NOTABLE BOOKS 2011
CHOSEN BY THE LIBRARIANS
OF THE EMMAUS PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Ackerman, Diane. One Hundred Names for Love: A Stroke, a Marriage, and the Language of Healing. What the author learned caring for her afflicted husband.
Al-Khalili, Jim. The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave us the Renaissance. Eye-opening, myth-shattering history.
Armstrong, Karen. Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. A practical guide to making the world a better place, whether one is religious or not.
Bahadur, Jay. The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World. Rare insights into what drives young men to risk their lives attacking ships off the coast of Africa.
Bakan, Joel. Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children. From marketing toys to selling psychotropic drugs, corporations have their eyes on kids.
Baker, Stephen. Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything. Watson is the IBM computer that is astonishing the world with its fact-finding capabilities.
Barker, Bruce, Black and Decker Codes for Homeowners: Your Photo Guide to Electrical Codes, Plumbing Codes, Building Codes, Mechanical Codes. It’s all here, up to date.
Beal, Timothy. The Rise and Fall of the Bible: the Unexpected History of an Accidental Book. The Bible as an invaluable cultural icon.
Bergen, Peter. The Longest War: America and al-Qaeda Since 9/11. Very knowledgeable, Bergen is one of the few journalists to have interviewed Bin Laden.
Bone, Eugenia. Mycophilia: Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms. From deadly poisons to cancer cures, mushrooms are vastly important to human life.
Bowman, Alisa. Project Happily Ever After: Saving Your Marriage When the Fairytale Falters. Based on experience, the author gives a 10-step marriage-saving plan.
Brinkley, Douglas. The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom, 1879 – 1960. The incredible story of how often the pristine wilderness was greatly threatened by development schemes. The author says that writing this book has changed his life.
Brokaw, Tom. The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America. The esteemed broadcaster has ideas on recapturing the American Dream.
Brooks, David. The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement. Using a fictional couple as an example, Brooks explores human behavior.
Brummer, Melanie. Contemporary Dyecraft: Over 50 Tie-dye Projects for Scarves, Dresses, T-shirts and More. Tie-dye lives on in these colorful projects.
Bryson, Bill, editor. Seeing Further: The Story of Science, Discovery and the Genius of the Royal Society. A wide-ranging group of contemporary writers describe how the Royal Society has encouraged world-changing science since 1660.
Burleigh, Nina. The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox. Written before the verdict, this is nevertheless interesting background to the notorious case.
Carroll, Linda. The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic. The authors call the incidence of sports-related concussion a national public health crisis.
Chua, Amy. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. One woman’s experience in "extreme parenting;" this book created a firestorm among parents of a more relaxed approach.
Chwast, Seymour. The Canterbury Tales and Dante’s Divine Comedy. These two classics—two separate books-- have been re-interpreted in graphic format.
Clinton, Bill. Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy. Clinton says we need not less and not more, but smarter government policies.
Cooper, Wendy A. Paint, Pattern, People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1725-1850. A sumptuous cataloging of the hand-crafted furniture that was made and decorated in various fashion by the different groups that settled here.
Danson, Ted. Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them. The actor is serious—and well informed—about a vast ecological crisis.
Dawson, Richard. The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True. This pictorial, easy-to-read book debunks many science myths in a pleasant, colorful way.
Devlin, Keith. The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci’s Arithmetic Revolution. Fibonacci was the greatest mathematician of the middle ages according to this short, lively book.
Dugard, Jaycee. A Stolen Life: A Memoir. Kidnapped and held captive for eighteen years, Dugard emerged from great suffering with her dignity and optimism intact.
Eilperin, Juliet. Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks. Circling the globe, sometimes swimming with them, Eilperin offers a page-turning account.
Ferreiro, Larrie D. Measure of the Earth : The Enlightenment Expedition That Reshaped Our World. How we knew the shape of the earth before satellites.
Foer, Jonathan. Moonwalking with Einstein : The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. An intriguing, encouraging look at how memory works.
Fogle, Bruce. Dog: The Definitive Guide for Dog Owners. Booklist magazine called this "the single best dog book of the decade."
Foner, Eric. The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery. An essential look at the moral crisis that divided a nation.
