The Christmas Candle, by Max Lucando

Recommended by Leah

FIC LUCANDO

In Gladstone, a small town in England, the townspeople believe in miracles. Every twenty-five years the local candle maker is visited by an angel on Christmas Eve. The angel lightly touches a candle in the shop and quietly disappears. The chandler presents it as a gift to a needy person in town and when the candle is lit a miracle soon follows. But the Christmas of 1864 may be the last year for the angel to visit. The chandler and his wife are elderly and there is no one in the family to continue the candle making tradition. Fearing that this is their last opportunity to receive the candle many of the townspeople approach the chandler and ask that they be given the candle on Christmas Eve. He and his wife are overwhelmed with this responsibility. Each person is in need but there will only be one candle and who should it go to?

The Christmas of 1864 is very different than the ones in the past. The unexpected and the unimaginable happen, which help to create an even more miraculous Christmas in the small village of Gladstone.

Home

Invasive procedures, by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

Recommended by Susan

FIC Card

SciFi genius Card switches to Thrillers in a taut tale of DNA research gone bad. Pompous geneticist George Galen has developed DNA-based cures for Parkinson's, sickle-cell and other deadly conditions. They are delivered through special viruses, which are deadly in the wrong hands. He has also created a crew of supermen to administer his cures, and a cult religion with himself as Master. Army researcher Frank Hartmann has succeeded in countering the viruses' deadly side effects - but can he foil Galen's ultimate plan?


Reviews

Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Recommended by JoAnn

B Hirsiali

This is a shocking memoir of humanitarian Hirsi Ali's life, from a strict Muslim childhood in Africa, beatings, mutilation, a forced marriage, civil wars, to her asylum in the Netherlands where she fought for basic human rights for Islamic women. A must read, expecially considering the current crises facing democratic nations today.

Reviews

Enslaved by ducks, by Bob Tarte

Recommended by JoAnn

636.0887 TAR

You do not have to be an animal lover to thoroughly enjoy Bob Tarte's delightful saga. Wife Linda has a soft heart for adopting animals and turns their home into an overwhelming menagerie!

Reviews

Dispatches from the edge: A memoir of war disasters and survival, by Anderson Cooper

Recommended by JoAnn

Journalist and CNN correspondent Cooper powerfully describes his experience pursuing stories of disasters at home and abroad. Vignettes of such horrors as Somalia, Irag, Niger, the Asian tsunami, Vietnam, and Hurricane Katrina reveal our vulnerability to natural and man-made tragedies.

Reviews

Mendel’s Daughter: A Memoir, by Martin Lemelman

Recommended by JoAnn

HOLOCAUST 940.5318 LEM

Martin videotaped his mother, Gusta, who described her childhood in 1930s Poland and her escape from Nazi persecution. Comprised mainly of black and white drawings, this memoir is unique, touching and poignant, and can be understood by all ages.

Reviews

Pompeii: A Novel, by Robert Harris

Recommended by JoAnn

FIC HARRIS

Marcus Attilius, serious young engineer for the aqueducts of the Emperor, must determine why the town of Misenum is losing water supply. The story takes place in the last four days prior to the Mt. Vesuvius eruption. The mystery and tension mount with intrigue, murder and deception in this engaging piece of historical fiction. The audio-book is superbly read by British Jim Lee.

Reviews

A Tempered Faith: Rediscovering Hope in the Ashes of loss, by Jennifer Sands

Recommended by JoAnn

Jennifer and husband Jim have enviable lives: ‘head over heels’ marriage, rewarding careers, and plans to retire in 3 years to a dive shop in Grand Cayman. But Jim works for Cantor Fitzgerald in the Twin Towers…9/11 almost destroyed her life, but God has other plans. Inspiration in the depths of grief.

Reviews

The Ruins, by Scott Smith

FIC SMITH

Recommended by Jean

New fiction from Scott Smith. I couldn’t put this book down! Very suspenseful – the story holds you right until the end. Somewhat gory, but overall a good read.

