HPL's Staff Picks

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

Redecorating for Spring In a new book based on their popular blog, Sherry and John Petersik catalog 243 easy and attractive ways to update your home. The bright photo-filled chapters in Young House Love are full of out-of-the-box strategies for improving the whole house, from the bedroom to the exterior. Ideas range from free (rearranging furniture) to inexpensive (using a fabric pen to design a pillowcase) to pricier but worth it (hanging wallpaper on a focal wall). The Petersiks are known for making their own suburban ranch-style house look great on a budget, and their suggestions for repurposing what you already have can help your house shine this spring.

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Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother By LaPlante, Eve 2012-11 - Free Press 9781451620665 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Based on newly uncovered family papers, this groundbreaking and intensely moving portrait of Louisa May Alcott's relationship with her mother will completely transform our understanding of one of America's most beloved authors. Staff take:  I read "Marmee and Louisa:  the untold story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother" by Eve LaPlante.  I loved Little Women and all the Louisa May Alcott books as a girl and thoroughly enjoyed this account of Marmee's life as revealed through her letters, diaries and personal papers.  It was so interesting to read about the abolitionist movement, the early women's suffrage struggle, and famous persons from that day such as Emerson and Garrison. What fascinating women! …More

Vixen By Larkin, Jillian 2010-12 - Delacorte Press 9780385740340 Check Our Catalog From debut author Larkin comes the first novel in a sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes. …More

Threat Vector By Clancy, Tom With Greaney, Mark 2012-12 - Putnam Adult 9780399160455 Check Our Catalog Mega-selling author Clancy is back and the stakes have never been higher. Jack Ryan has only just moved back into the Oval Office when he is faced with a new international threat. An aborted coup in the People's Republic of China has left the country no choice but to plan an invasion of Taiwan. The Ryan administration is determined to thwart China's ambitions, but the stakes are dangerously high. …More

Plot It Yourself By Stout, Rex 1985-12 - Crimeline 9780553253634 Check Our Catalog Staff take: I'm reading (again) one of my favorite mystery writers. Plot it yourself by Rex Stout. The Nero Wolf mysteries are very entertaining.  And Nero is always reading a current book of the day. …More

A Little History of Science By Bynum, William 2012-11 - Yale University Press 9780300136593 Check Our Catalog …More

Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity By Tabor, James D., Dr. 2012-11 - Simon & Schuster 9781439123317 Check Our Catalog The story of how Paul broke with the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem to create his own unique message that became Christianity as we know it. …More

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

The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics By Du Sautoy, Marcus 2012-08 - Harper Perennial 9780062064011 Check Our Catalog In 1859, German mathematician Bernhard Riemann presented a paper to the Berlin Academy that would forever change mathematics. The subject was the mystery of prime numbers. At the heart of the presentation was an idea that Riemann had not yet proved--one that baffles mathematicians to this day. Solving the Riemann Hypothesis could change the way we do business, since prime numbers are the lynchpin for security in banking and e-commerce. It would also have a profound impact on the cutting edge of science, affecting quantum mechanics, chaos theory, and the future of computing. Leaders in math and science are trying to crack the elusive code, and a prize of $1 million has been offered to the winner. In this engaging book, Marcus du Sautoy reveals the extraordinary history behind the holy grail of mathematics and the ongoing quest to capture it. …More