Recommendations from Julie

The Adversary by Michael Walters
Minister of security Nergui is investigating the police department looking for corrupt cops and Doripalam, the chief of police is investigating the death of a woman. Both mysteries lead to Muunokhoi, a seemingly corrupt businessman. The story takes place in Mongolia and involves nomadic people living in gers plus a brief discussion of how the fall of the USSR made some criminals very wealthy. An interesting part of the world.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
This series, which began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, continues to get better and more exciting. I love the character Lisbeth--she's about the most complicated character I've come across in a long time. Larsson is a great writer and I am mourning the fact that he died after this series. But I still can't wait to read the next, and final, book in the series. This is truly an outstanding series.

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Winter Reading Club Recommendations

Fieldwork
by Mischa Berlinski

The story is set in northern Thailand in a mythical tribe who are beset by Christian missionaries. Berlinski flips our expectations by making the Christians into the demons and the agrarian, rural natives into relatively sane folk. An outstanding first novel, good craftsman.

~Jim W.


Altar of Eden
by James Rollins.

A genetic engineering thriller. Animals from the Baghdad zoo are taken in 2003 and turn up 5 years later in New Orleans --- with weird feathers on jaguars and leather-skinned parrots. A veterinarian and endangered species activist start noticing these weirdnesses...

The bad guys are well fleshed-out, and there's enough genetics and science to occupy 20-30% of the frontal cortex so, for example, you could still watch reality TV and not miss either... I recommend it.


~Jim W.



The Leisure Seeker
by Michael Zadoorian

How does a young man understand and write so convincingly of the spirit, soul and mind of a senior citizen!? Mr. Zadoorian should win a prize for this happy/emotional/scary novel. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Leisure Seeker" by Michael Zadoorian, and was in awe of the humor, insight, and sadness he was able to convey in the wonderful book.

The minute I finished the last page I wanted to go knock on the doors of my friends that read (not everyone does!) and insist they sit right down and engross themselves in the lives of these two elderly people. The book involves a cross country trip, taken by this dear couple, who for all we know, may be on their last big adventure. Take it home with you today!

~Lois G.

A Recommendation from Julie

The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
I listened to this book. The reader read with a Hindi accent so it felt right as a story of India. It presented a picture of India from the poor person's point of view. It felt very third world. It was entertaining, enlightening, and thought-provoking. Winner of the Man Booker prize, 2008.

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Winter Reading Club Recommendations

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society


by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.





A novel made up of letters. The characters are developed brilliantly: you know them, care for them, love them. The story takes place the year after the end of WW2 and the German occupation of this channel island. It is a love story: peoples love for one another and their book club. YES! I would recommend it, one of the best books I've read in a long time.


~Nancy M.






The Coil
by Gayle Lynds

I was trapped a couple of weeks ago at a friend's house for the weekend and picked up THE COIL, by Gayle Lynds... It was drech!

She didn't trust herself to advance plot or flesh out characters, unless somebody got killed.. As a result death and mayhem every other page...

Love the affectation with the twoYs in names...not!

Ptuuiiii!
~Jim W.



Thank you for your reviews. Keep them coming - every review is an entry for the weekly prize drawings. ~Michele

Winter Reading Club recommendations

Goat Song by Brad Kessler

Mr. Kessler and his wife sought to escape the city, ending up in Vermont raising goats. Not only does he describe their daily life milking and herding, but he references pastoral images and language still used, e.g. scapegoat. I found other topics enlightening, e.g. Gandhi's goat which saved his health, bells of different tones on each goat which then identify who has wandered just by sound, a discussion of pasteurization which is not used in Europe or on the Kessler farm, and the step by step process for making goat milk cheese. The book also compares his spiritual life with that of the monks up the hill.

Review submitted by Kathy S.

~ Thanks for the great review Kathy! Your name has been entered for the weekly prize drawings. Michele

Recommendations from Julie

The Storm in the Barn (graphic novel) by Matt Phelan
1937 Kansas dust bowl. 11 year old Jack is not happy. His sister has dust pneumonia. His dad is angry and depressed because of his failing farm. And Jack is the target of local bullies. But Jack sees something strange in the old Talbot barn... The story is fantasy blended with realism, done with great empathy. Phelan has done a great job of presenting this desperate time and place.

Skim (graphic novel) by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki
This is a touching story of a teenage girl struggling with issues of death, suicide, sexual preferences, friends and lifestyles.

Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson
Alan Banks and Annie Cabbot are working on separate cases in different towns: Banks, the murder of a young woman in an area called "The Maze" and Cabbot the murder of a paraplegic in a wheelchair. The story is highly suspenseful plus Robinson's detectives have a lot of depth; you feel like you get to know them.

Push by Sapphire
Reading a book like this reminds me of what a sheltered life I have lived. Poor Precious! Her father began molesting her when she was still in diapers. She was pregnant by him at age 12 and again at age 16. Her mother beat her. She couldn't read. And if that's not enough, when her father died of aids she discovered that she too was HIV positive. Fortunately for her though, one of her persistent teachers got her to enroll in a different school which was geared to meet the needs of people just like Precious. This is a very fast, easy read that leaves you troubled but hopeful.

Dust Devils by James Reasoner
James Reasoner missed his calling--he should be writing graphic novels. This story is short and fast with little narrative and lots of action. It would make a great graphic novel. As a non-graphic novel it's short and sweet; enjoyable but lacking in lasting effects. But it would be so great with pictures!

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
I saw Bourdain speak recently so had to read (I listened in this case) his book. It was a great listen (read by Bourdain). Lots of rough, rude and crude language, very up front about everything. I learned more than I ever knew, or wanted to know, about being a chef. This book definitely left me wanting more. I can't wait for him to pick up where this one left off so I can hear more about the TV show.

Recommendations from Julie

Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello
The subtitle of this book is “My life in hot pursuit of the world’s most coveted handbag.” Of course, I had no idea what a Birkin is. Thanks to Michael Tonello I now know a lot about them—the main thing being that I’ll never own one and probably never even see one in my lifetime. The writing was very light and breezy, easy and fun to read.

Thicker Than Water by P.J. Parrish
P.J. Parrish writes quick and easy mysteries. Louis Kincaid is an engaging detective and the stories hold your attention. In this novel, a man recently released from prison is accused of murdering his lawyer.
P.J. Parrish's website.

Self’s Murder by Bernhard Schlink
The three main points of interest in this book are the time and place: Germany after the fall of the wall; and the fact that the detective is an elderly man, a former public prosecutor. The case starts out as a search for a pre-WWII bank partner but ends up a case of multiple murder. The case is multi-layered because of the state of Germany during the war, after the war and the present time. Germany has had some major events in the 20th century and it is very interesting to see the effects of these events in fiction.

Bayou by Jeremy Love
Very interesting, fantastical and sad graphic novel. It takes place in 1933 Mississippi where a black body is swinging from every tree. Lee is a little girl whose friend, a white girl, is eaten by the monster of the bayou. Lee's daddy is accused of the crime and hauled off to jail. Lee sets out to find the monster and make him give back the girl so her daddy can go free. Lee is a little girl with a lot of grit and the creatures of the bayou and of the woods are so imaginative they transport you back to childhood where there are both good and bad monsters all around us. I can't wait for vol. 2.