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Staff Picks -- a book so nice I read it twice (or more)
05/16/2024
Beth Pofahl
Book Recommendations, Staff Picks, Fiction

What are the reasons for reading a book more than once? Recently I read two different novels, newly published, which really roped me in with compelling plot lines. However, when I reached the end of both of these books, the great reveal was that I had been duped by an unreliable narrator!  Twice! Has this happened to you? Both books practically forced me to read them over again because I had to understand how these skillful authors had fooled me so completely.  I wasn't disappointed, but friends, methinks there are better reasons to read a book more than once. Of course, I won't tell you the titles of these trickster novels--it would ruin the effect, but do read on for more books staff  have re-read at least once and highly recommend!

 

Emmon suggests . . .

Cover ArtWonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Warbringer is an amazing adventure story about finding your inner hero. At times, we all wonder if we'll ever measure up to everybody else; if we'll ever be as brave, strong, graceful, brilliant, outgoing, photogenic, original, or heroic as we want. In this book, it's not really about the powers - though that stuff is cool, too! - it's about how you view and support others that makes or breaks the hero. The audiobook, read by Mozhan Marno, is so excellent and inspiring that it's fueled me through several marathon training seasons!
Find Wonder Woman: Warbringer in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Libby eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here

 
Suzanne suggests . . .

Cover ArtThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

"I read this book when I was sixteen years old and then again at twenty-eight years old.  It was a different book!"

The wish spoken by Dorian Gray as he looks at his portrait forms the basis of the plot of this story of a gilded and spoilt hedonist who is willing to sell his soul for his beauty. 
Find The Picture of Dorian Gray in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital format:
Libby eBook and audiobook
Hoopla eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here
 

 

Cover ArtLying Awake by Mark Salzman

"So good I finished it and immediately turned back to page one."

In a Carmelite monastery outside present-day Los Angeles, life goes on in a manner virtually un-changed for centuries. Sister John of the Cross has spent years there in the service of God. And there, she alone experiences visions of such dazzling power and insight that she is looked upon as a spiritual master. But Sister John's visions are accompanied by powerful headaches, and when a doctor reveals that they may be dangerous, she faces a devastating choice. For if her spiritual gifts are symptoms of illness rather than grace, will a "cure" mean the end of her visions and a soul once again dry and searching? This is the dilemma at the heart of Mark Salzman's spare, astonishing new novel. With extraordinary dexterity, the author of the best-selling Iron & Silk and The Soloist brings to life the mysterious world of the cloister, giving us a brilliantly realized portrait of women today drawn to the rigors of an ancient religious life, and of one woman's trial at the perilous intersection of faith and reason. Lying Awake is a novel of remarkable empathy and imagination, and Mark Salzman's most provocative work to date.
Available as an audiobook through Hoopla
Hard copy book available through ILL
Read more about the author Here
 
 

Tyler suggests . . .

Cover Art

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

"Flowers for Algernon always left me feeling emotional and left me with a sense of empathy I hadn't known I was lacking. The creative use of grammar and writing to tell the story is hard to achieve and is something that Flowers for Algernon sets the standard for - in my opinion! I can't say such things about many titles but Flowers for Algernon is one that I can without hesitation."

Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the powerful, classic story about a man who receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.   Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence-a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon. As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?  
Find Flowers for Algernon in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Libby eBook and audiobook
Hoopla audiobook
Read more about the author Here

 

April suggests . . .

Cover Art

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

"I listened to the audio and got such a chuckle that I went back to read it again. It is definitely necessary to start this series with this the first book in order to establish the endearing and delightful characters. From there, the adventures begin in Cooper's Chase, an Independent Living establishment for aging pensioners who meet every Thursday with their detective minds for adventure and solving murder!"

 In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?
Find The Thursday Murder Club series in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Libby eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here

Rachel suggests . . .

Cover ArtThe Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
"The Song of Achilles is good every time I listen to it and it's been probably like 20 times!"
A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer's enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller's monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction's brightest lights--and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.
Find The Song of Achilles in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Libby eBook and audiobook
Hoopla audiobook
Read more about the author Here

 

McKinzie suggests . . .

Cover ArtProject Hail Mary by Andy Weir
"This space themed cocktail created by Andy Weir mixes a NASA science class with the threat of human extinction. Garnished with the ultimate question - Is there other life out there? As with any good beverage... you won't be able to put it down until it's finished."
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission--and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery--and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone. Or does he? An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian--while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
Find Project Hail Mary in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Libby eBook 
Read more about the author Here
 
Do you have some favorite books you've read twice, thrice, or even more times?  Tell us in the comments section or stop by the library and tell us about your favorite titles in person. Hope to see you soon at your Lewis & Clark Library!

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Staff Picks
05/09/2024
Beth Pofahl
Book Recommendations, Staff Picks, Fiction

Katy recommends . . .

Cover ArtThe Faraway World by Patricia Engel        

"A beautiful collection of short stories that explore the lives of Cubans, Columbians, and other Latinos as they navigate their changing country, as well as emigration, family, and love. This is a character-driven look at many sensitive topics, including abuse, infertility, and infidelity."

Two Colombian expats meet as strangers on the rainy streets of New York City, both burdened with traumatic pasts. In Cuba, a woman discovers her deceased brother's bones have been stolen, and the love of her life returns from Ecuador for a one-night visit. A cash-strapped couple hustles in Miami, to life-altering ends.  Intimate and panoramic, these stories bring to life the liminality of regret, the vibrancy of community, and the epic deeds and quiet moments of love.
Find The Faraway World in the library catalog Here
Read more about the author Here

Interested in reading more short stories? Check out Goodreads' list of Best Short Story Collections Here

Lisa recommends . . .

Cover ArtThe Leavers  by Lisa Ko 

An interesting look at immigration, familial relationships and adoption of Asian children by non-Asian parents.

One morning, Deming Guo's mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon--and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her.  With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he's ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents' desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind.  Told from the perspective of both Daniel--as he grows into a directionless young man--and Polly, Ko's novel gives us one of fiction's most singular mothers. Loving and selfish, determined and frightened, Polly is forced to make one heart-wrenching choice after another.  Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid examination of borders and belonging. It's a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.       
Find The Leavers in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Libby eBook and audiobook
Hoopla eBook and audiobook
Read more about the author Here

The Leavers was a National Book Award finalist and Winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Want more information about this unique award with a list of previous winners?  See Here

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