Foreman, Amanda. A World on Fire: Britain’s Crucial Role in the American Civil War. The magazine The Economist named this one of the year’s best books.
Friedman, Thomas. That Used to be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back. Friedman continues his exploration of the effects of globalization on the United States and its place in a new world.
Fuller, Alexandra. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. Fuller continues her series of memoirs of living in Africa.
Garfield, Simon. Just my Type. A book of fonts: the Declaration of Independence was published in Garamond, while Garfield claims that Comic Sans is a "typographic felony."
Gill, Jonathan. Harlem: The Four Hundred Year History from Dutch Village to Capital of Black America. A rich history of an ever-changing neighborhood.
Girardet, Edward. Killing the Cranes: A Reporter’s Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan. There since the 1970’s, Girardet knows Afghanistan thoroughly.
Gleick, James. The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. A thorough, even and monumental study of information-transmission from early alphabets to the internet.
Goodheart, Adam. 1861: The Civil War Awakening. How American history pivoted on the events of one year that decided it all.
Greenblatt, Stephen. The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. The nonfiction National Book Award winner explains the Renaissance’s relevance to modern history.
Greene, Brian. The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Physicist Greene brings much-needed clarity to the concept of a multi-universe.
Greenlee, John. The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn. Maintaining a grass lawn is no longer sustainable—or healthy.
Grillo, Ioan. El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency. The author contends that the drug war was completely predictable based on policies on both sides of the border.
Hanson, Thor. Feathers; The Evolution of a Natural Miracle. Feathers are not only the most efficient insulation on earth; they were the most valuable cargo on the Titanic.
Hohn, Donovan. Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,000 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them.
We learn about ocean currents, cheap Chinese toy manufacturers, and much else.
Homans, Jennifer.
Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet. The definitive history of an elegant art form.Hughes, Evan, editor. Literary Brooklyn: The Writers of Brooklyn and the Story of American City Life. An excellent anthology from an impressive list of writers.
Hughes, Robert. Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History. Art critic Hughes has extensive and personal knowledge of Rome and writes about it in a lively manner.
Jasanoff, Maya. Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World. One in 40 Americans were loyal to England and left America after the Revolution.
Jennings, Ken. Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks. Jeopardy’s greatest champion is passionate about maps and his enthusiasm rubs off.
Johnson, Paul. Socrates: A Man for Our Times. Johnson is an expert on cultural history and finds we have much to learn from Socrates.
Jundi, Sami. The Hour of Sunlight: One Palestinian’s Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker. Jailed as a radical, Jundi read widely in prison and started a peace group.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. The Nobel Prize winner’s research on our two-tiered brain and how we make decisions.
Kaku, Michio. Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100. A lively, fascinating exploration of the future.
Kessler, Ron. The Secrets of the FBI. Kessler has ways of delving into the hidden corners of government institutions and this book is particularly interesting.
King, David. Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-occupied Paris. Yes, amidst their other difficulties, war-time Parisians had to cope with a murderer.
Kissinger, Henry. On China. Lively history by an old hand who’s been there forty times.
Konigsberg, Ruth. The Truth about Grief: the Myth of its Five Stages and the New Science of Loss. The author questions Kubler-Ross’s theory and its proponents.
Larson, Erik. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin. The American ambassador’s life during Hitler’s early years.
Lehrer, Jim. Tension City: Inside Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain. Lehrer has the middle seat in many debates; his is the inside story.
Leibovitz, Liel. Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization. In 1872, China sponsored an unprecedented educational experiment and the results were profound.
Logue, Mark. The King’s Speech. A king who can’t speak well; the fascinating story dramatized in the Academy Award-winning film.
Lynskey, Dorian. 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs from Billie Holiday to Green Day. The Occupy movement might not have a song, but stay tuned.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. A massive history from a balanced and insightful writer.
MacGregor, Neil. A History of the World in 100 Objects. Director of the British Museum taps its vast collection to illustrate thousands of years of humans making things.
Marche, Stephen. How Shakespeare Changed Everything. A lighthearted look at his continuing influence on everything from language to how we think about adolescence.
Maushart, Susan. The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept With Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale. A modern day survival tale worth considering.
