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 This
Month's Staff Recommends
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Book Talk: We Recommend
Recommended by Jane Peck, Branch Librarian
Dogs, dogs, dogs. Did you walk yours today? Do you enjoy reading about dogs? Try one of these titles for an enjoyable stroll through a very doggy world without a pooper bag.
Dean Koontz has written a charming tribute to his best friend, Trixie. She is a gorgeous Golden Retriever with special powers to heal your heart and Dean Koontz isn’t afraid to show his soft side as he tells her story in
A Big Little Life: a Memoir of a Joyful Dog.
Or join Jon Katz on Bedlam Farm as he writes about his wonderful dogs and their relationships with Jon and other animals on the Farm. The latest title is
Soul of a Dog.
Finally, if you are considering getting a dog or puppy soon make sure to check out
Cesar Millan’s newest title How to Raise the Perfect Dog. Cesar, the Dog Whisperer, is renowned for his mantra of exercise, discipline, and affection to make your dog or puppy the perfect companion.
So as the holidays draw near, remember: don’t give your dog chocolate or grapes, and enjoy that long walk after your holiday dinner to balance those extra calories.
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Reviewed in 2009
You'll find more ideas on the Reader
Services Page, the Fiction
Booklist Section and among our previous Staff Recommendations.
Book Talk: We Recommend
Recommended by Lucy Loveridge
Now that we’re awaiting the last movie remake of the Harry Potter books, it might be time to find a new series for children that adults can enjoy, too. Let’s not lose that connection to straightforward, fun plotting and imaginative details that made Harry Potter such an international phenomenon.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, J Fiction
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably read these five books that began with The Lightning Thief (the movie’s coming out next February). Percy Jackson, a middle schooler with academic problems, including ADHD and dyslexia, is attacked while on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the subsequent debriefing by those who saved his life, Percy discovers he is a demi-god, son of one of the Greek gods, and thus a target of the Titans, enemies of the Greek gods. He also discovers there’s a summer camp for kids like him that will help him survive his adolescence as well as the Titan attacks, if he’s lucky. Much adventure ensues. A great read.
The Mad Misadventures of Emmeline and Rubberbones series by Howard Whitehouse, J Fiction
Not so well-known, but just as adventurous, are the three books (so far) of this series which began with The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken. This is twisted, mad-cap, Victorian adventure that is very amusing, especially if you’re familiar with the work of Frances Hodgson Burnett and other Victorian children’s authors. Stock characters such as the maiden aunt/guardian, the loyal and exotic butler, the American inventor, the stalwart village boy, and the lonely orphan are tweaked in a lovely but subversive way, and Princess Purnah of Chiligriti, a late arrival in the first book but a star in the second and third, is a joy forever while being alarmingly bloodthirsty.
Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space and its sequels by Philip Reeve, J Science Fiction
In another, farther reaching twist on Victorian adventure for children, Mr. Reeve’s books (three so far), starring Art
Mumby, his priggish sister, parents and friends, take place in outer space which has been conquered, like much of Earth, by Great Britain under the leadership of Queen Victoria. The English, of course, have discovered the secret of traveling through the ether from planet to planet on ships much like the ships in the British Navy of the 1800s. Strange creatures are met everywhere; some Englishmen go native and marry Martians (not the done thing); and mind control can be accomplished through derby hats if you’re not careful. As time progresses, many plots and uprisings by the exotic inhabitants of Her Majesty’s Empire are discovered and foiled by the plucky Mumby family and their friends.
Book Talk: We Recommend
Recommended by Sherry Baker
The 19th Wife
by David Ebershoff
This novel blends epic historical fiction with a present day murder
mystery. The compelling story of Ann Eliza, the 19th wife of Brigham
Young, founder and leader of the Mormon Church, details her life in a
plural marriage, her separation in 1875 from her powerful husband and
her crusade to end polygamy. Woven into Ann Eliza’s story is that of
Jordan Scott, a young man who was cast out of his fundamentalist sect as
a teenager, a common practice in polygamist groups. The two narratives
intertwine, allowing the reader a fascinating look at all aspects o f
plural marriage and its consequences.
 
Two memoirs recently published by young women who escaped from
polygamous sects,
Stolen Innocence
by Elissa Wall and
Escapee by Carolyn Jessop, reveal the
struggle to eliminate plural marriages continues to this day.
Book Talk: We Recommend
by Sande Marchetti, Circulation Department
Drood by Dan Simmons.
