General
Fiction
Dimensions by George Ebey
Dimensions is a thought-provoking compilation of short stories by George Ebey. They are well written and hold the reader's interest. These short stories are of the science fiction genre, but may NOT all be fantasy! You decide!
-fmil
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
What a totally intriguing book. The people are so enchanting. The remarkable stories that unfold in their letters to the heroine of the story are so charming, touching and honest that as a reader you find yourself being pulled in to be part of the whole mix. This view of WWII through their eyes is spellbinding; the raw and the sweet. Ms. Shaffer writes a truly fascinating tale. Please find a comfortable chair and settle down with this book. It'll be time well spent. Trust me.
-Madalene
ALLAKAZZAM! Man, Myth and Magic in Lightest Africa by Daniel Abelman
This modern-day trickster tale passes through vastly different worlds: a white man's and a black man's Africa, the rich man's and the ordinary man's worlds… Abelman has the reader believing in magic, psychic powers, and religious artifacts with supernatural powers. There is more than one narrator and more than one main character, though the ultimate trickster, Abelman himself, is disguised in the open and appears in his own novel in different forms. Edmunds' illustrations add to Abelman's writing by embracing the same mix of real and extra-real that imbues the prose. The book reflects its multivocality through font switches and very different languages (Xhosa, Hebrew).
-bintarab
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
-JM
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
This is an entertaining story about a proper, but unsuccessful nanny who goes for a job and meets a glamorous young singer and adapts quickly to the exciting life she lives. Her sound advice endears her to everyone she meets and she experiences a day unlike any other. The plot is quick and humorous. A couple of mild expletives and implied adult situations, but a safe, enjoyable book. Soon to be made into a movie.
-S.D.
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
Leslie Marmon Silko's book Ceremony is an extraordinary story. The novel is about a young half white, half Native American, Tayo and his search for his will to survive. After being a prisoner of the Japanese during WWII, he is confused and lost. Tayo returns home and shrugs off the alcohol and violence that other soldiers turn to and finds himself looking at his Laguna past and traditions. The entire story is a ceremony that the reader is watching unfold. It is steeped in ancient beliefs and the importance of roots. Ceremony is a must read for any reader.
NJ Myers
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto a tale of love, death, mourning, and recovery. It is refreshingly different from a lot of fiction that is considered mainstream. Mikage Sakurai is the main character. She has experienced the death of both parents, her grandfather, and now her grandmother. Her depression and grief at losing everyone she loves drives her to her favorite place in the world... the kitchen. Any kitchen, she feels comfortable being in kitchens. Mikage finds herself welcomed into a strange family Yuichi and his mother, Eriko. She learns to open her heart and live again. But the kitchen is still one of the most important things in her life. Kitchen is such a witty, wonderful work that readers will want to read other stories by Banana Yoshimoto.
NJ Myers
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman is a collection of thirty tales that Albert Einstein may have dreamed about as he was finishing his theory of relativity. They are all twists and ideas about time. It is about other worlds where time flows backwards, in circles, or is just a frozen moment. It is captivating and makes the reader think about all the possibilities. Each story is unique and will make the reader pause before reading the next tale. Einstein's Dreams is a short read, but it is complex and creative.
NJ Myers
Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World by Linda Hogan
Linda Hogan's Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World speaks of the world as if everything is alive and conscious of its own life. It is tells of the human need to learn and experience the past in order to create a better future. Dwellings is wonderful combination of fiction and truth. It is different and beautiful. Hogan is a wonderful storyteller and spins a world that entices the reader.
NJ Myers
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Through a cruel twist of fate, Cornell veterinary student, Jacob Jankowski, finds himself with limited options. It is the beginning of the Great Depression when jobs are scarce. Jacob joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth and enters the bizarre world under the Big Top. Told in a series of flashbacks, the book details Jacob's incredible journey, including his encounter with a beautiful equestrian star and his relationship with a most unusual elephant. I never enjoyed the circus as a child; however, I found it difficult to put this book down.
BQ 12/1/07
Loving Frank: a novel by Nancy Horan
In the early 1900's, a Chicago couple, Edwin and Mamah Cheney, commissioned well-known architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, to design a new home for their growing family. An intelligent and educated woman, Mamah Cheney was a devoted wife and mother and a great supporter of women's rights. She admired Wright's brilliant mind and spirit and began an affair with the architect. Their actions shocked Chicago society and later the world. Mamah's decision to leave her family for Wright would result in personal tragedy. This well-researched book is a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of Frank Lloyd Wright.
BQ 12/1/07
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