Staff Picks, Books
-
44 Scotland Street
"Audiobook read by Robert Ian MacKenzie (Wonderfully read) For those who have not explored McCall Smith’s other series (beyond the wonderful No 1 Ladies Detective Agency), 44 Scotland Street is definitely worth a read. McCall Smith successfully revisits the serialized novel format in this first book in his 44 Scotland Street series. Originally written and published as daily episodes in the Scotsman newspaper, the novel portrays the interconnected lives of residents in an Edinburgh apartment house. Engaging characters, droll depictions, leisurely pace. The episodic structure makes it easy to pick up, read a bit, put down, and then return to later. Of course, you could as easily enjoy it all in one go!" (Recommended by Ellen B. - White Bear Lake)
-
Invisible
"Dana goes home to Minnesota. She left over a decade or so ago. Her niece calls to ask for help. When Dana arrives, her sister has just died from cancer. She was one of many people, diagnosed in the small town." (Recommended by Carol Frey - Roseville)
-
Juliet in August
"Juliet in August shows us 24 hours in the lives of the inhabitants of the small town of Juliet, Saskatchewan and through flashbacks and historical meanderings, explains how the inhabitants came to be the way they are and how their lives are intertwined. This is one of the most beautifully written stories I've ever read." (Recommended by Laura - Maplewood)
-
My Father's Fortune: A Life
"Anything by Frayn (who is also a playwright and the author of the hilarious farce Noises Off) is going to be laugh-out-loud funny in places, but this memoir also deals gracefully with some harsher material, including the death of the author's mother and the author's own adolescent longing to belong to some family other than his own. Set in Great Britain during World War II and the drab years of post-war recovery." (Recommended by Judy - Roseville)
-
Ordinary Grace
"First in a new series and very different from his mysteries with lead character Corcoran O'Connor, Ordinary Grace took me back to the rural setting where the teenaged son of a preacher spent the summer learning about life and death and relationships with family and friends, town folk and strangers. It is a very emotional coming of age story and I'm looking forward to this book's sister title." (Recommended by Heidi - Roseville)
-
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
"Imagine that there was a child that was born to Neil Gaiman and J.K. Rowling. And then that it had Lewis Carroll for a favorite Uncle. And imagine that this child grew up to be a book. This is that book. Told in lyrical, exquisite, whimsical writing this is a fairytale to savor and read again and again. A perfect read for any age from the very little to the very old and everyone in between." (Recommended by Jessica - Shoreview)
-
The Light Between Oceans
A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore. "Very compelling with complex characters and moral choices. First book by a new author!" (Recommended by Barb - Mounds View)
-
The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot
"Walking on ancient trails, both on land and following sea paths, the author ruminates about the history of each place and it's cultural memory. I loved to learn about all the varied areas humans have been traveling on over the millennia." (Recommended by Marcus - Roseville)
-
The Plague of Doves
"Although this book was published in 2008, it is a precursor to The Round House, which has earned several awards, including the National Book Award (Fiction) in 2012. Erdrich writes beautifully, and the characters and locations come alive with her gifts of description. Erdrich writes about people that I feel I know, people of the northern Midwest, and places that I may have seen on road trips around Minnesota and out west to the Dakotas. The threads of the individual stories lay loose and then are sometimes caught up with the others, like a kind of literary tapestry, full of history, tragedy, mystery, and humor." (Recommended by Karen O'Brien - Roseville)
-
The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. Volume Two, Outer Space, Inner Lands
"In stories spanning 50 years, Ms. Le Guin, through engaging and plausible 'Science Fiction" constructs, reimagines and broadens our concepts of human culture. I love this stuff because it is rich, ferociously intelligent and wildly imaginative in a way that still manages to hew closer to the actual nature of humanity than the vast majority of all literature. Ohh, I love it, I love it! I'm all dizzy. Help!" (Recommended by Peter - Roseville)
-
Thirty Rooms to Hide In: Insanity, Addiction, and Rock 'n' roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic
Author Luke Longstreet Sullivan has a simple way of describing his new memoir: “It’s like The Shining. . . only funnier.” Thirty Rooms to Hide In tells the story of Sullivan’s father and his descent from being one of the world’s top orthopedic surgeons at the Mayo Clinic to a man who is increasingly abusive, alcoholic, and insane, ultimately dying alone on the floor of a Georgia motel. For his wife and six sons, the years prior to his death were years of turmoil, anger, and family dysfunction; but somehow, they were also a time of real happiness for Sullivan and his five brothers, full of dark humor and much laughter. (Recommended by Carol - Mounds View)
