Staff Picks for September

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

Banned Book Week Banned Books Week runs from September 24 through October 1, 2011. The annual event was created to support the freedom to read and importance of the First Amendment. Classic titles such as The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird have been on previous banned titles lists. This years list of banned and challenged books include, The Hunger Games, Stolen Children, and Great Soul. To learn more, visite the American Library Association website or visit your local library.

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Water for Elephants By Gruen, Sara 2011-03 - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 9781616200718 Check Our Catalog A BookPage Notable Title When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. …More

Salem's Lot By King, Stephen 1990-04 - Doubleday Books 9780385007511 Check Our Catalog Upon its initial publication in 1975, "Salem's Lot was recognized as a landmark work. The novel has sold millions of copies in various editions, but it wasn't until Centipede Press published a special limited edition in 2004 that King's masterpiece was brought to brilliant and eerie life. With the addition of fifty pages of material deleted from the 1975 manuscript as well as material that has since been modified by King, an introduction by him, and two short stories related to the events of the novel, this edition represents the text as the author envisioned it. Centipede's deluxe edition, of which only 900 copies were printed, features lavishly creepy photographs by acclaimed photographer Jerry Uelsmann, printed interior endpapers, and a stunning page design. Doubleday is proud to make this volume, printed from the original design of the Centipede Press edition, available to the general reader. No King aficionado's library will be complete without owning this definitive illustrated edition of the great "Salem's Lot. …More

Breathers: A Zombie's Lament By Browne, S. G. 2009-03 - Broadway Books 9780767930611 Check Our Catalog Meet Andy Warner, a recently deceased everyman and newly minted zombie. Abandoned by his friends and reviled by a society that no longer considers him human, Andy is having a bit of trouble adjusting. But all that changes when he goes to an Undead Anonymous meeting and meets a few kindred souls. …More

Thinner By King, Stephen Author Bachman, Richard 2009-11 - Signet Book 9780451230638 Check Our Catalog Billy Halleck, in a moment of carelessness, sideswipes an old gypsy woman as she is crossing the street and her ancient father passes a bizarre and terrible judgment on him. …More

A Turn in the Road By Macomber, Debbie 2011-04 - Mira Books 9780778329831 Check Our Catalog From beloved bestselling author Macomber comes a new novel in her heartwarming Blossom Street series. Three generations of women--Bethanne Hamlin, her daughter Annie, and her former mother-in-law Ruth--drive from Seattle to Florida. They have their maps and directions, but this is a trip that could change their lives forever. …More

A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever By Williamson, Marianne Foreword by Ornish, Dean 2010-11 - Hay House 9781401921521 Check Our Catalog Williamson looks at weight loss from a spiritual perspective, offering 21 lessons that can be done separately or in conjunction with any other serious spiritual path. These 21 lessons are designed to "retrain your consciousness" in the area of weight in order to break the cycle of overeating, dieting, and shame that rules so many lives. …More

I'm Over All That: And Other Confessions By MacLaine, Shirley 2011-04 - Atria Books 9781451607291 Check Our Catalog From Oscar-winning actress MacLaine ("Terms of Endearment") comes a funny and provocative collection of original essays about all the things she's over--and a few things she's not. …More

Jewels of Passion: Costume Jewelry Masterpieces By Duncan, Sherri R. With Roberts, Deby A. 2008-11 - Schiffer Publishing 9780764328978 Check Our Catalog This stunning new book showcases fantastic costume jewelry from 53 top designers of the 20th century. Examples from Christian Dior, Miriam Haskell, Kenneth Jay Lane, Elsa Schiaparelli, Stanley Hagler, Trifari, Vendome, and may others are shown in profusi …More

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit By Estabrook, Barry 2011-06 - Andrews McMeel Publishing 9781449401092 Check Our Catalog …More

Dark Lover By Ward, J. R. 2005-09 - Signet Book 9780451216953 Check Our Catalog In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams. …More

Storm Front By Butcher, Jim Author Powers, Mark Illustrator Syaf, Ardian 2011-02 - Dynamite Entertainment 9781606901601 Check Our Catalog Harry Dresden is a wizard, the only one in the Chicago phone book. He uses his arcane powers to investigate the supernatural, often assisting the Special Investigations Unit of the Chicago P.D. with cases that are beyond their comprehension. But Harry must use his powers carefully. Because of a dark incident in his past, he is kept under close watch by the ruling body of wizards known as the White Council. Any violation of the Seven Laws of Magic will cost him dearly - perhaps even his life! Now Harry's latest investigation has pushed him to the precipice. He's up against mysterious murders by magic that some believe only he could have committed, and a gangland boss who wants Harry to stay out of the way. From all fronts, storm clouds are gathering around a beleaguered Harry Dresden. Maelstrom continues the adaptation of Storm Front, the first book in Jim Butcher's New York Times bestselling series, The Dresden Files. …More

White Cat By Black, Holly 2010-05 - Margaret K. McElderry Books 9781416963967 Check Our Catalog "The White Cat" introduces Holly Black's new world! Cassel has always known he killed Lila, but now the pieces are starting not to fit. …More

The Hunger Games By Collins, Suzanne 2008-10 - Scholastic Press 9780439023481 Check Our Catalog 2010 Rhode Island Teen Book Award 2010 Beehive Award Winner-Young Adult 2009-2010 Maine Student Book Award Winner 2010 Colorado Blue Spruce Award Winner 2009 Teen Buckeye Book Award- Winner BookPage Notable Title An Indie Next Selection The acclaimed author of the "New York Times"-bestselling Underland Chronicles series delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in a stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to the present. HPL patron: Loved the premise for this book. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. …More

Dirty Work By Woods, Stuart Read by Lawrence, Robert 2003-04 - Brilliance Audio 9781590867341 Check Our Catalog Stone Barrington hits the streets of Manhattan in search of a dangerous woman--and the motivations behind the murder of a very rich husband--in this sexy new thriller. Unabridged. 7 CDs. …More

The Bancroft Strategy By Ludlum, Robert Read by Sowers, Scott 2011-01 - MacMillan Audio 9781427211873 Check Our Catalog In the tradition of such Ludlum classics as "The Chancellor Manuscript" and "The Icarus Agenda," "The Bancroft Strategy" is a thriller in which two figures find themselves facing a shadowy organization working to twist global politics to their own unsavory ends. …More