| The March 2013 Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF Staff Picks March 2013 (1.8MB) |
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Benediction by Kent Haruf.
Haruf brings his Holt, Colorado trilogy to an elegiac ending in this beautifully written novel. A dying man reflects on his life as a husband, father and local businessman as his family members and neighbors confront their own regrets and crises. ~ Stan Hynds A lovely, nuanced story that seems simple at first, but reveals the inner devils that torment, and the angels that delight, a group of ordinary people in a small town. ~ Louise Jones |
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| NONFICTION | ||
 Sugar in the Blood: A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire by Andrea Stuart. Beautifully written, pitch perfect
introduction to the story of English colonization of the
Caribbean Sugar Islands, which produced immense wealth
but destroyed African lives in numbers and ways that beggar
description. Should encourage further study of a historically
important time and place. ~ Bill Lewis |
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 The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant
in War and Peace by H.W. Brands. A superb look at the
self-effacing man and general whose unparalleled leadership
helped shape the course of the Civil War. ~ Sarah Teunissen |
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 Storm Kings: The Untold History of America's
First Tornado Chasers by Lee Sandlin. Lively, highly readable account of
these terrifying storms and the people who have tried to
understand them starting with Benjamin Franklin, many of
them eccentric and wrong-minded. Early settlers called the
violent funnels whirling through the sky "storm kings."
~ Louise Jones |
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 Sarah Osborn's World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in
Early America by Catherine A. Brekus. Powerfully affecting
biography that brilliantly illuminates the 18th century American
clash of enlightenment possibilities versus Calvinist conservatism.
Unforgettable. ~ Bill Lewis |
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 On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of
the Way the World Looks by Simon Garfield.
One way we define ourselves is how we draw
our maps. An examination of maps and what
they mean, from Ptolemy to the digital age.
Engaging, althoug h Anglo-centric.
~ Louise Jones |
 The Amazing Case for Tablets ($40.99 in faux-leather) This perfect traveling case hangs conveniently from the airplane seat in front of you or sits comfortably on your shoulder, keeping you looking stylish as it safely cradles your tablet and accessories. ~ Jessica Krawczyk |
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| COMING SOON! PRE-ORDER! | ||
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 March 19th The Gate Thief by Orson
Scott Card - Sequel to The Lost Gate |
 March 26th The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout - By the author of the
Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge
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 April 2nd Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - New in paperback by the Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences |
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 The Obituary
Writer by Ann
Hood. This
fine story, set in San
Francisco during
the great earthquake
and Kennedy-era
Virginia, shows
grief is as personal as it is inevitable.
A woman suffering a crushing
loss writes obituaries for others;
characters lives are connected and
bound by strong ties of love and
loss. ~ Karen Frank |
 The Third Bullet by Stephen Hunter. Can an
ex-sniper retiree
with a bum hip figure out who really
killed JFK? Well,
all-around badass
Bobbie Lee Swagger
is in with a shot, no matter what the
Russian mob thinks. Hunter spins
fact and theory into an extremely
entertaining thriller.
~ Charles Bottomley |
 Dreams and
Shadows by C.
Robert Cargill. Not my
usual cup of tea,
but between the
story of a childhood
wish spiraling
out of control,
the universal quest for love and
belonging and epic battles between
Hell, fairies and humans in the
name of revenge, I was drawn in
and couldn't put it down! ~ Jessica
Krawczyk |
 Schroder by Amity
Gaige.
Young German
immigrant Erik
Schroder invents an
identity, fashioning
an imaginary life.
During a custody
dispute, he flees with his young
daughter on an ill-advised road
trip. A multilayered novel about
transformation, narrated by a
flawed but profoundly sympathetic
protagonist. ~ Amy Palmer |
 Little Elvises by
Timothy Hallinan. Career burglar
Junior Bender is
fast becoming LA's
private eye for other
criminals. In this
second in the series,
he's intimidated
into proving that an elderly 1960s
music promoter of "Little Elvises"
is innocent of murdering a ruthless
tabloid reporter. Well written,
interesting character, lots of laughs.
~ Sarah Knight |
 Little Known
Facts by Christine
Sneed. A
famous movie
star/director, his
ex-wives, his two
adult children
and their friends
and lovers try
to understand the effects their
actions, often unheeded, have on
those around them - and what they
really want from life. Very human
characters defined with sensitivity
and wit. ~ Louise Jones |
 The Man from
Primrose Lane by James Renner. Shattered by
his wife's suicide, a
bestselling author
believes that a
recluse's mysterious
death may have
altered reality itself. A brainy beach
read, a mind-melting page-turner -
this is good. ~ Charles Bottomley |
 The Boyfriend by
Thomas Perry.
The marvelous
Perry is at it again
with a vivid pair
of protagonists
– a killer for hire
in the mold of
his unforgettable
Butcher's Boy and a compassionate
retired cop hot on the trail – and a
compelling plot that will hold you
to the very end. ~ Louise Jones |
OLD FAVORITE
 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Fifty
years ago, this was
published under
the pseudonym
"Victoria Lucas"
due to its
resemblance to
Plath, her friends and family. Esther
Greenwood mirrors Plath's talent
and ambition - as well as her deeply
rooted depression, hospitalization
and shock therapy. Still a must-read!
~ Jessica Krawczyk |
 The Beautiful Indifference by Sarah Hall. These stories
about women are raw and sensual, the prose bewitching and
visceral, tinged with violence and sexuality. Whether ill, broken,
bored or triumphant, their voices will resonate long after the
stories have ended. ~ Amy Palmer |
 The Expats by Chris Pavone. Do we ever
reveal all of ourselves, public and private, even
to those closest to us? In this unusual spy novel, each character
is hiding a secret life that moves the twisting plot to a satisfying
conclusion. A terrific read! ~ Louise Jones |
GRAPHIC NOVEL
 Tales Designed to Thrizzle, Volume Two by Michael
Kupperman. Another cornucopia of comic
craziness courtesy of Kupperman! Features such laughout-loud oddities as The Human Meatball and America's
favorite crime-fighting duo Twain & Einstein!
~ Charles Bottomley |
