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Staff Recommendations

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Jack Delmas Mysteries by Martin Hegwood
Recommended by Christi Wharton, IT Coordinator
FIC HEGWOOD
The books to date in this series are:
Big Easy Backroad
The Green-eyed Hurricane
Massacre Island
Jackpot Bay
Follows private investigator, Jack Delmas, as he solves mysteries and tries to keep himself out of trouble in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Alabama (also known as the Red-Neck Riviera).

The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
Recommended by Allen Hall, circulation, bassoon enthusiast, Titanic enthusiast, avant-gard enthusiast, occasional writer, hobby dadaist.
NON FICTION - 576.82 DAWKINS
This is a well-written, easy-to-read, and surprisingly enjoyable account of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection written by one of the most respected scientists in the world. I recommend this highly to anybody who doesn't understand the theory at all, anybody who wants to understand it better, anybody who thinks they do understand it, or, for that matter, anybody at all.

In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
Recommended by Allen Hall, circulation, wannabe Citroen driver, Anglophile, lover of unique things.
FIC PROUST
"In Search of Lost Time" is one of the masterpieces of modernism. It is a massive work, consisting of six volumes: "Swann's Way", "Within a Budding Grove", "The Guermantes Way", Sodom and Gomorrah", "The Captive", and "Time Regained". The pacing is extremely slow, but somehow one doesn't mind; Proust's enormously long, complex sentences are fantastically beautiful, pulling the reader along a golden thread that can be dropped off and resumed whenever he or she wants. Getting into it the very first time requires a certain amount of patience, because it is so unlike the average 21st-centruy novel, but it is rewarding in a thousand different ways.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Recommneded by Allen Hall, circulation, romantic, bad movie fan, actually likes durianfruit.
YA FIC PULLMAN
This is actually a trilogy, consisting of three books: "The Golden Compass" (originally published in the UK as "Northern Lights"), "The Subtle Knife", and "The Amber Spyglass". Do not let the embarrassingly short and watered-down movie version of "The Golden Compass" discourage you; this is a startlingly dark, epic, and deep work based on John Milton's "Paradise Lost". Of the great little persons' fantasy series, from "Redwall" to "Lord of the Rings" to Harry Potter to "The Chronicles of Narnia", this is my favorite. I call it a little person's series, but although its writing has a clarity that makes it accessible to all ages, it demands a great maturity and open-mindedness from its ready.

A Night to Remember, The Night Lives On by Walter Lord
Recommended by Allen Hall, circulation, sushi lover, recovering music major, "Tetris" junkie
YA 910.45 LORD 910.091631 LORD
The story of the Titanic is a powerful one. To date, seven movies have been made about her maiden voyage, all of them at least somewhat inaccurate, and all but tow of them wildly, hopelessly inaccurate. Here is an account of what appended to the people who were really there and the horror that they suffered. There are no myths of love stories between fictional characters: only the truth as best as can be discerned.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Recommended by Bobbi Brown, Community Outreach Coordinator, reader, sometime watercolorist
Fiction - FIC SEBOLD
Not Often does a murder mystery offer hope, but "The Lovely Bones" does just that. From her vantage point in heaven, the fourteen year old murdered girl tells the story of life going on without her on earth. She watches over her family and tries to give them clues to the identity of her killer. She also explores "her" heaven, meets new friends, and has a guidance counselor. With growing understanding she sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to mend.

Trilogy : "Run with the Horsemen", "Whisper of the River", "When All the World Was Young" by Ferrol Sams
Recommended by Penny Ellis, Reference Librarian
Fiction - FIC SAMS
This trilogy is an "oldie but goodie" based somewhat on the author's life growing up in Georgia during the Depression and ending with World War II, where the character flunks out of Med school in order to enlist. There is Southern warmth, the lustiness of youth, and some very humorous scenes. When I wrote the author several years ago to tell him I had enjoyed his books, his sister wrote back. She explained that she took care of his mail because he was still an active physician, though well into his 80s by that time.

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Succeed or Fail by Jared Diamond
Recommended by: Gwen Khayat, Library Directory/Omnivorous Reader
Adult Non-Fiction - 304.28
As this author meandered through history, it was fascinating to think about how various societies have altered their environments through the choices they make as a society and to wonder if they had any notion of how the choices they made, maybe without even realizing it, may have been the cause of their decline.

WWI Series by Anne Perry
Recommended by: Christi Wharton, IT Coordinator/Gardener/Reader/Dog-lover
Adult Fiction - FIC PERRY
Thriller/Mystery set during WWI. Involves the Reavley family as they pursue the mysterious "Peacemaker" who killed their parents at the beginning of WWI. Includes interesting information about WWI as well.
The books in this series in order are:
-No Graves As Yet
-Shoulder the Sky
-Angels in the Gloom
-At Some Disputed Barricade
-We Shall Not Sleep

Gabriel Allon Series by Daniel Silva
Recommended by: Christi Wharton, IT Coordinator/Gardener/Reader/Dog-lover
Adult Fiction - FIC SILVA
Follows art expert/sometimes Israeli agent in his suspenseful life of espionage. As well as being a great spy series, this series also gives an interesting background of life in the Middle East.
The books in this series in order are:
-The English Assassin
-The Confessor
-Death in Vienna
-Prince of Fire
-The Messenger

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Recommended by: Melinda Wheeler, Circulation/Reader/Swimmer/Student
Adult Fiction - FIC Krauss
This novel tells the stories of three separate people. A young girl, an elderly man and a writer who are connected in ways unknown to them. The novel mixes history, emotional connections and tragedy to create a beautifully written story.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Recommended by: Melinda Wheeler, Circulation/Reader/Swimmer/Student
Adult Fiction - FIC Ellison
The book examines racial equality and inequality from the view of a Southern black man in the 60's and gives a sup rising twist to equality movements. It is a classic existentialist novel.

Don't Know Much About . . . Series by Kenneth C. Davis
Recommended by Penny Ellis, Reference Librarian
Non-Fiction - Lookup by Author
This series teaches the way we wish our teachers had taught. Davis covers history, geography, mythology, etc. , using a question & answer format, along with humor and interesting examples to give an overview of each subject. He helps fit the pieces together in a way that helps the reader see how civilization has been influenced by whichever topic he is covering. The library also has audio versions of some of the books. He makes learning fun.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Recommended by Grant Grunwald, Circulation
Fiction - FIC Remarque
All Quiet on the Western Front shows that no matter what side of the battlefield you are on or for what reason you fight, in the heat of battle and in no man's land you are one in the same with the human being firing back at you. Written from the eyes of a German regime during WWI, it shows the brutality of war and the connection and friendships of the whole regime. It is a great read that will deeply captivate and move you.