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A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today have an autism spectrum disorder. The Autism Society of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected. As such, more and more books on the subject are being written each day. Here are a few standouts from our shelves:

Not Even Wrong: Adventures In Autism by Paul Collins, 2004

Author Paul Collins’ son, Morgan, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. In Not Even Wrong, Collins intersperses a historical look at autism with his family’s personal experience. An informative and engaging read that serves as a good introduction to the subject. Check catalog for availability

Born On A Blue Day: Inside The Extraordinary Mind Of An Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet, 2007

Author Tammet has savant-like powers on the order of Rain Man. Especially when it comes to his to aptitude for memorizing numbers and language. He sets a record by remembering and reciting the mathematical constant Pi to 22514 places. He later learns Icelandic (considered by many to be one of the world's most difficult languages) in one week. At the same time he often struggles with what for most of us are considered simple social interactions. In this memoir, Tammet shares the workings of his mind and details his path to a successful self-sufficient life. Check catalog for availability

Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Asperger’s by John Elder Robison, 2007

John Elder Robinson was rather recently diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. It helped him put his life in perspective and spurred by his brother and acclaimed author, Augusten Burroughs, to write this book. With an innate facility for mechanical and electrical design, Robinson worked as a special effects guru for the rock group KISS, a toy designer for Milton Bradley and now owns and operates a repair shop for high-end automobiles. But along the way he struggled through an odd upbringing and living with an undiagnosed disease. Check catalog for availability

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon, 2003

A comical and touching fictional account of a 15-year-old autistic named Christopher John Francis Boone and his attempt to solve a crime. One of those books that you’ll want to read in a single sitting – especially as Christopher ventures out into the city alone (aside from his pet rat that is) and suspense builds along the way. Author Haddon takes from his past experience working with autistic youth and creates a likeable and memorable character in Christopher. Check catalog for availability

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Cornelia, Teo and Clare were introduced in de los Santos' debut novel, Love Walked In, when they were living in the heart of New York City. This novel finds them ready to leave urban life behind as they move to suburban Philadelphia. Among a pack of hypercritical neighbors, led by Piper Pruitt, Cornelia experiences a rough time. She didn’t anticipate the transition to suburban life being this tough; what to do but search for comfort in a dish of Pasta Puttanesca? She finds what she hopes are friends in clever waitress Lake and her exceptionally bright son Dev.

Piper has her own struggles; her best friend Elizabeth is struggling with cancer. In spending all her time and energy caring for her she alienates her husband, Kyle, and children. The characters lives all become entwined and as they learn to accept and love one another you too, may find yourself making a space for them in your heart. Check catalog for availability.

This story is so well written and individually compelling that you shouldn’t hesitate to jump right in without reading Love Walked In.

- Submitted by Jacki

The Queen's Handmaiden by Jennifer Ashley, 2007

The narrator of this story, seamstress Eloise, becomes Princess Elizabeth's favorite lady-in-waiting. She recounts her own story as well as Elizabeth's from childhood to the throne. Check catalog for availability.

I found this book a bit dull and slow until the end when the action, danger and romance picked-up. I would recommend the following books instead.

The Queen's Fool: A Novel by Philippa Gregory, 2004

The narrator of this story, the court's fool and secretly Jewish, Hannah Green, recounts the turbulent and dangerous times of Queen Mary and later Queen Elizabeth. Gregory offers more depth in her characters, an intricate plot and a bit of magic to these historic times. Check catalog for availability.

Gregory's style and attention to detail make for an enthralling read.

The Innocent: A Novel by Posie Graeme-Evans, 2004

The narrator and main character of this story, Anne de Bohun recounts her own tale as an herbal healer, business woman and mistress to King Edward IV. Anne finds numerous enemies and almost insurmountable dangers everywhere she goes. The action is nonstop, but unwanted by Anne. First book in a trilogy. Check catalog for availability.

Although I found some of Anne's adventures to be unbelievable, the action kept me quickly reading until I completed book three.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Post Office by Charles Bukowski

The first novel by "Beat" poet Bukowski is an excellent introduction to the writings of this acclaimed and original poet/novelist. Though decidedly harsh in terms of language and subject matter, Bukowski opens a window into his life as a mail sorter/carrier in a way only a writer of exceptional talent and vision can. Published in 1971, this novel is a true contemporary classic. Check catalog for availability.

For a good starting point in sampling the poetry of Bukowski try:

The People Look Like Flowers at Last: New Poems by Charles Bukowski

This posthumously published collection of poetry is the 5th from Bukowski since his death in 1994. Using poetry to explain his philosophy on life, this fine collection will enlighten the reader to the inner workings of Bukowski's mind through his alter-ego character Chinaski. Poems on topics such as gambling, women, and booze are the norm from this outstanding poet. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

The Vietnam War experiences of the author are told in this outstanding work of fiction. This novel was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and the acclaim is well deserved. The book is not a novel in the traditional sense, or a collection of short stories and not quite a memoir. The narrative is more a melding of all three formats into an inter-related work consisting of twenty-two stories that combine the war experiences of the narrator who also happens to be named Tim O'Brien but is not the author! The narrator having the same name as the author further blurs what is to be considered "truth" with fiction. The thread that holds all twenty-two stories together are the things that the soldiers carried in their packs, their consciences and their hearts while serving in the same platoon. Less an examination of the politics of war than a kaleidoscope of the memories and feelings created by it, this book is literary art at its best. Check catalog for availability.

Please join us at the Central Library on Tuesday, May 13th at 7pm for a discussion of this exceptional work. However, prior reading of this book is not necessary to join in the discussion. Tell the group about your experiences in the military or discuss the impact of military service on your family. Any and all contributions are welcome!

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Three chapters connect three stories with different characters and places with most recent events first, then shifting back in time. I, "The Heron's Wife," 1999; II, "Lion Park," 1966 and III, "The Rules of Love," 1952. It is essentially about how love can go wrong. Willful Madeleine Heller is drawn to her sister’s fiancé. Frieda Lewis, a doctor’s daughter, becomes the muse of a rock star. And gorgeous Bryn Evans plans to marry an Englishman while secretly infatuated with her ex-husband. Tying things together is Lucy Green, who blames herself for an accident she witnessed at the age of twelve, and who spends four decades searching for the Third Angel – the angel on earth who will renew her faith. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ Central

Hollywood during the glitter, glamour, and hype of Oscar week forms the backdrop for a name-dropping, scandal-ridden, gossipy romp chronicling the adventures of Lola Santisi, the twenty-six-year-old daughter of Hollywood royalty, and her friends, Kate, a Hollywood talent agent, and Cricket, a struggling model and actress. A first novel co-authored by the daughter of producer Leonard Goldberg and the daughter of actor Dennis Hopper. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ Central

Austenland by Shannon Hale (2007)
Austenland's main character, Jane Hayes, is obsessed with Mr. Darcy as he is portrayed by Colin Firth in BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice. And what woman isn't? Jane travels to England to spend three weeks at a resort immersing herself in Jane Austen's world. Here she is surrounded by actors based on Jane Austen's fictional characters. Jane Hayes struggles to decipher which actors are solely acting, which ones are real and sincere, and whether or not she should enjoy her bizarre vacation. Check the catalog for availability

Shannon Hale has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I have enjoyed reading all of her other novels, although this one is definitely my favorite. I rate this book fantastic and highly entertaining. I recommend it to all Jane Austen (and Colin Firth) fans.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Do you ever wonder what dogs are thinking? Meet Enzo, he's a philosopher (and narrator) who has watched extensive amounts of television, knows a lot about race car driving and believes most of life can be navigated in much the same way that a driver navigates a race track.

Enzo is a Lab terrier mix and is eternally frustrated that he can't speak and doesn't have opposable thumbs like his master, Denny. Denny works in an auto repair shop to earn money so he can race cars. They live in Seattle together, quite happily as bachelors, until Eve comes along, and later, a daughter named Zoe. Though it takes some time for Eve and Enzo to warm up to each other, it does happen. Then Eve's health takes a turn for the worse. She experiences excruciating headaches with more and more frequency and isn’t diagnosed until it’s too late.

