| The July Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF Staff Picks July 2014 (1MB) |
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JULY FEATURE
 Euphoria by Lily King. Inspired by events
in the life of Margaret Mead, this is the story of
three anthropologists studying native culture on the
Sepik River in the Territory of New Guinea in the
1930's, who become embroiled in a love triangle that
ultimately threatens their lives. A riveting tale about
passion, obsession and greed. ~ Amy PalmerThe characters are powerfully and truthfully drawn and their individual search for their ideal of "Euphoria" is blistering. ~ Maeve Noonan A stunning novel based on real people, but it transcends biography in dealing with the complex nature of love, sex and ambition. ~ Louise Jones |
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 Fetch the Devil: The
Sierra Diablo Murders
and Nazi Espionage
in America by Clint
Richmond.
Torture, murder,
intrigue, deception
and Nazis. In 1938
the wife and daughter of an explosives
industry executive were found shot to
death in the Texas desert. A meticulous,
riveting re-creation of the crime and
the exhaustive hunt for the killers.
~ Alden Graves |
 Love, Nina: A Nanny
Writes Home by
Nina Stibbe. The
author's letters to her
sister while working as
a nanny to the sons of
film director Stephen
Frears and Mary-Kay
Wilmers, in a sophisticated North
London home that boasts Alan Bennett
as a regular visitor. Highly enjoyable,
charming and laugh out loud funny!
~ Becky Doherty |
CHARLES BOTTOMLEY RECOMMENDS
 Weapons of Mass
Diplomacy by
Abel Lanzac,
Christophe Blain,
Edward Gauvin. France
scrambles to get
on the right side of
the Iraqi war in this
Graphic political satire that deserves
to be ranked with Machiavelli's The
Prince and House of Cards. One of the
best books of the year! |
 New Life, No Instructions:
A Memoir by
Gail Caldwell.
When Caldwell, a
strong single woman
raising a big dog,
discovers she must
have debilitating
hip replacement surgery, her physical
transformation allows time for
reflection, begetting a deeper understanding
of her circle of friends and
her own abilities as an ever-evolving
human, illuminated by sparkling prose.
~ Bonnie Winchester |
 My Salinger Year by
Joanna Rakoff.
Rakoff remembers the
intense ups and downs
of her first year working
for a New York City
literary agency and
the potential publication
of Salinger's
Hapworth. Not a book about the
reclusive author but a coming-of-age
story: the transition from college life
to the "real world." ~ Chris Linendoll |
 The Bride Stripped
Bare by Her Bachelors,
Even by Chris
Westbury. Where
does artistic genius
end and OCD begin?
Three art obsessives
travel to Philadelphia
to pay homage to
Marcel Duchamp's titular masterwork,
finding misadventure and healing on
the way. An off-kilter tale you won't
soon forget. |
 Can't We
Talk About
Something
More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. For anyone
terrified
of broaching
the uncomfortable topic of
advancing old age and death
with one's parents, or actively
involved in caretaking one's folks,
this is for you! Funny, ironic,
honest and true. ~ Amy PalmerChast's experiences with her parents ride the fine line between tragedy and humor. These funny, heartbreaking and totally true episodes are all illustrated in New Yorker cartoonist Chast's signature style. ~ Marika McCoola |
 Fierce Patriot: The
Tangled Lives of
William Tecumseh
Sherman by Robert
L. O'Connell.
Approaching Sherman
from three different
angles, O'Connell has
written a biography
that reveals the complexities of the
General as not only a commander
but as a civilian and family man. Fast
moving and absorbing. ~ Sarah Donner |
 Us Conductors by
Sean Michaels. A love/adventure
story – most of it
true – about Leon
Theremin, inventor
of the first electronic
instrument. Whether
describing the glamour of pre-WWII
New York or the harshness of the
gulag, Michaels' prose is like a siren's
call – seductive and irresistible. |
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FAVORITE THINGS
 Smoked Maple Syrup. Made by infusing
hardwood smoke into the
darkest pure Vermont maple
syrup, this is not your regular
breakfast syrup. It's a sweet
and savory treat, fantastic on
salmon, chicken, salads, even
in cocktails! Most definitely
worth a try. ~ Monique Proulx |
 Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!:
The Story of Pop
Music from Bill
Haley to Beyonce by Bob Stanley.
