Staff Picks

Every month we take a few minutes to share the books we're reading. This is a list of recent favorites. STAFF PICKS

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The Best of Me By Sparks, Nicholas 2011-10 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446547659 Check Our Catalog Sparks' latest is the heart-rending story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they've taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined--and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of their mentor, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past. 288 pp. (General Fiction) …More

The Oak Leaves By Lang, Maureen 2007-04 - Tyndale House Publishers 9781414313450 Check Our Catalog Talie Ingram has an ideal life: a successful, devoted husband; a beautiful one-year-old son; and another child on the way. But her world is shattered when she discovers a shocking family secret in the nineteenth-century journal of one of her ancestors, Cosima Escott. Only in reading Cosima's words can Talie make peace with the legacy she's inherited and the one she's passed on to her son. …More

Pandemonium By Oliver, Lauren 2012-02 - HarperCollins 9780061978067 Check Our Catalog The follow-up to "Delirium." After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive "the cure"--an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love--but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters. …More

Redwood Bend By Carr, Robyn 2012-02 - Mira Books 9780778313106 Check Our Catalog Katie Malone and her twin boys' trip along the beautiful mountain roads to Virgin River is stopped short by a tire as flat as her failed romance. As she stands by the side of the road pondering her next move, Katie hears a distinct rumble. The sight of the sexy, leather-clad bikers who pull up beside her puts her imagination into overdrive. Original. …More

Celebrity in Death By Robb, J. D. 2012-02 - Putnam Adult 9780399158308 Check Our Catalog Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she's managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating "The Icove Agenda," a film based on one of her famous cases. It's a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director's luxury building. Now she's at the center of a crime scene-and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster and step into the role she was born to play: cop. …More

Blood and Fire By McKenna, Shannon 2011-09 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9780758228673 Check Our Catalog In this scorching, suspenseful new novel, Bruno Ranieri, the restless, hot-headed adopted brother of Kev McCloud, must contend with his own dangerous past--one that's about to come crashing back into his life. 320 pp. …More

The Greatest Brigade: How the Irish Brigade Cleared the Way to Victory in the American Civil War By Craughwell, Thomas J. 2011-07 - Fair Winds Press (MA) 9781592334780 Check Our Catalog The Irish Brigade played a key role in all the major battles including the Peninsula Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Appomattox and wasn't decommissioned until WWI. It was full of larger than life characters and effectively led by a charismatic commander who was court marshaled for revolutionary activity in Ireland and was dismissed to enable him to serve in the war. Some numbers say that this unit lost more than 4,000 soldiers, one of the largest body counts of any brigade, if not the largest. This is a tale of a critical and incredible fighting force, packed with immigrants that helped win the war not only through bravery and war tactics but also by scaring the English out of the war with threats of violence at home. It's a story every Civil War history buff should know and it is told with page-turning excitement that has made Craughwell a bestselling history author. …More

Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser By Richmond, Lewis Author Richmond, L. 2012-01 - Gotham Books 9781592406906 Check Our Catalog …More

Spontaneous Happiness By Weil, Andrew 2011-11 - Little Brown and Company 9780316129442 Check Our Catalog Weil redefines the notion of happiness and demonstrates the limitations of the biochemical model of mental health. He presents a vast, scientifically proven array of integrative treatment strategies for low mood and depression, drawing on techniques from Ayurveda, Buddhism, acupuncture, psychotherapy, mindfulness training, and much more. Whether suffering from mild to moderate depression or simply seeking greater contentment, his science-based integrative approach will help readers achieve their goals. (Consumer Health) …More

Too Much Money By Dunne, Dominick 2010-09 - Ballantine Books 9780345464101 Check Our Catalog A satisfying, mischievous, and compulsively readable tale, Dunne's final work is peppered with thinly veiled fictions that keep readers guessing about the real-world villains and intrigues that lie beneath its chapters. …More

Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World By Dalai Lama, H. H. Author Bstan-Dzin-Rgya Contribution by Norman, Alexander 2011-12 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 9780547636351 Check Our Catalog A stirring call to move beyond religion for the guidance to improve human life on individual, community, and global levels--including a guided meditation practice for cultivating key human values …More

Ecomind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want By Lappe, Frances Moore 2011-09 - Nation Books 9781568586830 Check Our Catalog In "EcoMind," Frances Moore Lappe--a giant of the environmental movement--confronts accepted wisdom of environmentalism. Drawing on the latest research from anthropology to neuroscience and her own field experience, she argues that the biggest challenge to human survival isn't our fossil fuel dependency, melting glaciers, or other calamities. Rather, it's our faulty way of thinking about these environmental crises that robs us of power. Lappe dismantles seven common "thought traps"--from limits to growth to the failings of democracy-- that belie what we now know about nature, including our own, and offers contrasting "thought leaps" that reveal our hidden power. Like her "Diet for a Small Planet" classic, "EcoMind" is challenging, controversial and empowering. …More