McCullough, David. The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. Yes, there were Americans in Paris 100 years before the Lost Generation got there.
Millard, Candice. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness and the Murder of a President. James A. Garfield lingered near death after the assassination attempt while the medical treatment he would receive was debated among his physicians.
Miller, James A. Those Guys have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. Behind the scenes at the world’s premier sports network. It does sound like fun.
Mitnick, Kevin. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker. Now a consultant, Mitnick served time in prison for his rollicking exploits.
Monaghan, Patricia. Meditation, the Complete Guide: Techniques from East to West to Calm the Mind, Heal the Body, and Enrich the Spirit. Included are more than 50 kinds of meditation, surely something for everybody.
Moskowitz, Tobias. Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won. Overturns our assumptions about winning and losing.
Mueller, Tom. Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. Fraud in the olive oil business? Yes, unfortunately. A brilliant exploration.
Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. The Pulitzer Prize-winning history of cancer and humans’ efforts to defeat it.
Nealon, Mary Jane. Beautiful Unbroken: One Nurse’s Life. Moving, compassionate and poetic, this book is a standout medical memoir; not to be missed.
Nelson, Kevin. The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist’s Search for the God Experience. Nelson finds that there is a neurological basis for spiritual yearnings.
Nicholls, Henry. The Way of the Panda: The Curious History of China’s Political Animal. The panda has mystified and entranced people around the world, but it has also played a role in China’s world status.
Nordhaus, Hannah. The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America. The vital role of migratory beekeepers in farming.
Offit, Paul. Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. Why anything less than universal vaccination threatens the health of our nation.
Orlean, Susan. Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend. An engrossing tale of a dog rescued in 1918 war-torn France whose legend lives on today.
Ornstein, Peggy. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-girl Culture. The dangers of sexualizing girlhood.
Ottaviani, Jim. Feynman. The story of the great physicist written in graphic format.
Parks, Tim. Teach Us to Sit Still: A Skeptic’s Search for Health and Healing. Parks found a way to health when doctors couldn’t tread his chronic pain.
Paul, Alan. Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing. Hilarious tales of a musician’s life in China.
Powell, Kenneth. The Great Builders. Fascinating profiles of forty of the world’s greatest architects.
Powell, Kimberly. The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy: Use the Web to Trace Your Roots, Share Your History, and Create a Family Tree. A new hobby!
Randall, Lisa. Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World. A leading physicist who has been compared to Einstein explains the place of physics in our time.
Rasenberger, Jim. The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and American’s Doomed Invasion of Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. De-classified documents help explain what happened.
Rasmussen, Daniel. American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt. A vivid history of 1811 New Orleans when 500 slaves rebelled.
Rastello, Luca. I am the Market: How to Smuggle Cocaine by the Ton, in Five Easy Lessons. Cocaine smuggling has tainted the global economy to a shocking extent.
Romanowski, Peggy. Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm? Top Cosmetic Scientists Answer Your Questions About the Lotions, Potions, and Other Beauty Products You Use Every Day. A brief, useful guide; you can get dependent on some cosmetics.
Rose, Frank.The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories. Profound changes are afoot in all fields of communication—in case you haven’t noticed.
Ruben, Marina. How to Tutor Your Own Child: Boost Grades and Inspire a Lifelong Love of Learning—Without Paying for a Professional Tutor. A do-it-yourself approach that can work where the family environment is hospitable to learning.
Safina, Carl. The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World. A top environmental scientist shares his awe at nature’s patterns, interconnectedness.
Scottoline, Lisa. Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as Mother and Daughter. Hilarious essays from the popular novelist and her daughter.
Sherman, Ted. The Jersey Sting: A True Story of Crooked Pols, Money-Laundering Rabbis, Black Market Kidneys and the Informant Who Brought it All Down. A vivid, slightly bizarre crime story; true crime fans will savor this one.
Shteir, Rachel. The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting. The author says that this crime is widely misunderstood and anything but petty.
Siegel, Bernie. A Book of Miracles: Inspiring True Stories of Healing, Gratitude, and Love. Medical miracles do exist, but what about the family saved from fire by bats?
Sismondo, Christine. America Walks Into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops. Fascinating history from colonial days till now.
