| The August 2013 Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF Staff Picks August 2013 (950KB) |
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AUGUST FEATURE
A coming of age story, but so much more - an invitation to live in the hearts of four teens in a blue-collar town in the late 1960s. The writing is spare yet evocative, brimming with touchstones that evoke the common threads of experience running through us all. Highest recommendation. ~ Erik Barnum |
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| FICTION | ||
 A Marker to Measure
Drift by Alexander
Maksik. Jacqueline,
a young Liberian
refugee, comes to
a Greek island, her
shaky memories suffused
with profound
loss and shadowy images. This shattering,
gorgeous novel explores profound
political and existential themes
of survival and hope, each sentence a
dagger to the heart. ~ Amy V. Palmer |
 We made it! We're in! Saratoga is now the second home to Northshire Bookstore. We're thrilled to be part of this wonderful, welcoming community and we look forward to getting to know our fellow booklovers there, and discovering the particular passions of our new, dynamic and diverse staff members in Saratoga. You're Invited! On Sunday, September 29th from noon to 5 p.m., we will host a community-wide celebration, with entertainment, refreshments and fun. We hope to see you all - from both sides of the border - there to help officially inaugurate the new store. |
Do you like to talk books?
Join an existing Manchester group:
email Erik ebarnum@northshire.com Saratoga area groups can register for group discount by emailing ReadingGroupsNY@northshire.com  12th WOMEN READ Beautiful Ruins by Jessica Walter 13th COOKBOOK Three Guys from Miami Celebrate Cuban by Lingren, Musilbay, Castillo 15th MYSTERY & THILLER Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten 19th FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH No meeting this month 21st HISTORY Field Trip to Bennington 29th POETRY Favorite Poet Month for members |
 The Long Earth by
Terry Pratchett and
Stephen Baxter.
Imagine you could
step into a world untouched
by man. Now
take another step, and
another. The worlds
don't end! You have
just entered the fantastic minds of Prachett
and Baxter and you won't want
to leave until the book is finished.
~ Talon Birns |
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 Let the Great World
Spin by Colum
McCann.
In this beautifully
lyrical story, McCann
shares interconnected
and varied
varied perspectives
centered around the same bizarre
event - a man walking a high wire
between the World Trade Towers in
1970's New York City. Take your
time and savor this one.
~ Sarah Walcott |
 Train Dreams by
Denis Johnson. This meditative
novella explores
a classic American
myth through the
life of an Idahoan
railroad laborer. The
spare, often magical
mix of history and Native American
tall tales depicts the life of a solitary
man at one with and lost in the landscape
of the fading American West.
~ Amy V. Palmer |
 Kobo Soy
Candles
($25.99).
Beautiful scented
soy candles with a twist
- the seeds of the plants
that inspire each candle's fragrance
are infused in their recycled paper
boxes. Plant the box and lavender,
sunflowers, wildflowers, poppies,
timothy grass, mint, thyme or wild
tomatoes grow! Made in the USA.
~ Alison Clark |
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 Son of a Gun: A
Memoir by Justin
St.Germain.
In 2001 the author's
mother was
murdered in the
Arizona desert, possibly
by her fifth
husband, an excop.
The persistent memories and
unrelenting pain drive a quest to
make sense of her life and death. A
searing, spare, unexpected mother son
memoir. ~ Amy V. Palmer |
 The Deserters: A
Hidden History
of World War II by Charles Glass. More
than 150,000 British
and American
soldiers deserted
during WWII but
the subject gets little attention from
most historians. This smoothly written
work raises sobering and disturbing
questions about the stress of continual
combat and the limits of individual
endurance. Who's a coward?
Who's a casualty? ~ Bill Lewis |
SARATOGA
REVIEWS Bonnie Naumann from our new
Saratoga store is all ready to share
her dark favorites. Will she be the
Saratoga staffer we can count on for
the latest from the heart of darkness?
 Buried Memories by Katie Beers. If you
read A Child Called
It or Speak and were
looking for another
chilling tale of
trauma, read Katie's
story of childhood
abuse and kidnapping. One of my
self-proclaimed "dark" high school
students recommended it too. The Girl In The
Leaves by Robert
Scott. Follow
the trail as four
Ohio teens go missing
in the fall of
2010 at the hands
of Matthew Hoffman.
One of his
victims, Sarah, was
discovered alive in a pile of leaves in
Hoffman's home. They Poured Fire
On Us From the
Sky by Benjamin
Ajak, Benson Deng
and Alephonsian
Deng.
Three lost boys,
child survivors of
the Sudanese conflict,
describe their trek across 1,000
miles of war-torn country rife with
land mines, crocodiles, starvation,
predatory animals and extreme conditions. |
 Shot All to Hell:
Jesse James, the
Northfield Raid,
and the Wild
West's Greatest Escape by Mark Lee
Gardner.
The botched robbery
of a Northfield,
Minnesota, bank set off one of
the largest manhunts in American
history, pursuing the James/Younger
gang. A thrilling chronicle of the
ordeal of the notorious robbers escaping
the noose slowly tightening
around them. ~ Alden Graves |
 More Scenes from
the Rural Life by
Verlyn Klinkenborg. In
this ode to the
changing tides
of rural life, The
New York Times
columnist shares
more vignettes of his upstate New
York farm, contemplating the perils
of modern farming and where
our food comes from. An enjoyable
read to pick up over and over again.
~ Martha Cornwell |
|
 Homeward Bound:
Why Women Are
Embracing the
New Domesticity by Emily Matchar. From canning
pickles to sewing
to homeschooling,
blogs are enabling
women to share a new kind of domesticity.
Are these new homemakers
advancing women's roles or
setting feminism back? A refreshing
dose of analysis and skepticism
on this widespread DIY culture.
~ Martha Cornwell |
 Lost Girls: An Unsolved
American
Mystery by Robert
Kolker. In
May, 2010, searchers
for a woman
who had frantically
begged for
help from residents
of Oak Beach, Long Island,
and then vanished, uncovered the
skeletal remains of nearly a dozen
prostitutes. A contemporary horror
story of doomed lives and tragic
destinies that may still be unfolding.
~ Alden Graves |
|
 Bootstrapper by
Mardi Jo Link. A fantastic
book about selfreliance
and using
the power of family
to move on from the
very rock bottom of
life. This book will
make you want to hug your family
and never let them go. A must-read for
any single mother or do-it-yourselfer.
~ Krysta Piccoli |
 Do You Believe in
Magic? The Sense
and Nonsense of
Alternative Medicine by Paul A. Offit
M.D.
Scientific research
shows how alternative
medicines take
advantage of desperation for "natural"
cures, but provide dangerous,
expensive, untested, unregulated
treatments. Offit says medicine has
been hijacked by the media, who
claim to know better than doctors.
~ Krysta Piccoli |
GRAPHIC NOVELS
 The Playboy by
Chester Brown.
Who knew a love
of pornography
could involve so
much shame, fear
and paranoia? As
usual, the awardwinning
Brown
uses his "comic
memoir" to expose uncomfortable
but profound truths. Just
wash your hands afterwards.
~ Charles Bottomley |