This begins a 3-year custody battle between Eve's parents and Denny for daughter Zoe. Denny is accused of rape, causing even more trouble, but he struggles on. Just as he nearly gives up Enzo provides some very timely help. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ Central

The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease (2005)

During the late 1300s, the English widow Lady Kathryn lives a very difficult life limited by the King's and the Church's demands for support and loyalty. Without a husband to aid and guard her, Lady Kathryn strives against all odds to manage her lands and save her sons' inheritance. The characters in this novel develop complex and often dangerous relationships as several exciting story lines entwine.

This is a gripping read speeding out of control to a shocking ending. Check catalog for availability.

Visit the author's website for additional information.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

The Condition (check catalog for availability) tells the story of the McKotches, a proper New England family that comes apart during one fateful summer. The year is 1976, and the family, Frank McKotch, an eminent scientist; his pedigreed wife, Paulette; and their three beautiful children has embarked on its annual vacation at the Captain's House, the grand old family retreat on Cape Cod. One day on the beach, Frank is struck by an image he cannot forget: his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, strangely infantile in her child-sized bikini, standing a full head shorter than her younger cousin Charlotte. At that moment he knows a truth; that something is terribly wrong with his only daughter. The McKotch family will never be the same.

Twenty years after Gwen's diagnosis with Turner's syndrome, a genetic condition that has prevented her from maturing, trapping her forever in the body of a child, all five family members are still dealing with the fallout. Each believes himself crippled by some secret pathology; each feels responsible for the family's demise. Frank and Paulette are acrimoniously divorced. Billy, the eldest son, is dutiful but distant, a handsome Manhattan cardiologist with a life built on compromise. His brother, Scott, awakens from a pot-addled adolescence to a soul-killing job, a regrettable marriage, and a vinyl-sided tract house in the suburbs. And Gwen is silent and emotionally aloof, a bright, accomplished woman who spurns any interaction with those around her. She makes peace with the hermetic life she's constructed until, well into her thirties, she falls in love for the first time. And suddenly, once again, the family's world is tilted on its axis.

Compassionate yet unflinchingly honest, witty and almost painfully astute, The Condition explores the power of family mythologies, the self-delusions, denials, and inescapable truths that forever bind fathers and mothers and siblings.

Jennifer Haigh is the author of the New York Times bestseller Baker Towers, winner of the 2006 PEN/L. L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author, and Mrs. Kimble, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction and was a finalist for the Book Sense Book of the Year. Both novels were number one Book Sense picks. Her fiction has appeared in Granta, Ploughshares, Good Housekeeping, and elsewhere. She lives in the Boston area.

The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber
Despite needing money to pay his son’s medical bills, painter Chaz Wilmot, Jr. refuses to compromise his talent and pander to the trends of the modern art marketplace. Instead, Wilmot struggles along churning out illustrations for magazines (and infuriating his ex-wife) until he agrees to take part in a medical experiment to test the effects of a drug that is supposed to enhance creativity. His first dose seems to transport him back to the seventeenth century and into the body and mind of a Spanish boy. Soon after, in a sudden burst of brilliance and energy, he finds himself effortlessly painting exactly like Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez. His unexplainable new paintings attract the attention of Krebs, a mysterious German patron of the arts and Wilmot quickly becomes ensnared in the dangerous, high priced world of meticulous fakes and Nazi-looted masterpieces. Check catalog for availability.

The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier
When researching the history of her own home on the English coast, author Daphne Du Maurier became inspired to write The House on the Strand. While vacationing in Kilmarth, the six hundred year old home of his long time friend, Magnus Lane, protagonist Richard Young is persuaded to try a "time travel" drug of Lane's making. Since Young’s wife and stepsons aren’t due to arrive for several days, he accepts the challenge and is plunged into the entrancing, sometimes brutal, world of fourteenth century Cornwall. A best seller when published in 1969, this riveting, intricately plotted thriller has certainly stood the test of time. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Christine @ Central

The Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips
Charlie Arglist is a seedy lawyer who runs a number of bars and strip clubs for local Wichita mob boss Bill Gerard. Charlie and his partner Vic have also been skimming profits from these mob owned businesses. They decide to leave town with the ill gotten goods on Christmas Eve 1979 after saying goodbye to friends and family. That's when the bodies start stacking up in this mildly funny, but wholeheartedly "hardboiled" tale of deceit, greed and irony. This fine debut melds elements of Noir with modern crime, mafia etiquette and tongue in cheek narration.
Check catalog for availabilty.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield, 2006

Setterfield tells the tale of Vida Winter, a popular but secluded author, who grants private interviews to Margaret, a bookseller, in order to write her long awaited biography. A bizarre history with graphic flashbacks horrifies readers and tempts them to read on. Meanwhile Margaret's inquisitive mind and careful research lead readers to an exciting and surprising conclusion.

I'd rate this one engrossing (sometimes gross) and surprising. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Grace came to Riverton Manor as a housemaid in 1914, at 14 years old. Her life became forever enmeshed with David, Hannah and Emmeline, grandchildren of the Master. At age 98, Grace looks back over her years of service and silence and tells her story before it is too late.

As acknowledged by the author in the afterword, this novel is reminiscent of "Remains of the Day," "Gosford Park," "The Great Gatsby" and many other gothic romance novels resulting in a magnificently enjoyable and hard to put down read. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ Central

Widely considered a contemporary classic, this acclaimed short story collection jams seventeen stories into 159 pages! Written in a minimalist style reminescent of Hemingway's Nick Adams Stories, Carver manages to pack a ton of meaning (not to mention emotional jabs) into his sparse, but superb command of words. Carver explores themes of isolation, alcoholism, communication (or lack there of), rejection, marriage, divorce and love. The title story examines the differences between the excitement of new lovers and the quiet resentment of a couple together for five years. Bleak, brilliant and beautiful, Carver is a writer of immense talent and ballyhoo that is richly deserved. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

This understated debut novel tells the story of two sisters, Ginny and Vivi, and how families are capable of doing anything for one another.
Ginny watches from their childhood mansion, now in ruin, as her sister Vivien arrives home for the first time in nearly fifty years. Ginny follows a strict routine, rarely goes out and carries on her father’s work as a lepidopterist. As they talk about the past, they realize their memories of childhood differ in crucial and disturbing ways. Deeply buried resentments resurface and Ginny won’t stand to have her schedule disrupted so she uncharacteristically takes action.

This story took me a little time to get into, and I couldn’t say for sure which ‘sister’ is The Sister from the title. Probably, it doesn't matter. If you get through the authors somewhat detail laden chapters on the specifics of moths you’ll likely find the end to be quite a surprise. I sure did! Check the catalog for availability.

Kill Zone: A Sniper Novel by Jack Coughlin, 2007

Kyle Swanson, a crack sniper for the Marine Corps, is summoned by the National Security Advisor to rescue a kidnapped Marine General from political opponents in the Middle East. This relentless story from the author of the acclaimed Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top Ranked Marine Sniper, takes us from White House conference rooms to the dunes of the Syrian desert and into a sandstorm of political intrigue and high intensity military action. Can Sgt. Swanson follow out his orders and save the General, or is he being set up by a political coup? This fast moving novel packs a .50 caliber wallop! Check catalog for availability

- Submitted by Dan @ MPL Central

People Of The Book: A Novel (2008)
Hanna Heath, a book conservator and scholar, researches the history of a rare and priceless Hebrew illuminated manuscript. Each chapter reveals more details about the travels, creation and people connected with the manuscript. The characters all narrate their own part of this fascinating story engaging the reader in multiple histories going farther and farther back in time. Check catalog for availability.

March: A Novel (2005)
Geraldine Brooks recounts the life and adventures of the absent father, March, from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. This is an interresting twist to be sure. March narrates his life events and thoughts as he encounters different people and difficult situations. Unfortunately, his choices are often to his detriment. At the close of the novel Brooks writes a very interesting chapter narrated by March's wife. Check catalog for availability.

