STAFF PICKS

We like to read, and we like to share what we read! This is a list of recent favorites.

For Downton Abbey Fans Can't get enough of the TV hit "Downton Abbey"? Readers looking for fiction in a similar vein should try Fay Weldon's Habits of the House. The novel begins in 1899 when the Earl of Dilberne's privileged existence is threatened by the debts he can no longer ignore. The only way out is for his son or daughter to marry into wealth, but neither his suffragette daughter nor his mistress-keeping son seems up to the task of finding a spouse. An American family with new money and an eligible daughter could be the family's only way out of collapse, but as the new couple gets to know each other, the secrets they are keeping could ruin everyone's plans.

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Who Am I?: And If So, How Many? By Precht, Richard David Translator Frisch, Shelley 2011-08 - Spiegel & Grau 9780385531184 Check Our Catalog #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER TRANSLATED INTO 23 LANGUAGES, WITH MORE THAN ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD What is truth? What is love? Does life have meaning? Bestselling author Richard David Precht, "the Mick Jagger of the nonfiction book" ("Tagesanzeiger Zurich"), has traveled the globe searching for answers--and his odyssey has become one of the most talked-about books around the world. Combining classic philosophy and cutting-edge neuroscience, Precht guides readers through the thickest jungles of academic discourse with the greatest of ease, taking on subjects as challenging and divisive as abortion, cloning, the eating of animals, euthanasia, the ethics of reproductive science, and the very future of humanity. Who knows? By the end of this wildly entertaining journey, you just might be able to answer, "Who Am I?" …More

Close Your Eyes By Johansen, Iris Author Johansen, Roy 2012-07 - St. Martin's Press 9780312611613 Check Our Catalog The "New York Times"-bestselling duo is back in a suspenseful novel about the FBI, a once-blind woman with a talent for tracking serial killers, and a multimillion dollar conspiracy to hide a secret that's worth killing for, again and again. …More

Ender's Game By Card, Orson Scott Introduction by Card, Orson Scott 1996-04 - Tor Books 9780812550702 Check Our Catalog The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classic--the revised, definitive edition, from the bestselling author of Xenocide. The alien Buggers threaten humanity with extinction, and Earth's ultimate savior may be one small boy. Andrew "Ender" Wiggins thinks he is only playing computer games, but he is really commanding Earth's last great fleet. …More

Uglies By Westerfeld, Scott 2011-05 - Simon Pulse 9781442419810 Check Our Catalog The blockbuster--and groundbreaking--bestselling dystopian series from Westerfield gets a whole new look in these fresh, repackaged paperback editions. …More

Pretties By Westerfeld, Scott 2011-05 - Simon Pulse 9781442419803 Check Our Catalog A fresh repackaging of the bestselling - and now classic - Uglies series! …More

Specials By Westerfeld, Scott 2011-05 - Simon Pulse 9781442419797 Check Our Catalog A fresh repackaging of the bestselling - and now classic - Uglies series! …More

The Story of Beautiful Girl By Simon, Rachel 2012-02 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446574457 Check Our Catalog In 1968, Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African-American deaf man, are locked away in an institution. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of the widowed Martha. But the couple is not alone--Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. …More

Song of the Quarkbeast By Fforde, Jasper 2011-11 - Hodder & Stoughton 9781444707229 Check Our Catalog …More

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore By Sloan, Robin 2012-10 - Farrar Straus Giroux 9780374214913 Check Our Catalog 2013 Alex Award Winner A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life--mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore. …More