What Our Staff is Reading

The following are fiction and non-fiction titles that have been read and recommended by members of our staff. The initials or pen name of the contributing staff member are noted after each review. The titles may include award winners, not-so-recent bestsellers or a new look at the classics.

February 2007

A Family Daughter by Maile Meloy by Maile Meloy
Fiction 2006
This is a retelling of the author’s earlier work, Liars and Saints. It involves the same characters, a similar time frame, but it is a much different and riveting story. Reading both books is recommended to experience a unique kind of storytelling.
Reviewed by KLS

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
Nonfiction 2006
What were the 1950s like? Here is an amusing, hilarious memoir from Bill Bryson (A Walk in the Woods, A Short History of Nearly Everything, etc). Laugh out memories of boyhood adventures. The population in the 1950s, simplistic (to present day society) view of life at home and in the world at large, the musings both serious and funny on the dawning of the nuclear age, particularly stuck in one's mind after reading.
Reviewed by davincilib

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Fiction 2006
An ode to book lovers, this debut novel invites you to cancel your plans and curl up with this hypnotizing story. Secrets, twins, madness, a decaying mansion, and many plot twists will hold you spellbound.
Reviewed by KLS

The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
Fiction 2006
Greenie Duquette begins a journey of self-reflection by leaving her pastry shop in Greenwich Village to become the personal chef for the governor of New Mexico. The narrative is enhanced by richly drawn characters including Feeno McLeod from the author’s award winning first novel, Three Junes.
Reviewed by KLS