Year Of Wonders: A Novel Of The Plague (2001)
An unforgettable tale of the Black Death hitting the small English village of Eyam in 1666 is told through the eyes of a young woman in this beautifully written historical novel. Anna, a young widow, is an engaging and strong lead character in this gripping novel of the power of Nature, and ultimately, hope. Check catalog for availability.

For more information see the author's website.

- Submitted by Paula & Dan @ MPL Central

Hailing from Chicago, Joe Meno has emerged as one of my favorite writers of contemporary fiction. He has a new book, Demons In The Spring, on the way in September. In the meantime, his previous two efforts are well worth a read:

The Boy Detective Fails (2006)
Meno's semi-surreal tale of Billy Argo, a noted detective as a child, now back on the beat at 30-years-old and having just been released from a long stay at a mental hospital. Though often classified as Young Adult, this equally melancholic and charming novel will also appeal to young-minded adults of any age. Check catalog for availabilty.

Bluebirds Used To Croon In The Choir: Stories (2005)
This collection of short stories seamlessly wanders between mundane blue collar reality and surreal moments of pure beauty. At times comic, at times tragic, hands down the best short story collection I've read in quite some time and represents Meno's most "adult" writing to date. Check catalog for availabilty.

Author's website.

- Submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

If you can squeeze in one more book before summer ends, make it The Lace Reader. This debut novel was self published in 2006 and then picked up by William Morrow and is undoubtedly 2008's 'it' book.

Ms. Barry opens with an ominous, "My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time. . ." So, how much of the rest should we believe?

Towner Whitney is part of a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light. Secrets, lies, and half-truths abound. It can be difficult to separate what's real from what isn't, but as Towner points out early in the story, "There are no accidents." Check the catalog for availability.

The time traveler's wife : a novel (2003) by Audrey Niffenegger

I found this book on the Staff Recommends table at the Central Library. This is a long but extraordinary story about the lives of Henry, a librarian, and Clare, an artist. I am not sure if this book would be difficult to read with the time line flashing from past, present and future repeatedly. I listened to this book on CD and found it easy to follow along with the time changes, because there were two readers - one male for Henry and one female for Clare. I actually laughed out loud and cried while reading this book. It is an amazing trip. Check the catalog for availability

I plan to reread this book. I can't remember the last book I read where I was completely enraptured by the story and characters.

Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

The alliance between humans and dogs is celebrated as we follow speech-disabled Wisconsin boy Edgar as he bonds with three yearling canines and struggles to prove that his sinister uncle, Claude, is responsible for his father's death.

This is David Wroblewski's first novel; he is from Wisconsin and masterfully captures the spirit of the Northwoods and the changing of seasons in the Midwest. Although I sometimes found this book difficult to read because of the weighty sadness, it is a story that will remain with me for a long time. Not to spoil anything here, but the end frustrated me. I really wanted to see Claude held responsible for all the evil he caused; and retribution was delivered, but I was hoping to see it come around in a different way. I feel this character got off pretty easily considering the pain and suffering he caused for the many he claimed to love...Check the catalog for availability.

Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
This memoir begins with a bang: "On July 5, 1996, my daughter was struck mad." It chronicles the summer when 15-year-old Sally experienced her first full-blown manic episode--an event that in a "single stroke" changed her identity and, by extension, that of her entire family. Check the catalog for availability.

The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington by Jennet Conant
After blinding headaches cut short his distinguished career as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Dahl became part of an elite group of British spies working against the United States' neutrality at the onset of World War II. Check the catalog for availability.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The debut thriller is a total page-turner and the first in a trilogy. Readers who enjoy Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly will want to pick this up. Check the catalog for availability.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip - Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter
What started (and continues) as a blog at waiterrant.net is now also a book. The Waiter has many tales to tell about his customers and coworkers. My favorite chapters involved Valentine’s Day and NYEve—two dates, in fact entire weekends, that people should consider eating at home. Why, you ask? Read Waiter Rant. Check the catalog for availability.

Service Included: Four-star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch
While Phoebe was deciding what to do with her life, she worked as a waiter. Before long she was a captain at the New York City four-star restaurant Per Se, the creation of master chef Thomas Keller. This is the story of her experiences there: her obsession with food, her love affair with a sommelier, and her observations of the highly competitive world of fine dining. Check the catalog for availability.

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford
Buford is a writer for The New Yorker currently and this is his account of working for free in the kitchen of Babbo, a New York restaurant owned by Chef Mario Batali. Buford's premise is that he considered himself to be a capable home cook and wondered if he had the skill to work in a busy restaurant kitchen. Check the catalog for availability.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
This book is pretty much about Bourdain and not so much about cooking. As such, cursing, vulgarity and sexual references abound. Anthony Bourdain is the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York, and he is the host of the series No Reservations on the Travel Channel. Check the catalog for availability.

Girl Cook: A Novel by Hannah McCouch
Layla Mitchner is a twenty-eight-year-old Cordon Bleu graduate trying to find a space in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of Manhattan’s top restaurant kitchens. She knows she’s got the talent to be a great chef, but there she is slaving for a misogynistic boss who’d sooner promote the dishwasher than give a woman the chance to prove her sous-chef mettle. Check the catalog for availability.

My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals by Melanie Dunea
The coffee table book for foodies! 50 famous chefs describe what they would have as their final meal, who they would be with and where. Recipes are included at the end, but the absolutely gorgeous portraits of each chef steal the show. Even if you aren’t familiar with these people or their restaurants, you’ll enjoy perusing this immensely. Check the catalog for availability.

The mermaid chair by Sue Monk Kidd, 2005

I found this book on the Staff Recommends table at the Central Library. The book jacket summary intrigued me although this is not a book I would normally read. I’m glad I did. The main character, Jessie, simultaneously undergoes four life changing events. Her mother becomes ill, she has an affair with a monk, separates from her husband, and learns the truth about her father’s death. I couldn’t stop listening to this book as I constantly wondered what choices Jessie would make next. I thoroughly enjoyed Eliza Foss the reader of this book. Check catalog for availability.

Author's website.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

A couple of months ago another librarian asked if I'd heard of the new novel about Laura Bush, and though it wasn't on my radar, I'm glad it was brought to my attention. The time spent reading this book has been purely enjoyable. Sittenfeld, in her acknowledgments, notes that she drew inspiration from The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush, by Ann Gerhart.

Part of what made this story so compelling was that its set largely in Wisconsin. Names and places are familiar and a strong sense of nostalgia is present too. Sittenfeld gets Wisconsin right; for example, an old fashioned cocktail, it goes without saying, is made with brandy rather than whiskey here.

American Wife is written as a memoir, told by the first lady, Alice Blackwell, and, rather than chapters, it's told in four parts, each a significant part of Alice's life. There is a life-changing accident in high school where a classmate is killed in a car accident, friendships are gained and lost, and of course, there is the first meeting of Alice and Charlie Blackwell, their ensuing romance and then married lives while campaigning first for governor of Wisconsin and later President of the United States. Check catalog for availability.

Originally titled The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when first published in 1886, this short novella continues to "transform" readers today. Dr Jekyll, after drinking a potion designed in his laboratory to free his mind from all morality and conscience, turns into the morally corrupt and heinous Mr. Hyde. As time passes, Jekyll starts becoming Hyde without the use of the potion. The transformation from a good man to an evil one is consumated when Hyde murders a man on the street in a fit of anger.

Stevenson's study of the duality in people is as potent today as it was over 100 years ago. The Jekyll and Hyde story has been performed in dozens of major theatrical productions over the years and his also been filmed over 20 times. Popular culture often refers to a person whose personality and demeanor change back and forth rapidly as a "Jekyll and Hyde." The version of the story linked here includes an interesting essay from famed author Vladimir Nabokov introducing the book. Check catalog for availability.

Other classic adventure stories from Robert Louis Stevenson include:

Treasure Island
A swashbuckling adventure on the high seas with pirate Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins and buried treasure.

Kidnapped
Orphan David, while searching for his birthrite, finds adventure and intrigue after waking up in the hold of a ship destined for colonial America. An action packed story for both young and old!