The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies By Albert, Susan Wittig 2011-07 - Berkley Prime Crime 9780425241288 Check Our Catalog A brand-new mystery in the "exceptional" ("Booklist") series by the national bestselling author. Rumors are sprouting in Depression-era Darling, Alabama. The town's newest visitors, Nona Jean Jamison and Miss Lake, may be the Naughty and Nice Sisters from the Ziegfeld Frolic, who specialize in dancing nearly naked. The Dahlias suspect more than modesty when Nona denies her association. They'll have to dig through clues to get to the root of the mystery... …More

What Animals Really Like By Robinson, Fiona 2011-10 - ABRAMS 9780810989764 Check Our Catalog When the National Animal Choir performs the latest song by renowned composer and conductor Mr. Herbert Timberteeth, nothing goes exactly as planned. Mr. Timberteeth has some preconceived notions of what animals like to do that are reflected in his song. But it turns out that lions prefer flower arranging to prowling and shrimp would rather ski than swim! With all the dissension and mayhem, will the show still go on? This hilarious picture book delivers a subtle message about stereotyping that kids, who are so often pigeonholed, will appreciate. …More

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows By Bradley, Alan 2011-11 - Delacorte Press 9780385344012 Check Our Catalog It's Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce--an 11-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving--is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces' decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern. …More

Swamplandia! By Russell, Karen 2011-02 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307263995 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, its island home and gator-wrestling theme park, is swiftly being encroached upon by a competitor. To save her family, Ava must journey on her own to a perilous part of the swamp called the Underworld. …More

Catching Fire By Collins, Suzanne 2009-09 - Scholastic Press 9780439023498 Check Our Catalog 2010 Children's Choice Award Winner-Teen New York Times bestselling author Collins continues the amazing story of Katniss Everdeen, in this second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy. HPL patron: Very exciting-fast paced book!  Can't wait to read the last one! …More

The Night Circus By Morgenstern, Erin 2011-09 - Doubleday Books 9780385534635 Check Our Catalog 2012 Alex Award Winner To enter the black-and-white-striped tents of Le Cirque des Reves is to enter a world where objects really do turn into birds and people really do disappear. Even though visitors believe the performances are all illusion, they are obsessively drawn to this extraordinary night circus. Those who run and perform in the circus are its lifeblood. Marco Alisdair runs the operation from London as assistant to the eccentric proprietor. Celia Bowen holds it all together from her role as illusionist. As magicians, Marco and Celia are bound to each other in a deadly competition of powers, creating ever more fantastical venues for circus goers to marvel at. But falling in love was never part of the game, and the players struggle to extricate themselves from this contest while keeping the circus afloat. …More

A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel By Bradley, Alan 2011-10 - Bantam 9780385343466 Check Our Catalog "NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLER Alan Bradley, author of the most award-winning series debut of any year, returns with another irresistible Flavia de Luce novel In the hamlet of Bishop's Lacey, the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce had asked a Gypsy woman to tell her fortune--never expecting to later stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned almost to death in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets. …More

The Sense of an Ending By Barnes, Julian 2011-10 - Alfred A. Knopf 9780307957122 Check Our Catalog 2011 Man Booker Prize Winner By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, "The Sense of an Ending" extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with "Arthur & George" and continued with "Nothing to Be Frightened Of" and, most recently, "Pulse." …More

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox By O'Farrell, Maggie 2008-06 - Harvest Books 9780156033671 Check Our Catalog A "Wall Street Journal "Bestseller A "Washington Post Book World" Best Book of the Year "I found this actually unputdownable, written with a gripping dramatic insidiousness reminiscent of classic writers like Rebecca West and Daphne Du Maurier." --Ali Smith, author of "The Accidental" Esme Lennox is a dreamy child, an odd, bookish young woman, the kind of girl who stares and listens and won't flirt with boys at dances. And then, in the space of a moment, Esme Lennox is gone. Years later, a stunning phone call breaks the silence at Iris Lockhart's vintage clothing shop: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital after more than sixty years. Iris's grandmother Kitty always claimed to be an only child. But Esme's papers prove she is Kitty's sister, and Iris can see the shadow of her dead father in Esme's face. But she's still basically a stranger, a family member never mentioned by the family, sure to bring life-altering secrets when she leaves the ward. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit? "Haunting. O'Farrell is a feminist avenging angel who wields the modern Gothic like a gleaming sword." - "The Boston Globe " "Think Kate Chopin's "The Awakening," Charlotte Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' or Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" . . . It's a breathtaking, heart-breaking creation . . . In O'Farrell's fierce, engrossing novel, the crimes of the past rear up with surprising vengeance." - "The" "Washington Post Book World" Maggie O'Farrell is the author of three previous novels, including her acclaimed debut, "After You'd Gone." Born in Northern Ireland in 1972, Maggie grew up in Wales and Scotland. She now lives in Edinburgh. Visit www.HarcourtBooks.com/EsmeLennox. Discussion guide available at www.HarcourtBooks.com. …More

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery By Bradley, Alan 2010-03 - Delacorte Press 9780385342315 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title From Dagger Award-winning author Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction's most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. …More