By Carolyn D. Wall
Delta, $14.00 Order Online
Recommended by Kathleen
This book has the distinction of possessing the best-last-50-pages of any book I have read this year. The other 286 pages are excellent also! Olivia has lived on her mountain top for all of her hard-scrabble life. This debut novel begins in her middle age at a point when she has to stand up to hunters killing wolves, the town toughs and her own family. Discover, as I did, in Wall’s tight, emotional writing the strength Olivia possesses as she fights for her beliefs.  Inspiring, entertaining and the perfect read for your enjoyment and/or that of your book club.

The Girl Who Played with Fire
By Stieg Larsson
Knopf, $25.95
Recommended by Kay
Larsson’s follow up to The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo is superb. Lisbeth Salander, a misanthropic computer genius, is accused of a double murder, and she goes into hiding while trying to clear her name. These Swedish mysteries are international bestsellers - which comes as no suprise as they are smart, tautly written and provocative.

nships. She bases the story of young Xing Xing on a familiar fairy tale (which I shall keep secret), however her writing is anything but ordinary. Descriptions of an arduous life in China including the binding of feet and isolation of country life are, at the same time, both fascinating and informative. Although the culture seems unfamiliar, the ever-so-human emotions of Xing Xing as she navigates her childhood will be recognized by all students.

Magician’s Elephant
By Kate DiCammilo
Candlewick, $16.99
Recommended by Abby (Age 10)
This book is absolutely, positively great in every possible (and impossible) way. It is the story of an elephant and a boy named Peter who are trying to find his little sister, Adele. And a fortune teller starts it all! This wonderful story switches back and forth between the characters until they all join together eventually. There are plenty of cliff hangers at the end of the chapters which keep you reading past your bedtime. The Magician’s Elephant has magic, fortune-telling, and soldiering.
Preorder your copy today...published on September 9, 2009

Darling Jim
By Christian Moerk
Henry Holt & Co., $25.00
Recommended by Michelle
Moerk spins a deliciously dark, modern fairy tale about three sisters and a mysterious stranger who simultaneously entices and repels them. In a small Irish town, the Walsh sisters, Fiona, Aoife, and Róisín, rue the day that a séanachai (Irish storyteller) named Jim Quick rode in on his red motorcycle luring them with tales of wolves, murder, and true love. The rich, mythic words Jim recites in packed local pubs haunt each sister’s reality by having surprising parallels to their interactions with him. Jealousy and rivalry are put aside as they seek to uncover Jim’s past when his dark proclivities gnaw at the initial glamour he had cast upon them.
Layered with stories within stories, the end of the book is actually revealed in the first chapter. This is remarkably effective in propelling the reader through the pages since the path the story takes is more important than where the path ends. By showing the fate of the characters at the beginning, the reader becomes entranced by the story, yet is constantly reminded by the implacability of the ending. It sets up a complex and rewarding tension throughout the novel.
The greatest strength in the book is the individual voice of each sister as she tells her story through a journal. The eldest, red-haired Fiona, understands and unconditionally loves her younger sisters. Aoife is exploratory and free-spirited. Róisín is a quirky, dark-haired pixie, who also happens to be an anti-social genius. The perspective of each sister enriches the story, adding new details and motivations to each event as it is remembered. Darling Jim is a fiercely provocative and heartfelt fable of desire, betrayal, and above all - love.

June 2009 Staff Picks

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth
By Xiaolu Guo
Nan A. Talese Books, $21.95
Recommended by Michelle
Xiaolu Guo’s impressive first novel has a narrator who leaps off the page and strides into our world commanding attention with her paradoxical fragility and virulence. Seventeen year old Fenfang leaves behind her family and their provincial way of life as sweet potato farmers for the seething city of Beijing in search of something more than a monotonous existence.
The story is told in twenty brief chapters brimming with deadpan humor and shining with Fenfeng’s resiliency amidst squalor and failed relationships. On the streets of Beijing, she tries to satisfy her insatiable hunger with instant noodles, Western literature, hot coffee, and movies. Her resigned acceptance and blank face imperfectly cover her longing and vulnerability. But after four lost years, Fenfeng feels her life has finally begun. She’s twenty-one, has found work as a movie extra, and believes this will be the catalyst for great changes in her life.
 Xiaolu Guo writes short, sharp prose that captures the hard edge of youthful angst. Her infectious novel is written with an authentic and idiosyncratic voice that brings to mind the way Holden Caulfield speaks to disaffected youth. With a fierce honesty, Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth will transfix and transport you as Fenfeng comes of age and finds her place.
- Excerpt from Twenty Fragments
“My youth began when I was twenty-one. At least, that’s when I decided it began. That was when I started to think that all those shiny things in life—some of them might possibly be for me. If you think twenty-one sounds a bit late for youth to start, just think about the average Chinese peasant, who leaps straight from childhood to middle age with nothing in between. If I was going to miss out on anything, it was middle age. Be young or die. That was my plan.”

Dog On It
By Spencer Quinn
Atria Books, $25.00
Recommended by Kay
It’s difficult for me to find words to express how much I enjoyed this book. Therefore, I am going to quote what Stephen King (who is far more eloquent) says – “In this irresistible new detective series featuring a canine narrator, Quinn speaks two languages - suspense and dog - fluently. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and in a few places terrifying…a one of a kind novel.” What I can say is - I loved it and recommend it highly!
p.s. Spencer Quinn is the pen name of Falmouth’s own Peter Abrahams.

May 2009 Staff Picks

The Last Dickens
By Matthew Pearl
Random House, $25.00
Recommended by Michelle
Pearl plunges the reader into the world of 1870, skillfully blending historical fact and literary fiction into a riveting tale about Charles Dickens’ unfinished last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Drawing on original letters and newspapers, Pearl recounts the extraordinary celebrity of Dickens during his speaking tour of America, at a time when hundreds would line up overnight, enduring freezing temperatures in the hopes of obtaining tickets to his sold out shows.
The mystery begins when the seedy underworld of the opium trade washes ashore in Boston Harbor with tragic results. Daniel Sands, a young apprentice for publisher Fields, Osgood, & Co., is killed while on an errand to pick up the coveted manuscript of Dickens’ last serial installment of Drood.
Daniel’s mentor, James Osgood (of the aforementioned Fields, Osgood, & Co.) is disbelieving of the police’s insinuation that Daniel was involved with opium. In an effort to unravel the mystery, Osgood and Daniel’s sister Rebecca set sail for London to investigate the recently deceased Dickens’ papers. They hope the answers to Daniel’s death might lie in the missing ending to Drood.
Intelligent and fun, The Last Dickens is chock full of insights into the history of publishing, the politics of opium, and the trials and triumphs of literary genius.
Pearl has garnered acclaim for his previous books, The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow. His well-researched literary mysteries are thoroughly enjoyable, and particularly appealing to avid readers. They are literally literary. His titles say it all.

Still Alice
By Lisa Genova
Simon & Schuster, $15.00
Recommended by Steve
Author Lisa Genova has a PhD from Harvard University in Neuroscience. She is also an actress. It is with these credentials that she has written an emotional novel of high impact that will touch all who read it. Her influences which led her to write this book are not limited to her background, they include her experiences with her grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. In the novel, Alice Howland is a Harvard University cognitive psychology professor at the height of her career. She leads a fulfilling life with a husband, three children and upscale homes in Cambridge and on Cape Cod. At the age of 50, she becomes aware of minor changes in her memory abilities. The affliction increases rapidly, leading her to seek a medical opinion. The diagnosis is early-onset Alzheimer’s.
The suspenseful novel is written through the unique perspective of the character of Alice. The reader gets insight into Alice’s frustration and inability to remember. Genova writes convincingly and in easy to understand terms about Alzheimer’s. Alice has typed in a series of questions into her BlackBerry under the file name Butterfly with the intent that if she can’t answer any of them in the future, she will kill herself.
The emotional pain Alice feels is intensified because she is aware of what is happening to her, and yet she has to endure people talking about her as if she were not present. Her family and friends are the ones forgetting she is still alive, that she still has feelings, and is still Alice. She realizes time is short. She makes a list of things to do which includes: developing a better relationship with her daughter and reading all the books she has been meaning to read. The book affected me emotionally, and tugged on my heartstrings. There are many moving moments in the book such as when Alice gets lost in her neighborhood, and the most powerful for me is when she gets lost in her own home, frantically trying to remember where the bathroom is.
I highly recommend Still Alice, particularly for book club discussions.

