A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates

Recommended by JoAnn
B Oates

Oates's 78 year old husband was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, improved considerably, then suddenly died from a hospital infection. Married for 46 years, she is barely able to cope with her loss, and this memoir is a somewhat 'stream of consciousness' revelation detailing her private pain.
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The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

Recommended by Lauren
FIC Stevens

Wondering what to read next after The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Try this suspenseful, fast-paced thriller by debut author Taylor Stevens. Series heroine Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, renowned for her expert ability to acquire and analyze information, is hired by a Texas oil tycoon to search for his missing daughter Emily. Munroe's investigation takes place in dangerous and remote areas of Africa where the girl vanished several years earlier. Can Munroe find Emily before she becomes the hunted herself? An action-packed plot, with a bit of romance, in the unique settings of Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, made for a great read.
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Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Recommended by Barbara

940.5472 HIL

Meet Louie Zamperini. In his 90s now, he's had a life full of amazing adventures:

- a juvenile delinquent in California during the 1920s

- a world class runner competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics

- a bombardier in the Army Air Corps over the Pacific in WWII

Planes crash, sharks attack, and Japanese POW camps all figure in this true story of cruelty, survival, courage, heroism, but most of all, undying spirit. From the author of the award-winning "Seabiscuit".

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Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Recommended by Jen R.

YA Stork

Marcelo Sandoval is 17-years-old with a non-classified, highly-functioning Autism-Spectrum disorder who spent a comfortable life so far sleeping in his backyard tree house and attending private schools. His father, a corporate attorney, coerses Marcelo to spend the summer working in the mailroom at his firm, in hopes that Marcelo will learn the ways of the "real world". When Marcelo finds a disturbing photo, he sets out on a personal journey to right the wrongs he experiences through the subtleties of life in the "real world".

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Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

Recommended by Jen R.

Fic Russell

Twelve-year-old Ava Bigtree and her family are alligator wrestlers who own Swamplandia, a tourist attraction in the Florida Everglades. When Hilola, mother and star of the big show, dies, Swamplandia falls apart and the family follows suit. Each family member embarks on a personal journey to save the Bigtree name and family business. This book is refreshing, humorous, and well written.

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The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz

Recommended by JoAnn

956.94 DER

Harvard Law professor Dershowitz, presents a fair, balanced, and sensible set of possible solutions toward a resolution of the on-going bombings and strife in Israel.

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Up From the Blue by Susan Henderson

Recommended by Jean

FIC Henderson

This story of how a family deals with mental illness in the 1970s is both heartbreaking and revealing. I enjoyed the author's writing style and how the story is told from the child and adult points of view.

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