Staff Picks 2011
What a fabulous first novel! Two young magicians are pitted against each other in a contest, which will leave only one standing. The stage for this is an amazing circus like none I've ever seen. A magical, dream-like reading experience.
Carol
In 1939 Prague, Lenka and Joseph, who are both Jewish, meet, fall in love, and marry, only days later to be separated for a lifetime. In her historical novels, Richman develops the plot with a question in mind. How could beauty and art come from the horrific conditions within the walls of the Terezin Concentration Camp? This is a difficult subject, but don't be hesitant to dive into this incredibly written work of Holocaust literature.
Kathy
This is one of my favorite reads to recommend. It takes place in a tiny town in Southwestern Wisconsin (the Driftless area). It is beautiful writing, and Rhodes skillfully weaves together the stories of the fascinating cast of characters. Carol
Krueger's 2011 entry to this great series finds Cork and his family in a houseboat in the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, just as a major storm hits. And more than natural destruction is left in its wake... Carol
I love Ann Patchett, and her newest does not disappoint. A mysterious death, bioethics, the Amazon jungle, and suberb writing add up to a great read. Carol
A novel about adoption in the voices of the adoptive mother and the mother from India, who unwillingly gives her child away. The daughter finds herself living in Mumbai on a journalism scholarchip, and while there, attempts to search out her mother. While reading, I felt immersed in the Indian culture. Kathy
Yes, it's a paranormal story with vampires, but I especially love the witches. The first in a planned trilogy. Carol
Inspired by The Scarlet Letter, Jordan's second novel is set in a future where an extremist agenda has been implemented with harrowing results. Carol
A charmingly eccentric story about the Beefeaters, who live where they work in the Tower of London. Balthazar, whose marriage is suffering after the death of his son, is now tasked with creating a Tower zoo for the animals given to the Queen. Carol
This fits the bill for a good summer read. A faithful churchgoer & seemingly typical Southern woman, Georgia Bottoms earns her living from her bedroom with certain high profile men in this small Southern community. Kathy
One of the most delightful books I read this year. In a number of succinct essays Fadiman treats a subject we all love: books! She talks about things like getting married and mixing "her" books with "his", about book topics of her choice--not the most expected ones, I might add--and about just how to treat a book with the right amount of reverence. A funny, light, and delightfully intellectual book. Eva
Another story set in small town Wisconsin. It's 1974, and the arrival of the first black couple to fictional Marshfield brings out the worst in some in the community. Carol
Brooks writes superb historical fiction. In her newest, she tells the story of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard, in 1665. Carol
If you haven't yet read this excellent story set in Ethiopia, you are in for a treat. It's a lovely saga of twin boys born to a British surgeon and an Indian nun, then adopted by two Indian doctors and raised in the mission clinic. Carol
An absorbing novel about loss and old secrets. Norm & Alene
A mother and her children return to the Outer Isles of Scotland after the death of the father. The Cold War is at its height, and he was a British diplomat whose role may not have been what it seemed. The escape of a magical bear adds to this moving story that reads like a thriller. Carol
A novel narrated by a former hand surgeon with Alzheimer's. It is at once a fascinating, if startling and haunting glimpse of the disease, as well as a mystery, as the police investigate the murder of her best friend. Carol
A superb work of non-fiction about the immortal cancer cells gathered from a woman in 1951, the researchers who used, and sometimes profited from, the cells, and the family of Henrietta Lacks. Excellent for discussions, with issues ranging from medical ethics to race. Carol
This is a young adult title, but I highly recommend it to adults, too. A plane full of teen beauty pageant contestants crashes on a deserted island. The girls may appear to be vapid stereotypes, but by the end both the reader and the girls have learned the complexity and depth of their characters. The story is full of adventure, humor, exploration of the girls' sexuality, reality show pirates, product placement, possible war, and an all powerful corporation. And the pageant sponsor appears to be channeling a certain ex-governor of Alaska... Carol
A moving novel about women in North Vietnam. While it takes place during and after the war there, it is not a story of war. Banned in North Vietnam, it is the first Vietnamese novel published in the states. Carol
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An older title my book club recently read, this tells the story of war, politics, and love through the lives of the people in a small village in Turkey in the early 1900's. Politics and intolerance, then as now, have devastating consequences in this beautifully written book. Carol
A riveting story of women who find ways to survive, and even prosper, amid horrendous cultural changes and oppression. Alene
I could not put this down. It is the second of a trilogy about a woman doctor in 1900 London and a notrious gangster. Jennifer Donnelly also writes great young adult fiction. Carol
This was my first book by Rollins, and it was a lot of fun. The mystery involves the founding fathers, Native American mythology, physics, and Fort Knox. An excellent page-turner. Carol