(Fiction)
 In another absorbing novel using
fictionalized accounts of famous people,
the author recounts a terrifying story of the last years of
Charles Dickens’ life. Narrated by his presumed friend and
contemporary Wilkie Collins, Drood tells the story of an
ill-fated train accident in which Dickens barely escapes
death and first encounters the mysterious and elusive Edwin
Drood. Pursuing him later to the underworld of London’s
sewers, the two authors encounter a frightening world of evil,
poverty, drugs and madness. Increasingly jealous of Dickens’
commercial success, Collins succumbs to opium addiction
and nightmarish visions. Confronted at last with Drood’s evil
powers, both authors seem to fall victim to a horrible insanity.
Highly imaginative and suspenseful Drood is an absorbing read.
Book Talk: We Recommend
by Emily A. Donnelly, McAuliffe Branch
Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.
(629.454 Lovell)
(previously published as Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13)
Although the horrors and heroics of the Apollo 13 mission have been
widely documented, no source is more compelling than Commander Lovell’s
first-hand account of the disaster. More than just a collection of
facts, Lovell and Kluger’s prose is filled with insights into the lives,
families, and societies of NASA astronauts. This memoir will delight
readers for both its high level of detail and its fiction-like fluidity.
The
Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury. (Fiction)
Through a collection of connected short stories, sci-fi legend Ray
Bradbury constructs a futuristic history of Earthlings’ attempts to
colonize Mars. Rife with social and political commentary -- as well as
frequently unforgettable imagery -- The Martian Chronicles has endured
as a classic among varied audiences for nearly sixty years.
Laika
by Nick Abadzis. (Y Graphic Nov)
Before there were human astronauts, there was Laika: a stray dog
destined to be the world’s first sentient space traveler. In this
emotional adaptation of the true story, Nick Abadzis skillfully portrays
Laika’s tragic involvement in Space Race politics while emphasizing the
humanity of the scientists around her. Tissues recommended.
Book Talk: We Recommend
by Paula Marsh, Assistant Circulation
Supervisor, McAuliffe Branch
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran.
Fiction.
Michele Moran’s first novel, Nefertiti, brings the
ancient world to life. The story of this ambitious queen is told
through her younger sister, Mutnodjmet. Nefertiti and Pharaoh
Amunhotep, aka Akhenaten, rule Lower Egypt in a destructive reign
that threatens the stability of the country as a whole. Their plan to
build a city for themselves, in addition to other antics in their court,
create intrigue as the country waits for the next Prince of Egypt.
Abundance
by Sena Jeter Naslund. Fiction.
Did France misunderstand Marie Antoinette or did Marie
Antoinette misunderstand France? Seta Jeter Naslund gives us an
intimate portrayal of the young queen whose life amid the luxury
and opulence of Versailles and the decadence of Paris brings her
finally to her fate as victim of the French Revolution.
Book Talk:
We Recommend
by Jackie Barillet, Circulation Department
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Fiction.
This dense emotional novel set in modern India tells
the story of two women with close personal bonds, yet
separated by vast social differences. Sera, a wealthy
upper-class woman, employs Bhima, from the slums
of Bombay. Their intertwining lives illumine the class
and gender differences in their society.
The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan. Fiction.
This family saga involving several generations of a
Brahmin family begins at the end of the 19th century.
The marriage of Sivakami, the matriarch-to-be, at the
age of 10 first describes the many fascinating aspects of
the culture interwoven with the lives of the family. As
Indian society evolves slowly into the modern world,
the characters’ beliefs are challenged by change and by each other in this
absorbing and surprising novel.
Recommend
by Mary Murphy, Circulation Department
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
by Vicki Myron. 636.8 Myron.
In 1988, on a cold night in Spencer, Iowa, library director Vicki Myron found a tiny kitten stuffed in the library book drop. ‘Dewey’ was adopted by the staff and for 19 years greeted visitors to the Spencer library. The 1980’s in Iowa was a time of farming crisis and Myron describes Dewey as the comic relief and mender of the human spirit of this community. Dewey becomes quite famous and when he passes, his obituary is published in the New York Times.
The Condition
by Jennifer Haigh.
Fiction.
This narrative of a twenty-year span in the life of a New England family chronicles family relationships, separations and struggles. Daughter Gwen is diagnosed with Turner’s syndrome, a genetic condition that keeps her body from developing, brother Billy has a secret life and youngest brother Scott feels trapped in a job he hates and a marriage that is killing his spirit.
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: a memoir
by Bill Bryson.
 B
BRYSON, B. Bryson.
A coming of age memoir of 1950’s through the eyes of Bill Bryson aka Thunderbolt Kid. His alter ego Thunderbolt kid loves comic books that he reads at the Kiddie Corral in the local supermarket in Des Moines while his mother shops. Bryson describes the 1950’s as a time of happy consumerism when neighbors clamored to see your newest electrical appliances. Bryson’s wit and insights of this time make for a fun read and of particular interest for Baby Boomers.
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