April 2009 Staff Picks

By Hannah Tinti
Dial Press,  $25.00
Recommended by Michelle, Kathleen, and Steve
Michelle says, "The Good Thief is a rare find, a feat of imagination that thrills and captivates the reader from the first chapter. Set in Colonial New England, the unsettled and unlikely cast of heroes faces squalor and hard luck with a curious mix of deadpan humor and hope. Tinti tells a gripping tale about a one-handed orphan boy named Ren and his search to unravel the mystery of his past. The answer might lie with the charismatic and enigmatic con man, Benjamin Nab, who adopts twelve-year-old Ren from St. Anthony’s orphanage. Nab introduces Ren to a shadowy world of thieves, grave robbers, and mercenaries. A quirky household forms around Ren and Benjamin: Tom – an incurably drunk teacher, Mrs. Sands – who lets them stay for a night then can’t get rid of them, a dwarf  - who lives on the roof and sneaks in at night by descending the chimney, and Dolly – a hired killer who was buried alive. Ren glues these strangers together in his humble desperation for a family, and he is the catalyst that cracks the hardened hearts of the adults around him who have been broken and scarred.
It’s not just the wonderful characters and plot that make The Good Thief a novel to treasure, it’s the talent and insight that Tinti exhibits with her assured writing style. From the very first paragraph, the reader is a willing accomplice to the story. Tinti writes with a precise pen, using words with care – lavishly when Benjamin is in his tall-tale telling mode, and sparingly when a scene is sentimental:  
“Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“No.”
The man reached over, took hold of the lantern, and blew it out. Night enveloped the barn.
“Well,” he said at last to the darkness between them, “that’s when you know it’s the truth.”
The irrepressible Ren lodges in your heart with his mix of world weary acceptance and yearning hopefulness. His search for his place in the world reveals the most basic of human needs: the desire to love and be loved."

Steve says, "By dropping you right into the middle of the action at St. Anthony’s orphanage, Hannah Tinti’s debut novel takes you on a fast paced journey. Immediately we learn that the protagonist Ren may never be adopted because of a physical deformity. Ren and the other orphans pine away their hours wishing for ideal parents. Upon leaving St. Anthony’s, Ren is immersed in a world of mayhem that includes: graves, medical science, murder, thieves, child laborers, and liars. Redemption is a major theme in this novel. A stolen copy of Lives of the Saints nurtures Ren’s faith in the bad company he keeps. All the characters suffer, but by the end, we find their suffering was worth it. Critically, the language is simple and beautiful. Emotionally, the words of the story flow, creating a fast paced fable, like a road race in Munchkinland. Our book club’s praise for The Good Thief was unanimous. I loved it so much that I read parts aloud to my wife. She is now anxious to read it too. I plan on buying copies for family and friends."

Kathleen says, "Let’s be frank, anyone who has ever been a member of a book club has been forced to read a book they would never have picked up on their own...and after having read the book, now had concrete evidence to back up their original reluctance. This is NOT the case with The Good Thief. True, I was forced to read it, but having been drawn into Hannah Tinti’s imagination from the very first paragraph, I was glad to accept my fate.
With few words, Ms. Tinti does an outstanding job imparting Ren’s desperation and the constant imagining of what life would be like with parents. When a man named Benjamin finally picks Ren out of the line-up, you find yourself warning Ren “be careful what you wish for.” As Benjamin and Ren set out together living a life of criminal pursuits, they meet characters that are both intensely flawed and uniquely endearing. Through a deft use of words and exceptional story-telling, this author raises the themes of family relationships, self-sacrifice, and the ultimate wish – to belong.
To add just the right amount of mystery to a novel, and keep the reader hanging on until the very last page, is truly an art - one that Hannah Tinti has mastered. For the beach, book club, travel or in the comfort of your own reading chair, I highly recommend The Good Thief to entertain, absorb and enthrall your inner-reader."
 
March 2009 Staff Picks

What Angels Fear
By C.S. Harris
Signet, $6.99
Recommended by Michelle
With a great eye for period detail, and the ability to create a cast of charming, clever characters, C.S. Harris delivers a perfect historical mystery. Sebastian St. Cyr, a former soldier and a gentleman, is forced into hiding when his dueling pistol is found at the scene of a murder. He becomes the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of an actress who had suspicious political connections. St. Cyr discovers that he can’t even trust his family, and so he dons multiple disguises as he traverses the streets and alleyways of London on a dangerous quest to clear his name. With insight and humor, Harris gives us a story filled with the most classic themes: deception, love, betrayal, friendship, and honor. What Angels Fear is a fantastic start to Harris’s Regency mystery series featuring the beguiling St. Cyr.

The Pirate's Daughter
By Margaret Cezair-Thompson
Random House, $15.00
Recommended by Charlotte
Cezair-Thompson’s novel conjures the glitter of Hollywood and the rich history of Jamaica through the bittersweet coming of age of teenager Ida Joseph, and the legacy she leaves for her daughter, May. It is set on Jamaica where the “roguish” Errol Flynn maintained a home during the 1940’s. With Flynn’s arrival came the lure of Hollywood and its temptations for the young women of Jamaica. Pirate’s Daughter is a romantic pageturner, and the author, who was born in Jamaica, effortlessly captures the essence of the island throughout this engaging novel.

February 2009 Staff Picks

The pH Miracle
By Dr. Robert Young
Wellness Central, $14.95
Recommended by Steve
Recommended by my good friend and alternative physician Dr. Babcock, this book is a life changer! Take control of your health by learning what to eat as well as what to avoid to maintain the proper pH. Most people’s blood runs too acidic which is detrimental to the body. Fat exists to keep toxins away from vital organs, and that is why most diets do not work. You may cut down on consumption, but the fat will remain long after the decrease to protect the organs from the toxins. I feel better already, and I haven’t even finished the book!

January 2009 Staff Picks

A Fraction of the Whole  
By Steve Toltz
Spiegel & Grau, $14.95
Recommended by Kathleen
“Hilarious?” Not in my opinion. It’s not often I disagree with a glowing blurb, yet still absolutely love the book. I adore it for different reasons than the reviewer. Unleashing philosophical diatribes in the character of Martin Dean, an Australian man as quirky as the outback, it is clear why Toltz was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Dean is raising his ever-forgiving son on his own, in a labyrinth, while suffering under the shadow of a murderous, iconic brother. He utters some very clever lines! If this is what the inside of Steve Toltz’s head looks like, I want to meet him!

The Kiss Murder
By Mehmet Murat Somer
Penguin, $14.00
Recommended by Josh
A thriller by genre, a character piece at heart, Mehmet Murat Somer’s The Kiss Murder is a week in the life of an unnamed drag queen who looks like Audrey Hepburn and kickboxes like Tony Ja. When one of the girls at ‘Audrey’s’ nightclub goes missing, our hero/ine finds him/herself thrust into a mystery involving right wing politicians, bored housewives, catty co-workers and lustful cabbies. There’s murder, of course, and sex. These are the stock and trade of mysteries, after all. But where The Kiss Murder subverts the genre is in its exploration of the Cinderella-like lives of the club queens who must make it home before sunrise lest their facial hair grow too thick. Somer has created a diverse community of outlandish outcasts who, when not fighting against their repressive society, are cat-fighting mercilessly amongst themselves. So vicious are these vixens that even the sudden disappearance of their cross-dressing co-worker fails to unite them. In fact, it makes things worse. Old rivalries re-arise, dead drama is resurrected, and what might have been a simple whodunit becomes a labyrinthine journey through the backstreets and bachelor pads of Istanbul. In Turkey, Somer’s anonymous Audrey Hepburn lookalike is already the star of her own series of books. Not only is she the classic, accidental action hero, but she’s got enough emotional baggage and quirky acquaintances to fill a dozen novels. Beneath ‘Audrey’s’ fantastic facade of witty one liners and stylish ensembles, she’s all of us, male and female.