Music history for anyone
who ever tuned in
to the Top 40, spent
hours reading liner notes, saved their
concert ticket stubs or learned more
from a 7-inch record than they ever did
in school. A book that sings like the
Spotify playlist in Heaven. Essential! |
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 The Girl Who Was
Saturday Night by
Heather O'Neill. A tale told by
Nouschka Tremblay,
twin sister of Nicholas,
daughter of Etienne,
a once famous Quebecois
entertainer and
quasi-criminal. A wonderful Montreal
story of what makes family - with crazy
events and zany characters that seem
to dress outrageously. ~ Sarah Knight |
 A Possibility of
Violence by D. A.
Mishani. In
Israel, a suitcase bomb
near a daycare center
initiates a puzzling
case for Inspector
Avraham. ~ Louise
Jones |
 Bittersweet by
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore.
Set in Vermont – a
tale of violence and
a family's dark past.
A scholarship student
at a famous college
spends the summer
at her roommate's estate and is forced
to make hard choices. Exciting. A great
summer read. ~ Sarah Knight |
 The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert. A richly drawn,
atmospheric, quirky
love story set against
the 1898 Omaha
World's Fair. Like the
midway illusions, the
characters are not always what they
seem. Fans of Night Circus will enjoy
this as well. ~ Jennifer Canfield |
 The Good Suicides by Antonio Hill.
Barcelona Inspector
Salgado is distracted
from the search for
his missing wife by a
case in which several
employees at a cosmetics
firm commit suicide after receiving
disturbing emails. ~ Louise Jones |
 Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. Maud, an
82 year-old struggling
with dementia,
keeps solving a
crime, although she
constantly confuses
present and past. This
beautifully written and crafted mystery
novel with two recurring enigmatic
clues that will be answered, will keep
you guessing. ~ Becky Doherty |
 Green Girl by Kate
Zambreno.
For fans of The Bell
Jar comes the account
of Ruth, a "green girl"
in England, who is
desperately trying
to navigate her way
through that sometimes glorious - but
mostly painful - period between teens
and adulthood. ~ Jess Hanlon |
 Delicious! by Ruth
Reichl. Known
for her memoirs,
Reichl turns her love
of food and cooking
into a fun culinary
mystery. With the added
elements of romance
and history this is a satisfying summer
read. ~ Jennifer Canfield |
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 The Memory Garden by Mary Rickert.
A thoughtful aromatic
delight - mythology,
garden spells and goddess
lore are woven together
in a tale of love, loss
and the humor that
binds women's friendships together.
Reminiscent of Alice Hoffman but
wholly in Mary Rickert's own strong
voice. ~ Maeve Noonan |
 The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman. A wild
ride from a remote bookshop in Wales to Bangkok and around the
globe after the enigmatic Tooly, whose mysterious past kept me
guessing and delighted until the end. A simply lovely read by the
author of The Imperfectionists. ~ Amy PalmerAn Ingenious Story! A cast of magnetic characters! And Tooly Zylberberg - a young woman trying to unravel the mystery that is her life! All the ingredients you need for a great story! ~ Liz Barnum |
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 Flight of the Sparrow:
A Novel of Early
America by Amy
Belding Brown.
Historical fiction humanized
and full of
recognizable emotion,
empathy and intelligence,
woven around well-researched
Puritan and Indian personages. A bright,
absorbing story that does not shy away
from atrocities and prejudices on all sides,
with people who form relationships that
are constant and true. ~ Karen Frank |
 The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey. A mind-bender
complete with characters equally compelling and revolting, with
an ending that you'll never see coming. ~ Jess HanlonYou will not be able to put this book down, nor should you! Melanie, the young protagonist, introduces a world of savagery and inhumanity. From within this moral and spiritual abyss, she also brings forth hope for humankind on the brink of destruction. ~ Cheryl Cornwall |
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NORTHSHIRE
For meeting schedules, check Northshire Bookstore
website's Event Page.READING GROUPS For Saratoga Springs groups contact Jess at JHanlon@northshire.com For Manchester groups contact Erik at EBarnum@northshire.com |
 The Quick by Lauren Owen. A refreshing change of pace that
puts a new spin on old legends as a young woman tries to reclaim
the brother she loves from the exclusive and dangerous Aegolius
Club. ~ Jess HanlonA plush and elegant tale perfectly set in a gas-lit haven for vampires in fog-shrouded London. Written with style and a palpable sense of terror. ~ Alden Graves |
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