Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Title Suggestions for Your Book Club

If you are a member of a book club that needs a few suggestions for 2011, boy are you in luck! Or maybe these title will inspire you to start a book club of your own. If that happens be sure to check out the library because we have space your club can meet in and we can help you order books for your next club...just make sure you give us some advance notice ;).

Here is a list of select titles from the American Library Association Notable Books List for Adults from 2010 and 2011. These title have enough copies of the books in the library system and audio books available. Enjoy and happy reading!

Fiction

A Visit from the Good Squad
by Jennifer Egan.
A '70s punk band becomes the touchstone for a motley crw who spin their interconnected stories over time and distance.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin and William Morrow
Two men - one black, one white - must confront the secrets surround their childhood friendship following the disappearance of two girls in rural Mississippi.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzenem
This incisive portrait of the fractured Berglund brood captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

The Surrendered by Chang Rae Leeem
The complex entangled lives of three people forever scarred by the Korean War are sympathetically portrayed in gorgeous prose.

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantesem
An ambitious and idealistic American Marine faces the horror, heroism, futility, and pragmatism of war in this visceral portrayal of life in-country.

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soliem
The adrenaline high that danger offers infects photojournalist Helen Adams as she documents the war in Vietnam.

The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel by Brady Udallem
In this big-hearted novel, Golden Richards and his clan navigate their chaotic lives as each clamors to be noticed.

The Year of the Flood: A Novel by Margaret Atwoodem
In the near future, two women survive an apocalyptic event in a queasily enthralling work.

Await Your Reply: A Novel by Dan Chaonem
This chilling exploration of the modern meaning of the identity follows three people on the firnges of society.

Spooner by Pete Dexter
A boy struggles to navigate the vagaries of the world with lifelong guidance of his stepfather in this funny and heartbreaking tale.

Tinkers by Paul Harding
In this lyrical novel, the life of a dying man is examined through the smallest moments of time and memory.

Let the Great World Spin: A Novel by Colum McCann
Phillipe Petit’s high wire walk between the Twin Towers provides the backdrop for this rich portrait of the unlikely connections among a group of New Yorkers in the 1970s.

A Mercy: A Novel by Toni Morrison
Four women- white, mixed race, black and Native American – become a makeshift family under the care of a “good” man in colonial America.

Generosity: An Enhancement by Richard Powers
In this postmodern indictment of the biotech industry, a student’s unnerving happiness seems to hold the key to banishing despair from the genetic code.


Nonfiction

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
A landmark biography provides insights into the complexities of this founding father’s character, and brings him fully to life within the context of his times.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Chronicling the experiences of six people, this powerful account draws back the curtain on the brutality of life under totalitarian regime.


Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
Stricken by Russia love, a writer sets out to experience all things Siberian and takes us along for the frolicking journey.


Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
This intoxicating history of the 18th amendment reveals the surprising relationship between Prohibition and other social movements, and explores its lasting impact on American life.


The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick
An epic encounter between two iconic individuals is vividly portrayed in fluid, evocative, and decidedly objective prose.


The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
A science writer uncovers the fascinating story of an African-American woman’s cancer cells harvested for medical research, thereby raising important questions of bioethics.


The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant
Russia’s ecological and cultural history serves as the backdrop for the riveting adventure of tale of man versus beast.


Columbine by Dave Cullen
The fine work of investigative journalism challenges the myths and misconceptions of the Columbing tragedy.


Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
This powerful account explores the devastation of post-Katrina New Orleans through the eyes of a Syrian-American who remained and endured the resulting chaos and confusion.


The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
An intrepid reporter sets out to uncover the mysterious fate the last f the great Victorian explorers in this thrilling adventure.


Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld & the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefre
Human trafficking and its subsequent effect on the American economy and social structures are document in this fast paced panoramic expose.


Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
One journalist’s quest to discover the secrets of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians leads to and exciting and dangerous endurance race.


Tears in the Darkness: The story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M

In-depth, brutal and moving this narrative prvides multiple perspectives into a tragic WWII epsidoe in the Phillippines.


The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War by Nicholas Thompson
The remarkable half-century friendship and rivalry between two influential strategists who helped shape American policy is brought to life in this insightful dual biography.

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