December 2008 Staff Picks

The Tomb of Zeus
By Barbara Cleverly
Delta, $13.00
Recommended by Michelle
Clever dialogue, a feisty and intelligent heroine, along with vivid descriptions of the culture and landscape of Crete circa 1928 meld to create a perfect historical mystery. Fans of Elizabeth Peters (Amelia Peabody series) and Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs series) will be equally charmed by this first book in the Laetitia Talbot series.
Laetitia Talbot finds herself not quite welcome at Villa Europa, the home of Theodore Russell who is a prominent archaeologist on the island of Crete. Laetitia is an aspiring amateur archaeologist, but her excitement for her first dig is tempered by the inexplicable hostility of Mr. Russell, and by the apparent suicide of his wife Phoebe.
The twists of the plot and the wonderful characterizations add to the storytelling, however it is the well-researched, fascinating tidbits about the history of Crete and the ancient Minoan civilization that delight the reader. The Tomb of Zeus succeeds with a depth beyond the traditional mystery. It also reads like a good travel essay by sparking an urge to explore Crete - its history, food, and culture come to life in the pages of Cleverly’s book.

Chez Moi
By Agnès Desarthe
Translation Adriana Hunter
Penguin Publishing, $14.00
Recommended by Stephen
At the age of 43, the protagonist Myriam decides to open a restaurant. She loves to cook! During the course of being a first time business owner she reveals her life slowly as if preparing a complex yet sumptuous cuisine. Making her tiny Paris restaurant profitable and also living there is a struggle. Literally, her work is her home. Myriam’s secrets are slowly peeled like an onion, scandals, circus life, love and the lack of it. At times French and Jewish author Agnès Desarthe writes like a poet and a musician. The book has a distinct meter, and the use of the words makes the novel read like a poem. The book is intelligent and complex. Those familiar with Joanne Harris’s Chocolat will find a this an equal rival.

November 2008 Staff Picks

Doctor Olaf van Schuler’s Brain
By Kirsten Menger-Anderson
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $22.95
Recommended by Michelle
This fantastic debut by Kirsten Menger-Anderson is the best book I’ve read in the past few months. (Thanks are due to Kathleen for the terrific suggestion.) In addition to using language to potent effect, the author plays with an unusual format of linked short stories – each chapter delves into the life of one person from the Steenwyck family tree starting in the 1600s and progressing to the modern day. Each generation carries on the legacy of the original patriarch, Dr. Olaf van Schuler, by pursuing the medical profession. Odd lore from the history of medicine, from phrenology (the study of bumps on the skull) to spontaneous combustion, adds to the rich story of a family’s madness and passion. Interwoven into the narrative is the history of a burgeoning New York City from its beginnings as New Amsterdam in the 17th Century. It astonishes how the author is able to illuminate a person’s life, in all its pain and glory, in a mere twenty page chapter.

Testimony
By Anita Shreve
Little Brown and Company, $25.99
Recommended by Kay
At a prestigious Vermont boarding school shocking sexual acts among a few students are caught on videotape. The resulting scandal is huge and involves not only the teenagers themselves, but also the parents and faculty. Told in different voices from varying points of view, Shreve has written an absorbing emotional story with compassion for all the characters while delineating the moral dilemmas and tragic consequences that can result from a single reckless act.

October 2008 Staff Picks

This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women
By Jay Allison, Dan Gediman
Henry Holt and Co., $23.00
Recommended by Steve
 Without trying, This I Believe II  becomes like its predecessor, one of the most inspiring books about the human condition that I have ever read. On this planet we are all one. We all feel the same emotions: love, sorrow, amusement, and anger. We all make mistakes and try to learn from them. These essays eliminate our surfaces and reach to the roots of our ideals, emotions, and souls. NPR listening will become a fixture in your life because of this book. You’ll find This I Believe II a trip you will never forget.

The Woman Warrior
By Maxine Hong Kingston
Vintage Books, $13.95
Recommended by Wendell
I don’t know much about mytho-biography, but I get the sense that Maxine Hong Kingston wrote the flagship of the genre. The Woman Warrior has all the mystery, wonder, and torment of an ancient myth, while being rooted in her own life. She successfully conveys a sense of what it must be like to be a first generation American of any background, finding themselves in between two cultures, having allegiances to both though struggling with reconciling the conflicts that arise. Growing up in San Francisco, going to both American public and Chinese cultural schools, and working in the family laundry, the author draws heavily on the influence of her mother’s “talk-stories” (tall tales), which gives the book its mythological feel. This book is a fascinating look into the convergence of two major cultures happening in one person.

September 2008 Staff Picks

White Heat:
The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson
By Brenda Wineapple
Knopf, $27.95
Recommended by Steve
The friendship between the reclusive, genius, and trend-establishing poet Emily Dickinson and the object of her affection Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the radical abolitionist, reformer and writer is revealed through historian Brenda Wineapple’s new book. Her brilliant and patient research of a recently discovered trunk of personal letters has brought us a real life drama. White Heat has received glowing reviews from The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and me. White Heat is lot like that trunk of letters in the attic that made this book possible, it contains hidden gems.

Gargoyle
By Andrew Davidson
Doubleday, $25.95
Recommended by Kathleen
The cover almost kept me from picking up this book. I am glad that I decided to give it a chapter or two before placing it in the “reject” pile. For lovers of historical fiction and fans of the “interwoven storyline,” this book deserves your attention. Marianne arrives at the bedside of a burn victim and tells tales of medieval, international romance and intrigue. Davidson adeptly crosses between worlds and time periods with main characters you will remember long after you finish the book.

July & August 2008 Staff Picks

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
By Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Dial Press, $22.00
Recommended by Michelle
The charm and grace of this debut novel decisively made it my favorite recommendation of the summer. Set just after the end of World War II, English writer Juliet Ashton is fretfully seeking a topic for her next book. When she receives a mysterious letter from a stranger who found her name in a book by Charles Lamb, not only does it solve her writer's block, it introduces her to the quirky inhabitants of the island of Guernsey. Juliet finds solace in the stories of the inhabitants of Guernsey which was occupied for five years by the Germans during WWII. The novel is strikingly told through letters between the characters, and each voice is distinct and amusing. Guernsey is a loving ode to the transformative power of literature which can reveal hidden truths and help us through the darkest days. 

Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great Granddaughter
By Sidney Poitier
Harper, $24.95
Recommended by Charlotte
We all know Sidney Poitier as a stellar actor. Eight years ago he brought his perfectionism and class to the written word with his excellent memoir, The Measure of a Man, a memoir in which he traced his life from being born and raised in the Bahamas to becoming a movie star.
In Life Beyond Measure he offers heartening stories and life lessons to his adorable 2 year old great granddaughter, Ayele. Poitier moved us to tears in To Sir With Love and Lilies of the Field will have your eyes just as misty when you read his newest memoir.

Notes From A Minor Key
By Dawn Baliff
Hampton Roads Publishing $22.95
Recommended by Steve
A captivating memoir, Notes From A Minor Key reads like a compelling novel, and covers an intimate spectrum of topics including sex, musical genius, suicide, love, depression, multiple sclerosis, stamina, birth, marriage, and young couple struggles. Every gumdrop you can think of is here to make this an unforgettable read. At the age of ten pianist Dawn Baliff performed with Leonard Bernstein, and was accepted into the Peabody Conservatory of Music at age 15. Through a brazen act as musical undergrad she appeared in a standing ovation concert that made her a high demand musician. Dawn will begin a new path of healing as she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This unknown gem is a compassionate read for women and men who are sensitive and intelligent. Notes From A Minor Key allows men a greater understanding of women and vice versa. Book clubs will find this a great selection.

Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain
By Sharon Begley
Random House, $14.95
Recommended by Wendell
This book uses one of the Mind and Life conferences as a starting point in explaining what neuroplasticity is. The conferences are where the Dalai Lama and prominent scientists in their fields share findings and learn from each other. The conference focusing on neuroplasticity was particularly interesting, because Buddhist thought has long held that the mind can change the brain through mental training and discipline. Neuroscience has recently found neuroplasticity—the capacity of the brain to be re-wired at any stage of life—to be experimentally verifiable, and even an integral part of the machinations of the brain. Of course, it takes work to do such a thing intentionally, but the book—excellently written by Begley for layfolk curious about science—shows the myriad possibilities and aspects of neuroplasticity. Most salient for me is how neuroplasticity disproves genetic determinism—likely a misreading of genetic studies by science writers who have an agenda, as genetics are stunningly complex—and shows not only how our surroundings are constantly shaping who we are as individuals, but also how neuroplasticity makes a better case for taking responsibility for oneself. By extension, this new area of neuroscience makes an excellent case for living in accordance with the golden rule, though this is my own ideology talking now! All in all, Train your Mind, Change Your Brain is a book that has the potential to inspire, and to instill wonder at how we can, indeed, change who we are if we so wish.

June 2008 Staff Picks

The Boys in the Trees
By Mary Swan
Henry Holt & Co., $14.00
Recommended by Kathleen
Set in the late 19th century in a small Canadian town, this novel is told from the voices of the inhabitants. Been there, done that? Not like this. The story centers on the murder of a family and the ripple effect of the crime on the townspeople. Written in a spare, stimulating fashion, this novel keeps you on your toes both with its plot and prose. Pared down to 224 potent pages, each one is a concentrated nugget of inventive writing. This multi-layered first novel would be a perfect consideration for your book club as it is sure to generate discussion. I am so sure that this book belongs on your nightstand that Inkwell is offering a 20% discount on the purchase of The Boys in the Trees for the month of June when you mention this review.

The Abstinence Teacher
By Tom Perrotta
St. Martin’s Press, $24.95
Recommended by Steve
Page one has you. Similar to taking your finger to the first domino in a row...one page after another leads to the novel’s end.  I loved this book!
The Abstinence Teacher is a satire filled with characters: soccer moms, divorced parents, and sex educators that make guilty compromises. The protagonist, Ruth Ramsey, has the strength throughout the story. Women and men will identify with her when she stands up for her beliefs. Many of the residents of Stonewood Heights are flawed with some affliction or habit. Whether it is religion or sex education, the author never forces his point of view. It is a great novel that lets us reside with our own perspectives.

Italian Folktales 
By Italo Calvino
Harvest Books, $25.00
Recommended by Wendell
Calvino’s Italian Folktales is now my favorite folktale collection. It is a huge paperback with hundreds of stories in it, which average about two pages each. Calvino collected Italian folktales, sometimes building on previous folktale collectors’ work, and made slight changes—which he makes note of, unlike the Grimms—for continuity or even aesthetics. I would not have noticed the changes myself, as the tales still feel “authentic” to the spirit of the story, while having an elegant simplicity to the language, even in translation! The wonder I find in the stories shares space with a matter-of-fact attitude towards the roughness of life—giving it no more or less attention than it should have—as well as just the right amount of the bizarre to please my tastes. Thanks to these folktales, my imagination is sparked, and my interest in using the phrase “seek my fortune” in daily life is growing. Now to see whether this fortune includes a castle!

May 2008 Staff Picks

Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History
By Theodore C. Sorensen
Harper, $27.95
Recommended by Steve
Theodore Sorensen was counselor and confidant to the late John F. Kennedy, the first member of his staff and one of the last surviving members, making Counselor a must read memoir. Sorensen reveals intimate details of his eleven years with JFK and tells what it was like to give hope to a nation while contributing to JFK’s policies during the tumultuous 60’s.  
In Counselor, Sorensen remains the gentleman. Although privy to conversations of a private nature, he remains loyal to the leader whose untimely death has left an ache in this country’s heart. With so much material on JFK, we might think we have heard it all. Surprisingly, we have not. Counselor includes new information: from Sorensen’s role with Khrushchev and the Cuban Missile Crisis, to the peace corps, the moon race, and a parody of the inaugural speech. Recently I joined a writing group and I particularly enjoyed reading Sorensen’s chapter on his speech writing techniques. People in Washington are still eager to be the next Sorensen, and after reading this memoir you will truly understand why.

Watching Baseball Smarter
By Zack Hample
Vintage, $13.95
Recommended by Wendell
Zack Hample’s Watching Baseball Smarter is a great book to pick up if you want to learn more about baseball. There is some interesting historical baseball trivia in the book as well. The author keeps things light with his humor, with very few interjections of his opinion. The situation-dependent responsibilities of each fielder; the many different kinds of pitches there are, the complexity of calculating some statistics, the vagaries of official scorekeeping, and much more helps the reader learn to watch the subtleties and nuances of baseball. This may not be the best book for a long-time baseball fan, but anyone who wants to know more beyond what each fielding position is called should pick it up. One thing that concerns me is that there is no index for quick searches for a specific bit of information. Other than that it’s a great read. Jerry Remy’s Watching Baseball: Discovering the Game within the Game is also a good starter baseball book, with small asides from Remy of his opinions and perspective, including a lot of Red Sox coverage—great for a Red Sox fan who wants to learn more or relive some Red Sox moments.

April 2008 Staff Picks

The House at Riverton
By Kate Morton
Atria, $24.95
Recommended by Michelle
This rich and wonderful debut novel set in England during World War I offers a compelling glimpse into the tragic secrets of an aristocratic British family as their way of life becomes obsolete. The past is never truly behind us, as 98 year old Grace discovers when a filmmaker comes asking questions about the alleged suicide of a poet that happened 70 years ago. When Grace was a teen, she entered into service of the Hartford family at Riverton House, and witnessed the death of the poet, R.S. Hunter. After long years of silence, Grace must confront the truth of the loves and lives lost through chance and choice. The House at Riverton is not only a gripping novel - it is also a thoughtful meditation on the devastation of war, the end of an era, family loyalty, aging, memory, and love.

Knockemstiff
By Donald Ray Pollack,
Doubleday, $22.95
Recommended by Kathleen
Is there a dark side to your personality that can be explored through literature? Here is the book for you. Donald Ray Pollack has written an unabashed, meaty, raging series of connected short stories that include hermits and abuse – and this is his debut! Meet the folks from Knockemstiff (the actual name of Mr. Pollack’s hometown), and you will never forget their gritty nature. Not for the faint of heart… this book’s tone is blunt and the characters coarse. Worth your time, if you dare.

How to Read A Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters
By Patrick de Rynk,
HNA Books, $35.00
Recommended by Ric
Remember that art history class, the one you had to take and didn’t understand and that you’ve since forgotten? Well, redemption is at hand! You may have asked yourself what the masters were talking about in their paintings. De Rynck asks and answers it. Most of us don’t now know, if we ever did, the pictorial language of Christian and Classical traditions. We may only see the works as old and stuffy, albeit sometimes pretty, canvases. De Rynck discusses about 180 European masterworks from the 13th through the 19th century. He tells who and why, what the symbols mean, and how the work fits into local history and culture. Each work gets two pages for images and text. De Rynck is not being exhaustive, not by a long shot, but there’s enough detail to whet the appetite for some, or to create a satisfying feast of color and image, history and culture, for others. The book’s not stuffy or artsy. It’s painless, enticing, and intriguing. It can be a doorway, or it can be just enough. There’s a fine, large cross-referenced index of painters, paintings, subjects, and symbols. Somewhere in this work you’ll find out why lemons are a common feature of Renaissance still lifes. I haven’t found that yet, but I’m working on it.

March 2008 Staff Picks

Invisible Cities
By Italo Calvino
Harvest/HBJ Book, $14.00
Recommended by Wendell
Initially a frustrating, fragmented read, this book has settled into my consciousness as a powerful rumination on memory and sense of place. In other words, how we remember home, and how we communicate these memories to another. Of course, there is always the Calvino related pleasure of images lingering in your head long after you’ve read the book, only this time the images are snapshots of imaginary urban landscapes.


