Staff Book Picks

Chester's Mill, Maine finds itself suddenly and inexplicably cut off from the outside world when a 20,000 foot high transparent dome descends from out of nowhere. Who created this situation and why are only two of the questions the increasingly desperate denizens of this beleaguered town have to address as King spins a yarn full of unlikely heroes, monstrous pretenders to power and nefarious doings beyond the known universe. Mayhem rules. But so does redemption. A fast paced tale populated with a great cast of characters both good and evil. Check Our Catalog

This book provides a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of many classic movies via the memos of producer David O. Selznick.  A notorious micromanager, Selznick had plenty to say about casting, costumes, dialog and every other aspect of a film's creation.  Of course Gone with the Wind, his greatest success, is covered thoroughly, but there are plenty of other movies, including Rebecca, Duel in the Sun, David Copperfield, and people, Alfred Hitchcock, Jennifer Jones (his mistress then wife) that are given their due. Check Our Catalog

The National Book Foundation today announced the finalists for the 2011 National Book Awards.  Awards are given in the following categories:  Fiction, Nonfiction, Young People's Literature, and Poetry.  There are some great titles on the list.  Check it out on the NBF website.

What if your teenage son made a typical stupid teenage mistake--and the whole world found out about it? This compelling story of a modern American family shattering amid the fallout of a social media-driven sex scandal thoughtfully explores themes of identity, privacy, family, and loyalty. Check Our Catalog

In 1875, 25-year-old May Dodd is released from an insane asylum and, along with 40-odd other fertile female misfits, travels West to become a Cheyenne bride, part of a U.S. government program to pacify and assimilate the Indian tribes, the better to seize their land in violation of existing treaties. This engaging, insightful and exciting story is told through May's fictional journal entries and mostly unsent letters home to her family. A really good read!  Check Our Catalog

With Colonel Roosevelt, Edmund Morris finally concludes his brilliant history of the life of Theodore Roosevelt.  In his third book, Morris picks up Roosevelt's story in the days after he leaves the White House.  Roosevelt, who has chosen the name 'colonel' for his post-presidential years, sets off on adventures both exotic and political.  Roosevelt leaps out of the pages of Morris' work and you can see yourself watching Teddy stumping his Progressive platform.  An excellent read.  Check Our Catalog

This debut novel is a little bit gritty, a little bit gothic.  Set in mid-century, rural Ohio and West Virginia, Pollock's landscapes are as bleak as his characters' lives.  Pollock introduces us to a cast of orphans, preachers and murderers whose lives all seem to intersect.  This is a page turner of the darker sort.  Check Our Catalog

This debut novel is written as a man's confession to his future wife.  British lawyer Nick Platt finds himself working in corporate law in the oil rich Russia of the early 2000's.  The story begins when Nick bumps into a pair of young and enticing Russian women.  These young women prove to be 'shady' characters, but no more shady than the business dealings Nick finds himself involved with.  The rest of the book finds Nick giving in to the seductions of Russia's women and wealth.  Snowdrops was recently shortlisted for the Booker Prize.  Check Our Catalog

Meet Jake Marlowe.  Jake is a werewolf.  He is the last known werewolf on earth, and he is being hunted.  When we meet Marlowe, he is almost 200 years old and is growing tired of the constant loneliness and the constant struggle to stay under the radar of his pursuers.  Just when the end is near and Jake is ready to give up, everything changes…  This is an excellent story, and a breath of fresh air from all of the recent vampire books.  Check Our Catalog