 | The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High AdventureWritten by William GoldmanFiction Probably you have seen the movie The Princess Bride, but have you read the book? If not, you are missing out, especially if you are a fan of the wonderful movie adapted from the book, directed by Rob Reiner, starring Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin and Andre the Giant (the library has it, check it out today). The story is adapted, according to Goldman, from the classic Florinese story, by S. Morgenstern. It is sweet, absurd, charming, and also totally hilarious, and contains, as Goldman's father described it to him: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." Need I say more? Try it, you will love it. Recommended by Catherine P.S. This 30th Anniversary Edition includes a new introduction, the 25th Anniversary Edition introduction, and a chapter from the sequel, Buttercup's Baby. They are all right, but it's ok to skip right to the story. |
 | Crown of VengeanceWritten by Lackey MercedesFiction Lackey and Mallory are both well-known fantasy authors, but when they work together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Already having collaborated on the Obsidian Mountain trilogy and the Enduring Flame trilogy, their newest book set in the same world, the first in the Dragon Prophecy trilogy, goes far back in time to detail the life of the legendary elven queen Vieliessar Farcarinon. If you've read the first two trilogies (which isn't required), you know that Vieliessar united the elves and dragons to defeat the Endarkened in the First Endarkened War. Knowing how the story ends is far from knowing how it began, though, as Lackey and Mallory prove here. Its pacing is almost the opposite of their previous books; instead of having to hope that the main characters will prevail, you know that Vieliessar will win in the end, but the entire book is shadowed with a nameless dread as both the reader and Vieliessar know that she will have to sacrifice to succeed and wonder what terrible prices she will have to pay for being a pawn of the gods. Knowing how quickly Vieliessar's fate is coming only makes the book more tense as she struggles to meet a deadline she's not even wholly aware of and the cost of failure is too high. A long but worthwhile read, and look for the next one, The House of the Four Winds. |
 | Let's Explore Diabetes with OwlsWritten by David SedarisNon-Fiction You know that sarcastic, witty voice in your head? Well, it has written a book under the name David Sedaris. Like a new best friend that makes you feel in on the joke, Sedaris amuses and entertains in this series of essays. Some are better than others, but they are all entertaining. If you've read him before you will appreciate his humor; if you haven't read him then this book is a wonderful introduction to a unique voice. Recommended by Suzi |
 | Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS TechnologyWritten by Caroline PaulIllustrated by Wendy MacNaughton Non-Fiction Author Caroline Paul was in an accident, and then, to add insult, or maybe further injury, to injury, her cat Tibia disappeared. Five weeks later, just when she had given him up for lost, the cat came back, begging the question: Where the heck had he been all this time? Paul set out to answer that question using GPS, cat-cams, psychics and amateur detection. The result is this cute little book, charmingly illustrated by the author's girlfriend, Wendy MacNaughton. If you are a cat-lover, this sweet book, which made me laugh out loud, is for you. Recommended by Catherine |
 | Second-Time Cool: The Art of Chopping Up a SweaterWritten by Linden-Ivarsson Anna-StinaNon-Fiction This book is full of inspiring ideas about how you can re-use your old sweaters and turn them into new clothing and accessories. Make mittens, scarves, slippers, bags and more from the raw materials you already have in your closet. Includes an overview of how to re-purpose sweaters, basic instructions, and lots of pictures and ideas for how to embellish your re-purposed woolies. Recommended by Cheryl |
 | 500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary WorkNon-FictionThis wonderful book, which contains an amazing variety of quilts created by contemporary quilters, is both inspiring, if you are a quilter, or simply enjoyable to browse, if you're not a quilter. Some of the quilts in this book are astonishingly elaborate. Information about the artists and what techniques they used are included. Other books in the '500' series include 500 Baskets, 500 Cups, and 500 Handmade Dolls. Recommended by Nila |