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

Testimony is told after-the-fact through the eyes of multiple people. A parent confiscates a videotape of several older male students engaging in sex acts with a 14 year old girl and gives it to the headmaster of Avery Academy. Avery is a prestigious boarding school located in Vermont. In an attempt to keep the scandal from the public, Mike Bordwin, headmaster, takes the situation into his own hands. He asks the boys for written confessions, but without the presence of either parents or legal counsel.

The aspect of this book that frustrated me the most is that the girl, who, in my opinion, was aware of what she was doing, is not held accountable. Yes, the boys were older and made some bad choices, but the young lady did too. The adults also made several bad choices, but you’ll need to read the book to find out what they are.

In any case, this is a serious subject and I’m glad that Ms. Shreve has addressed it. It certainly could open discussions for parents and children about the consequences that one must face for one’s actions. Book clubs also, will find this a story with many issues to talk about. Check catalog for availability.

Reading Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite guilty pleasures and this book was no exception. If you haven’t read him yet, it would be a good one to start with.

In The Lucky One, Logan Thibault, a Marine serving in Iraq, finds what he believes to be a ‘lucky picture’ of a woman he doesn’t know. He holds the picture responsible for keeping him alive while seeing so many friends die. After completing his tour of duty, he walks from Colorado to North Carolina to find the woman in the picture. He has just enough clues to find Elizabeth, the woman in the picture, and gets to know her, as well as her Nana and son, Ben. Check catalog for availability.

What a great book. I recently finished and I’m still thinking about the characters. The epistolary style (written in the form of a series of letters exchanged among the characters of the story) conveys a warmness so great you feel like you’re a friend of theirs too.

The story follows Juliet around London and later Guernsey where she befriends Islanders just after the end of the German Occupation. Through letters, Juliet learns about life on the island and its deprivations while occupied. She becomes so fond of the people there that she moves to the island temporarily and decides to write a book based on their experiences. Check catalog for availability.

Silk by Alessandro Baricco, 1997

Baricco writes in a simple straightforward manner that I found sometimes humorous and other times deeply moving. The main character Herve Joncour's personality and actions perfectly mirror Baricco's writing style. This novel follows Herve's travels back and forth from France to the end of the world, Japan, to trade for silkworm eggs. Central to the story are the relationships Herve has with his wife, the Japanese man he trades with for silkworm eggs and a mysterious woman he meets in Japan.

The movie adaptation for this book perfectly captures the mood of Baricco's novel as well as the dialogue almost to the word. I thought the actors chosen for the characters of this book were also well matched. I recommend this serene book and movie to all.

Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Kim Larsen is 18 years old and just a month away from leaving for college. Like many small town kids, she is anxious to be part of the wider world and experience life on her own.

Then she disappears. No sign of her or her car. No one’s seen anything. So, this becomes a story of those who knew Kim, and how they deal with losing her. Some get organized, some head for the outdoors, some turn into themselves and some just stay away.

Mr. O’Nan’s skillful writing lets readers enmesh themselves into Kim’s world. I felt I could truly empathize with certain characters and hope I never know these feelings outside of a book. Girls disappear often and many times their fates remain unknown, this is a look at the torment and heartache suffered by those around the missing. Check catalog for availability.

Because I loved reading She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True, I've been anxiously awaiting Lamb's new book since I read a review in July. The Hour I First Believed is partly about the Columbine shootings, but also much more. Real people from Columbine are intertwined with fictional characters which makes the reading interesting.

At first I thought I wasn’t ready to read about the shootings; it seemed like not enough time had passed, but I’m glad I stuck with it because the journey of Caelum and Maureen Quirk is astounding. Maureen witnesses the shootings first-hand and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. While reviewing the history of their families they discover so much about themselves and others. Few authors are capable of weaving so much together so seamlessly.

That said, it’s 700 some pages, and while I could have done without areas describing work on Caelum’s doctoral thesis, this was worth every moment. Check catalog for availability.

Published in England in 1945 and in the U.S. in 1946, this poignant novel is believed by some scholars to be an allegorical portrayal of communism and the rise of Joseph Stalin in pre-World War II Russia. Though the interpretation of Orwell’s intent is debatable, the quality of his writing and imagination is evident.

Animal Farm, at face value, is a simple story of anthropomorphic barnyard animals that revolt against their human caretakers. The uprising is led by a pig named Napoleon who trains newly born puppies to be his “secret police.” Over time, Napoleon becomes a tyrant and the social injustice the uprising hoped to quell becomes worse than before the “revolution.”

This short and powerful story has been included in Time Magazine’s top 100 best English-language novels, the Modern Library List of Best 20th Century Novels and is routinely required reading in many high school and college literature courses. Though this book has gained many literary accolades, it’s still a fun read without becoming preachy or overly moralistic. Highly recommended.

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- Submitted by Dan @ Central

An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein, 2006.

After enjoying Baricco’s novel Silk, I wanted to see what another one of his titles would be like. I found another interesting read in An Iliad. This work is laid out as a collection of short stories, or episodes, told by different characters found in Homer’s Iliad. In the opening, Baricco's note explains to the reader the changes he has made in his retelling of the siege of Troy. He has the characters tell their own stories from their own point of view, a technique I really liked. He also adjusts the antiquated into more modern terms to help the stories flow in a more understandable manner for today’s readers. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

While The 19th Wife is a work of fiction, it is based on facts, as noted in the authors acknowledgments. Knowing very little about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I found this book fascinating. It starts with the story of Ann Eliza Young, the 19th wife of the Brigham Young, Prophet of the Latter Day Saints. It’s the 1800's, and Ann Eliza’s family history if retraced until eventually we find her in a polygamous marriage. Not happy in this situation, she tolerates it until Brigham refuses to financially support her. Forced to take in Gentile boarders, she sees what life is like elsewhere. She divorces and goes on a speaking tour denouncing the Latter Day Saints and the practice of plural marriage.

Intertwined with this account is the story of a present day 19th wife, a member of the "Firsts," loosely based on The Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints. BeckyLyn is accused of murdering her husband and jailed. Her son Jordan, who has been excommunicated from the church, reads about it in the newspaper and visits her. He is devastated to see her there and quite sure she is innocent, so he tries to find out what really happened. Check catalog for availability.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Stardust follows the adventures of Tristran Thorn as he hunts down a fallen star to bring back to Victoria Forester, the woman he loves and wants to marry. The fallen star, however, has landed in the forbidden neighboring realms of Faerie. Witches, unicorns, flying pirate ships and other magical events do not phase Tristran, but do the reader. This novel comes in many formats - book, audio, graphic novel, illustrated novel and movie. The movie has been toned down to appeal to a wider audience, but Gaiman wrote the screenplay and therefore it remains true to the original story. This fairy tale is very entertaining and one I will most definitely read again. Check catalog for availability.

The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell

Mitchell puts a serious and contemplative spin on the traditional frog prince fairy tale. Both the frog and princess have unexpected and engaging personalities. Their stubborn behaviors immediately put tension into the story making the reader wonder if the tale will end happily ever after. The conflict builds and keeps you reading up to a shocking ending. Check catalog for availability.

Ever since reading this tale I hunted for other authors who similarly put a spin on traditional fairy tales. One such book is right below.

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

I have enjoyed all of the Mercedes Lackey books I read thus far. The Fairy Godmother puts a twist on the traditional Cinderella tale. What happens when Cinderella and the Prince cannot marry because one of them is an infant? Or when the fairy godmother is ready to retire without an apprentice? These and other traditional tales are interwoven by Lackey to create a new and fantastic fairy tale for adults. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

This raging novel should come equipped with an airbag to cushion the blunt-force explosion of words in this action jammed tale of hit men, betrayal and absurd love.

Lola was enjoying a peaceful, quiet life practicing martial arts and working as a school aide with her librarian roommate Pamela and her older boyfriend Smoke, until some “businessmen” identified Smoke as a former bomb-maker for the mob! It seems Smoke disappeared a few years back with a couple of million dollars in mob money that they wanted returned. They also wanted Smoke dead.

