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Jen's Picks |
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The Weight of Blood
by Laura McHugh
This debut psychological thriller is a real page-turner! In part I, which I’ve just finished, the narration goes back and forth between Lucy and Lila. Lucy is a teenager who struggles with two losses: the disappearance of her mother and the recent discovery of the body of a classmate, Cheri, who had been missing for a year. Lila is Lucy’s mother and her narration is set in the past. The story is set in a small town in the Ozarks. In addition to the mysteries of what happened to Lila and Cheri, the author has created a great cast of characters. I can hardly wait to see what happens next!
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Aimless Love
by Billy Collins
I received this collection of poetry as a Christmas gift. I’ll be savoring it for quite some time!
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The Fault In Our Stars
by John Green
I wasn’t planning to read this, despite loving John Green’s books, because I knew it was going to be heart wrenching. (It’s a young adult novel about two teenagers with cancer.) But…..my daughter asked me to read it, and I’m not about to say no to that! I’m so glad I read it. Yes, there were parts that made me cry, but if Green’s point was to illustrate that life matters, even if/when brief, he succeeded wildly. Additionally, it was just a great story with great characters.
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Sally's Picks |
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Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
This book
is so funny that it took me a while to realize it deals with an important social issue. I won’t give away the plot, but it centers around three women whose children go to the same school. Their relationships with each other and their families are at the heart of this great read.
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Wonder
by R.J. Palacio
Am I the last person to have read this one? August has always been home schooled, but enters a private school for fifth grade. An errant chromosome caused him to have an unusual face. The book chronicles, in funny, heartwarming, and achingly poignant ways, his first year at school. This book is aimed at middle grade readers (ages 8-12), but is also appropriate for adults. It would lead to wonderful discussion with the young readers in your life.
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The Real Boy
by Anne Ursu, illustrated by Erin McGuire
The Real Boy, fantasy for middle grade readers, is firmly grounded in its portrayal of Asperger’s syndrome. Oscar lives in a shifting world—the magic which keeps it alive is changing. Oscar already has trouble decoding the baffling world outside his room, but with the help of a friend, he finds the courage to stalk a monster and save endangered children. Ursu (a Minnesota writer) wrote the book for her son, who is autistic, because she wanted him to read a book with a hero who views the world the way he does. Another book to read and discuss with the children in your life. |
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Al's Picks |
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Sycamore Row
by John Grisham
In Sycamore Row, we are reintroduced to Jake Brigance, the hero of perhaps Grisham’s greatest novel, A Time to Kill. In this thrilling, fast paced read, Jake is involved in a controversial trial which illustrates America’s continuous racial and cultural problems.
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Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger
This beautiful coming of age novel returns the reader to small town Minnesota during the summer of 1961, Harmon Killebrew’s first year with the home team. This novel reminds us all that so often behind the façade of ordinary, everyday individuals and events lurk mystery, heartache, and tragedy.
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Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography
by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pamela Smith Hill
Pioneer Girl is Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiography, which reveals the “true” story of the events and individuals that shaped her pioneering life. Through the page of this painstaking researched book, the reader is offered a rich, authentic picture of early American pioneer life.
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Ann's Pick |
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Still Life With Bread Crumbs
by Anna Quindlen
In her early sixties, Rebecca Winter finds herself with a fading career as a successful photographer, a failed marriage, aging parents who need her support, and financial stresses. She decides to leave New York City and make a home for herself in the country. This is a story about rediscovering and reinventing ourselves at life's different stages. It is also a love story with a trace of mystery running through it. Fans of Anna Quindlen will find Still Life With Bread Crumbs to be an enjoyable and satisfying read.
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Gail's Picks |
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The Aviator's Wife
by Melanie Benjamin
Charles Lindberg is familiar to us in central Minnesota, as he was born in Little Falls. The world treated him as a hero, but we find he also had many flaws as we read this story about his wife, Anne Morrow Lindberg. Anne was an accomplished aviator and an author. The author, Melanie Benjamin, says, "When the reader is inspired to research further the lives of this famous couple I feel that my book has accomplished its goal." It worked for me as I read Anne's book, a Gift from the Sea next and I have her biography on my shelf. You will find this is a fascinating book.
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King Peggy
by Peggielene Bartels and Eleanor Herman
This is a true story about Peggielene Bartels, an American secretary who suddenly finds herself ruler of a town of 7,000 people in Ghana, West Africa. Upon arriving for her coronation, she discovers the dire reality of life here: no running water, no doctor, no high school and the village elders are stealing the town's funds! Peggy digs in and within two years marvelous changes occur. I had to remind myself that this was not fiction but actually happened! I enjoyed finding out about customs and problems in this town in West Africa.
Both of these books would make great gifts as well as titles for book clubs.
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Hannah's Picks |
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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
by Haruki Murakami
This novel, like Murakami's 1Q84, is a dazzling example of book design. The prose is just as compelling as the earlier book, but this one is based on the real world. A man who designs railroad stations had been rejected by his high school friends for a mysterious reason, and has struggled with understanding how he fits into society ever since. The ending has been inspiring discussions with my family.
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The Strange Library
by Haruki Murakami
Murakami creates a spooky world, a labyrinth under a library. The labyrinth is populated by fantastic characters. The narrator is caught in this nightmarish library, and given an undoable task that he must complete in order to regain his freedom. This is as much an object of art as it is a novella.
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Plainsong
by Kent Haruf
The author, who died this month, pulled a wool cap over his eyes while typing on a manual typewriter so he could "write blind," immersing himself in the fiction he was creating. Perhaps this is why his books have their quiet flow, and his characters speak in such real-sounding, succinct language. Plainsong is set in a small Colorado town, following several seemingly unrelated characters over a few months. Soon I'll read Eventide, with some of the same characters.
Read more in a New York Times retrospective.
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The Virginian
by Owen Wister
"When you call me that, smile!" This is one of the classic American novels and helped form our conception of cowboys and life in the Wild West. Wister was a friend of Theodore Roosevelt and Oliver Wendell Holmes. He attended Harvard Law School, but in 1885, at age 25, he spent time in Wyoming. By 1902, when he wrote The Virginian, the West he describes was gone.
Roosevelt called him the "American Kipling." The book is somewhat like Twain's Roughing It, very readable and full of surprising details. It’s a love story as well as an adventure, and inspired several movies. |
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Mariah's Pick |
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Sing You Home
by Jodi Picoult
This is a wonderful story told from three different perspectives. It explores relationships and identity in the midst of personal difficulties. Definitely a novel that makes you think!
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