivan's unexplained disappearance, Daisy--the not-quite-seven-year-old daughter she left behind--enlists the assistance of private detective Kinsey Millhone to help her find the truth.Gruen, Sara. Water for Elephants. 2006
Ninety-something-year-old Jacob Jankowski remembers his time in the circus as a young man during the Great Depression, and his friendship with Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, and Rosie, the elephant, who gave them hope.Gruenewald, Mary Matsuda. Looking like the enemy: my story of imprisonment in Japanese-American internment camps. 2005
In 1941, Mary Matsuda Gruenewald was a teenage girl who, like other Americans, reacted with horror to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Yet soon she and her family were among 110,000 innocent people imprisoned by the U.S. government because of their Japanese ancestry. In this eloquent memoir, she describes both the day-to-day and the dramatic turning points of this profound injustice.Gulley, Philip. Home to Harmony.2000
The new pastor in a small Indiana town experiences one humorous adventure after another as he acclimates to his new congregation and lifestyle.Hosseni, Khaled. Kite Runner. 2003
Traces the unlikely friendship of a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son, in a tale that spans the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day.Lewycka, Marina. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. 2005
Putting aside a lifetime of rivalry when they learn that their recently widowed father is planning to remarry a gold-digging woman, sisters Vera and Nadezhda find themselves outmaneuvered by their father's scheming fiance, a situation that is compromised by a hurricane, family secrets, and their father's obsession with tractor history.Mallery, Susan. Delicious. 2006
Top chef Penny Jackson, who has finally made a name for herself in the Seattle culinary scene, is stunned when her ex-husband Cal Buchanan makes her an offer she cannot refuse, and now, as they work closely together, she finds herself in hot water as passion flares between them.Moehringer, J. R. Tender Bar. 2005
A vivid memoir of growing up and coming of age with a single mother describes how the author received valuable life lessons and friendship at the neighborhood bar, an old-time New York saloon populated by a colorful assortment of characters who provided him with a kind of fatherhood by committee.Ohlin, Alix. Babylon, and other stories. 2006
A new anthology of short fiction by the author of The Missing Person captures characters in the midst of coping with life's uncertainties and revelations, from a determined child who practices the piano on paper keys, to an expectant mother who discovers the tragic story of her new home's previous inhabitants.Olafsson, Olafur Johann. Valentines : stories 2007
A haunting selection of twelve thematically connected short stories examines the complexity and changing quality of modern-day human relationships over the course of time, as he explores the lives of a lustful photographer who confronts his own mortality, a father who tries to transform his new lover into his late wife, and other characters.Perrotta, Tom. Little Children. 2004
A group of young suburban parents, including a handsome stay-at-home dad, a former feminist, an internet surfer, and an over-structured mom, finds its sleepy existence shattered when a convicted child molester moves back into town and two of the parents have an affair.Perrotta, Tom. The Wishbones.1997
A thirty-one-year-old rock'n'roll guitarist decides to get married, only to begin an affair with Gretchen, a New York poet, and finds himself torn between letting his dreams die and having a steady gigPhillips, Susan Elizabeth. Breathing Room. 2002
Having lost her fiance to another woman and her savings to a dishonest accountant, Dr. Isabel Favor seeks emotional shelter in Italy, where she encounters Hollywood actor Lorenzo Gage, with whom she finds renewal.Phillips, Susan Elizabeth. Natural Born Charmer. 2007
Taking to the road between seasons, attractive Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard meets the beautiful and infuriating Blue under unusual circumstances and draws on his competitive skills to overcome her wariness of relationships.Ray, Jeanne. Julie and Romeo. 2000
Julie and Romeo had been born to rival florist families in Boston, but it is love at first sight when they spot each other across a crowded lobby.
Roberts, Nora. Jewels of the Sun.2000
While immersing herself in the study of Irish folklore, American Jude Murray meets Aidan Gallagher, a dashing Irishman whose knowledge of Irish myth and flashing blue eyes intoxicate her.
Strempek-Shea, Susan. Shelf life. 2004
In Songs from a lead-lined room, the author wrote about her bout with breast cancer. In this witty follow-up memoir with local flavor, she talks about the beginning of her emotional recovery, which began with a part-time job in Edwards Books in Springfield-- a reason to leave the house.Shonk, Katherine. The Red Passport: stories. 2003
A collection of short works set in post-Communist Russia includes "My Mother's Garden," in which an elderly woman living near Chernobyl is frustrated about her inability to eat local vegetation; "Our American," in which a boy witnesses an older sibling's romance with an American; and "The Young People of Moscow," in which an aging couple sells Soviet poetry in an underground bazaar.Sonnino, Piera. This has happened. 2006
An Italian woman who survived the Nazi concentration camps describes the deaths of her parents, three brothers, and two sisters at the hands of the Nazis and chronicles the growing anti-Semitism that existed in Italy at the time, from Mussolini's racial laws of 1938 to the horrors of Auschwitz.Steinberg, Paul. Speak you also: A survivor's reckoning. 2000
A Holocaust memoir that explores the terrible costs of survival chronicles the experiences of teenager Paul Steinberg, a young chemistry student, who worked with author Primo Levi in the Auschwitz laboratory and who was immortalized as Levi's "Henri," the paradigm of the ultimate survivor, who would cling to life at the expense of his own humanity.Wiggs, Susan. Winter Lodge 2007
When a devastating house fire reveals a rare treasure among her grandfather's belongings, leading her on a search for the truth, Jenny Majesky returns to the only place she feels safe, The Winter Lodge, where she finds an ally in the local police chief who makes her feel safe--and loved.[Library News][Library Catalog] [Information Services] [Online Databases] [Web Sites]
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