Staff Picks

At our staff meetings we take a few minutes to talk about the books we are reading. This is a list of recent favorites. STAFF PICKS

Garden Meets Grill Just the thought of summer conjures memories of backyard grilling and fresh summer fruits and vegetables. To make summer even more memorable, Karen Adler and Judith Fertig have combined the two in their latest cookbook, The Gardener & the Grill. With recipes like Brats with Grilled Kale, Grilled Summer Slaw with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette and Stir-Grilled Nectarines, these two grilling experts take backyard BBQs to the next level of health and sophistication. For grilling novices out there, Adler and Fertig even include specialty grilling techniques to make sure that your grilling turns out just like theirs. Check out The Gardener & the Grill for a summer cookbook that can last all year long.

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One of Our Thursdays Is Missing By Fforde, Jasper 2011-03 - Viking Books 9780670022526 Check Our Catalog Fforde's exuberant return to the fantastical BookWorld opens during a time of great unrest. All-out Genre war is rumbling, and the BookWorld desperately needs a heroine like Thursday Next. With the real Thursday apparently retired to the Realworld, the Council of Genres turns to the written Thursday. …More

Every Thing on It By Silverstein, Shel Illustrator Silverstein, Shel 2011-09 - HarperCollins 9780061998164 Check Our Catalog A new poetry book chock full of unpublished poems and artwork by the beloved Silverstein joins the ranks of the "New York Times"-bestselling poetry collections "Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic," and "Falling Up." Illustrations. …More

No Safety in Numbers By Lorentz, Dayna 2012-05 - Dial Books 9780803738737 Check Our Catalog …More

Demons in the Spring By Meno, Joe Illustrator Burns, Charles Illustrator McFetridge, Geoff 2010-08 - Akashic Books 9781936070091 Check Our Catalog "Eclectic, funny, constantly surprising--these are the things a short story collection should be allowed to be, and Joe Meno's Demons in the Spring absolutely is . . . a rich, unforgettable stew of a book."--Dave Eggers The limited-edition hardcover of Demons in the Spring was a finalist for the 2009 Story Prize, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2008, a Time Out Chicago Best Book of 2008, and it drew starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. It is a collection of twenty short stories with illustrations by twenty artists from the fine art, graphic art, and comic book worlds. Joe Meno is the best-selling author of five novels, including the smash hits Hairstyles of the Damned and The Boy Detective Fails (both published by Akashic Books), and two story collections. He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College in Chicago. …More

Needful Things: The Last Castle Rock Story By King, Stephen 1992-06 - Signet Book 9780451172815 Check Our Catalog In King's #1 bestselling book, the master of the horror genre takes readers to his famous fictional town for one final visit. A wonderful new store has opened in Castle Rock, Maine. It's a place where you can get anything your heart desires--sexual pleasure, wealth, power . . . but for a nerve-shattering price. "Ranks with King's best!"--Publishers Weekly. …More

Invisible Monsters Remix By Palahniuk, Chuck 2012-06 - W. W. Norton & Company 9780393083521 Check Our Catalog Injected with new material and special design elements, "Invisible Monsters Remix" fulfills Palahniuk's original vision for his 1999 novel, turning a daring satire on beauty and the fashion industry into an even more wildly unique reading experience. …More

It's Kind of a Funny Story By Vizzini, Ned 2007-04 - Miramax Books 9780786851973 Check Our Catalog The author of "Be More Chill" takes a poignant look at teenage depression in this remarkably moving and authentic picture of the physicality, the despair, and even the hilarity of depression. …More

Mr. G: A Novel about the Creation By Lightman, Alan P. 2012-01 - Pantheon Books 9780307379993 Check Our Catalog "As I remember, I had just woken up from a nap when I decided to create the universe." So begins Lightman's playful and profound new novel, "Mr g," the story of Creation as narrated by God. …More

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet By Smith, Sherri L. 2009-09 - Laurel Leaf Library 9780440239888 Check Our Catalog Ana Shen has what her social studies teacher calls a "marvelously biracial, multicultural family" but what Ana simply calls a Chinese American father and an African American mother. And on eighth-grade graduation day, that's a recipe for disaster. Both sets of grandparents are in town to celebrate, and Ana's best friend has convinced her to invite Jamie Tabata-the cutest boy in school-for a home-cooked meal. Now Ana and her family have four hours to prepare their favorite dishes for dinner, and Grandma White and Nai Nai can't agree on anything. Ana is tired of feeling caught between her grandparents and wishes she knew whose side she was supposed to be on. But when they all sit down for their hot, sour, salty, and sweet meal, Ana comes to understand how each of these different flavors, like family, fit perfectly together. "From the Hardcover edition." …More