February 2008 Staff Picks

The Violin Maker: Finding a Centuries Old Tradition in a Brooklyn Workshop
By John Marchese
HarperCollins Publishers, $24.95
Recommended by Ric
This fascinating book has a couple of odd qualities. One is its size, 5 1/8 by 9 1/4 inches, which does not fit any of the standard intriguing names of book sizes. It’s smaller than a medium octavo and bigger than a crown octavo. Sort of. It is, in any event, nicely sized for reading, whether in bed, the conservatory, or in an armchair in front of the fire.
  The second odd bit is the author. He’s a professional trumpet player. No strings attached there. But he’s in love with violins. And by the end of his 215 page book most of his readers will likely want to hear some violins.
  Marchese chronicles the saga of premier violin crafter Sam Zygmuntowicz in Brooklyn, New York as he creates a new instrument for Eugene Drucker, one of the top violinists in the world, who usually plays a Stradivarius. While the construction of the Drucker fiddle (a disconcerting choice of word, but one used extensively by author and violin maker) forms the backbone of the story, Marchese takes us into the world of geniuses and hucksters, concert violinists of the first rank and up and comers playing church picnics.
  Marchese follows his fascination with Stradivarius all the way to Cremona, Italy, where live and work well over a hundred violin makers. We learn how little is known of Stradivarius, and we learn about other geniuses, like Guarneri, as well as about collectors and salesmen and musicians.
  We get mythology and legend and what truth can be had, and a completely fascinating view of a great maker creating a violin from scratch, from choice of wood through painstaking shaving and carving using tools as small as a thumbnail to the final treatment of varnish.
  In the end Drucker gets his new fiddle, and Marchese provides an intimate portrait of a brilliant violinist developing a relationship with a violin, a relationship that’s almost as rocky as any between humans.
  In all, a delightful, informative book for anyone who has the slightest interest in such arcane struggles and accomplishments, well seasoned with history and personalities.

The Liar’s Diary
By Patry Francis
Simon & Schuster, $15.00
Recommended by Stephen
Everyone finds a diary an irresistible read. The outsider is always wondering what’s in there. Available in paperback for the first time, this chilling psychological thriller, The Liar’s Diary, tours troubled minds with characters so real that they continue on in your thoughts even weeks after reading. The character Ali had me wrapped around her finger. She is seductive, reads over a 100 books a year, is a nonconformist, carefree, and a classical musician and composer. Women may either relate to her or hate her. Men who read this book will fall all over her. Patry Francis is an immensely talented new novelist who knows just how to keep her readers guessing. The Liar’s Diary is a Booksense Notable Book. This woman can write!

December 2007 & January 2008 Staff Picks

Baron in the Trees
By Italo Calvino
Harvest Books, $13.00
Recommended by Wendell
A whimsical, delightful novel! He paints a picture of an historical, but fictional Italy where there was enough forest to allow the main charcater to travel for miles from tree to tree. He lives a full, interesting life which you vicariously enjoy. Much fun, and masterfully told.

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping
By Paco Underhill
Simon & Schuster, $15.00
Recommended by Michelle
This isn't just a business book about marketing, it's an insightful essay about human behavior. Underhill stumbled upon a career in the "science of shopping" by applying ideas he learned from anthropology and environmental psychology to consumers. Small realizations about how people react to their environment (e.g. most people don't notice anything within the first few feet of a store's entrance, they're too busy getting their bearings) have big impact when used as a principle in store design. With humor and a brass tacks kind of writing, Underhill has condensed the massive amounts of data he accumulated through his company, Envirosell, into a pithy must-read for all people in the business of selling, and for anyone interested in human nature.
  
November 2007 Staff Picks

Down River
By John Hart
Thomas Dunne Books, $24.95
Recommended by Kay
This is a well-written novel of suspense involving complex family relationships, lies, secrets, betrayal and redemption. There is also a struggle between economic progress and love for the land, between haves and have-nots. This is an intricate story with several plot lines and the author displays his superb ability as he draws the threads together. Down River is a truly engrossing read.

This I Believe
Edited by Jay Allison
Henry Holt Co., $14.95
Recommended by Steve
This I Believe has been chosen as the Falmouth Year of the Reader book. The pages contain 80 short essays that will move one to tears, to laugh, or to ponder. You may even consider penning an essay on your own beliefs to submit to NPR. I am unintentionally a different person because of this book, and know anyone who reads it will be inspired by more than one of the essays.

October 2007 Staff Picks

The Best American Short Stories of the Century: Expanded Edition
Edited By John Updike
Houghton Mifflin, $19.95
Recommended by Marjorie
Now here’s the perfect book for you to keep next to your easy chair and cozy up with in front of the fireplace on cool winter nights. Editor John Updike with co-editor Katrina Kenison have compiled a collection of American short stories that spans the twentieth century years from 1916 to 1999. The expanded edition is augmented with interesting editorial comments about the process of selecting the 66 stories, with the aim of having the stories reflect the flavor of their respective decades. I was not disappointed in their selections. Each story has its own brand of uniqueness, entertainment, and depth. The beauty of this collection is that there are so many stories with diverse topics, and each is short enough in length to read in one sitting. This makes it an ideal choice for those of us with overextended lives and relatively limited time to read in the evenings.

The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation
By Drew Westen
PublicAffairs, $26.95
Recommended by Ric
Quick! What wins elections? Reasoned discourse on the issues, or emotion?
The Democrats discuss the issues, bringing the power of reason to bear on the important matters. The Republicans go after your emotions. The Republicans win elections. That’s one of the basic analyses offered by Drew Westen in his new book The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. Lest he be viewed as just another political hack, Westen’s credentials include a Ph.D, and a full professorship in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University. He is a lucid, compelling writer.
His book is about “the science and practice of persuasion in American politics” and is full of details about what works and what doesn’t, why the Republicans are so good at emotional manipulation and the Democrats aren’t, and how that wins elections for the Republicans. In the first half he explains the nitty-gritty of how the mind processes messages and emotion. It’s not the Dummies version of brain behavior, but it’s not a textbook, and you’ll get the ideas without busting a neuron.
Then, in the second part of Political Brain Westen explains how savvy Republicans twist things up and how Democrats let them get away with it. And then he shows you how the Democrats can start winning again, and winning honestly, with integrity, not by the cheap manipulation of your emotions. Principles matter, and honestly coupled with emotional underpinnings, principles win elections.
One key idea: “Policies matter to the extent that they influence voters’ emotions.” That’s the difference between John Kerry giving a dry speech full of facts and figures on the estate tax and George Bush calling it the ‘death tax’.
Had Al Gore responded with the speech on page 129 when Bush challenged his integrity in 2000, the election would have ended right then and there, and we wouldn’t be in Iraq today. Westen’s explication of what happened in that first debate is worth the price of the book all by itself.
Finally, if you think you vote for candidates because you’ve reasoned out their positions and considered all the facts and evidence, you didn’t. One of them got to your emotions. Westen tells you how and why, and gives you the tools you need to make a genuinely intelligent decision and not get bamboozled again.
Protect yourself. Buy this book. Read it at least twice. Over the next eighteen months you’re going to need to understand what Political Brain says about politics in America.

September 2007 Staff Picks

Moonheart
By Charles de Lint
Orb Books, $14.95
Recommended by Michelle
My tattered mass market copy of Moonheart shows proof on its creased cover that it has been well-read and thoroughly loved. This review of an older book (published in 1984) came about through a discussion with fellow bookseller Cristin about the kind of books that make your fingers itch with a yearning to fly through the pages. Moonheart is a delightful, fantastical book dense with mythology (Native American and Welsh), magic, and music. Sara Kendall and her Uncle Jamie co-own a wonderful, eclectic antiques and books shop in Ottawa. They live in a house that straddles our world and the “otherworld”, a primeval forest of ancient magic. When Sara discovers a Native American medicine bag with a gold ring, a bone disc, and a feather inside, her fate becomes entwined with the mysterious artifacts. Although it is so difficult to describe, Moonheart is a rich, vivid story that will appeal to fans of literary fantasy such as John Crowley’s Little, Big and Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.