 | Still LifeWritten by Louise PennyFiction Still Life is the first book in a series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete Du Quebec (roughly equivalent to our state troopers), who is called to the small town of Three Pines to investigate the seemingly accidental death of Jane Neal, retired schoolteacher. However, nothing is as it seems, and Gamache, with calm, kindness and dogged determination, navigates the complex, and sometimes troubled, relationships between the residents of Three Pines (and his own colleagues), to solve the mystery. If you like a mystery than unfolds slowly, layer by layer, with well-drawn characters, give Still Life a try. If you like this book, continue on with the rest of the series (the library has them all). One of my colleagues strongly recommends the audiobook version, especially for help with the frequent French names and words that pop up in the story. Recommended by Catherine P.S. I have caught up with the rest of the books in the series; they are all excellent. I am looking forward to the next title, How the Light Gets In, which will be published at the end of August 2013. |
 | FeedWritten by Mira GrantFiction A Zombie Apocalypse novel goes something like this: the infected start to multiple slowly, with the mass media thinking it’s a hoax until it’s almost too late. A plague of zombies sweep across the world, overwhelming the military so that only isolated pockets of stalwart humans remain to scavenge in a post-industrial wasteland. This is not that book. This book is the adventures of Georgia Mason, political blogger and investigative reporter, who is hot on the campaign trail of presidential-hopeful Senator Peter Ryman. As things begin to go wrong with Ryman’s campaign, Georgia, her twin brother Shaun, and their best friend Buffy have the chance to make breaking news, assuming that they can stay alive long enough to do so. There are also zombies. I love this book because Feed takes a deep look at the new social and political landscape of America twenty years after the zombie hordes started shuffling. Our characters have grown up in a world where the CDC is the most powerful political organization in the country and George Romero is the accidental savor of humanity. Mira Grant’s world-building is phenomenal, the characters are complex and realistic, and the action is well written. However, the writing style of this book won’t appeal to everyone; it has a first person narration with professional blog posts, newspaper articles, and personal journal entries interspersed between chapters. And the ending? Well, all I will say is: You Are Not Prepared. Feed is the first novel in a trilogy (the library has all three). It, along with the sequels Deadline and Blackout, have all been nominated for the Hugo Award. Recommended by Andi |
 | Faithful PlaceWritten by Tana FrenchFiction Frank Mackey hasn't been back to the Dublin neighborhood where he grew up (known as Faithful Place) since his high school sweetheart, Rosie Daly, failed to meet him on the night they planned to elope to England. Everyone, including Frank, assumed that Rosie went on to England on her own, but now, twenty-two years later, her suitcase, packed for that night, has been found. So where is Rosie? Against his better judgement, Frank, now an undercover cop, goes back to Faithful Place, and to the dysfunctional family he had hoped to avoid for the rest of his life, to try and find out what happened. In French's novel, things start out badly and get worse, as Frank gets drawn back in to the old neighborhood, and bad relationships he thought he had escaped. Tensions between Frank and his family, the police and the neighborhood, as well as old Ireland and new, run high in this well-written thriller. If you enjoy Faithful Place, you should also try The Likeness and Broken Harbor. Recommended by Catherine |
 | Arthur & GeorgeWritten by Julian BarnesFiction Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) is the Arthur of our story and George Edalji is the George. This book is based on a true event, "The Great Wyrley Outrages", a series of animal mutilations that took place in Britain in 1903. George Edalji was convicted of one of the crimes and sentenced to 7 years in jail. Conan Doyle came to his defense and got him released from prison, and got the conviction overturned. That is the basis of the story. However, it contains so much more.. we are given insight into Britain and "Britishness", spiritualism, racial prejudice (even when the victim denies that it exists), love and marriage, guilt and innocence, the penal system at the turn of the century, and how our personalities can influence our realities and experiences. A wonderful story that moves well and addresses the issues of what we think, what we believe and what we know. This book is available from the library in regular print, large print and as an audio book. Recommended by Suzi |