Even More Patron Picks!

Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons by Walter Lord

WWII - reference to Kennedy's rescue. Father Lobel from Brunswick helped rescue soldiers.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Written in 1937. She was way ahead of her time. Fascinating novel about the African American experience.

Sailing alone around the room by Billy Collins

Billy Collins is one of the most important living poets. He was Poet Laureate about 10 years ago. Refreshing, surprising.

The Apple Grower by Michael Phillips

Michael Phillips opens up a whole new world of possibility.

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

Beautifully written story of another time and place.


The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Intriguing story that makes you feel like you were there.

More Patron Picks!

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Beautiful Civil War love story. Enthralling, haunting.

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

Beautifully written mystery.

The Little Russian by Susan Sherman

If the worst was the Holocaust, this tells the story of a close second. Very engaging.

Death comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book. This P.D. James' book is a fine addition to Jane's book and I hope P.D. James will carry on with the Darcy family!

The Lovely Bones by Alice Seybold

If you liked the movie, you'll like the book probably more! It goes into such depth, exploring hearts and minds. A love story, suspenseful, imaginative, deep.

Patron Picks is still happening!

Have a book that you love and would like to recommend to us? Now is your chance with Patron Picks for the month of March! Just find the book on our shelves, grab a Patron Picks bookmark, give it to one of our staff and we will put it on display. You can tell us about it on the bookmark if you wish, but it's not obligatory.

Here  are what some of our patrons had to say about their picks:

Stork by Wendy Delsol

Sixteen-year-old Katla discovers she has some mystical power! She's enlisted into a secret society of 'Storks'.

A Good Man by Guy Vanderhaeghe

A tale of two countries in 1870. Written with respect for readers and subject. A master of the metaphor.

Masterpieces of Murder by Agatha Christie

'And then there were none' is my all-time favorite story, and the movie has a different ending.

Big Stone Gap by Andriana Trigiani

First of a series about a woman growing up in Appalachia who uncovers the mystery of her Italian family.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

About being a black maid in a white world. Great character development and perspective.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

Interesting characters. Good story. Looking forward to the next book.

We're looking forward to more of your picks!

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Pulitzer Prize winner Eugenides once again delivers a novel that is rich, engrossing and filled with enough literary references to please even the most dedicated book-lover. The novel follows Madeline Hanna, Leonard Bankhead and Mitchell Grammaticus as they navigate through their final year of Brown and the year following their graduation. Madeline, an English-major whose thesis gives us the title of the novel, meets Leonard, a brilliant and enigmatic student,  in a Semiotics class and the two begin a relationship, one that is marred by Leonard’s diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Mitchell, a theology major, holds on to the hope that he is the one destined for Madeline. 

Eugenides has denied reports that the novel is based on real life events, but it’s hard not to see Eugenides in Grammaticus, while much has been said of Bankhead’s similarity to David Wallace Foster, who was in a relationship with Mary Karr, the memoirist, in the early nineties.  That said, I found these links enhanced my enjoyment of the novel.

The Marriage Plot has already garnered praise from many places including the New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Review and Library Journal. Eugenides’ exploration of love and well-drawn characters make it the kind of book you find yourself thinking about long after you have read it. 

Emma

Top 5 of 2011!

What were your top reads of 2011? We asked our staff the same question and they narrowed down all the books they had read to five favorite ones. Read what the TPL staff thought then please tell us your top 5 using the comments feature (please note that you can choose from the books you read this year no matter what the publication date).

Julie:

1. Laina Taylor  DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE
2. Patrick Ness A MONSTER CALLS
3. Kim Harrison PALE DEMON
4. Beth Revis  ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
5. Karen Marie Moning  DARK FEVER

Mariah:

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins – Exciting!! I literally could not read fast enough  
2. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen – long, sometimes torturous, but ultimately redemptive
3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Get your tissues out
4. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein – enlightening and infuriating
5. The Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley – fun!

Linda:

1. Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn – first book in a series which could be all five of my favorites!
2. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
3. A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny  - If you haven’t read any of her books, start with her first book – Still Life
4. A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott
5. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

Emma:

1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - A truly heartwrenching but masterful allegory of grief and human resilience.
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - This story of two lovestruck magicians is unlike any you will read this year.
3. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell - Gladwell examines the secrets behind success and upturns conventional wisdom. This was a fascinating read.
4. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma - Haunting and eerie, this is an intense story of two sisters that goes beyond the parameters of realism.
5. The Doll: The Lost Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier - I am a big fan of du Maurier so this newly published collection was a real treat.

Susan:

1. House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz—first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel
2. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson—satisfying novel of life and love in all its’ forms set in the English countryside.
3. The Elegance of a Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery—surprising episodic novel about the lives of those who live and work in a Paris apartment building.
4. The Shanghai Moon: A Bill Smith/Lydia Chin Novel by S.J. Rozan—a wonderful mystery for people who don’t like mysteries.
5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness—a superb example of the power of storytelling. A story of one young man's attempt to deal with tragedy in his life and also an allegory about how the human spirit can overcome great pain and despair.

