Staff Picks for January

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 January

Recapping the best books of 2010 While we turn our sights to 2011 and all the great books this new year will bring, it's also an appropriate time to remember the prize-winning gems of 2010. From the Pulitzer Prize to the Man Booker Award, last year's prize winners included some surprise selections and relatively unknown authors. If you're looking for titles to add to your personal reading list, consider one of these 2010 award winners: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Tinkers by Paul Harding Man Booker Prize: The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson The National Book Award for Fiction: Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon The National Book Award for Nonfiction: Just Kids by Patti Smith Orange Prize: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America By Taibbi, Matt 2010-11 - Spiegel & Grau 9780385529952 Check Our Catalog From the "New York Times"-bestelling author of "The Great Derangement" comes a brilliant, blood-boiling, darkly humorous, and bracingly honest investigation into the hidden mechanisms of power in bailout-era America. …More

Just One Taste: A Recipe for Love Novel By Edwards, Louisa 2010-08 - St. Martin's Press 9780312356477 Check Our Catalog In this new Recipe of Love novel, bad-boy chef Wes Murphy is dreading his final-semester cooking class--until he meets the new substitute teacher, Dr. Rosemary Wilkins. …More

Yours for the Taking By Kaye, Robin 2011-01 - Sourcebooks Casablanca 9781402240102 Check Our Catalog Gina is convinced that he is either gay... or her perfect match Administrative assistant Gina accepts a marriage of convenience with gallery owner Ben Walsh so she can get out of debt. Besides, with his beautiful apartment, art collection, and impressive culinary skills, Gina's convinced the sexy bachelor is gay. Ben needs to be married before the year is out to prevent his grandfather from selling his inheritance, so he takes Gina to meet his grandfather in Idaho-or, as the city girl refers to it, Hell on Earth. But there Gina realizes Ben's every bit a hot, straight man, and Ben begins to think a real marriage with Gina just might be possible after all... Praise for "Breakfast in Bed: " "With snappy dialogue, complex characters and an intricate web of relationships, Kaye has created an extended family that's both honest and enjoyable. 4/5 Stars!" -"Romantic" "Times" …More

Pinheads and Patriots: Where You Stand in the Age of Obama By O'Reilly, Bill 2010-09 - William Morrow & Company 9780061950711 Check Our Catalog From the host of FOX's "The O'Reilly Factor" and mega-bestselling author comes a detailed examination of how the decisions President Obama is making, the programs he is championing, and the support and opposition he is getting from others will ultimately impact everyday Americans. …More

Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger By Smith, Lee 2010-03 - Shannon Ravenel Books 9781565129153 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title In almost every one of [Smith's short stories] there is a moment of vision, or love, or unclothed wonder that transforms something plain into something transcendent.--"New York Times Book Review." …More

Washington: A Life By Chernow, Ron 2010-10 - Penguin Press 9781594202667 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title From National Book Award-winner Chernow comes a landmark biography of George Washington--a richly nuanced portrait of the father of the nation featuring a breadth and depth unmatched by any other narrative. …More

The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline By Springer, Nancy 2009-05 - Philomel Books 9780399247811 Check Our Catalog After her landlady Mrs. Tupper is abducted, Enola wonders who would take her, and why? And what does Florence Nightingale have to do with it? Enola will put absolutely everything at risk to find Mrs. Tupper, in this latest mystery. …More

We the Children By Clements, Andrew Illustrator Stower, Adam 2010-04 - Atheneum Books 9781416938866 Check Our Catalog Sixth grader Benjamin Pratt discovers an old leather pouch that contains a parchment scroll written by three students in 1791. In the first title in a six-book series, Ben, his tech-savvy friend Jill, and the class know-it-all Robert uncover their historical school's remarkable legacy. …More

David & the Mighty Eighth By Parker, Marjorie Hodgson Illustrator Postlethwaite, Mark Foreword by Shuler, E. G. 2007-11 - Bright Sky Press 9781931721936 Check Our Catalog Based on a true story, this historical fiction recounts a young British boy's adventures and the forging of a friendship with an American pilot and his crew. The friendly airmen with the United States Eighth Air Force-The Mighty Eighth-give the boy hope when Hitler's Nazis seem unstoppable. This coming-of-age account teaches that despite the horrors of war, something good can be created from the worst of times and confirms the importance of faith, family, and freedom. It is testimony to the resilience of the human spirit. …More

Dining with Al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East By Pope, Hugh 2010-03 - Thomas Dunne Books 9780312383138 Check Our Catalog Oxford-educated scholar of the Middle East and former foreign correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal" Pope explores the politics, religion, and culture of Islamic nations, showing there is no such thing as a monolithic Muslim World. b&w photos throughout. …More

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest By Larsson, Stieg 2010-05 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307269997 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Lisbeth Salander is ready to fight back. "[The trilogy] is intricately plotted, lavishly detailed but written with a breakneck pace and verve . . ["Hornet's Nest"] is a tantalizing double finale--first idyllic, then frenetic . . . Larsson has made the literary moods of saga and soap opera converge--with suspense as the adhesive."--"Independent." …More