Staff Spins and Selections

AWARD WINNERS The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt	OUR PICKS Wife by Design by Tara Taylor Quinn Shattered by Kevin Hearne Robogenesis by Daniel H. Wilson Ascension by Steven Galloway Stitches by David Small The Girl with the All The Gifts by M.R. Carey Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus by Gris Grimly and Mary Shelley The Fault in Our Stars by John Green How Firm a Foundation by David Weber Toriko 21: Showdown at Chowlin Temple The Confabulist by Steven Galloway Velvet by Ed Brubaker Frog Music by Emma Donoghue The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom Summer House with a Swimming Pool by Herman Koch Unlucky 13 by James Patterson Dear Mr. Knightly by Katherine Reay The Beautiful Land by Alan Averill Hunted by Kevin Hearne Blankets by Craig Thompson The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber The Other Story by Tatiana de Rosnay D. Salinger: The Escape Artist by Thomas Beller Like a Mighty   Army by David Weber This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv The Dolphin Way: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy, and Successful Kids, Without Turning into a Tiger by Shimi K. Kang Dust by Patricia Cornwell Growing Up Duggar by Jana Duggar Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood Everything I Need to Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow
BEACH READS Once a Family by Tara Taylor Quinn Mirror Image by Sandra Brown Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler Sweet Spot by Stephanie Evanovich
BIOS & MEMOIRS Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
CANADIAN Fruit by Brian Francis
CLASSICS Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Song of Soloman by Toni Morrison Inferno by Dante Alighieri
FANTASY The Companions by R.A. Salvatore
GRAPHIC NOVEL Locke & Key #1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
HISTORICAL FICTION The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang by Joyce Carol Oates
HUMOUR Dance, Gladys, Dance by Cassie Stocks Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffery Brown Top Secret 21 by Janet Evanovich
MYSTERIES, THRILLERS, TRUE CRIME The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Robinstein Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton The Dinner by Herman Koch Murder List by Julie Garwood
ROMANCE A Room with a View by E.M. Forrester
SCIENCE FICTION Abaddon’s Gate by James Corey Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier
SENSE OF PLACE China Dolls by Lisa See What the Pilgrim Told the Psychic by Jane Christmas The Fine Color of Rust by P.A. O’Reilly Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
SHORT STORIES AND POETRY A Faraway Smell of Lemon by Rachel Joyce The Other Language by Francesca Marciano As If by E.D. Blodgett The World Afloat: Miniatures by M.A.C. Farrant
STAFF PICKS Invisible Cities by Italo Clavino (Geoff’s Pick) Fast Track by Julie Garwood
TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden White Fever: A Journey to the Frozen Heart of Siberia by Jacek Hugo-Bader A Tourist in the Arab Spring by Tom Chesshyre

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