Smith, Caroline. Meteorites. Personally, we favor the gold one, but all meteorites have stories to tell. This is a very handsome book.
Standiford, Les. Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction That Changed America. Adam’s father started America’s Most Wanted television show after this tragedy.
Steel, Piers. The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done. Don’t delay, read this now!
Taylor, Anthony. The Sacred Sites Bible: The Definitive Guide to Spiritual Places. This colorful book covers 100 sites from many religions in short, accessible entries.
Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe.
An Afghan woman works to keep her family alive under the Taliban by starting a sewing and dressmaking school.
Van Buren, Peter.
We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People. The surreal, sometimes hilarious, world of the Iraq war.Waltrip, Michael. In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona and the Day that Changed Everything. NASCAR’s triumphs and tragedies told by one who was there.
Wasdin, Howard. SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper. An eye-opening, riveting account of a secret military operative; unforgettable.
Weil, Andrew. Spontaneous Happiness. A natural approach to treating depression.
Adler-Olsen, Jussi. The Keeper of Lost Causes. A thriller about a missing statesman from Denmark’s top crime writer.
Ahern, Cecelia.The Book of Tomorrow. Family secrets in the ruins of an Irish castle.
Anam, Tahmima. The Good Muslim. Bangladeshis caught in the maze of global politics.
Atkinson, Kate. Started Early, Took My Dog. Making a snap decision to rescue a child, the protagonist must live with the consequences.
Banks, Russell. The Lost Memory of Skin. A man on probation is approached by someone called The Professor and asked to be the subject of his research.
Barnes, Julian. The Sense of an Ending. A man’s deeply-held assumptions are undone.
Beattie, Ann. The New Yorker Stories. A stunning new collection.
Bell, Madison Smartt. The Color of Night. Las Vegas worker is undone by past secrets.
Benjamin, Melanie. The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb. Compelling biographical fiction about a very determined 32-inch woman.
Berenson, Alex. The Secret Soldier. Scheming terrorists, great spycraft.
Berg, Elizabeth. Once Upon a Time There Was You. A couple is reunited by tragedy.
Berry, Steve. The Jefferson Key. Were all presidential assassinations somehow linked?
Bohjalian, Chris. The Night Strangers. What is behind that bolted door in the basement?
Boyle, T. C. When the Killing’s Done. A thriller about protecting endangered animals.
Brashares, Ann. Sisterhood Everlasting. More in the Traveling Pants series.
Brooks, Geraldine. Caleb’s Crossing. An engrossing tale of Martha’s Vineyard in the 1660s and the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College.
Brown, Eleanor. The Weird Sisters. Three daughters of a retired professor of Shakespeare find their paths in life, with some guidance from the Bard.
Buchan, Elizabeth. Separate Beds. The husband loses his job, and although they’re somewhat estranged, this couple tries to keep up appearances.
Cain, Chelsea. The Night Season. Floods, a skeleton and a venomous octopus.
Campbell, Bonnie Jo. Once Upon a River. A sixteen-year old girl’s solo river trip.
Card, Orson Scott. The Lost Gate. A child grows up amidst magic, secrets and danger.
Carey, Peter. Parrot and Olivier in America. An aristocrat winds up in early America.
Carter, Philip. The Altar of Bones. A deathbed confession, the KGB and a sacred icon.
Champion, David. Bomber Bombs. A young man accused of assault may be innocent.
Childress, Mark. Georgia Bottoms. Oh-oh! Her many simultaneous affairs come to light.
Clark, Marcia. Guilt by Association. The OJ prosecutor writes a top-notch thriller.
Cumming, Charles. The Trinity Six. A Cold War thriller surrounding a diplomat’s death.
Delaney, Frank. The Matchmaker of Kenmare. An enigmatic woman may hold secrets.
De los Santos, Marisa. Falling Together. Former friends reunite searching for another.
Dew, Robb Forman. Being Polite to Hitler. A warm and funny 1950s family saga.
Diffenbaugh, Vanessa. The Language of Flowers. A teen finds her destiny in flowers.
Doctorow, E. L. All the Time in the World. A new collection of his short stories.
Earle, Steve. I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive. Hank Williams’ ghost appears in this gripping fiction from a popular folk singer.