Unable to locate Smoke after an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt, some hit men decide to set a trap for Smoke by holding Lola and Pamela as bait. What ensues is a detonation of violence and retribution that leads to love and forgiveness. Wearing a bullet-proof vest is recommended while reading this bombastic story!

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Submitted by Dan @ Central

The Wild Parrots Of Telegraph Hill : A Love Story ... With Wings by Mark Bittner (2004)

After reading about Mark Bittner in the news and on the internet, I couldn't wait for his book and film to be released. I was excited to learn about a population of wild parrots in San Francisco and interested in learning more. In both the book and the film you learn about Mark, the entire flock, and the individual parrots within the flock. If you're a bird lover this is a wonderful heartwarming story that lives on in the flock that still thrives today in California. Check catalog for availability.

The Parrot Who Owns Me : The Story Of A Relationship by Joanna Burger (2001)

Burger writes a thoroughly entertaining book about the highs and lows of adopting an adult parrot. In perfect detail, she describes her parrot Tiko's behavior and personality. Tiko’s transition into a new home was terribly difficult for both himself and his new owners. His new life begins withdrawn, depressed, and sometimes aggressive. With time he becomes happy, content and loving. Although the story was sometimes sad, I enjoyed reading about Tiko’s intelligence and transition, as well as Burger's patience and diligence to make the best life possible for Tiko. Check catalog for availability.

Elsewhere In The Land Of Parrots by Jim Paul (2003)

I can't help picking up a book that has a parrot on the cover. I am always curious to see if the author actually knows anything about parrots and how they fit them into the story. This story is well written in that aspect and the characters and storyline are just as interesting as the parrots. It all begins a bit slow, but picks up after the characters and plot have been developed. Don't be fooled by the cover (unless you simply love parrots), Paul writes an interesting book about the relationship of a couple while they are on a South American adventure. Check catalog for availability.

The Final Solution : A Story Of Detection by Michael Chabon (2004)

In 1944 a mute German boy and his parrot wander through the English countryside into the life of a retired detective. The unusual pair bring with them a dangerous mystery with a remarkable resolution. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

I really enjoyed this book. Olive, who lives in a small town in Maine, is a “character” of a certain age. She appears in each of 13 touching short stories laced with humor and pathos. Relationships with her family, friends and former students are imperfect, but they are always revealing and interesting. Themes of depression, love, loss and aging are all represented, and I longed for more as I finished reading the final story. This title is included in the Library Journal’s Best Books of 2008.

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- Submitted by Kristin @ Central

People from Wisconsin, and especially those from Spring Green, or those who have visited, may find reading about the area and Frank Lloyd Wright's personal life from Mamah's perspective quite interesting. This book is fiction, but I believe historically correct. I enjoyed it and suggest it as a book club discussion novel.

I had only a vague idea of who Mamah Cheney was, and knew even less about her life works and what happened at the end of her life. So as she describes her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright, while Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, I vividly saw the conflicts of a woman needing to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Mamah’s is a remarkable journey that leads ultimately to a very stunning conclusion. Check catalog for availability.

The Historian: A Novel by Elizabeth Kostova

Despite good reviews from my coworkers, I held off reading this book because of its length. However, once I dove in I couldn't stop reading it. Right at the beginning of the story there is a murder and a mysterious letter to whomever finds it. From there the letter finder ensues an exciting hunt to find out the history and truth of Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Check catalog for availability.

Eleven short stories about the lives and loves of young Manhattanites are intricately woven together here. All the characters live in or have contact with the Preemption apartment building. The central players, to me, are James, Patrick and Rally who are involved in a hopeless love triangle. I wanted to hear more about these people and I did.

After the first few stories introduce everyone they become more interesting because connections between the characters become increasingly more apparent and peculiar. Check catalog for availability.

Sometimes the best “families” are not connected by blood or marriage. Septuagenarian Margaret has just received a dismal prognosis from her doctor. She lives alone in a grand old Seattle mansion crammed full of valuable antique porcelain obtained by her late father by criminal means. Margaret decides to take in a boarder, & this decision transforms her life. Wanda is the boarder who at age 34 is suffering from a broken heart. The women forge a close relationship and open up their home and hearts to others.

The book is peopled by eccentric, lonely and likeable characters (including some ghosts) who demonstrate that you can spend your life searching for someone or something that might already be right in front of you.
It’s possible for broken porcelain as well as shattered hearts and bodies to be made whole again. I found this very off-beat novel to be a great read.

I had actually been looking for Kallos’ new book, Sing Them Home, but all copies were checked out. You can bet I’m now on the hold list for it.
Check catalog availability for Broken For You

Submitted by Kristin @ Central

Sophie Applebaum is the middle child in an average, barely-practicing Jewish family. When the story begins she’s about 13 and must go to Hebrew school to have bat mitzvah, like her cousin Rebecca. Each chapter portrays a new stage in Sophie’s life through her 30’s. We are introduced to her friends and lovers, and like many young women, she isn’t sure what she wants ‘when she grows up,’ so we watch her bumble through jobs, boyfriends, etc.

The wit that is inherent in Banks’ writing is what made this book so easy to read. I zipped through in less than two days and lost count of the number of times I laughed out loud. Check catalog for availability. You may also enjoy The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank.

In 1932 Tadashi Sato, a Japanese apprentice, comes to Taliesin to work for Frank Lloyd Wright. For nine years he stays and living in Spring Green, Wisconsin he sees Wrights’ many moods and experiences his ego. Yet, he regards him as a genius and influence.

But this story is not so much about Wright as it is the women in his life. Like him, they are passionate, spontaneous and determined. His first wife, Kitty is so devoted to Wright she believes he’ll return to her even though his affection is clearly now given to Mamah Cheney, an early feminist who is brutally murdered at Taliesin. His second wife, Maud, quite a complex character, is a morphine addict with a mean jealous streak. His last love and third wife, Olgivanna pretends to be Wright’s housekeeper while pregnant with his out-of-wedlock child.

If this isn’t enough to intrigue you, there are two fires which burn Taliesin to the ground, significant financial troubles, a gang of reporters and an abundance of legal issues. Check catalog for availability.

Often we hear expecting parents say they just want their baby to be healthy. Whether it’s a boy or girl is irrelevant, etc. The O’Keefe’s wished for a healthy child too, but weren’t given that choice. Willow, their youngest daughter, was born with OI, osteogenesis imperfecta, a hereditary disease characterized by abnormally brittle, easily fractured bones. This meant a lot of worrying, bills, and uncomfortable moments with ‘luckier’ parents and kids.

What if they had known earlier about the illness? What if Willow hadn’t been born? Life brings them to face these questions as they pursue a wrongful birth lawsuit against their OB/GYN, claiming she should have counseled, at the very least, the option of abortion. Many controversial aspects are discussed, while at the same time, a family with incredible burdens thrust upon them, finds a way to love and protect one another. Check catalog for availability.

The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb

Lamb creates a witty, intelligent and impulsive main character - Jeanne Stewart - whose blunt retorts and actions race almost as fast as her lightning speed thoughts. This behavior lands her in a court ordered anger management class (and a precarious law suit). For one class assignment Jeanne decides to free herself from her anger by running naked at night along a river in her new home town. This, like many of Jeanne’s actions, puts her in an intense predicament when she runs full steam into a man standing by the river. Jeanne immediately thinks, “What’s the etiquette in this situation? I could see Emily Post: After running naked along a river and knocking over a strange man, make sure that you sincerely thank him for his time and efforts while politely shaking his hand. Send a note of appreciation in the mail the next day expressing your gratitude.”

Lamb writes an intriguing story with an abundance of colorful and unpredictable characters which I came to care for, including “Naked Run Man.” I swiftly read to the very end of the book to see what happened to Jeanne, her law suit, and the other people in her life. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Phillips writes a fun story about the entertainment industry. I found reading this novel much like reading People Magazine, a guilty and secret pleasure. Georgie York and Bram Shepard, two actors who share a long and volatile history together, despise each other through and through. Despite their best efforts to live seprate lives they keep crashing together. It's difficult to feel sorry for these two characters whose problems are deciding where to eat, what to wear, and which film to star in next. However, readers who are interested in Hollywood drama will be curious to see if Georgie and Bram can redeem themselves and how their story ends. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Published in 1919, Winesburg, Ohio is a collection of 22 short stories, each based on the life of residents in this fictional town. Many of the stories seem to focus on the loneliness, frustration and failure of townspeople. For instance, “Hands” tells how a resident was run out of his Pennsylvania hometown. In “Mother,” we witness the emotional desolation of the owner of the ramshackle and rundown hotel in Winesburg, who imagines her grownup George as he was as a boy. Though the overall feeling of Winesburg, Ohio is lonesome and withdrawn, the superior writing and language make this “novel” a seminal work in American Literature. Highly recommended.

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Submitted by Dan@Central

Elizabeth Noble, bestselling author of The Reading Group brings us a new novel; Things I Want My Daughters to Know. Book clubs won’t want to miss this one. Barbara Forbes, mother of four girls, is diagnosed with cancer. She writes letters to each of her daughters so they will better understand her life and hopefully their own.

Here are some questions to get you thinking:

1. What would you say in a letter to your daughter? What advice would you give?
2. What does each character learn about herself and what do they learn from Barbara?
3. What is the best advice your mother gave to you or what do you wish she'd told you?

Madcap mayhem abounds in this deliciously demented thriller. When millionaire eco-terrorist Twilly Spree spies litterbug Palmer Stoat tossing trash from his Range Rover while driving through Florida, Spree's need for anger management counseling shines bright. Incensed by Stoat's disrespect of the environment, Spree kidnaps the litterbugs' labrador and wife!
What ensues is a rollicking romp of farcical exploits that involves protecting a pristine Floridian island from a developer who has an unhealthy obsession with Barbie Dolls; a crazy ex-governor who is fond of roadkill for dinner, and a hit man who enjoys sexual romps while listening to emergency calls! The double entendre of the title fits most characters in this book!

Though outrageously themed and paced, the heart of this book tells a story of corrupt politicians, unscrupulous developers and a environmental extremist who loves puppies and fights the good fight by extraordinary means.

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For more Floridian funnies, try Tim Dorsey and Dave Barry.

Submitted by Dan@Central

The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse

"The stone mass of it [the house] was bulked up against the wood behind like a dog with raised hackles and I had a premonition of the unease I was coming to associate with the place."

Written in a slow but well crafted manner, this is not a novel for those who love speed and action. Whitehouse fully develops each character in the book including the landscape and architecture. Almost immediately this story has a feeling of suspense and foreboding as it describes the painful degeneration of a close-knit group of friends. Joanna, the narrator, blames her friend’s recently inherited house as the cause for everyone’s sudden bizarre and sometimes violent change in personality. Relationships become twisted as each friend warps under the eerie powers of house leading to an explosive and shocking conclusion. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

This is my first time reading Ms. Cooper and I really enjoyed her style. In this book we go to Wideland, Oklahoma where an older woman relates an African American family saga about the people of Wideland and about love: hard-to-find, hard-to-get, hard-to-keep love.

Our narrator explains that the story (which covers much of the 20th century) is shaped like a “Y” with two strands coming together. In one strand we meet Val, a Native American and Irene, the Afr. Am. woman he comes to love as well as their daughters, Rose and Tante. Tante can’t wait to leave Wideland and make her own life, while Rose stays and becomes a teacher, making sure the poor children learn how to read and write. She also marries Leroy and has her own daughter, Myine. But Leroy is bad news and brings an old girlfriend into the picture. There is a lot of evil here, people being poisoned to death and children being sold to others…

The story of Herman Tenderman is the other strand. Much of his story occurs at the same time as that of Tante and Rose, but it isn’t until later, when they merge, that the love story begins. Herman makes his way in the world, gets a college degree, joins the Navy and works hard as a garage mechanic. Years pass and Herman and Myine’s paths cross more and more until they realize they were meant to be. Even still, it takes them a long time to get through past hurts and admit to themselves and each other that their love completes the “Y” of the narrators’ story. Check catalog for availability.

First published in 1962, this bleak satire of institutionalized treatment for mental health sufferers is poignant, beautifully written and socially aware. Set inside a Northwestern mental institution and narrated by a half-Indian inmate named Chief Broom, the story revolves around McMurphy, a con man, who chooses to be institutionalized instead of working on a prison farm after being convicted for statutory rape.
Clearly sane and avoiding prison, McMurphy begins to influence others on his mental ward, including a thirty-three year old stutterer named Billy and a man who suffers from severe hallucinations named Martini. (How’s that for a double entendre!)
The ward is “ruled” over by Nurse Ratched, who is referred to as “The Big Nurse.” Nurse Ratched is a cold, calculating woman who commands the inmates and two orderlies on the ward with a ruthless and tyrannical demeanor.
The on-going battle for psychological supremacy of the ward between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched comes to a head after McMurphy organizes an after hours party that eventually leads to the suicide of an inmate.
Though the tone of the novel is mostly grim, melancholy and desolate, the ending has the emotional impact of the sun rising over a lake, reflecting hope, beauty, enlightenment and freedom.

A film adaptation starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1975.

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Submitted by Dan@Central

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

This is the first James Patterson book I have ever read. It is also yet another book I found on the Staff Recommends table at the Central Library. This story reminds me a bit of those written by Mitch Albom and Nicholas Sparks. The main characters in Patterson's book, Jane and Michael, meet when Jane is a child and then reunite later in life when she is an adult. Growing up without Michael has been difficult for Jane. Her mother controls her life, boyfriends disappointment her, and hopelessness settles in for her future. Everything changes for Jane and Michael when they miraculously reunite. This is a fast and heart warming read that I really enjoyed, a departure from the heavy fact filled historical fiction novels I usually read. I recommend this novel to everyone who likes to read about personal transformations, and the pursuit of true love and happiness. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Innertown’s economy was fueled for decades by George Lister’s chemical plant, but now it's closed. Poverty, rare cancers and a plethora of misshapen wildlife now permeate the area. Then, Mark Wilkinson, the first of several boys to disappear, is found hanged in the woods over an odd shrine of boughs, glass and tinsel. The constable decides to cover up the crime and let the youth take care of themselves. This is an out of the ordinary story, almost falling into the genre of horror. If you enjoy Dennis Lehane’s thrillers, check out The Glister. Check catalog for availability.

This is a book that readers will either ‘get’ or they won’t. Your level of familiarity with the original work by Jane Austen will determine how much you are amused by the authors’ tweaks to the original story. Certainly, a number of them went right over my head, but I was laughing out loud over those that I did catch. If you’re a literary purist, remember that this is a parody, that is to say, a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. Check catalog for availability.

If you’d like a book to keep you up past your bedtime, look no further. Set in rural Wisconsin during an unforgiving winter in the early 1900’s, we meet Ralph Truit, patriarch of the town which bears his name. What he has is money and power. What he craves is a wife, a reliable wife, and he advertises for one in the local newspaper. His ad is answered by Catherine Land, who is not the person she purports to be. Most telling quotes; “She knew a good deal more about what was to happen than he did,” and “She knew the end of the story.” You, too, will want to find out what Catherine knows and in doing so will be mesmerized by Mr. Goolrick’s use of language, and a plot with several twists that I won't give away here. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

It’s been a while since I read anything by Elizabeth Berg, in fact, not since Open House. And I’m not sure why, because once again as I started reading Home Safe I was struck by how easy she is to read, and how easy she is to relate to. In this book, the lead character, Helen, finds her life turned upside down when her husband dies suddenly. We catch up with Helen eight months after his death, and she appears to be moving along with her grief as would be expected. But within a few pages you find that Helen is not only unaccustomed to being on her own, but also somewhat inept. She has a good relationship with her daughter, although she has a tendency to want to control her life. And of course, there is the mystery of what her husband did with approximately $850,000 from their retirement account! This is an easy read that holds your attention and provides pure literary enjoyment. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Mary S. at MPL Central

