HOT READS AND HIDDEN TREASURES 2004

Staff Picks
Presented at the Friends’ Annual Meeting, November 2004

Carol Jankowski, Circulation Director

Muslim and Middle Eastern Fiction
Current Fiction
Poetry
Memoirs
Biography
Non-Fiction

Ellen Snoeyenbos, Young Adult Librarian

Young Adult Fiction

Nancy Denman, Children's Librarian

Parents Corner
Picture Books and Easy Readers
Nonfiction
Fiction

Carol Jankowski - Circulation Director

(the * titles are my own recent personal favorites)

Muslim and Middle Eastern Fiction

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra

West of Kabul, East of New York: an Afghan American Story by Tamin Ansary

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

*The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Current Fiction

Dark Tower Series (7 books) by Stephen King

Classic battle between good and evil. Time travel, parallel universes, not classic science fiction, series fiction, very long, many different characters, exciting, action packed, people, not gadget oriented.

The Briar King or The Charnel Prince by Gregory Keyes

Especially good for Lord of the Ring fans.

A Gentleman's Game by Greg Rucka

Fast-paced British spy novel – throw away the old boy network-Tara Chace is the new head of Special Operations for British Intelligence and she is as capable of murder as she is seduction

Gone for Good , or Just One Look by Harlan Coben

very suspenseful, page-turners, he also has a series with a protagonist who is sports agent Myron Bolitar

Lost City by Clive Cussler

Ace Atkins-sports themed series- mysteries set in New Orleans-Nick Travers is an ex-football player who teaches blues history at Tulane.

Shadow Divers; the true adventure of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of the world by Robert Kurson

Deception Point by Dan Brown

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell

Night Fall by Nelson Demille

Hour Game by David Baldacci

I heard you paint houses by Charles Brandt

Mafia, Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters…and of course, MURDER!

Some of My Recent Favorites

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

By the same author of the very popular, intelligent and gentle Precious Ramotswe series. This book features a new protagonist.

*An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance

Set in late 19th century New York, this is the tale of what happens to a woman who dares to be different or attempts to repudiate upper crust norms and expectations. Great surprising ending

*My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

All of Picoult's books are well written, thought provoking, dealing in social issues-great book group selections.

Prince Edward by Dennis McFarland

Quiet Eloquence-this book is told through the eyes of a 10 year old-set in 1959-story of a community which defies federally enforced school integration

*Eventide by Kent Haruf

Full of heart and simplicity, sequel to Plainsong, tells the continuing story of the Mcpheron Brothers, known for their conversational brevity and their abundant straightforward compassion.

* Crow Lake by Mary Carson

* Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

Told from the point of view of a 15 year old autistic boy who finds his neighbors dog murdered and decides to solve the mystery. Very creative; deceptively simple, appropriate for many ages.

*The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Greer

Born old, Max grows younger as each year passes-set during the turn of the century in San Francisco, it is a love story-haunting and challenges all that we hold to be true.

*Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

The Known World by Edward P. Jones
2004 Pulitzer Prize Winner

Little Children by Tom Perrotta

Absorbing tale of contemporary suburban angst-explores in a very subtle way, the psychological depths beneath what seems like a placid surface.

Poetry

Ten Poems to Last You a Lifetime

Ten Poems to Change Your Life

Ten Poems to Set You Free

Ten Poems to Open Your Heart

Edited by Roger Housden

Nine Horses by Billy Collins

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver

*Delights and Shadows by Ted Kooser-our new Poet Laureate!!!!!

Memoirs

*Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

The best American story that I have read in a decade-should be on every high school reading list!

*Madame Secretary by Madeleine Albright

My Life by Bill Clinton

*Truth and Beauty; the Story of a Friendship by Ann Patchett

This is about loving someone that you can't save; the power of friendship; the destructive force of nature and drugs; written by author of the beloved Bel Canto, it is about Patchett and Lucy Grealy who wrote The Autobiography of a Face .

Inside the Kingdom by Carmen Bin Laden

Five Men who Broke My Heart by Susan Shapiro

Part love story, valentine, relationship manifesto, very contemporary humor!

Biography

Audubon ; the making of an American by Richard Rhodes

His Excellency; George Washington by Joseph Ellis

Non-fiction

*The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer

Creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, abundance and receptivity-the connectors-not just about positive thinking but about an inner awareness that we can all tap into. Have you ever met someone who seems to be just plain lucky? Dyer suggests that positive energy attracts positive energy and there is no luck or chance involved at all.