August 2007 Staff Picks

Tom Bedlam
By George Hagen
Random House, $25.95
Recommended by Steve
First, a little mention about the author’s debut novel The Laments: From the first paragraph, I was hooked on The Laments. Page one had me laughing out loud. I read the paragraph to my wife Donna, and soon we were both laughing. The book opens with a baby swapped at birth on the continent of Africa. The novel is not all laughs - there are themes that the characters evolve with: bigotry, family, loss, and the search for identity as they move from one country to another. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys a well written, intelligent, funny and moving novel. George Hagen’s new novel Tom Bedlam is a journey well worth taking... it is set in Victorian England and like Tom, we too lust, feel loss, and crave lemon tarts. Similar to a Dickens novel, Tom goes from a child laborer to becoming an exclusive prep school student by means of a mysterious family benefactor. After making a pact that will haunt him, he proceeds with his education to become a doctor. With humor and insight, Tom Bedlam delves into the issues of family, grief, and loyalty. You will want to catch the author’s train early and stay on for the duration of the ride. This is the author’s second book, and it will be exciting to see his works as he evolves as a writer.

Ralph Ellison: A Biography
By Arnold Rampersad,
Knopf Publishing Group, $35.00
Recommended by Charlotte
Ralph Ellison: A Biography is the story of the rise of one of the most elusive African-American writers out of desperate poverty and virulent racism to reign as one of the most sought after intellectuals in America. Rampersad has written a meticulously detailed biography of Ellison and his universe as a result of Rampersad’s unrestricted access to Ellison’s papers at the Library of Congress, his literary executor, and his late widow. The narrator in Ellison’s Invisible Man (winner of the 1953 National Book award) states in the prologue, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” The character is a complex African-American man whom the world refuses to see as a full human being. In the epilogue, he questions why the invisible man is never more hated than when he is honest, and never more loved than when he says what people want to hear. I strongly recommend that one must read Rampersad’s richly detailed portrait to comprehend the burden and measure of Ellison’s brilliance in his novel Invisible Man.

July 2007 Staff Picks

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
By Italo Calvino
Harcourt, $14.00
Recommended by Cristin
Calvino’s work is unlike anything I’ve read. Yes, I’ve experienced authors who playfully manipulate the conventional structures of a work of fiction, but nothing matches Calvino’s humor and panache. There is something so strange about If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler... it is a novel that dares to personally address the reader. Containing ten miniature stories, If on a Winter’s Night showcases one overarching story that ponders the simultaneously isolating and unifying aspects of being a reader. Two main characters become obsessed with their search for one particular novel which has escaped their grasp (a major flaw in the printing of the book has made it impossible for them to reach a satisfying conclusion.) Befuddled and totally entranced by their pursuit of this mysterious novel, the two protagonists develop a friendship that blossoms because of their mutual misadventures. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler is not merely a book. It’s a delightful experience that will change the way you think about being a reader. The writing is superior. You’ll surely marvel at Calvino’s unexpectedly acute descriptions and amazing authorial skill.

The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
HarperCollins, $14.95
Recommended by Marjorie
In what appears to be an ordinary Missionary assignment, an evangelical Baptist minister, his wife, and three daughters are relocated from the State of Georgia into the heart of Africa. The author cleverly describes how this radical change impacts the Price family as each member attempts to adjust to life in the rural Belgian Congo village of Kalanga. For example, they find that the villagers, with the exception of the Chief, were lucky to have even one set of clothes. This is in stark contrast to the Price family’s typical 1959 American lifestyle, in which they were accustomed to attending church properly hatted, gloved, and groomed. Fueled by an undercurrent of tribal and political unrest, the clash between these traditions and cultures slowly skyrockets and the story concludes with a suspenseful ending. Kingsolver’s outstanding novel is one the reader won’t soon forget.
 
June 2007 Staff Picks

Lapham Rising
By Roger Rosenblatt
HarperCollins, $13.95
Recommended by Kathleen
This funny, satirical book is finally out in paperback - just in time for reading on the beach or your front porch. Every Cape Codder will relate to the antics of the anti-social Harry vs. the over-the-top well-heeled Hamptons residents. Rosenblatt is a prize-winning journalist and television commentator. This is his first novel, but I am ever hopeful not his last.

Shinju
By Laura Joh Rowland
Harper, $7.99
Recommended by Michelle
If you are looking for a book to sweep you away to a far flung destination, look no further than Shinju which is set in exotic 17th century Japan. When the daughter of a powerful family is found dead, apparently part of a “shinju” which is a ritual double suicide, investigator and former ronin Sano Ichiro finds himself compelled to solve the case, even at the risk of his family’s honor. Rowland brings to life the vibrancy of feudal Edo (Tokyo), and gracefully weaves fascinating details about the time period and culture into the unfolding mystery.
 
May 2007 Staff Picks
 
Blind Watchers of the Sky
By Rocky Kolb
Perseus, $18.00
Recommended by Michelle
My brother is an amateur astronomer who introduced our family to the wonders of stargazing. On his recommendation, I read Blind Watchers of the Sky. Kolb, theoretical astrophysicist and a Professor and Chair of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago is described as having a dry wit. His humor enlivens this history of cosmology, and makes the personalities behind the great astronomical discoveries of the past 400 years really come to life. My favorite part of the book follows the passions and obsessions of two early astronomers: Tycho Brahe, a Danish nobleman in the 16th century, who recorded the most accurate astronomical data at Uraniborg, his research facility where he built large astronomical instruments, and his assistant Johannes Kepler, a mathematician who used Brahe’s data to form the Three Laws of Planetary Motion. After reading Blind Watchers, the night sky is more comprehensible, but even more awe inspiring.

Leaving Saturn: Poems
By Major Jackson 
University of Georgia Press, $16.95
Recommended by Cristin
Major Jackson is a poet who deserves a great deal of recognition. Leaving Saturn is a collection of masterful sounds and edgy beats. He makes you see steam grates and smell city smells. His work goes through incredible phrases - at once hard and soft. Jackson explores more than his observations of life in Philadelphia. He takes stock of what it is to be an artist, a master of words when all thoughts and words seem used and taxed. His energy - wild and uninhibited - is well worth your while.

April 2007 Staff Picks

About Alice
By Calvin Trillin
Random House, $14.95
Recommended by Steve
Calvin Trillin, staff writer for The New Yorker Magazine, has written a moving, at times humorous, tribute to his wife and muse: Alice. Although this is a quick read, the book has  enormous appeal.

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading
By Sara Nelson
Berkley, $13.00
Recommended by Michelle
Sara Nelson made a New Year’s resolution to read a book a week for a whole year and to record a diary of her experiences. The result of her experiment is a smart, quirky collection of essays that avid readers will gobble up. Books about reading are so tantalizing; delving into another passionate reader’s descriptions of her reading habits brings back memories of my own favorite moments spent reading. So Many Books, So Little Time is brimming with wit and personality. You will certainly be captivated by her year long adventure in literature, and ready to start your own list of must-reads, starting with So Many Books, So Little Time!

Places Left Unfinished At the Time of Creation
By John Phillip Santos
Penguin, $ 15.00
Recommended by Charlotte
Santos has written a haunting and unforgettable memoir in the literary style of Isabel Allende’s House of Spirits and Eva Luna, Victor Villasenor’s Rain of Gold, and Oscar Hijuelos Mambo Kings and 14 Sisters of Emilio Montez O’Brien. This memoir is a chronicle of the experiences of immigration and assimilation of a Mexican family living in a border town of  Mexico to the New World; it is a rich portrait of his family written in a poetic tempo.

March 2007 Staff Picks

A Star Called Henry
By Roddy Doyle
Penguin, $14.00
Recommended by Cristin
Oh, what a book! How I adore, truly adore Henry Smart. This book had me after the first sentence. I am bound to it, invested in it, in love with it. My sister read it and highly recommended it, and how I thank her! This is one passionate, raucous, brilliant tale of an unforgettable Irish rebel, Henry Smart. It is a truly Irish experience and it will make your eyes sparkle in a way that is exclusively, mischievously, magically Irish.

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
By Anne Lamott
Anchor Books, $13.95
Recommended by Kathleen
Looking for the perfect book for an expectant Mom? Forget What to Expect Whey You Are Expecting!  You will laugh, cry and enjoy the ride as Anne Lamott describes her pregnancy and first year as a mother.  A gifted writer and teacher, Lamott is a single mother and ex-alcoholic with a pleasingly warped social circle and a remarkably tolerant religion to lean on. She responds to the changes, exhaustion, and love Sam brings with aplomb or outright insanity.