This is a scary book. Not Stephen King scary, but for anyone who has ever forgotten where they put something, and then found it later in a bizarre location, or who has ever felt that for some reason their brain is not fully engaged or operating properly, they will find this book disturbing from the get-go. Still Alice tells the story of Alice, a woman who has just turned 50 and been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The story is told from Alice’s viewpoint throughout, and takes you on a rare journey into what it is like from the diseased person’s perspective as her brain slowly but surely loses the memories that have been built over 50 years, much like diodes dying out one by one on an electronics game. The most disturbing part of this book is her realization of what is occurring. Like I said, it’s scary! The book also brings to the surface the frustrating quest for medications to control and slow down the process, and the lack of support available for those who are suffering. This is Lisa Genova’s first book, and I hope there will be more from her. Anyone who enjoys reading Wally Lamb will enjoy Still Alice. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Mary S. @ MPL Central

This is a most interesting love triangle! Laura Rider, wants to become a writer, but currently owns and operates Prairie Wind Farms with her husband Charlie in Hartley, Wisconsin. Everyone in Hartley thinks Charlie is gay, but really, he’s quite gifted and enthusiastic about his sexual expertise with women. Then there is Jenna Faroli, a syndicated public radio show host who moves to town because it’s in between the radio station and the courthouse where her husband works. Laura has listened to Jenna on the radio for years and worships her, so when she moves to town, she can’t wait to become friends.

Laura has told Charlie that she no longer wishes to have a sexual relationship with him and as it turns out, Jenna’s husband hasn’t shown any desire for her since shortly after they were married, years ago. A chance meeting brings Charlie and Jenna together and they begin corresponding via e-mail. But, Laura is afraid Charlie will alienate her with his frivolity and so writes messages herself, but sends them as though they’re from Charlie. Eventually, Jenna and Charlie meet for ‘coffee,’ and things start to spin out of control.

All the characters undergo various transformations as the story progresses and it was really interesting to see everything come together, or fall apart, if you will. This is quite a departure from The Book of Ruth, and A Map of the World, but I enjoyed this sharply observed domestic satire. Check catalog for availability.

Last year I read Ms. Morton’s debut novel, The House at Riverton and was captivated by her storytelling—her sophomore effort is even better. The characters are unforgettable and as I wound through the twists and turns of the plot I was completely spellbound.

In 1913 a four year old girl is put on a ship headed for Australia. She believes the person who brought her is playing a game and will be back to collect her shortly, however, she is left alone with merely a suitcase and a book of fairy tales. Fortunately, the dockmaster realizes she’s unaccompanied when the ship disembarks and he and his wife take her in, and, when no one comes looking for her, raise her as their own.

On her 21st birthday, her wedding day, they tell her the truth. Nell, as she has become known, is heartbroken and heads to England to attempt to find out who her real family is and who she really is. She finds her way to the Cornish coast, to a place called Blackhurst Manor, owned by the Mountrachet family. Secrets abound within the grounds of the Manor, but due to various unforeseen circumstances, Nell is not able to continue her search.

It isn’t until her death, when she wills a Cottage on the Manor grounds to her granddaughter, Cassandra, that the puzzle starts to come together. Cassandra finds a forgotten garden and deciphers many, many undisclosed facts about her family. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

One of the best debuts I’ve read in awhile, the story opens in the 1980s outside the Panama Hotel in Seattle. The hotel was once a gateway to Japantown, but has been boarded up since the Japanese were relocated to internment camps during World War II. Many families left their belongings in the basement of the hotel for safekeeping and, surprisingly, the items are still there. Henry Lee sees the current owner bring out an old Japanese parasol and is transported back to the 1940s, the war years, when he was growing up with a father obsessed with the war in China and determined that Henry grow up American.

His father pulled strings to have him attend Rainier Elementary, where he was one of only a few minority students. The kids thought all Asians were Japanese, or the enemy, and treated him with contempt. While there, he worked in the cafeteria serving meals and met Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Two outsiders, they found comfort in a friendship with one another, but it was bittersweet, because Henry’s father didn’t approve of him befriending anyone of Japanese descent. Eventually their relationship became one of young love, love tested when Keiko’s family was evacuated to the internment camps.

So now, some 40 years later, Henry is sure that the parasol is Keiko’s and that her family's things are in the hotel basement. He is now a widower, and so has time to comb through the items left there, searching for the Okabe family’s belongings.

The character development is superb and reading about this period in history through their eyes really tugged at my heart. Considering this is an era I haven’t personally experienced, I felt the struggles of Henry and Keiko very strongly. Teachers covering this time period may want to consider including this novel in their plans. Because Henry and Keiko are in their preteens during the war, I think students will relate to them easily. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

Rather than writing her Ph.D. dissertation, Connie Goodwin is stuck dealing with the sale of her grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, Massachusetts. Incredible discoveries are found in the years of cobwebs and grime that lead to family connections with the Salem witch trials. Although the story takes some time to heat up, the flames are fanned as the mystery of Deliverance Dane is revealed and finally combusts in a startling ending. I loved it and was pleased to read the author’s notes about what was based on fact and where she embellished the truth. Also interesting; the author herself is a descendent of accused witches Elizabeth Howe and Elizabeth Proctor. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

The third entry in this historical fiction series featuring Arkansas state policeman Earl Swagger, a Medal of Honor winner during WWII, has the former marine assigned to bodyguard a U.S. congressman who is investigating mafia activity in Havana, Cuba in 1953. As the congressman wades through the debauchery and decadence of Havana without showing the slightest interest in anything related to the mafia, it becomes apparent to Earl that he’s become an unwilling participant in a cat and mouse game between American Intelligence and the Russians. It seems an upstart orator named Fidel Castro has been making a name for himself. One faction wants Castro dead, the other wants him as a puppet ruler and the mafia just wants everyone to leave. Earl, tired of being manipulated by fancily dressed politicians and mafia hotheads, decides to let his pistols do the talking. And they speak LOUDLY!

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Submitted by Dan @ Central

Four Smith College dorm mates come together for a wedding four years after graduation. The chapters are told in turn by the characters and as each told her story I was drawn deeper and deeper into their lives. There is a focus on feminism as these smart women learn to love, fight and grow. Reviewers compare it to The Group by Mary McCarthy. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

The back story of this debut novel is unsettling: A young, white first-time author, inspired by her own childhood relationship with her family maid in Jackson, Mississippi, sets out to write a novel from the point of view of black maids in the midst of the civil rights era. Hilly Holbrook, a Junior Leaguer, is encouraging white families to build separate bathrooms for their black maids. The maids, frightened and afraid to fight against this discrimination find help from Skeeter, also a Junior Leaguer, but one who is a little more forward thinking.

Skeeter writes for the local paper about housekeeping tips, which is ridiculous because her privileged life has never included the use of stain removal skills. So she turns to her friend Elizabeth’s maid, Aibileen, who tells her what to do to solve common household issues. She gains the interest of a Harper Row editor with the idea of a book based on interviews with black maids about their relationships with their employers. Gaining the trust of the maids is difficult, but once she has that the pace is quick with a lot of tension. Definitely a worthy book club pick. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central.

Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) was a writer of beautifully brutal and tragic short stories that often portray her “Bible belt” upbringing in Savannah, Georgia through stark religious imagery and a keen sense of decay found in most Southern Gothic literature. A Good Man is Hard to Find, published in 1955, is a stark collection of ten captivating short stories that often feature emotionally troubled or physically deformed characters. The general sense of unease and depravity that exists in these stories is only superseded by the pure genius of the writing itself. The title story describes a family’s deadly encounter with a criminal named “Misfit” while on a car trip. “Good Country People” has moral Joy, who has a PhD in philosophy, change her name to Hulga in response to losing her leg in a hunting accident. Hulga seduces a bible salesman named Manley Pointer (symbolism anyone?) and completes her moral corruption in the process. We find a lack of Southern hospitality towards some Polish immigrants in “The Displaced Person.”
Filled with blatant symbolism, often involving racism, sexuality, poverty, religion and aging, this brilliant collection of short stories is a great starting point for discovering the repressed genius of Flannery O’Connor and her works.

