Staff Picks: 25 for our 25th Anniversary (2018)
We turned 25 in 2018, and we've picked our top 25 reads of the past year to celebrate our 25th anniversary!
Our of our top reads--we've never read anything quite like it. Lincoln visits the crypt of his son Willie, while the ghosts converse.
Carol & Eva
A spare book that is packed with ideas. An important read for our times. It is about refugees and what might make them leave their homeland and about how they make a new life. It is also about how a relationship evolves through such momentous changes.
Carol
A fascinating glimpse into a survivalist family. One member wants something else for herself and risks being shunned by her family to get it.
Heidi
A powerful debut novel about urban Native Americans living in Oakland, California.
Carol & Kathy
After the Russian revolution, Count Rostov is sentenced to life in the Hotel Metropol. I was fascinated by the life he makes for himslf and how he grows emotionally, as the decades go by in Russia outside the hotel.
Carol
A father damaged by the Vietnam War moves his family to a small town in Alaska in an attempt to start a new life.
Carol
Sad but incredibly funny. Another psychological thriller where the main character makes you laugh out loud, even when you should be crying.
Eva
What appears at first to be a fizzy book about newlyweds in 1950's Italy turns out to be full of secrets and Cold War intrigue.
Carol
This may be my favorite of Jackson's books. There is always an unexpected twist in her books, and I am hooked.
Kathy
As in Hitchcock's Rear Window, the woman of the title is unable to venture outside. You will be quickly turning pages to unfold the events ouside her window in this intense thriller.
Denise
Not available
A closed-room mystery that takes place in the nar future. Fun, creepy, and well written (and translated).
Eva
The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower are the first two books of the Winternight Trilogy. An enchanting story set in Russia in the middle ages. It is full of magic, Russian folklore, and the shift from pagan beliefs to Christianity. It also features a marvelous, strong heroine in Vaslisa.
Carol & Heidi
Odin, Thor, Loke, and the rest of the Norse pantheon of gods and goddesses interact with each other in these stories that range from humorous to thoughtful to gruesome.
Heidi
A suburban mother believes she has the perfect family, when a free-spirited single mom and her daugher enter their lives. Brilliant writing in this highly acclaimed novel.
Carol
An honest read about the creative process from Elizabeth Gilbert--it changed my life!
Denise
My new favorite mystery series, set at a weekly paper in 1950's Scotland. A great setting and excellent character development.
Carol
A suspenseful thriller complete with tarot cards, family drama, and a murder mystery. I think it's her best yet.
Denise
(This book cannot be returned.)
A fun "beach" read set at the South Pole.
Carol
Nina changes her life when she buys a mobile bookstore in rural Scotland. A fun read that brightened my day.
Heidi
Not available
Two sisters spend time together after Emma accepts an invitation made years ago by Maria--an invitation Maria thought her sister would never accept. From the author of Astrid & Veronika.
Kathy
The original adventure story!
Heidi
A funny, mind-bending time travel story. It is also a romance and a story about choices we make in life.
Carol
The newest Armande Gamache from Louise Penny may be one of her best.
Carol
Quirky Britt-Marie moves to a new town after leaving her husband. She is initially hard to like, but eventually weaves her way into the hearts of the youth.
Kathy
An imaginative, quirky, and sometimes dark collection of short stories--they kept me reading!
Denise