The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan. A rich and powerful story set in a small coastal village in Normandy during the German Occupation. Emma, an apprentice baker, is ordered to bake for the enemy. She is also secretly baking for her fellow townspeople and bartering for items they they all need. An incredible tale of strength, determination, survival and most importantly hope. ~
Suzanne Rice
House of Names by Colm Toibin. The
thirst for revenge among the members of
a heroic but rapidly dwindling family is
the driving force in this literate, intrigue-
filled novel that utilizes figures from Greek
mythology for its central characters. Real
daggers often provide a finishing touch to the
work that their verbal daggers instigate. The
book is a decided departure for this author
and a dark and twisted treat for the reader. ~
Alden Graves
The Party by Robyn Harding. Ingredients: Sweet Sixteen Party, five girls,
San Francisco mansion, hands-off parents,
drugs, alcohol, raging hormones. Result:
physical and emotional maiming. Victims:
many. Victims' ages and circumstances:
widely varied. Lesson: ask the birthday
girl. ~
Mike Hare
Silver Hitch by Linda Greenlaw. An ex-detective
turned insurance investigator discovers the charred body of
a universally disliked businesswoman in the remains of her
home on a remote island off the coast of
Maine. A routine house-fire inquiry suddenly
looks a lot like a grisly case of murder. This
entertaining mystery is as rich in atmosphere
as it is in suspects. ~
Alden Graves
OLD FAVORITE
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell. A perfect book, my favorite book. A man retells a boyhood event, one he profoundly regrets. In the clearest, sharpest language, Maxwell turns a tale of commonplace guilt into a haunting classic of human weakness and longing. ~
Cathy Taylor
A French Wedding by Hannah Tunnicliffe. Old friends gather for a 40th birthday
celebration in the French countryside and a
weekend of good food, wine, and hard truths.
A great cast of characters make this novel the
perfect beach read! ~
Suzanne Rice
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. The kind of
splendid historical novel of which there are far
too few. The perfect capture of the essence of
Victorian sensibility during a time of wondrous
advances in science and society. Each character
a gem supported by superbly evocative writing.
A true joy to read! ~
Karen Frank
PAPERBACKS
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson. An anthropologist returns to Brooklyn
to attend the funeral of her father. A chance
encounter with a childhood friend plunges
her into vivid memories of growing up in
Brooklyn in the 1970s. Flashbacks describe
the isolation of moving from rural Tennessee
to New York, and her vital connection with
a close-knit group of bold young women
poised on the brink of adulthood in a Brooklyn where danger
lurks in the alleyways, where loss pervades
their lives. ~
Amy Palmer
Zero K by Don Delillo. A taut,
superbly written family story (sort of ) set in
the near future. A meditation on death, after-
life, immortality, meaning and ultimately, life.
Excellent! ~
Chris Morrow
YOUNG ADULT
Words In Deep Blue by Cath Crowley. Cath Crowley's story of Rachel
and Henry is a sweet, poignant treatise of
love and loss and hope. Rachel is suffering
the death of her brother in silence. Henry,
her best friend (with whom she is in love),
is coping with the loss of his longtime
girlfriend. Their story, set in a used book
store, is finely woven with other love stories.
A wonderful read! ~
Shirley Cagle
Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign by Jonathan Allen & Amie Parnes. Chicken Little would have felt at home in the fretting, squabbling, disaster-seeking Hillary Clinton campaign revealed in Shattered. An early campaign mantra, "We're not allowed to have nice things," sums up the painful result. ~
Mike Hare
Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage by Dani Shapiro. A
meditative, moving
account of a marriage
and the inescapable
velocity of time.
With eloquence
and grace, Shapiro
reckons with chance
and choice, the forces that have shaped
her life and long term partnership.
The love in these pages is precious and
delicate; her writing flows with clear
wonder at life's accumulated losses,
uncertainties, and joys. ~
Cathy Taylor
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich. This is an intimate
journey through the
author’s childhood.
Her molestation by
a family member is
intertwined with
the story of a pedophile sentenced to
death for the abuse and murder of a
six-year-old boy. The traumatic incident
leads her to question the motivations
of her abuser, the shroud of silence that
surrounded her molestation (and other
family secrets), and finally, her feelings
about her family, as well as about the
death penalty.
~
Shirley Cagle
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore. Shortly after radium
was discovered it was
billed as a miracle
element with endless
health benefits.
It was used in many
consumer products including watch
faces (it glows in the dark). Thousands
of young women were employed to
paint numbers on watches, all thinking
they were benefiting from the constant
exposure to radium. How very wrong
they were. Well written, poignant and
a little terrifying. An amazing read
through and through. ~
Nate George
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay. This breathtaking memoir is
about a body: its history, its presence, and its resilience. Gay has
been morbidly obese since she was a teenager; her body shaped
by forces both violent and loving. With uncompromising grace
and honesty, she traces both her own weaknesses and the impact
of a world hostile to unruly bodies. Through despair Gay finds a
fragile thread of hope and the result is beautiful. ~
Cathy Taylor
The Poetry of Everyday Life: Storytelling and the Art of Awareness by Steve Zeitlin. This collection is part memoir, part documentary, and personal
essays that represent a cross section of Zeitlin’s experiences as a
folklorist - examining and documenting the meaning and power
of human expression in all of its varied forms. He challenges and
inspires us to celebrate the ordinary as the extraordinary and
demonstrates how our daily work, play, music, food, art, and
family traditions matter. ~
Nancy Scheemaker
Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott. Lamott continues her musings on faith and the vulnerability of being human, while exploring the topic of mercy in her latest collection of essays, sharing her belief that despite all, we are capable of patience and great kindness. ~
Amy Palmer
Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth by Holger Hoock. Textbook accounts of the American Revolution as a high-minded, relatively bloodless quest for freedom are smashed in
Scars of Independence. Terrors infecting the globe today are not too far a stretch from the abhorrent physical, psychological, and deadly brutalities practiced by both sides before, during, and immediately after the Revolution.
~
Mike Hare
PAPERBACKS
Last Things: A Graphic Memoir of Loss and Love by Marissa Moss. A graphic, stark portrayal of
a family frayed by impending death. As her husband slips beyond
reach and becomes unintentionally cruel while battling ALS, Moss
struggles to maintain her love for him while tending to his care
and raising their three sons. This is an unflinching look at the
challenge to sustain and celebrate life.
~
Mike Hare
The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler's Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb. If Germany had succeeded in developing an atomic bomb, it
would have changed the outcome of the war. This is the story of
the attempt to destroy the plant in Norway that was supplying
the Nazis with large quantities of heavy water, an integral part of
the weapon. Easily rivaling the best fiction thrillers, this book is
an icily (in every sense) suspenseful account of one of the most
daring and crucial missions of World War II. ~
Alden Graves
The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman. Travel
through literature, fairy tales, music, and art in this eloquent
collection by one of the foremost fiction and comic authors of
our time. Gaiman preaches on the process of writing and reading.
He delves deeply into the musicians and novelists who inspired
him from Tori Amos to Stephen King. After you finish this book
you will immediately have a list of novels to read and musical
artists to explore. A MUST read for any lover of literature and
art. ~
Hannah Worsham
YOUNG ADULT
Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager. From obscure figures (Elagabalus)
to the well-known (Eleanor Roosevelt); from the iconic (George
Takei) to the surprising (Abraham Lincoln!), this book features
several queer persona who have had an immense influence on
our history. Complete with a helpful glossary of terminology,
this is a great read for kids and adults alike to understand how
normal and ancient is the tradition of queer and trans* people. ~
Katelynne Shimkus