February 2007 Staff Picks

Daily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe
By Andrew Boyd
W.W. Norton, $ 13.95
Recommended by Michelle
Instead of daily affirmations, try Daily Afflictions! A satirical perversion of the self-help genre that has chapter headings like “selfless selfishness,” “love the wrong person,”
“succeed at failure,” and “the nurturing power of dysfunctional families.”  The brief chapters are twisted and funny, and best of all, insightful and wise. To completely embrace the afflictions mindset, listen to Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor while reading this book!

January 2007 Staff Picks

The Game of Kings
By Dorothy Dunnett
Vintage, $15.95
Recommended by Michelle
Beware. I am fanatically devoted to Dunnett’s six book series of historical novels set in the Sixteenth Century. I’ve been known to scare people with my enthusiastic description of the books, so much so, that they promise to read them just to evade my zeal. The Game of Kings is the first book of the Lymond Chronicles, named after her anti-hero Frances Crawford of Lymond. With consummate skill, Dunnett has created a fiercely intelligent, complex, passionate adventure that is such thrilling and addictive fun. The exploits of Lymond are larger than life, always vivid, and as hilarious as they are heartbreaking. Spanning the countries of Scotland, England, France, Turkey, and Russia, the story delves into the politics, religion, and the arts of the time period. The novels are a whirlwind of deception, passion, swashbuckling and intrigue. I have a tradition - I re-read all six books every February. Even though I know how the story ends, I will sometimes stay up until my eyes are bleary and the sun is rising!

The Book of Lost Things
By John Connelly
Atria, $23.00
Recommended by Cristin
If the books Wicked and Neverending Story had offspring, I’m pretty sure it would bear a striking resemblance to The Book of Lost Things. This novel takes the twisted fairy tale genre to an even more dreamlike, hair-raising level. Ultimately, this is a story about surviving the pain that accompanies the cruel losses we experience in our lifetimes. I have been contemplating this book since I read it. That’s a good sign, I think.

Intellectual Devotional
By David Kidder
Rodale, $22.50
Recommended by Marjorie
An excellent way to improve your worldly knowledge. The daily format is perfect way to capture these thought provoking tidbits.



December 2006 Staff Picks

The Laments
By George Hagen
Random House, $14.95
Recommended by Steve
From the first paragraph, I was hooked on The Laments. Page one had me laughing out loud, and my wife Donna questioned me as to what was so funny. I read the paragraph to her, and soon we were both laughing. The book opens with a baby swapped at birth on the continent of Africa. The book is not all laughs, there are themes that the characters evolve with: bigotry, family, loss, and the search for identity as they move from one country to another. This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys a well written, intelligent, funny and moving novel. This is my first time saying this - consider this my highest recommendation. This is George Hagen’s first novel, and I am already eagerly waiting for his next novel.


November 2006 Staff Picks

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
By Haruki Murakami
Alfred A. Knopf, $24.95
Recommended by Wendell
Sure, I really enjoy his novels, but these short stories are sublime. If you are at all a short story fan, both this and his After the Quake will entrance you. Murakami is a master at merging the surreal and mundane; the results are intoxicating.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
By Susanna Clarke
Bloomsbury Publishing, $23.95
Recommended by Cristin
Bestselling author Susanna Clarke returns with a thoroughly diverting collection of short stories. Fans of Jonathan Strange will be especially pleased to reunite with some of her familiar characters. Readers should prepare to meet more mischievous faeries, women who transform into owls, and a variety of magical friends and foes. Blur the boundaries of reality as you delve into Clarke’s latest literary treat! Enjoy!

October 2006 Staff Picks

The Thirteenth Tale
By Diane Setterfield 
Atria Books, $26.00
Recommended by Cristin
Spooky! This is a relatively light (but well-written) read. As you read, you will become exposed to a batch of memorable, haunting, forlorn characters who each have a number of cobweb covered skeletons in their respective closets. The strange, dark themes of loss and mysterious circumstances behind The Thirteenth Tale will make you compulsively look over your shoulder. Watch out! You may just see a ghost or two ... or three ... An excellent book to read in the fall, The Thirteenth Tale will make you feel as though a blustery wind is blowing through your chest.

At Blanchard’s Table
By Melinda and Robert Blanchard,
Clarkson N Potter Publishers, $32.50
Recommended by Cyndi
My daughter and I recently challenged each other to a cook-off. Weeks ahead of time, I started long lists of possible menus and recipes, pored through all my cookbooks - carefully choosing what I thought would be hands-down winners, practicing and sweating in the kitchen with pots and pans clanging everywhere. Well, do you see where this is going? My daughter also works full-time, but she quickly chose what she knew were tried and true contenders – and darn if she didn’t win. She announced at the end of her night that most of her recipes came from At Blanchard’s Table. She and her newly-married and working friends all rave about the simplicity and wonderful tastes in these recipes. So, I do highly recommend this book!

So Many Books
By Gabriel Zaid,
Paul Dry Books, $9.95
Recommended by Michelle
The human race publishes a book every thirty seconds,” writes Mexican author and self-confessed bibliophile Gabriel Zaid. How can anyone keep up with the hundreds of books they should read? Titles pile up over the years into precarious stacks that cry out to be read, and seem to frown each time a new book purchase is added to the pile. So Many Books is a philosophical and passionate love letter to the books that change us, and it serves as a reminder to the publishing industry that the blockbuster ultimately means less than the little known gem when viewed from a reader’s perspective. All avid readers will savor this little treasure of a book.

September 2006 Staff Picks

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With The Heart of Buddha
By Tara Brach, PH. D.
Bantam, $16.00
Recommended by Cristin
One of the most essential and enlightening books I have read, Radical Acceptance serves as an excellent introduction to Buddhism. The compassionate message contained within will undoubtedly move you, and encourage you to live with an enduring sense of what many Buddhists refer to as “loving kindness”. I cannot adequately express how powerfully this book has influenced me and the way I approach my life. I am a more aware person for having read this extraordinary book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Rise and Shine
By Anna Quindlen
Random House , $24.95
Recommended by Kay
Bridget Fitzmaurice, the narrator of Anna Quindlen’s engrossing new novel, works for a women’s shelter in the Bronx. Her older sister, Meghan, co-host at the popular morning show, Rise and Shine, is the most famous woman on TV.  After a particularly contentious interview with a major politician, Meghan mutters an obscenity not realizing her microphone is still on. The fallout is catastrophic and Meghan’s and Bridget’s lives change forever, as does that of Meghan’s college age son, Leo. As Bridget struggles to maintain family and emotional stability, Quindlen has her lob plenty of pungent observations about both life in class-stratified New York City and family dynamics. She poignantly reveals the sisters individual strengths and faults, and in top-notch prose writes a beautifully perceptive homage to the city she loves. Her marvelous observations of the human condition underlie the Fitzmaurice sisters discovery of the transience of fame and the permanence of family.

Any Bitter Thing
By Monica Wood
Ballantine Books, $13.95
Recommended by Stephen
Maine author Monica Wood is the one to keep your eyes on. Her tale of a Catholic woman recovering from a near fatal accident while simultaneously reflecting on and trying to resolve the conflict surrounding her uncle, a Maine priest accused of child molestation twenty one years ago, is powerful.  Wood’s characters show depth and complexity.  They struggle with the past, and are very human and real. With this book, Monica Wood can be added to the list of great Northern New England authors like John Irving.


August 2006 Staff Picks

The Seal Wife
By Kathryn Harrison
Random House Trade, $12.95
Recommended by Marjorie
The author tells this captivating story through the eyes of a male scientist who is on assignment at a weather station in the harsh, frontier town of Anchorage, Alaska, in the early 1900’s. He fills the depressingly long, sunless winter months with two consuming passions: the design of a novel weather kite, and his desire for an Aleut native woman. Her aloofness and self-absorbed nature, and her choice to not speak during their romantic meetings, only fuels his desire to possess her. When the Aleut woman goes away for several weeks, his life takes a poignant turn. Anyone who has travelled to Alaska, or worked in science will love this story.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Susanna Clarke
Bloomsbury Publishing, $15.95
Recommended by Cristin
Surprisingly witty, eerie, and fantastical! It is always so delightful to experience an author’s unique perception of magic. It is obvious that Clarke is enamored of the highly detailed, creepy, and well-crafted world she has created. Sold in 27 countries and with a major motion picture from New Line on the way, this epic tells the tale of two very different magicians who change 19th century England.

