Staff Picks

Fire up the grill! With the heat of summer at its peak, now is the time to leave the oven behind, get out of the kitchen and get grilling! Don't think your barbecued meals have to be limited to boring burgers and hot dogs, however; with cookbooks from the library you can whip up more imaginative charbroiled dishes. Master griller Steven Raichlen's latest cookbook, Planet Barbecue!, offers recipes with distinctly international flavors. From kangaroo kebabs to Singaporean grilled pork belly, Raichlen has scoured the globe to find the very best in outdoor cooking. Sample one of the 309 recipes in Planet Barbecue! or check out other recent cookbooks by this grilling guru.

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 for July

The Overton Window By Beck, Glenn 2010-06 - Threshold Editions 9781439184301 Check Our Catalog Seamlessly weaving together American history, frightening facts about the country's present condition, and a fast-paced plot, Beck's new thriller considers the consequences the nation will soon face if its citizens continue to take their freedom for granted. …More

Picture Perfect By Picoult, Jodi 2006-03 - Thorndike Press 9780786283743 Check Our Catalog Acclaimed storyteller Jodi Picoult presents a moving new novel about a perfect Hollywood couple--and a not-so-perfect marriage. Rich in detail and emotion, filled with human drama and unexpected truths, Picture Perfect is the fairy-tale romance of anthropologist Cassie Barrett and Hollywood leading man Alex Rivers. But who will believe that Cassie is an abused wife? …More

Heart of the Matter By Giffin, Emily 2010-05 - St. Martin's Press 9780312554163 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title In alternating points of view, a "New York Times"-bestselling author tells a story of three good people caught in an untenable triangle, each questioning everything they once believed about love and loyalty. And each, ultimately, discovering what is truly at the heart of the matter. …More

The Partly Cloudy Patriot By Vowell, Sarah 2003-09 - Simon & Schuster 9780743243803 Check Our Catalog Frequently cited as one of the best books of 2002, this bestselling collection of whip-smart, soulful essays explores history, pop culture, and what it means to be an American. Line drawings. …More

Falcon at the Portal By Peters, Elizabeth 2002-05 - PerfectBound 9780060504403 Check Our Catalog …More

Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City By Grandin, Greg 2009-06 - Metropolitan Books 9780805082364 Check Our Catalog 2010 Michigan Notable Book The stunning, never-before-told story of the quixotic attempt to recreate small-town America in the heart of the Amazon, "Fordlandia" depicts a desperate quest to salvage the bygone America that the Ford factory system did much to dispatch. …More

WorldShift 2012: Making Green Business, New Politics, and Higher Consciousness Work Together By Laszlo, Ervin Afterword by Arguelles, Jose Foreword by Chopra, Deepak 2009-07 - Inner Traditions International 9781594773280 Check Our Catalog SUSTAINABLE LIVING / NATURE "WorldShift is about an outer world built on inner realization. Ervin Laszlo maps this new world and its promise--no one I know is more acutely attuned to it." --Deepak Chopra, from the foreword "This book will help us to evaluate the current situation of our planet and to find the path we must take." --Mikhail Gorbachev, from the foreword "Something is going to happen in 2012, but what that will be is up to us. That is why WorldShift 2012 is so significant as a handbook for this great change--it is the kind of positive cocreative script the world needs in order to conclude and regenerate the cycle on a successful evolutionary note." --Jose Arguelles, author of The Mayan Factor The deepening economic crisis and the threat posed by climate change and other social and ecological trends has caused many to despair. But with great danger comes great opportunity--the opportunity for fundamental change that will transform our societies from top to bottom. In WorldShift 2012, Ervin Laszlo brings together insights for creating sustainable positive change from spiritual leaders, scientists, and visionary businesspeople--people such as Albert Einstein, Mohammad Yunus, Vaclav Havel, Eckhart Tolle, Ken Wilber, David Korten, Paul Hawken, and Tomoyo Nonaka. He shows how we can replace the limited consciousness of our failing society with the holistic consciousness that is reflected in the unified field of quantum physics: the Akashic field. We have an opportunity to move from the current political and business model of grow or die to a sustainable world respectful of human beings, nature, and the planet. Change on this level calls for a profound shift in consciousness and a clear understanding that--as cutting-edge physics shows--we are truly connected with each other and with the cosmos. This book presents clear evidence of this connectedness and describes the tools we need to make our world greener and our planet safer as we strive to realize the holistic consciousness of connection through the Akashic field. ERVIN LASZLO, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, is editor of the international periodical World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution and the founder and president of the international think tanks the Club of Budapest, the World Wisdom Council, and the General Evolution Research Group. He is the author of 85 books, translated into 22 languages, and he lives in Tuscany. …More

The Promise: President Obama, Year One By Alter, Jonathan 2010-05 - Simon & Schuster 9781439101193 Check Our Catalog Barack Obama's inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of "Change We Can Believe In" was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama's historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery. In "The Promise: President Obama, Year One," Jonathan Alter, one of the country's most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obama's difficult debut. …More

The Politician By Young, Andrew 2010-08 - St. Martin's Press 9780312668266 Check Our Catalog John Edwards's longest-serving former aide gives us the inside story--in shocking, explosive detail--about the meteoric rise and scandalous fall of "THE POLITICIAN" Andrew Young volunteered for the Edwards campaign for U.S. Senate in 1998 and soon became the Democratic candidate's right-hand man and most trusted friend. As Edwards became a national star, Young's responsibilities grew to include a series of questionable assignments that culminated with being asked to conceal the Senator's ongoing adultery. Then, days before his run in the 2008 presidential primaries began, Edwards was faced with a publicity nightmare: Rielle Hunter, the campaign videographer with whom he'd been having an affair, was pregnant. Edwards insisted that Young claim paternity--but America would eventually learn the truth... "A book worth reading for its larger drama. Mr. Young's book examines what a politician really is."--Janet Maslin, "The" "New York Times" Young believed that Edwards could be a great president, and was assured throughout the cover-up that one day Edwards would come clean to his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth--and the rest of the country--and take responsibility for his actions. Instead, Young watched as his own career and family life fell apart. With this memoir, he finally has the chance to share his account of what really happened--and go beyond the headlines to show who John Edwards really is. "Mesmerizing...This is not a political memoir. It's a morality tale with the chill of Hitchcock." --Tina Brown, "The Daily Beast" …More

A Brief History of Montmaray By Cooper, Michelle 2009-10 - Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers 9780375858642 Check Our Catalog Set in a tiny island kingdom on the eve of World War II, "A Brief History of Montmaray" is a heart-stopping tale of loyalty, love, and loss, and of fighting to hold on to home when the world is exploding all around. …More

Asterios Polyp By Mazzucchelli, David 2009-07 - Pantheon Books 9780307377326 Check Our Catalog The triumphant return of one of comics' greatest talents. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when he moves to a small town in America's heartland after his New York City apartment goes up in flames. …More

The Help By Stockett, Kathryn 2009-02 - Amy Einhorn Books 9780399155345 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title In Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962, there are lines that are not crossed. With the civil rights movement exploding all around them, three women start a movement of their own, forever changing a town and the way women--black and white, mothers and daughters--view one another. …More