*Backroads of New England by Kim Knox Beckius

For all you car travelers-this book strikes a balance between classic well traveled routes and little known paths. It includes incredible pictures to entice you. Might be the perfect gift for the fearful air traveler!

*The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health

Ellen Snoeyenbos – Young Adult Librarian

Vampire High by Doug Rees

Cody Elliot's new school, Vlad Dracul, is a little weird. The principal is seven feet tall and has a pet wolf. The students are tall and silent and wear sunglasses in the winter. When he sees a kid's fangs, the truth sinks in: Cody's classmates are vampires.

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going

Troy Billings is a 300-pound high school senior contemplating suicide when he meets Curt MacCrae, a homeless teenage musical genius who decides that Troy is just the drummer he's looking for to start a new band.

Mates, Dates, and Sleepover Secrets by Cathy Hopkins

T.J. is having a crummy year, but when Lucy befriends her things start to look up. But will Lucy's best friends Nesta and Izzie accept her and let her into their world of sleepovers, secrets, laughter, and advice?

Pirates! by Celia Rees

For girls who like Pirates of the Caribbean; Nancy and Minerva are at least as exciting as heroes and pirates as the characters played by Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom!

The Bride of Anguished English by Richard Lederer

A literary tour through gaffes of our oddball language. From headlines to menus, student papers to politicians' speeches, every embarrassing example is true-and wonderfully funny.

Mister Monday by Garth Nix (“The Keys to the Kingdom” Series Book 1)

Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world -- where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets.

Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce (first in series)

Alianne is the daughter of the famed Alanna, the first lady knight in Tortall. When she is captured and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in the faraway Copper Islands, it is her skill at spying that makes a difference in a world filled with political intrigue, murderous conspiracy, and warring gods.

Leaving Protection by Will Hobbs

Thinking he is crewing on a salmon fishing boat, Robbie finds out the skipper's true intentions. Will he be allowed to live to tell about it? Action-packed outdoor adventure/thriller.

Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz

Teen spy Alex Rider survives a bullfight, a high-speed bicycle chase through Amsterdam, and even being the target in a human video-game, only to face his most disturbing challenge yet: when the best of intentions are driven by insanity, how do you reason with a madman?

And other hot reads suggested by a number of avid readers!!!!!

Strapless; John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by D. Davis

Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler's

A Mars meets Venus-author explores how two people survive a marriage amidst emotional poverty.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

Massachusetts Book Award Fiction Winner

A Kiss from Maddalena by Christopher Castellani

Nancy Denman – Children’s Librarian

What's New for Children and Parents?

Parent Corner

RIPPLE Effect (Resources and Information for Positive Parenting Linking Everyone) booklist of new donations to parent corner is displayed in the Parent Corner

Fun Places to Go with Children in New England by Diane Blair

Setting Limits and Boundaries: How to Say No to Your Kids

Picture Books and Easy Readers

Wallace's Lists by Barbara Bottner

The Umbrella by Jan Brett

The Peace Book (and others) by Todd Parr

Something's Different by Shelley Rotner

Here a Chick, Where a Chick? by Suse MacDonald (New picture book shelf)

Nonfiction

Guinness World Records 2005

Creation by Gerald McDermott

A Tribute to Military Families: Letters of Thanks from Our Nation's Children

There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me by Loreen Leedy

Art Fraud Detective by Anna Nilsen

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

Fiction

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

The Dark Pond by Joseph Bruchac

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism (series) by Georgia Byng

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements

Lion Boy (series) The Chase by Zizou Corder

How to Train Your Dragon by Dressida Cowell

Heatbeat by Sharon Creech

United Tates of America by Paula Danziger (jFic DAN)

Spiderwick Chronicles(series) Ironweed Tree ; Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony DiTerlizzi

The Sea Trolls by Nancy Farmer

Spinning Through the Universe: a Novel in Poems From Room 214 by Helen Frost

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

Ida B by Katherine Hannigan

Children of the Lamp: the Akhenaten Adventure by P.B. Kerr

Leon and the Spitting Image by Allen Kurzweil

Midnight for Charlie Bone (series) by Jenny Nimmo

Taking Care of Moses by Barbara O'Connor

Winter of the Ice Wizard by Mary Pope Osborne

Science Verse by Jon Scieszka

Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

Edge Chronicles (series) Beyond the Deepwoods; Stormchaser by Paul Stewart

Shredderman , Secret Identity; Attack of the Tagger by Wendelin Van Draanen

The Night I Flunked My Field Trip by Henry Winkler

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