Mary Ann:

1. See, Lisa –Snowflower and the secret fan
2. Senate, Mellissa – The love goddess’ cooking school
3. Doiron, Paul (editor of Down East)--  Trespasser  (2^nd novel)
4. Hamlin, Ardeana –Pink chimneys (#1)
5. Hamlin, Ardeana – Abbot’s reach

Helen:

1. The Ridge by Michael Koryta
2. The Restorer by Amanda Steves
3. Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
4. One was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming
5. A Double Death on the Black Isle by A.D. Scott

Lynne:

1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
2. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
3. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
4. Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
5. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

Cyndi:

1. Murder of the Century by Paul Collins
2. Warped by Maurissa Guibord
3. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
4. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
5. Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner

What are you reading?

What have you been reading recently? Let the TPL staff know using the comments feature below!

Emma's Reads

Last Read:

In When She Woke, Hillary Jordan reimagines Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter in a book that is reminiscent of dystopian novels such as A Handmaid’s Tale and 1984.  Hannah Payne (a near-future Hester Prynne) awakes a victim of melachroming, a technique in which lawbreakers’ skin is literally color-coded to their crime. Hannah’s is (of course) red and her crime is the illegal termination of her pregnancy and her refusal to name the father. As we follow the repercussions of Hannah’s choices and others’ reactions to her, we get a glimpse of a world that ours could become.  While not as strong as the novels which it clearly takes inspiration from, When She Woke is an interesting read and would appeal to readers of the dystopian genre. 

Currently Reading:

The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds among Brother and Sisters Reveal about Us by Jeffrey Kluger—Part reflection, part scientific research, The Sibling Effect explores the psychological effects our siblings have on us and how our families shape us.

More Staff Reads!

Emma:

I’m currently reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is an unusual story about the Circus of Dreams, a mysterious nocturnal spectacle that appears as if by magic. Behind the scenes, two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, are trained by their masters to compete against each other in a ‘game’ that only their masters know the repercussions of. Morgenstern is a Boston author and this is her debut novel. The whole book is very unique with a dream-like quality. I’m enjoying it very much so far.

Mariah:

Wildwood by Colin Meloy

The frontman of The Decemberists wrote a kids book! When Prue’s baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows, Prue must journey into the Impassable Wilderness on a rescue mission.

Linda:

Here's a review of one of my favorite reads this year:

Meet Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler and his whole family in a character driven mystery series written by British author Susan Hill. The first book is called The Various Haunts of Men. Ms. Hill is a writer in the same league with P.D. James or Elizabeth George and her exploration of human nature and complex issues is superb. This book is more than just a mystery, though the mystery itself is compelling. A middle age woman is missing but the police do not seem overly concerned. After all she has no ties that bind and could be off on a jaunt. Only Freya Graffam, the new transfer in from London, seems to be convinced there is a crime to pursue; until someone else turns up missing. Then the game is on. The suspense will keep you reading into the night and the ending will keep you up even later. I highly recommend this book, but it comes with a warning. It’s definitely not a cozy.

Cyndi:

Here is my list of recent, current and future books:

I recently read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. An interesting Young Adult ghost story with a twist. This book bounced from funny to sad to horrifyingly gruesome!

I am currently reading Nightspell by Leah Cypess. I have just start but loved her previous book Mistwood. Both are fantasies with female lead characters that develop into their true selves as the story progresses.

On my bedside table I have:

Deanna Raybourn latest The Dark Enquiry. This is the fifth book in the Lady Julia Grey series.

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore. This book is a continuation from I am Number Four which has recently been made into a movie. The book is better!

Also on deck: Vanish: a firelight novel by Sophie Jordan.

Stay with me by Paul Griffin.

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson.

Tuck by Stephen R. Lawhead.

So many books...so little time

What are you reading?

Here is what the staff of Topsham Public Library are reading at the moment. Leave a comment and tell us what you are reading!

Julie:

Last read: Julie Garwood's Ideal Man

Can FBI agent, Max Daniels, protect Dr. Ellie Sullivan from a past stalker and a killer who she could possibly identify all while attending her sister's wedding to Ellie's former fiancé?

Reading: Sue Ann Jaffarian's Baited Blood

Madison Rose works for a vampire council in CA and lives with two grandparent-ly vampires. Why is someone dumping dead undead in their pool?

Next Read: Karen Marie Moning's Bloodfever

Mary Ann:

I am reading Maine author Paul Doiron’s second book—Trespasser. Game Warden goes to investigate an auto/deer collision and only finds huge pool of blood.

Helen:

I am reading The Ballad of Tom Dooley by Sharyn McCrumb which is historical fiction about Tom Dula who was hung for killing Laura Foster.

Lynne:

I just finished The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield. I loved it! It has great characters and is a story of an extended family in Arkansas in the 1950’s. A story of good and evil, love and faith, I highly recommend it! I am currently reading The Borgia Betrayal by Sara Poole. This is a follow-up to Poison. It takes place in Rome in the late 1400’s. The main character is a young girl who has “inherited” her father’s occupation as the court poisoner for the Borgia family. Rodrigo Borgia is now Pope. This story is full of deceit, danger and power struggles!! The next book that I’ll read is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This is a debut novel for the writer. The book received some very good reviews. It’s the story of a young woman who has gone through the foster care system. Using her love and incredible knowledge of flowers, she tries to help others change their lives while trying to overcome some of her past challenges in life.