Bossypants By Fey, Tina 2011-04 - Reagan Arthur Books 9780316056861 Check Our Catalog On her way to becoming an award-winning superstar, Tina Fey struggled through some questionable haircuts, some after-school jobs, the rise of nachos as a cultural phenomenon, a normal childhood, a happy marriage and joyful motherhood. Now she can reflect on what she's learned: you're no one until someone calls you bossy. …More

Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football By Bacon, John U. 2011-10 - Farrar Straus Giroux 9780809094660 Check Our Catalog As their famed fight song proclaims, the Wolverines are "Victors valiant . . . conquering heroes." Or they were, until 2008. The brilliant but star-crossed Rich Rodriguez led the young Wolverines through three of the program's toughest seasons. With the entire sports world watching, they enjoyed thrilling victories and suffered heartbreaking losses. …More

Shadow of Night By Harkness, Deborah E. 2012-07 - Viking Books 9780670023486 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Picking up from Harkness' "A Discovery of Witches" cliffhanger ending, this tale plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. …More

Kill Decision By Suarez, Daniel 2012-07 - Dutton Books 9780525952619 Check Our Catalog This shocking techno-thriller is a terrifying, breathtaking, and all-too-plausible vision of the world's near future when unmanned weaponized drones sent by a faceless enemy begin to attack the American homeland. …More

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir By Lawson, Jenny 2012-04 - Amy Einhorn Books 9780399159015 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Internet star Lawson, aka The Bloggess, makes her comedic and pointed debut. Lawson takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor. …More

Ghost Knight By Funke, Cornelia Translator Latsch, Oliver 2012-05 - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 9780316056144 Check Our Catalog Eleven-year-old Jon Whitcroft and new friend Ella summon the ghost of Sir William Longspee, who may be able to protect Jon from a group of ghosts that threatens him harm from the day he arrives at Salisbury Cathedral's boarding school. Includes historical notes. Illustrations. …More

Breadcrumbs By Ursu, Anne Illustrator McGuire, Erin 2011-09 - Walden Pond Press 9780062015051 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Hazel and Jack are best friends until an accident with a magical mirror and a run-in with a villainous queen find Hazel on her own, entering an enchanted wood in the hopes of saving Jack's life. …More

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe By Saenz, Benjamin Alire 2012-02 - Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 9781442408920 Check Our Catalog Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When they meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the two loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special kind of friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. …More

Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaim Your True Nature to Create the Life You Want By Beck, Martha 2011-12 - Free Press 9781451624489 Check Our Catalog The bestselling author of "Finding Your Own North Star "shows how to heal yourself and others in this map for your life as a modern-day miracle worker. …More

The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change By Thurow, Roger 2012-05 - PublicAffairs 9781610390675 Check Our Catalog …More

The Leftovers By Perrotta, Tom 2011-08 - St. Martin's Press 9780312358341 Check Our Catalog What if the Rapture happens, leaving behind a few? Or what if it wasn't the Rapture at all, but something murkier, a burst of mysterious, apparently random disappearances that shattered the world in a single moment, dividing history into Before and After, leaving no one unscathed? "The Leftovers" is a startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection, and loss from the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Abstinence Teacher" and "Little Children." …More

Mr. Fox By Oyeyemi, Helen 2011-09 - Riverhead Books 9781594488078 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Fairy-tale romances end with a wedding, and the fairy tales don't get complicated. In this book, the celebrated writer Mr. Fox can't stop himself from killing off the heroines of his novels, and neither can his wife, Daphne. It's not until Mary, his muse, comes to life and transforms him from author into subject that his story begins to unfold differently. 336 pp. 15,000 print. …More

Spin By Vaginsky, Ido 2011-08 - Price Stern Sloan 9780843199246 Check Our Catalog Your head will "spin" when you look at this amazing book. Each page has a unique paper-engineering element that allows you to flip, spin, and even turn the picture to see something completely different. Is that a horse peeking his head above the fence? Turn the disc and "spin" - it's a squirrel! Is that a bird flying in the sky? Pull the tab and "flip" - it's a fish! Kids and parents alike will be amazed by these optical illusions. Be prepared to "flip" over this book! …More