Reviews

The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan

978.032 EGA

Recommended by Irene

What do you do when you are in the midst of the horror of devastation that never lets up? The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan, tells the very real story of surviving the dust bowl years of the Great Depression as recounted by those who lived through it. This is a very real, very powerful book.

Reviews

The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson

658.802 AND

Recommended by Jim

“The theory of the long tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markers) at the head of the demand curve, and toward a huge number of niches in the tail.” – Chris Anderson

Reviews

Blood Diamonds, by Greg Campbell

966.404 CAM

Recommended by Donna

Is a diamond forever, or deadly? That depends on which side of the Atlantic you live on. Follow one reporter’s journey to Africa and discover how young men are killed or taken as slaves to dig for illegal diamonds, and how children are kidnapped and used as soldiers to guard the men. He follows a trail that leads to Al-Qaeda buying smuggled diamonds and converting them into millions of dollars to fund terrorist activities. This book will make you think twice about “a girl’s best friend”!

Reviews

Thirteenth tale, by Diane Setterfield

FIC SETTERFIELD

Recommended by Irene

An old and ailing writer, Ms. Winter, summons young biographer Margaret Lea, to write her life story. There are disturbing parallels in the two women’s lives. As Margaret records the story it is so bizarre she begins to doubt its truth. Engaging and disturbing this take keeps the reader turning the pages.

Reviews

Alienist, by Caleb Carr

FIC CARR

Recommended by Irene

On a cold March night in 1896 New York City, NY Times reporter, John Schuyler Moore, is dragging into a vast criminal underworld after encountering the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy prostitute.

Reviews

Private sector, by Brian Haig

FIC HAIG

Recommended by Susan




Maverick U.S. Army attorney Sean Drummond is “on loan” to a prestigious Washington DC law firm when fellow JAG officer Lisa Morrow is brutally murdered. Is it coincidence that Lisa just finished private sector duty with the same firm? When more women are killed, it seems a vicious serial killer is on the loose – but Sean smells corruption. A fast-paced thriller with a likeable, wisecracking hero who plays very close to the vest. Drummond is the hero of Haig’s earlier titles, but this one reads well by itself.

Reviews

Time to be in earnest: a fragment of autobiography, by P.D. James

B JAMES

Recommended by Jo Ann

British crime writer, P.D. James, reflects on one year of her life at age 77 through her daily diary. Looking back on childhood moments which influenced her attitudes and ideas, and taking us through her 88 years of memories of the war, marriage, her writing career, Britain, the BBC, etc., James skillfully interposes these thoughts with her diary entries.

Reviews

My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme

B CHILD

Recommended by Jo Ann

As a newly married wife of a diplomat sent to France after WWII, Julia recounts her early years ‘finding’ her talent and interest in French cooking. She’s a Californian who knows nothing about cooking or France, so she decides to sign p with the Cordon Bleu. Her perseverance and hard work lead to the writing of a French cookbook for Americans, and the rest is history! A fun and interesting read.

Reviews

Moving Target, by Elizabeth Lowell

FIC LOWELL

Recommended by Jo Ann

When weaver Serena Charters’ reclusive grandmother is murdered, she inherits some medieval manuscript pages and a hand-woven scarf. She decides to determine if they are genuine pages from the priceless Book of the Learned, which puts her life in harm’s way. She meets handsome writer, Eric North, who works for an art appraiser and also has connections to this book. Another of Lowell’s romantic suspense novels with her engaging and descriptive prose.

Reviews

On Agate Hill: a Novel, by Lee Smith

FIC SMITH

Recommended by Leah

Molly Petree has been orphaned and is living with her Uncle Junius on the dying plantation, Agate Hill in North Carolina. Life is hard and dangerous there and she is soon rescued by her father’s military friend Simon Black. He has sworn to take care of Molly to make up for past mistakes and sends her off to the Gatewood Academy in Virginia. There her life changes forever. Molly’s story is told through letters and diary entries from 1872-1927. Her life is filled with colorful and unusual characters, sadness and joy, humor and music.

Reviews