Check the library catalog for Flannery O'Connor

Submitted by Dan @ Central

The winners of the Shirley Jackson Award, given for “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic” were announced at Readercon in Burlington, MA, on Sunday. Here are the winners in the book categories. The complete list of nominees and winners is available at the Shirley Jackson web site.

Novel: The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford
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Novella: Disquiet by Julia Leigh
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Collection: The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa
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Known for novels with morsels of magic, this is no exception and it’s also just a tad creepy at times. In a small town on Long Island we meet Elv, Meg and Claire Story who live with their mother, Annie, after a bad divorce. The girls are quite affected by their father moving on and create a fairy tale world complete with its own language, Arnish.

The three sisters are very close and share an attic bedroom, but eventually the horrors of the real world intrude on the girls as Elv is hurt by a bad man. Claire is with her during part of the event and they vow to never tell anyone. As a result, Elv starts acting out by using drugs, sleeping around and stealing.

This isn’t a happy novel, in fact; it made me tear up a couple of times due to the weighty sadness and culmination of heartbreaking events. But I didn’t want to put it down because there was also a sense of hope, that good would conquer evil, and I was so invested in the characters I needed to know how things would turn out. I’m still thinking of them now… Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central.

If you’re looking for a finely written work of literature, stop reading this review and look elsewhere. If you are a fan of classic rock n roll, especially of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, then Black Dogs is the literary equivalent of Led Zeppelin IV or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath!
During Led Zeppelin’s 1973 tour, someone stole $203, 000 from Led Zeppelin’s safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York after the band played three sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. (These shows were filmed and were later compiled and released as the movie The Song Remains the Same, which also makes reference to the theft) The thief or thieves were never caught. These events are all true but the rest of this book is pure fiction. Or is it?
The premise of Black Dogs (fondly titled after the famous Led Zeppelin song!) rockingly and often hilariously explores the exploits of a group of long-haired stoners who love Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. They are also inept thieves who rob pawn shops and steal car stereos in between smoking pot and drinking beer. They unwisely steal some very important tapes from a crazy gang of bikers, which ultimately forces them to rob Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin after selling him a 1958 Les Paul guitar which they also happened to steal!
This fictionalized account of the Led Zeppelin robbery was simply a blast to read. I give it a rating of 11 on the amp of rock n roll fiction! This book was a riot!

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Submitted by Dan@Central

As you may have heard, E. Lynn Harris died on Thursday, July 23rd while on business in Los Angeles. Currently, no cause of death has been reported. He was 54. He had trouble publishing his first novel and eventually self-published Invisible Life in 1991 and sold it from the trunk of his car. Later, it was picked up by Anchor Books. He continued to write and publish ten New York Times bestsellers. His most recent book, Basketball Jones, came out in January. His memoir, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, was released in 2004.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

In September of 1921, famed silent movie comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle decided to go to San Francisco for a much needed vacation. He took out rooms at the exquisite St. Francis Hotel and prepared to have a few days filled with prohibition era illegal booze, friends and women. Instead, what he got was a dead actress, an end to his thriving career and an unwanted role in one of history’s most notorious trials.
A Pinkerton detective assigned to investigate the death is none other than future mystery writer Dashiell Hammett, who discovers a link between Arbuckle and notorious publishing czar William Randolph Hearst and his movie star mistress Marion Davies.
Devil’s Garden is an interesting and well written historical novel that deftly intertwines historical fact with the lives of many famous Hollywood stars of the silent era. It even includes a brief interlude where Hearst accidentally shoots his good friend Tom Ince while yachting because he mistook him for Charlie Chaplin, who had been romantically linked to Marion Davies.
This fun book of historical fiction will especially be appealing to fans of silent movies and the stars that appeared in them.

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Submitted by Dan @ Central

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier.

Chevalier submerges readers into medieval Europe with this riveting story. The characters come to life revealing every aspect of average medieval life. Chevalier gives a perspective from medieval merchants struggling for a living rather than that of the royalty which much of medieval historical fiction is based. Awkward tensions build between characters and a sense of urgency builds as the weavers rush to complete the unicorn tapestries on time for their patrons. Check catalog for availability.

For more information about Tracy Chevalier and the history of the unicorn tapestries visit the author's website.

A Walk Through the Cloisters text by Bonnie Young .

For more information about the unicorn tapestries see this book. Check catalog for availability.

The Cloisters : Medieval Art and Architecture by Peter Barnet and Nancy Wu.

For more information about the Cloisters in general see this book. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Paula @ MPL Central

Labor Day weekend is just around the corner and 13 year old Henry is lonely and bored with watching TV, reading and daydreaming. In Holton Mills, New Hampshire his only companion is his long-divorced mother, Adele and his hamster, Joe. Adele seldom leaves the house and although Henry gives it all the energy he can, she is still miserable.

Then, just before Labor Day, a puzzling thing happens. A guy named Frank shows up, bleeding, no less, and asks Henry for help. The next week brings some invaluable lessons for Henry, like how to throw a baseball, what jealousy and betrayal feels like and perhaps most importantly, what real love is.

Try this novel if you like Ian McEwan or Nick Hornby. Maynard tells her tale with poignancy and watching Henry as a teenager and as the man he later becomes as a result of one blistering and unexpected weekend is breathtaking. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

Besides penning The Great Gatsby, which is often considered to be one of the most important novels of the 20th Century, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote four other critically acclaimed novels and numerous short stories. Fitzgerald, a member of the 1920’s “Lost Generation” and the unofficial spokesperson for the “Jazz Age,” was a raging alcoholic and was often seen hobnobbing with his wife Zelda amongst the upper crust of New York and St. Paul high society.
Fitzgerald’s success started with the publication of his first novel This Side of Paradise in 1920. The novel is written in three distinct parts that explore the romantic and mental maturation of a young Midwesterner named Amory Blaine as he attends Princeton (like Fitzgerald did himself), serves in WW1 and suffers romantic rejection in New York after the war.
Blending poetry, letters, free verse and traditional narration, Fitzgerald offers a glimpse into the world of Amory Blaine and the “Roaring Twenties” with masterful skill that foreshadows the literary genius that emerged five years later with the publication of The Great Gatsby in 1925.
Due to heavy debts and increased alcoholism, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood in the late 1930’s to write scripts for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was during this time that he wrote The Last Tycoon and a collection of short stories named The Pat Hobby Stories. He died of a heart attack in 1940 at the early age of 44.

Submitted by Dan@Central

Jack Griffin is 50 years old and is none too pleased to realize he's inherited his parents' negativity and selfishness. His wife, Joy, is tired of his unhappiness and restlessness. And Jack is doing his best, though unconsciously, to destroy the things he holds most dear.

The story goes back and forth in time, showing us Jack's memories and regrets as well as how he's currently handling things. His father thought there was something magical about the Cape and Jack hopes if he surrounds himself with its beauty, then maybe it will triumph over his own problems. Even though a change of scenery may renew a relationship, it can't fix everything...

Although this novel addresses some serious life changes and issues, it remains easy to read because Russo knows just when to add a comic moment. I loved reading about this year in Jack's life and enjoyed the nostalgia of remembering and thinking about my own family vacations and relationships. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central.

The U.S. is getting ready for war in the Middle East, it is post-9/11 and Tassie Keltjin, a 20 year old Midwesterner is heading to college. She takes a nanny job in between semesters and works for a family with an adopted daughter. She used to think kids were uninteresting, but has come to care about this little girl as though she was her own.

As Tassie becomes more and more a part of this family's life, her life back home seems increasingly foreign. Her parents are not as she remembers, her brother, who is in high school, has no idea what he wants to do with his life; join the military? Tassie finds herself changing and becomes further aware of the world around her as life and love bring remarkable and sometimes shocking events her way.

Lorrie Moore has won honors from the Lannan Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Irish Times International Prize for Fiction, the Rea Award for the Short Story, and the PEN/Malamud Award. She is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central