Top Picks

Staff Favorites

 

  • Written with charm, wit, and restraint, the novel is about what it means to live in the present. A brilliant math professor, whose traumatic head injury leaves him with only eighty minutes of short-term memory, is reintroduced every morning to his housekeeper. Their strange and beautiful relationship, which includes her ten-year-old son, is one that builds from the mathematical equations still very much alive in his mind, connecting them in powerful ways and drawing them closer, like a family.

    - Linda Kass


  • A sensitive and haunting tale of friendship and love in a reimagined world where certain children exist to donate their organs when they reach early adulthood. Author Kazuo Ishiguro tenderly conveys the cloudy and amorphous reality that all children inhabit, in which there’s sensing without understanding, and clarity about some things, misunderstandings about others.

    - Linda Kass


  • In the hands of Ann Patchett, human connections are forged regardless of the unlikely context: A birthday gathering of international diplomats. A world-renowned soprano. A mansion of the Vice President of an undeveloped South American country. The friendships and compassion discovered by all the characters veil the real world waiting on the other side of the garden wall. Lyrical, profound, and unforgettable Bel Canto is a virtuoso performance, like the best of opera.

    - Linda Kass


  • The epic story of manned flight as only David McCullough can tell. From the backroom of their Dayton, Ohio bicycle shop, two humble brothers shrank our world.

    - John Gaylord


  • At once, a social study of the Appalachian culture and its emigres to the industrial north. At the same time a poignant and inspiring story of young Ohio boy who overcomes the mass dysfunction of his extended family with the love and support of his hardscrabble, hillbilly Mamaw and Papaw.

    - John Gaylord


  • If I could only take one book to a desert island, it would probably be this one. What I want from a novel is first a great story and then nothing short of some insights to the meaning of life.  Irving’s best: it’s about friendship, fate, faith, and has the best first sentence to a novel ever written.

    - Debra Boggs


  • Probably not for everyone, but the only book I have ever read more than once.  About every ten years when life has worn me down, I go back to this one to remind me that it’s supposed to be a great adventure.

    - Debra Boggs


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    A riveting novel about the dysfunctional inner workings of 3 sisters raised in isolation and taught to fear the outside world, especially men.  When their father "King", the only man they know goes missing and strange men start appearing on their secluded island, their way of life gets turned upside down.  Part Feminist Dystopia, part Thriller, this was a great read.

    –Ashley Walters


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    This is the non-fiction companion to Wingate's bestselling novel Before We Were Yours.  It tells the real-life stories of orphans who survived the Tennessee Children's Home Society.  From 1920 to 1950 Georgia Tann offered up more than 5,000 orphans to eager parents across the US, hiding the fact the most were not orphans at all but had been taken from poverty-stricken families or single mothers.  Heartbreaking and a tough read at some points, I would highly recommend this book.

    –Ashley Walters


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    One of my ALL time Favorites.  I loved Ender's Game (this is the 2nd in the series), but I think this novel surpasses it on just about every level.  This novel is a much more Adult read than Enders Game.  The complexity of issues in this book push it from a regular Sci-fi read to an almost philosophical one.  The concept of a Speaker for the Dead and the healing properties of truth make this a self-searching read.  

    –Ashley Walters


  • Never have I so quickly devoured a trilogy. Powerful magicians, travel between alternate versions of the world, political intrigue, and power struggles fuel this captivating novel. Schwab expertly weaves together magic with different characters and their realities, creating a story that’s impossible to put down. I consider this a must-read for all fantasy lovers.

    -Mattie Shepard


  • Deviana Morris is a strong-willed, ambitious mercenary who joins a small trade ship with a reputation for getting into more trouble than it should. This rollicking space opera highlights a strong female narrator and offers plenty of action and suspense to go around.

    - Mattie Shepard


  • If you’re looking for a less high-octane science-fiction novel, look no further. This book is filled with a richly developed cast of characters of many different races, cultures, body types, and sexual orientations. The personal relationships of the ship’s members are a breath of fresh air, and despite the crew’s setbacks, the story leaves you feeling good.

    - Mattie Shepard


  • This is an incredibly powerful memoir that I read in one sitting. Gay is vulnerable and honest as she writes about her weight, the assault she experienced, and her value in society.

    - Marcy Ford


  • What would the world look like if men were afraid of women? This novel is smart, readable, and looks at why people abuse power and how long before power corrupts.

    - Marcy Ford


  • This is my favorite Flynn novel. Deeply disturbing and unsettling story with slow reveals and haunting, sinister characters.

    - Marcy Ford


  • This beautifully crafted novel by Andre Aciman dives right into a first love story in the summer of 1983 Italy. It’s full of emotional moments, torment, lust, love and a little heart break. This is a must-read gay love story; it will make you cry one moment and make you feel happy the next.

    - Katie Cerqua


  • An off-brand IKEA store called ORSK is having a vandalism issues when the store is closed. A group of employees decide to stay behind one night to see if they can catch the vandal and come across something out of their worst nightmares. Grady Hendrix will pull you into a creepy, dark and at moments funny horror story.

    - Katie Cerqua


  • Darby gets stranded at a rest stop in the middle of a blizzard with a group of strangers. With no cell reception, impassible roads and a child locked in the back of a van, what could possibly go wrong right? Filled with suspense, gruesome moments and heart stopping twists. This is a thriller you won’t put down.

    - Katie Cerqua


  • From religion to animal's feelings, Martel's novel covers a wide range of controversial topics. Join Pi Patel on a life-threatening shipwreck that makes him question life itself.

    - Carly Briggs


  • Will the Ramsey family ever get to the lighthouse? Maybe. Woolf's use of time and character development makes it one of my all time favorites.

    - Carly Briggs


  • This book never fails to spark my imagination. It teaches me to never lose a child-like wonder towards life.

    - Carly Briggs


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