Leaving Microsoft to change the world, by John Wood

Recommended by Irene
370.9173 WOO

What better place to be reading this book than on
vacation in Silicon Valley!  John Wood left a high
pressure, extremely lucrative career to divert his
boundless energy to bringing books and building
schools for children in Nepal and later in wider
areas of Asia, Latin America and Africa.  
Heart-warming and inspiring.  

Also read, "Three cups of tea", by Greg Mortenson
and "Stand for the best", by Thomas Block

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The monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston

Recommended by JoAnn

363.1523 PRE

American author, Preston, moved to Florence to
write another thriller but was sidetracked with a
true murder mystery, never resolved.  He and an
Italian journalist research the 14 gruesome
murders of lovers but they become targets of
a bizarre police investigation.

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The woman who can't forget: The extraordinary story of living with the most remarkable memory known to science

By Jill Price

Recommended by JoAnn

Since the age of 14 years, Jill had discovered she
had the rare ability to recall dates and events with
incredible accuracy.  Her mind continuously plays
events, like a video camera.  She was studied by
memory researchers for 6 years, as she was unique
at the time, and was written up in a scientific journal.  The onslaught
of memories is both a curse and a blessing:  the good memories are
comforting, but the bad ones are relived in detail.


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Kabul Beauty School: An American woman goes behind the veil

By Deborah Rodriguez

Recommended by Jo Ann
305.4869 ROD

As part of a humanitarian effort to aid Afghans after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, a Michigan hairdresser eventually finds her strength in teaching and befriending women in her beauty school.

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Unaccustomed earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri

FIC LAHIRI

Recommended by Jean

I enjoyed every story in this book. Beautifully written, the stories draw you in immediately and none of them is predictable. I look forward to her next book.

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The girl with no shadow, by Joanne Harris

FIC HARRIS

Recommended by Jean

The sequel to Chocolat, this is one of those books I could not put down. I loved it every bit as much as Chocolat if not more. Harris is so expressive and writes so beautifully and I loved the ending!

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Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Recommended by Irene

FIC Horan

In the early 1900s Frank Lloyd Wright left his wife and six children,scandalizing society by "eloping" to Europe with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Mamah left her two small children behind as well. This fictionalized account of Mamah's struggle to justify her clandestine love affair and resolve her overwhelming guilt at leaving her children grabs the reader and doesn't let go. An engrossing account of real life people who followed their hearts as they hurt so many harmless people in the process.

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Standing Tall: a memoir of tragedy and triumph, by

Recommended by Jo Ann

B Stringer

Rutgers sports fans will especially enjoy this
biography of the RU women's basketball coach's
life, to fame; her personal challenges and
tragedies, as well as those of her teams. 
An inspiring story of the value of teamwork, faith, and inner strength.

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Resistance, by Owen Sheers

Recommended by Irene

FIC Sheers

What would have happened if D-Day failed and Nazi
Germany invaded Great Britain?  In a remote Welsh
border valley a German patrol arrives on a secret
mission and discovers that all the men are gone and
the women have banded together to keep their farms
running.  Couple this with a particularly cruel and
severe winter forcing the two groups together for
mutual survival.  Owen Sheers is an award winning
Welsh poet; which is obvious by the richness of
language.  This is his first novel.

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True Evil, by Greg Iles

Recommended by Jo Ann

FIC ILES

A fast-paced psychological thriller matching FBI agent Alex Morse against a serial killer. Her sister dies under the same strange circumstances that others have fallen victim to, after their wealthy spouses visit local attorney Andrew Rusk. Morse hopes the next potential victim, Dr. Shephard, will help her discover the killer.



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Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, by Lam Vincent

Recommended by Irene

SS LAM

Winner of Canada's Giller Prize, Vincent Lam presents an evocative view of doctors and hospitals in his debut story collection about doctors in the making. What makes this book unique and gripping is that Lam, and emergency room physician, looks beyond blood and guts to examine the conflicted hearts and minds of the four medical students sleepwalking their way through required tests, dissections and all-night emergency room shifts.  The stories' quiet strength lies not in the doctors' education but in Lam's portrayal of the flawed humans behind surgical masks.  Even those who are not "short story readers" will be unable to put this down.

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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.

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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?


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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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