Edgerton, Clyde. The Night Train. In 1960’s North Carolina, the music is everything.
Ellis, David. Breach of Trust. Imagine! Corruption in Illinois politics. This realistic novel is written by the prosecutor in the Blagojevich trial.
Ellory, R. J. The Anniversary Man. A serial killer returns; a top crime novel of 2011.
Enright, Anne. The Forgotten Waltz. A woman recalls an old affair; the author won the Booker Prize for The Gathering in 2007.
Eugenides, Jeffrey. The Marriage Plot. Recent college grads explore relationships.
Evison, Jonathan. West of Here. Early settlers in Washington State build a dam; now their descendants want to demolish it. A rich historical novel.
Falvey, Patricia. The Yellow House. Passion and politics in early 20th century Ireland.
Frazier, Charles. Nightwoods. A solitary mountain woman’s life changes completely when her sister’s children come to live with her. From the author of Cold Mountain.
Fuentes, Carlos. Destiny and Desire. Mexico’s premier novelist writes a compelling story of a dead man’s testimony of his own murder.
Gardner, Lisa. Love You More. A murder, a missing child and great suspense.
Ghosh. Amitav. River of Smoke. A Follow-up to his Sea of Poppies, about opium smugglers in India.
Graham, Lorna. The Ghost of Greenwich Village. An apartment is haunted by writers of the Beat Generation.
Grant, Helen. The Glass Demon. Mystery and horror in a secluded German castle.
Grippando, James. Afraid of the Dark. A young man accused of terrorism has little chance of acquittal in this pulse-pounding thriller.
Gross, Andrew. Eyes Wide Open. A taut psychological thriller based on a teen’s death.
Grossman, Lev. The Magician King. A follow-up to his book The Magicians. Now that the young magicians have graduated, sinister occurrences begin. A delightful fantasy.
Haddam, Jane. Flowering Judas. A man missing for 12 years turns up—dead. Gripping.
Harbach, Chad. The Art of Fielding. The best baseball novel of the past few years.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches. A scholar finds a book that had been lost for 150 years and he must now acknowledge his own relationship to the paranormal.
Hayder, Mo. Gone. Carjacker steals more than a car in this riveting thriller.
Higashino, Keigo. The Devotion of Suspect X. Is there nothing this man won’t do for the woman he loves? Giving her an alibi for a murder is just the beginning.
Hill, Reginald. The Woodcutter. A knock on the door changes a man’s life and not in a good way. An engrossing thriller.
Hoffman, Alice. The Red Garden. A woman’s ties to the natural world are explored in this novel of linked stories that go from historical to magical.
Hoffman, Alice. The Dovekeepers. Set in ancient Israel, this historical novel traces the survivors of the battle of Masada.
Holman, Sheri. Witches on the Road Tonight. A chance encounter in Depression-era backwoods Virginia shows a boy that there is a wide world beyond.
King, Stephen. 11/22/63. An alternate history leading up to that infamous day in history related by a teacher who travels back to 1958 intending to befriend Lee Harvey Oswald.
Koryta, Michael. The Cypress House. A hardened WWII vet foretells others’ deaths.
Lackberg, Camilla. The Preacher. Are religious fanatics responsible for area murders?
LaPlante, Alice. Turn of Mind. An orthopedic surgeon is losing touch with reality in what may be the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. An eloquent exploration of loss.
Lawrenson, Deborah. The Lantern. Provence is lovely, but fear and suspicion a haunt a newlywed woman in this modern day gothic novel.
Levithan, David. The Lovers’ Dictionary. A relationship spanning years is described in dictionary format—definitions tell the tale.
Lippman, Laura. The Most Dangerous Thing. Old friends reunite at a funeral and the dangerous secret they all vowed to keep hidden comes out.
Lukas, Michael. The Oracle of Stamboul. An brave and inquisitive eight-year old girl stows away on her father’s ship to discover the exotic world of Istanbul.
Magson, Adrian. Red Station. A story with everything: MI5 agents, Russian spies, intense action scenes.
Maguire, Gregory. Out of Oz. The final volume of his Wicked series.
