Here’s What We Read in Week Four!

Half way through the Reading Game, and the entries are flying in!  Here are the books chosen by the Wheel and by customers this week:

AWARD WINNERS The Best laid Plans by Terry Fallis The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson	CUSTOMER PICKS Invisible by James Patterson Fall of Giants by Ken Follett Finnie Walsh by Steven Galloway Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridason Day One by Nate Kenyon Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers Gabriel’s Inferno by Sylvain Reynard Inferno by Dan Brown The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Fragments by Dan Wells How Reading Changed My Life by Anne Quindler The Last Illusion by Porochista Khakpour Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade by Kevin Brockmeier Defending Jacob by William Landau Looking Back by Belva Plain The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon The Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny Then You Were Gone by Lauren Strasnick The Collaborative Partnership Approach to Care: A Delicate Balance by Laurie Gottlieb and Nancy Feeley What Alice Forgot by Liane Morarirty The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith Gabriel’s’ Inferno by Sylvain Reynard Top Secret by Janet Evanovich
BEACH READS Summertime Death by Mons Kallentoft Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
CANADIAN Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
HISTORICAL FICTION The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak
HUMOUR I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
MYSTERY & THRILLER 4 To Score by Janet Evanovich The Dinner by Herman Koch
NOT JUST FOR TEENS Paper Towns by John Green The Fault in Our Stars by John Green The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brachares We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
ROMANCE Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel
SCIENCE FICTION 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
SENSE OF PLACE Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford Left Neglected by Lisa Genova Seamanship by Adam Nicolson The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
SHORT STORIES AND POETRY Writing the City: Poet Laureates of Edmonton 2005-2013
TRAVEL & ADVENTURE Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
STAFF PICKS The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford Low Pressure by Sandra Brown Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler Doctor Sleep by Stephen King The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

Staff Review: Song of Soloman by Toni Morrison

Song of Soloman was my first Toni Morrison book. I had heard much praise for her writing and I wasn’t disappointed by her prose–it is beautifully  lyrical! The characters are eclectic and interesting, as are their names (to name a few…Milkman, Pilate, Macon, First Corinthians–all with the surname “Dead”).  A central theme of the novel is about the significance of names and knowing your history and where you come from.  Admittedly, it took me until nearly the end of the book to get vested in some of the characters’ stories and I found much of the “work” of connecting the characters is left to the reader.  As with many classics, it isn’t a light read, but it offered a unique voice and perspective to any other African-American stories I have read.

–Shelley

Week Three Reads!

The Reading Game is moving right along! Here’s what we read this week:

AWARD WINNERS Late Night on the Air by Elizabeth Hay The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson TransAtlantic by Colum McCann 419 by Will Ferguson	CUSTOMER PICKS Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 1-2-3 Magic! By Thomas W. Phelan This Time I Dance! Trusting the Journey of Creating the Work You Love by Tama J. Kieves Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand Why Does My Cat Do That? by Catherine Davidson The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Dust to Dust by Timothy Findley Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Don’t Lick the Minivan by Leanne Shirtliffe K is for Killer by Sue Grafton Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Bitterweet by Miranda Whittmore The Thread by Victoria Hislop Life After   Life by Kate Atkinson Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
BEACH READS This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith Inca Gold by Clive Cussler
BIOS & MEMOIRS Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan The Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
CANADIAN Local Customs by Audrey Thomas Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
CLASSICS Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
MYSTERY Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts Christmas Cookie Murder by Leslie Meier
ROMANCE An Echo in the Bone by Diane Gabaldon
SENSE OF PLACE Cool Water by Dianne Warren The Color Purple by Alice Walker
NOT JUST FOR TEENS My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent