Staff Picks

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

About Grace By Doerr, Anthony 2004-09 - Scribner Book Company 0743261828 Check Our Catalog A BookPage Notable Title From an award-winning author whose first collection of stories was "as close to faultless as any writer--young or vastly experienced--could wish for" ("Los Angeles Times")--comes an astonishingly beautiful, wise and heartbreaking novel. …More

Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 By Keillor, Garrison Author LeDoux, Joseph E. Editor Stern, Molly 2001-08 - Viking Books 0670030031 Check Our Catalog The summer of 1956 in Lake Wobegon is full of the innocent delights of baseball and the agonizing rites of passage for 14-year-old Gary, an unforgettable young protagonist created by an American master. With his brilliant humor and trademark style, Keillor gives readers a glimpse of the making of a writer who comes of age in classic Wobegon style. …More

One Nation, Under Gods: A New American History By Manseau, Peter 2015-01 - Little Brown and Company 9780316100038 Check Our Catalog "A groundbreaking new look at the story of America" At the heart of the nation's spiritual history are audacious and often violent scenes. But the Puritans and the shining city on the hill give us just one way to understand the United States. Rather than recite American history from a Christian vantage point, Peter Manseau proves that what really happened is worth a close, fresh look. …More

Safe Haven By Sparks, Nicholas 2010-09 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446547598 Check Our Catalog "When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with …More

Kitchens of the Great Midwest By Stradal, J. Ryan 2015-07 - Pamela Dorman Books 9780525429142 Check Our Catalog Foodies and those who love contemporary literature will devour this novel that is being compared to Elizabeth Strout's "Olive Kitteridge." A standout." "" Library Journal""(starred review)" "Kitchens of the Great Midwest, "about a young woman with a once-in-a-generation palate who becomes the iconic chef behind the country's most coveted dinner reservation, is the summer's most …More

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time By Sobel, Dava 1995-11 - Walker & Company 0802713122 Check Our Catalog Longitude is the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest, and of John Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timekeeper, known today as the chronometer. Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking. Through Dava Sobel's consummate skill, Longitude will open a new window on our …More

The Outlandish Companion: In Which Much is Revealed Regarding Claire and Jamie Fraser, Their Lives and Times, Antecedents, Adventures, Companion By Gabaldon, Diana 1999-06 - Delacorte Press 0385324138 Check Our Catalog "New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon has captured the hearts of millions with her critically acclaimed novels, Outlander. Dragonfly In Amber, Voyager, and Drums Of Autumn. From the moment Claire Randall accidentally steps through a magical stone that transports her back in time more than 200 years to 1743, and into the arms of Scottish soldier Jamie Fraser, readers have been …More

The Black Cat By Grimes, Martha 2010-04 - Viking Books 9780670021604 Check Our Catalog The inimitable Richard Jury returns in a thrilling tale of mystery, madness, and mistaken identity. Written with Grimes's trademark insight and grace, "The Black Cat" signals the thrilling return of her greatest character. …More

Spider Bones By Reichs, Kathy 2010-08 - Scribner Book Company 9781439102398 Check Our Catalog "New York Times-"bestselling author Reichs is back with her 13th novel featuring America's favorite forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan. …More

Radiant Angel By DeMille, Nelson 2015-05 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446580854 Check Our Catalog ""A soft breeze fluttered the white, blue, and red Russian flag in front of the U.N. mission. I remember when the Soviet hammer and sickle flew there. I kind of miss the Cold War. But I think it's back."" RADIANT ANGEL After a showdown with the notorious Yemeni terrorist known as The Panther, John Corey has left the Anti-Terrorist Task Force and returned home to New York …More

Death of a Liar By Beaton, M. C. 2015-02 - Grand Central Publishing 9781455504787 Check Our Catalog Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is alarmed to receive a report from a woman in the small village of Cronish in the Scottish Highlands. She has been brutally attacked and the criminal is on the loose. But upon further investigation, Hamish discovers that she was lying about the crime. So when the same woman calls him back about an intruder, he simply marvels at her compulsion to lie. This time, though, she …More

The Heist By Silva, Daniel 2014-07 - Harper 9780062320056 Check Our Catalog Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon is in Venice repairing an altarpiece by Veronese when he receives an urgent summons from the Italian police. The eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood has stumbled upon a chilling murder scene in Lake Como, and is being held as a suspect. To save his friend, Gabriel must track down the real killers and then perform one simple task: find the …More

The Associate By Margolin, Phillip M. 2001-09 - HarperCollins Publishers 0060196254 Check Our Catalog From the author of "Wild Justice" comes an electrifying legal thriller that pits an ambitious young lawyer against his own firm when he is caught between a multibillion case of fraud--and a vicious killer. …More

Bring Up the Bodies By Mantel, Hilary 2012-05 - Henry Holt & Company 9780805090031 Check Our Catalog Awards: Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2013), Costa Book Awards (2012), Man Booker Prize (2012), Women's Fiction AKA Orange Prize (2013) The sequel to Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and "New York Times"-bestseller "Wolf Hall" delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn. …More

Ape House By Gruen, Sara 2010-09 - Spiegel & Grau 9780385523219 Check Our Catalog Gruen's "Water for Elephants" has become one of the most beloved and bestselling novels of our time. Now the author has moved from a circus elephant to a family of bonobo apes kidnapped from a language laboratory and their mysterious appearance on a reality TV show. (Literary Fiction) …More

The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity By Strogatz, Steven 2012-10 - Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 9780547517650 Check Our Catalog A world-class mathematician and regular contributor to the "New York Times" hosts a delightful tour of the greatest ideas of math, revealing how it connects to literature, philosophy, law, medicine, art, business, even pop culture in ways we never imagined Did O.J. do it? How should you flip your mattress to get the maximum wear out of it? How does Google search the Internet? How many …More