Mayhew, Anna Jean. The Dry Grass of August. In 1954, a North Carolina family and their black maid travel to Florida for a vacation with tragic consequences.
McGrath, M. J. White Heat. Here’s something out of the ordinary: a mystery set in an remote Inuit community.
McKeon, Belinda. Solace. An Irish family in which the father and son have lately been estranged are reunited by unforeseen events.
McLain, Paula. The Paris Wife. Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley are the subjects of this biographical novel.
Meltzer, Brad. The Inner Circle. Conspiracies from Revolutionary War times reverberate in modern day Washington.
Millhauser, Seven. We Others: Stories. The New Yorker writer’s new collection.
Montefiore, Santa. The Mermaid Garden. A Devon country inn offers art lessons for guests; this has been described as "a fairy tale for grownups."
Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. Enchanting fiction about the denizens of a mysterious circus that appears in town without warning.
Morris, Mary McGarry. Light From a Distant Star. Set in a small Southern town, this coming-of-age tale has been compared to To Kill a Mockingbird.
Murakami, Haruki. 1Q84. Inspired by George Orwell’s 1984, this is written by the master of modern Japanese fiction and author of The Windup Bird Chronicle.
Nemirovsky, Irene. All Our Worldly Goods. Two wars come to a small French town; a lyrical novel of abiding love.
Obreht, Tea. The Tiger’s Wife. This timeless novel is set in the Balkans where a young woman tries to understand her late grandfather through his stories.
Ondaatje, Michael. The Cat’s Table. Three boys on a voyage to England—without chaperones—find adventure, mystery and danger. A delightful story.
Orringer, Julie. The Invisible Bridge. An architecture student arrives in Budapest with a mysterious letter that will determine much about his future.
Otsuka, Julie. The Buddha in the Attic. A small book that has much to say about Japanese mail-order brides. A masterpiece of concise fiction.
Parker, Michael. The Watery Part of the World. Set on a North Carolina island, this is the story of Aaron Burr’s shipwrecked daughter.
Patchett, Ann. State of Wonder. From the cold Midwest to the jungles of Brazil, a research scientist searches for a missing co-worker and discovers the results of an intriguing series of experiments.
Pearson, Allison. I Think I Love You. Welsh teenagers obsessed with pop star David Cassidy find that love can be bittersweet.
Penman, Sharon Kay. Lionheart. Penman continues her medieval history series with a fascinating novel about King Richard and the Third Crusade.
Peters, Ralph. The Officer’s Club. Murder on an army base near the Arizona-Mexico border; a superb crime novel.
Phillips, Arthur. The Tragedy of Arthur. If a known counterfeiter and ex-con finds an undiscovered Shakespeare play, can we trust that it’s real? A delightful romp of a book.
Phillips, Susan Elizabeth. Call Me Irresistible. Is it ever okay to marry someone you don’t love? A funny romance.
Pressfield, Steven. The Profession. A chilling military thriller set in 2032; all too plausible mid-east attack scenarios.
Quinn, Spencer. The Dog Who Knew Too Much. A delightful continuation of the Chet and Bernie mysteries. Luckily, the dog is the smart one.
Rankin, Ian. The Complaints. "Complaints" are cops who investigate other cops; always a difficult situation. One of Rankin’s best.
Ray, Shann. American Masculine. Exceptional short stories set in the American West.
Robotham, Michael. The Wreckage: a Thriller. Billions of dollars are missing from an Iraqi bank which sets off a series of page-turning events.
Rodriguez, Deborah. A Cup of Friendship. An American runs an Afghanistan coffee house; the author also wrote the nonfiction Kabul Beauty School.
Rosenfelt, David. On Borrowed Time. It’s bad enough if your lover disappears, but what if you can’t prove she ever existed?
Roslund, Anders. Three Seconds. A riveting thriller set in Sweden where undercover police are infiltrating the Polish mafia.
Ross, Adam. Ladies and Gentlemen. Having made his debut with Mr. Peanut, Ross tries his hand at a fine collection of short stories.
Rubenfeld, Jed. The Death Instinct. Set in 1920s New York, this history/mystery packs a lot of suspense in a tale of a Wall Street bombing. Can Freud solve the case?
