Staff Picks for June

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 June

Beach Reading June 21 marks the first day of summer, the season to relax at the beach or another vacation spot and enjoy a good, long read! A great beach book means different things to different readers--you might prefer a crime thriller, a tender romance or a heart-wrenching tale of friendship and family. For those searching for a literal beach book, Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank arrives this month, just in time for a sandy getaway. Frank captures the lowcountry scene like no one else in the tale of one woman who finds sanctuary and rebirth in the South Carolina waters of her childhood. With a cast of charming characters and Frank's signature wit, Folly Beach is the perfect combination of breeze and passion.

This Is a Book By Martin, Demetri 2011-04 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446539708 Check Our Catalog From the renowned comedian, creator, star and executive producer/multiple title-holder of Comedy Central's "Important Things with Demetri Martin" comes a bold, original, and rectangular kind of humor book. …More

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me By Handler, Chelsea Author Chelsea's Family, Friends 2011-05 - Grand Central Publishing 9780446584715 Check Our Catalog Friends, family, and co-workers who have all been tricked by Handler into believing stories of total foolishness and into behaving like total fools write about them for the first time. …More

1st to Die By Patterson, James 2001-03 - Twtp Assorted 9780759544307 Check Our Catalog Imagine a killer who thinks, "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?"--and then goes far beyond it. Now imagine four women --a police detective, an assistant DA, a reporter, and a medical examiner --who join forces as they sidestep their bosses to track down criminals. Known as the Women's Murder Club, they are pursuing a murderer whose twisted imagination has stunned an entire city. Their chief suspect is a socially prominent writer, but the men in charge won't touch him. On the trail of the most terrifying and unexpected killer ever, they discover a shocking surprise that turns everything about the case upside down. …More

The White Queen By Gregory, Philippa 2010-04 - Touchstone Books 9781416563693 Check Our Catalog The #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Other Boleyn Girl" presents the first book in a new series set amidst the tumult and intrigue of England's passionate family feud, The War of the Roses. …More

The Sky Is Everywhere By Nelson, Jandy 2011-03 - Speak 9780142417805 Check Our Catalog Lennie Walker, a 17-year-old bookworm and band geek, spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But after Bailey suddenly dies, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life. …More

Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion By Barton, David 2004-03 - Wallbuilders Press 9781932225266 Check Our Catalog …More

Cutting for Stone By Verghese, Abraham 2009-02 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780375414497 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title A stunning debut novel from the author of "My Own Country": an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, fathers and sons, doctors and patients, exile and home. …More

Death of the Liberal Class By Hedges, Chris 2010-10 - Nation Books 9781568586441 Check Our Catalog The liberal class is facing an untimely demise of its own making. In this provocative new work Chris Hedges explains how liberals sold us out, bankrupted the country and now face a crisis of their own. …More

God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--And Why Their Differences Matter By Prothero, Stephen 2010-05 - HarperOne 9780061571275 Check Our Catalog The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Religious Literacy" makes the provocative argument that the differences between the world's religions are far greater than we have acknowledged--and that we ignore this at our own peril. …More

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self By Evans, Danielle 2010-09 - Riverhead Books 9781594487699 Check Our Catalog This electric debut story collection focuses on African-American and mixed-race teens, women, and men struggling to find their place. Striking in their emotional immediacy, the tales are based in a world where insecurities of adolescence and young adulthood, and the tensions within family are the biggest complicating forces in one's sense of identity and the choices one makes. …More

Around the World in 100 Days By Blackwood, Gary 2010-11 - Dutton Children's Books 9780525422952 Check Our Catalog Picking up where "Around the World in Eighty Days" leaves off, Harry Fogg, the son of Phileas Fogg, has just made a wager of his own. Harry bets that he can drive a steam-powered motorcar all the way around the world in only 100 days. …More

Ice Haven By Clowes, Daniel 2005-06 - Pantheon Books 9780375423321 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title Clowes, who received an Oscar( nomination for the screen adaptation of his graphic novel "Ghost World," weaves a multi-layered tale that, while it owes a debt to "Our Town," is ultimately based on and inspired by the case of Leopold and Loeb. Illustrations. …More

The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture By Kendall, Joshua C. 2011-04 - Putnam Adult 9780399156991 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title From the author of "The Man Who Made Lists" comes an absorbing biography of Noah Webster, whose name is synonymous with the dictionary he created, but whose life story is not nearly so ubiquitous. …More

The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road, and the Rise of Modern China By Tamm, Eric Enno 2011-04 - Counterpoint LLC 9781582437347 Check Our Catalog Chronicling his retracing of the route taken through China in 1906 by Baron Gustaf Mannerhein, who was charged by Czar Nicholas II to secretly collect intelligence on China's Qing Dynasty, Tamm delivers a tale of espionage, the Silk Road, and the rise of modern China. …More

Before I Fall By Oliver, Lauren 2010-03 - Harper 9780061726804 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title A terrible accident takes Samantha Kingston's life. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she relives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined. …More

Exley By Clarke, Brock 2010-10 - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 9781565126084 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title The bestselling author of "An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England" returns with another wry and insightful novel about truth and reality, this time featuring the alternating voices of a confused young boy and his slightly unstable therapist. …More

Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life By Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly 1998-04 - Basic Books 9780465024117 Check Our Catalog From the author of "Flow" comes an illuminating guide to improving the quality of our lives through stimulating challenges. Though they appear simple on the surface, the lessons in "Finding Flow" are life-altering. …More

Finding Nouf By Ferraris, Zoe 2008-06 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) 9780618873883 Check Our Catalog 2009 Alex Award A finely detailed literary mystery set in contemporary Saudi Arabia, Ferraris's debut centers on Nouf ash-Shrawi, a 16-year-old girl who disappears into the desert three days before her marriage and is later found dead and several weeks pregnant. …More