Ask and It Is Given
By Esther and Jerry Hicks
Harper, $14.95
Recommended by Kelly
A gentle and inspirational piece that will change your life and give new meaning to the way we manifest our desires. This book presents the teachings of the nonphysical entity: “Abraham” who will teach you how to create a more fulfilling and joyful life that we all deserve!

July 2006 Staff Picks

Sounding the Trumpet: The Making of JFK's Inaugural Address
By Richard Tofel
Ivan R. Dee Publisher, $25.00
Recommended by Steve
This book is ideal for anyone interested in JFK history. Sounding the Trumpet is a full account of the making of one of history’s great inaugural speeches. Toefel does a great job of dissecting the speech and revealing the inspirations and contributions from the Bible to Shakespeare, and the man whose opinions and thoughts were one with  JFK’s... Theodore Sorenson. Also recommended is Kennedy by Theodore Sorenson. Mr. Sorenson was Kennedy’s speech writer, and this book is the equivalent of listening to JFK. Kennedy is currently out of print, but available from Isaiah Thomas Books in Marstons Mills.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
By Jonathan Safran Foer
Mariner, $13.95
Recommended by Kathleen
Foer established himself as a young writer to watch with his debut Everything is Illuminated. With his second novel, he is not just a writer to watch, but a writer that must be read. He tells the hilarious and heartbreaking story of nine year old Oskar Schell by inventively incorporating photographs and unusual typography into the narrative. Oskar’s search through New York to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, hauntingly addresses the great questions of life and love.

Little, Big
By John Crowley
Harper, $15.95
Recommended by Michelle
Little, Big is a mesmerizing, brilliant novel that predates Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by twenty years. Smoky Barnable falls in love with Daily Alice and loses himself in her strange, otherworldly family. Edgewood, a place not found on any map, is home to the Drinkwaters, an eccentric, secretive family living on the edge of reality. Filled with mystery, past and present drift as the tale of the Drinkwaters is uncovered. Like Mark Helprin’s Winter’s Tale, Little, Big blends myth and magic with a family saga. The result is an intoxicating and vivid masterpiece.

June 2006 Staff Picks

Just a Geek
By Wil Wheaton
O’Reilly, $24.95
Recommended by Wendell
Wil Wheaton’s self-deprecating style of humor has broad appeal; for those who know him from Star Trek to those who know him as one of the first to popularize blogging. He also shared some insights into the difficulty actors have in getting work. A memoir that is completely honest and funny.

Eyre Affair
Jasper Fforde
Penguin, $14.00
Recommended by Michelle
This witty literary mystery will delight word lovers and bibliophiles. Characters from great works of literature are being kidnapped, and literary detective Thursday Next is on the trail of the villain. Eyre Affair is a quick-paced, quirky novel that is jam-packed with wordplay and sly references to enjoy.

Three Junes
By Julia Glass
Anchor Books, $14.95
Recommended by Kay
This debut novel is wise and illuminating about the lives and loves of a Scottish family. Intelligent, well-written characters burst into life on these pages, and the insights about family interactions and happiness are so true. Three Junes is a perfect choice for book club discussions.

May 2006 Staff Picks

Crooked Little Heart   
By Annie Lamott
Anchor Books, $13.00
Recommended by Kathleen
I just love Annie Lamott’s writing. I give her memoir Operating Instructions to all the prospective parents I know. Her expressive writing style is tender and funny. Her novel, Crooked Little Heart asks big questions in intimate ways: what keeps a family together? What are the small heartbreaks that tear at the fabric of our lives? What happens to grief when it goes underground? And on what road must we walk with our flawed and crooked hearts? Don’t miss this gem!

America's Boy
By Wade Rouse
Dutton, $24.95
Recommended by Cyndi
In the tradition of such quirky and smart coming-of-age memoirs as Augusten Burroughs’ Running with Scissors and Haven Kimmel’s A Girl Named Zippy, America’s Boy is an arresting and funny tale of growing up different in America’s heartland. I couldn’t put this book down. Wade Rouse’s memoir is intensely personal, totally engaging, and in a very ironic sense, an everyman’s tale. He writes with raw honesty and humor – about loss and gain, isolation and kinship, and shame and self-respect.

No Great Mischief
By Alastair Macleod
Vintage Books, $14.00
Recommended by Pete
I only discovered this slim, powerful book because I have family from Cape Breton. This novel weaves together the story of a Scottish man who sets sail with his wife and 12 children for Cape Breton in 1779 and the tale of his descendant, who struggles with family loyalty 200 years later on the same bleak landscape. No Great Mischief is a paradox: a compact epic, a funny heartbreaker, a not to be missed book that was missed by many!


April 2006 Staff Picks

Postcards
By E. Annie Proulx
Scribner, $14.00
Recommended by Michelle
This is Annie Proulx's debut novel which was eclipsed by The Shipping News. It is an alluring, dark contemplation of loneliness and forgiveness. Her character, Loyal Blood, is alienated and on the run from an awful mistake. Loyal's haunting past and long journey towards redemption is an absorbing story. Annie's writing is luminous with small details and alive with intelligence.


The Mermaids Singing
By Lisa Carey
Harper Perennial,
$13.00
Recommended by Pete
This impressive first novel is lovely Irish fiction. Fifteen-year-old Grainne, alone after her mother’s death, is being taken back to Ireland from Boston by her grandmother. She will meet a father she has never known, her heart pulled between a far-distant home and a family she cannot remember. On the rocky shores of Inis Muruch (Island of Mermaids), she will discover her own sexual identity even as she struggles to understand the forces that have torn her family apart. A beautiful book about mother-daughter relationships.


Plain and Simple
By Sue Bender
Harper San Francisco, $15.95
Recommended by Charlotte
About her book, Sue Bender said, “I had an obsession with the Amish. Plain and simple. Objectively it made no sense. I, who worked hard at being special, fell in love with a people who valued being ordinary.” So begins her story, the captivating and inspiring true story of a harried urban Californian moved by the beauty of a display of quilts to seek out and live with the Amish.  Plain & Simple is a gem! Everyone should be required to read this small book on a daily basis.

March 2006 Staff Picks

The Souls of Black Folk
by W.E.B. Du Bois
Penguin $9.95
Recommended by Wendell
Du Bois is probably America’s foremost sociologist; his gorgeous prose elucidates the color line of his time. However, most of what he writes is still pertinent to today’s milieu. The subjects range from the death of his firstborn child to the politics of his day with the common thread of “the veil” (his metaphor for the dual nature of being black in the U.S.) running through it all.


Monkeewrench
by P.J. Tracy
Signet, $6.99
Recommended by Kay
This debut is a smart, funny thriller. The creators of a new software game called Serial Killer Detective are horrified to discover that game scenarios are being played out in real life. Monkeewrench has received rave reviews from many mystery authors like Harlan Coben, Robert Parker, and Nevada Barr for being an expertly researched and thoroughly enjoyable page turner. You won’t sleep a wink until you finish the book!


Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See
Random House, $21.95
Recommended by Cyndi
Historical fiction at its finest! Set in Nineteenth-Century China where women were kept in seclusion and bound by strict codes of conduct. Women created a secret code, “nu shu”; by painting on fans and embroidering handkerchiefs they were able to communicate in secret. This moving and haunting story of friendship between two women is a perfect book club choice.


February 2006 Staff Picks

INKWELL’S PICK FEBRUARY Waiting by Ha Jin Vintage $13.00 This sublime novel is set in communist China in the second half of the 20th century. Torn between tradition and desire, army doctor Lin Kong spends years leading a double life. With simple prose that sounds like poetry, Ha Jin deftly creates an elegant, restrained love story.

Don’t Try This at Home by Kimberly Witherspoon Bloomsbury, $24.95 Recommended by Kathleen This book delivers exactly what it promises...dire, yet entertaining stories from kitchens all over the world. Read about the chef who got drunk on the job to spite his boss, and the New Year’s Eve gala event that was an unmitigated disaster. Don’t Try This at Home proves that all of us can have an off day. If you are a Food Network addict, this book is for you!