Russell, Karen. Swamplandia! Amidst a series of family tragedies, 13-year old Ava must use all her resources to manage a Florida alligator wrestling park with 98 gators.
Sacheri, Eduardo. The Secret in Their Eyes. The movie of the same name won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Both have everything: mystery, humor, lost love.
Schwartz, John B. Northwest Corner. A man trying to rebuild his life finds his estranged son on his doorstep, a son who is fleeing troubles of his own.
See, Lisa. Dreams of Joy. A follow-up to her novel Shanghai Girls finds Joy living on a commune in Maoist China.
Shaara, Jeff. The Final Storm: a Novel of World War II in the Pacific. The final book in Shaara’s World War series is based on in-depth research and personal testimonies.
Sharp, Adrienne. The True Memoirs of Little K. The story of a ballerina in St. Petersburg’s Imperial ballet who witnessed life from Tsarist to revolutionary Russia.
Simmons, Kelly. The Bird House. Set in Bryn Mawr, the novel considers the thoughts of a woman struggling against dementia and the troubling memories of her daughter.
Slonczewski, Joan. The Highest Frontier. A young woman spends her freshman year in space—a good place to be since aliens are making Earth somewhat uninhabitable.
Steiner, Peter. The Terrorist. A CIA agent can’t foresee the implications of helping a young Algerian boy obtain a scholarship. Booklist named this a Top 10 crime book.
Stephenson, Neal. Reamde. A sprawling technothriller from a science fiction giant.
Stevens, Taylor. The Informationist. A woman’s past in Africa comes back to haunt her when she starts a new life in Dallas. A riveting tale of kidnapping.
Tillyard, Stella. Tides of War. What happens to the women who are left at home during the Napoleonic Wars? Lots, it turns out.
Toibin, Colm. The Empty Family: Stories. Kirkus named this one of the best books of short stories of 2011.
Toyne, Simon. Sanctus. Ancient secrets are behind a monk’s suicide---but what are those secrets and why are they so dangerous?
Trevor, William. Selected Stories. A masterpiece of a collection by a master writer.
Unger, Lisa. Darkness, My Old Friend. After her divorce, a woman moves to a small town that is clearly hiding a lot of secrets she’s not in on.
Urbach, Linda. Madame Bovary’s Daughter. A sequel to a book that maybe didn’t need one, but Urbach pulls it off; its rich characters and Paris setting are fascinating.
Vreeland, Susan. Clara and Mr. Tiffany. A young woman creates fabulous designs for Louis Comfort Tiffany, but he is a very difficult employer.
Ward, Jesmyn. Salvage the Bones. The National Book Award winner for fiction tells the story of an African American family in the time of Katrina.
Watson, S. J. Before I go to Sleep. Creepy in the extreme: a woman recovering from a brain injury is tended by her husband—or someone who claims to be married to her.
Whittle, Tina. The Dangerous Side of Things. An Atlanta gun shop owner finds a body in his driveway; a well-constructed plot keeps this story moving.
Wilson, Daniel. Robopocalypse. A robot revolt! Read the book before Spielberg’s movie comes out.
Wilson, Kevin. The Family Fang. An odd bunch to be sure: when the parents disappear no one knows if they’ve come to harm or this is part of their elaborate performance art.
Adams, Jad. Gandhi: The True Man Behind Modern India. A warts-and-all portrait shows Gandhi could be generous to masses of people, but less so to individuals.
Arkin, Alan. An Improvised Life. A candid assessment of the actor’s life.
Baker, Jean. Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion. Her mother had eleven children and died young; Sanger went on to found the modern birth control movement.
Bartlett, Rosamund. Tolstoy: A Russian Life. The author had access to new information unearthed since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Bartok, Mira. The Memory Palace. A woman comes to terms with her schizophrenic mother; a powerful and unforgettable memoir.
Belafonte, Harry. My Song: a Memoir. This book covers not only his show business career, but the causes Belafonte has championed for over half a century.
Breslin, Jimmy. Branch Rickey. A monumental figure in baseball, Rickey established the modern farm system and, of course, integrated the sport by hiring Jackie Robinson.
Burke, Carolyn. No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf. A perceptive biography of the beloved French singer who wrote over 100 songs and aided the Resistance in WWII.
