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

100 years after the iceberg With the approaching centennial of the sinking of the Titanic, many new books are hitting the shelves and shedding new light on the famous disaster. Kate Alcott's historical novel The Dressmaker takes inspiration from that tragic night. A love triangle unfolds aboard the doomed ship between Tess (maid to the very real Lady Duff Gordon) and two suitors (one a sailor, the other a wealthy tycoon). When the ocean liner meets the iceberg, Tess and Lady Duff Gordon survive while so many others perish. Much of the novel unfolds during the Titanic hearings in scenes incorporating Lady Duff Gordon's actual testimony. This is a completely new take on the tale, deeply rooted in history and awash with drama.

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Tales of the City By Maupin, Armistead 2007-05 - Harper Perennial 9780061358302 Check Our Catalog This internationally beloved modern classic, first published in 1978, will be reissued with a tie-in cover to coincide with the groundbreaking three-part PBS miniseries scheduled to air January 10, 11, and 12, 1994--a joint presentation of the prestigious American Playhouse and KQED San Francisco. …More

More Tales of the City TV Tie in By Maupin, Armistead 1998-05 - Harper Perennial 9780060929381 Check Our Catalog The internationally beloved classic comes to life in a Showtime miniseries. Few works of fiction have blazed a trail through popular culture like Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City" series. Since its publication as a daily newspaper serial in 1976, Maupin's incisive comedy of manners has expanded into six bestselling novels, the first of which became a highly acclaimed television miniseries starring Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis as the irrepressible Anna Madgrigal, doyenne of 28 Barbary Lane. Now "More Tales of the City" is becoming a Showtime miniseries, once again starring Olympia Dukakis, Laura Linney, and Thomas Gibson, as well as exciting new cast members, including Swoosie Kurtz and Ed Asner. It will be broadcast in June 1998. The tenants of 28 Barbary Lane have fled their cozy nest for adventures for afield. Mary Ann Singleton finds love at sea with a forgetful stranger, Mona Ramsey discovers her doppleganger in a desert whore-house, and Michael Tolliver bumps into a certain gynecologist in a seedy Mexican Bar. Meanwhile, their venerable landlady takes the biggest journey of all'without ever leaving home. …More

America's Final Beginning By Hewitt, Michael S. 2012-01 - Authorhouse 9781468530629 Check Our Catalog …More

House of the Hunted By Mills, Mark 2012-04 - Random House 9781400068197 Check Our Catalog Set in 1935, Millsas genial suspense novel stars Tom Nash, a former SIS operative haunted by his past, particularly a tragic encounter involving his lover, Irina Bibikov, in Russia in 1919. …More

Mockingjay By Collins, Suzanne 2010-08 - Scholastic Press 9780439023511 Check Our Catalog Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking "The Hunger Games" trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year. HPL patron:  Great ending to anexciting trilogy.  Really looking forward to seeing this made into a movie! …More

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter By Franklin, Tom 2010-10 - William Morrow & Company 9780060594664 Check Our Catalog In a small Mississippi town, two men are torn apart by circumstance and reunited by tragedy, in this resonant new novel from the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed "Hell at the Breech." …More

The Likeness By French, Tana 2008-08 - Viking Books 9780670018864 Check Our Catalog French presents the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the "New York Times"-bestselling psychological thriller "In the Woods." …More

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake By Bender, Aimee 2010-06 - Doubleday Books 9780385501125 Check Our Catalog 2011 Alex Award Winner BookPage Notable Title The wondrous Bender conjures the lush and moving story of a girl whose magical gift is really a devastating curse. "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" is a luminous tale--heartbreaking and funny, wise and sad. …More