Callan, Michael F. Robert Redford: The Biography. An actor whose concerns go far beyond his acting career.
Cutie, Albert. Dilemma: a Priest’s Struggle with Faith and Love. Photographed embracing a woman on the beach, Father Cutie was forced to make a huge decision.
Dench, Judi. And Furthermore. Dame Judi Dench talks about her long career as an actress in the theatre, films and television.
Didion, Joan. Blue Nights. Frank and powerful, Didion discusses aging and loss.
Ebert, Roger. Life Itself: a Memoir. Ebert’s cancer has stopped his voice but not his writing. He reveals that for all their differences, Gene Siskel was like a brother to him.
Fey, Tina. Bossypants. The television star and comedy writer’s life story.
Garner, James. The Garner Files. Maverick and Rockford and the man behind them.
Gillies, Isabel. A Year and Six Seconds: a Love Story. The author of Happens Every Day continues her story of remaking her life after divorce.
Gordon-Read, Annette. Andrew Johnson. Another in the American Presidents series.
Greenberg, Keith E. December 9, 1980: the Day John Lennon Died. It shocked the world, but the Beatles had feared for their safety for years. Eye-opening.
Harvey, Robert. Bolivar: The Liberator of Latin America. Six Latin nations owe their liberation to Bolivar; this is a dramatic biography.
Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. Jobs authorized this book, wanting nothing but the truth, and this biography is remarkably balanced and revealing.
Judd, Ashley. All That is Bitter and Sweet. Her life as an entertainer and humanitarian.
Ling, Chai. A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Story of a Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, and Her Quest to Free China’s Daughters. Ling led student protests in Tiananmen Square and barely escaped with her life.
Lithgow, John. Drama: An Actor’s Education. A short, breezy memoir of a fine career.
Lynch, Jane. Happy Accidents: a Memoir. The star of Glee tells how she triumphed over years of self-doubt and anxiety.
Manning, Lauren. Unmeasured Strength. Manning was severely burned in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and was given almost zero chance of survival.
Marable, Manning. Malcolm X: a Life of Reinvention. A complex and highly significant man who turned his life around only to lose it.
Massie, Robert. Catherine the Great : Portrait of a Woman. And what a woman! The author of Nicholas and Alexandra brings us another masterpiece in biography.
Matthews, Chris. Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero. Matthews promises a more intimate portrait than other Kennedy biographies.
Oates, Joyce Carol. A Widow’s Story: A Memoir. Oates is one of the most prolific writers of our time andt this one of her most powerful books.
Proulx, Annie. Bird Cloud. The novelist tells of her decision to move to Wyoming.
Randall, Willard S. Ethan Allen: His Life and Times. The revolutionary war hero’s first complete biography.
Ribowsky, Mark. Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth and the Transformation of American Sports. Love him or not, there was no one like Howard Cosell.
Rice, Condoleezza. No Higher Honor. Rice’s earlier biography focused on her family, this one covers her career in the Bush administration.
Saramago, Jose. Small Memories: A Memoir. The Portuguese Nobel Prize winner gives an intimate glimpse of his background; exquisitely written.
Scott, Janny. A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother. Nothing was predictable about her, from being named Stanley to raising a president.
Shawn, Allen. Twin: A Memoir. Shawn’s twin sister was institutionalized for autism when they were eight years old and he feels the loss to this day.
Slawenski, Kenneth. Salinger: A Life. The reclusive author of Catcher in the Rye is revealed in this wide-ranging biography.
Talty, Stephen. Escape from the Land of Snows: The Young Dalai Lama’s Harrowing Flight to Freedom and the Making of a Spiritual Hero. Riveting.
Van Dyke, Dick. My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business. An amiable actor writes a pleasant biography.
Vecsey, George. Stan Musial: An American Life. A somewhat under-appreciated baseball player gets his due.
Vujicic, Nick. Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life. Born without arms or legs, Vujicic has found a way to emphasize what he does have.
White, Betty. If You Ask Me (And of Course, You Won’t). A fast read from a national treasure.
Wolcott, James. Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-dirty in Seventies New York. Such fine prose, this critic’s book could be used in memoir-writing classes.
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