DECEMBER 2009

Homer & Langley -- E.L. Doctorow
A fictionalized account of the reclusive Collyer Brothers, who came from money and died destitute in their Fifth Avenue townhouse.

Blame -- Michelle Huneven

The life of Patsy MacLemoore is forever changed when she wakes up from an alcohlol-induced blackout in jail, having killed two people while driving intoxicated. She joins AA, makes amends with the family of her victims and learns to live with the guilt. Twenty years later, a revelation changes her life once more

Three Cups of Tea-- Greg Mortenson
An inspirational story of how one ordinary person can do extraordinary things to make a difference in the world.

The Disappeared -- Kim Echlin
Set against the backdrop of Cambodia's Killing Fields, this is the story of a Canadian woman's journey to find out the truth of what happened to her Cambodian lover.

The Golden Mean -- Annabel Lyon
The story of the relationship between Aristotle and his most famous student, who became Alexander the Great

The Bishop's Man -- Linden MacIntyre

Duncan MacAskill, a priest in Nova Scotia, comes to grips with the consequences of his loyalty to the bishop and his role in the cover up of the sexual scandals that are now coming to light.

I Am the Messenger -- Markus Zusak

Twenty-year old Ed Kennedy, a cab driver with very little chance of a future, foils a bank robbery and becomes an overnight celebrity. Shortly thereafter, Ed receives a mysterious message, requiring him to take action that eventually changes the course of his life. (YA)

November 2009

Olive Kitteridge -- Elizabeth Strout
Told through a series of interconnected stories of the people of Crosby, Maine, the character of Olive Kitteridge comes to life. A retired high school math teacher, Olive is opinionated and crabby, sensitive and sad.

The White Tiger -- Aravind Adiga

Balram, the narrator, tells his tale of escaping a destiny of servitude in the slums of India. He becomes the driver for an unsavory landlord from his village and then a wanted man for killing his master. The ineptitude and corruptness of the authorities, along with his indomitable spirit make him a successful entrepreneur.

The Year of the Flood -- Margaret Atwood

A sequel to Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood is less bleak. The human-engineered apocolypse of mankind is not as extensive as first believed. Told from the perspectives of Toby and Ren, once part of the fringe group, God's Gardeners, the waterless flood is explained and survived.

Her Fearful Symmetry -- Audrey Niffenegger

Americans Valentina and Julia Poole inherit the London estate of their mother's twin sister, whom they have never met. Twins themselves, they have a complicated relationship. The flat they inherit is haunted by the spirit of their aunt, who desperately wants to live again. Valentina falls in love with her aunt's lover, while Julia befriends the agoraphobic upstairs neighbour.

Fall -- Colin McAdam

Noel, a disfigured loner at a posh Ottawa boarding school, is in love with his roommate's girlfriend, Fall. Despite a wary "friendship" with his roommate, Julius and his buddies, Noel is an outsider, and ultimately resents being used by Julius and Fall. When Fall disappears, suspicion drives the friendships apart.

October 2009

We All Fall Down -- Eric Walters

Will Fuller visits his father at work the morning of September 11, 2001. A trader, Jim Fuller's office is on the eighty-second floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Will and Jim's experience give a terrifying yet moving, fictional account of the events of the day that changed history. (YA)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao -- Junot Diaz

Oscar, a grossly overweight gamer originally from the Dominican Republic, only wants to find true love. A long-standing family curse, with it's origins in the bloody history of the DR, wreaks havoc on all members, Oscar included.

February -- Lisa Moore

Helen O'Mara's husband was lost on the Ocean Ranger, leaving her pregnant with three small children. Twenty-six years later, Cal's death haunts her as she does her best to raise her family.

Oryx and Crake -- Margaret Atwood

Having survived a biologically-induced apocalypse, Jimmy (aka "Snowman") is the only one with knowledge of the past. Haunted by his own contribution to the end of the world, Jimmy relives his past and attempts to atone for it by assuming custody of the Crakers, a genetically superiour race of humans, who were also left behind.

September 2009

• Six Suspects -- Vikas Swarup

Vicky Rai, the playboy son of the Home Minister, murdered a girl in a restaurant because she refused to serve him a drink. At a party to celebrate his acquittal in the murder, Vicky is killed. Six guests with guns are arrested. Their intertwining stories reveal the mystery.

• Galore -- Michael Crummey

The introduction of Judah Devine's character is one of the most memorable passages of this book, which tells the complicated tale of the families and generations of Paradise Deep in rural Newfoundland.

• Runaway Devil: How Forbidden Love Drove a 12-year-old to Murder Her Family -- Robert Remington & Sherri Zickefoose

The very disurbing story behind the horrible murders in Medicine Hat, Alberta in 2006. (Non-fiction)

• The Badger Riot -- J.A. Ricketts

A fictionalized account of the bloody labour unrest that befell the small town of Badger, Newfoundland shortly after the province joined Confederation.

August 2009

• The Way Home -- George Pelecanos

Chris Flynn spent a good part of his youth in juvenile detention. As an adult, he has left most of that life behind. When he and a co-worker discover $50,000 hidden in the floor boards of a house they are working on, they decide to leave it, and the inevitable trouble it will bring. Trouble finds them anyway.

• Scarpetta -- Patricia Cornwell

Kay Scarpetta is requested to examine a potential murder suspect at NYC's Bellvue Hospital. The patient, the boyfriend of the murdered woman, is extremely paranoid. His symptoms could be a masterful hoax. Or, his life could be in danger. Cornwell reunites Scarpetta, Marino, and Lucy in a thrilling summer read.

• 44 Scotland Street -- Alexander McCall Smith

The residents of 44 Scotland Street include Bruce, a narcissistic surveyor, Bertie, a young boy forced by his mother to learn Italian and play the saxaphone, Pat, on her second gap-year, and Domenica, a middle-aged widower with a colorful past. Their lives and stories intertwine in an entertaining and engaging way.

July 2009

• The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet -- Reif Larsen

Techumseh Sparrow Spivet, a 12 year old mapmaker from Montana, is awarded a Smithsonian fellowship. Without telling his parents, he travels hobo-style across the country, all the while recording his experiences and learning about his past. T.S. is a younger, more modern and more naive version of Houlden Caufield. (Older YA)

• Gone Tomorrow -- Lee Child

After witnessing a suicide on a NYC subway, Reacher becomes an integral factor in a case that involves a high profile US Senator, the NYPD, Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. The repurcussions of the Soviet-Afghan War impact post 9/11 U.S. politics. This, the thirteenth Jack Reacher novel, is the fourth written in the first person.

• The Trouble With Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School and What Parents and Educators Must Do -- Peg Tyre

Boys are more likely than girls to be expelled from preschool, be diagnosed with ADHD in middle school , to drop out of high school, and to commit suicide. This book, an elaboration of the author's piece for Newsweek, presents an easy to read synopsis and history of the "boy problem" but offers no easy answers. (Non-fiction)

• In Tongues of the Dead -- Brad Kelin

The Voynich manuscrupt, housed at the Beinecke Library at Yale University, has eluded translation since the late 1400s. According to some, it is the "bible" of the Nephilim, the forsaken children of angels and humans, who were banished by God as an abomination. Father McCallum, at the behest of the Vatican, has been working undercover as an antiquities librarian, keeping an eye on the manuscript. After nearly a lifetime devoted to his task, he discovers an autistic child who appears to be able to read the book, and unwittingly commences a desperate struggle for the book and the child. While a very thrilling premise for a book, this was written like a screenplay, (clearly with a movie in mind) and was thus disappointing.

• Slumdog Millionaire (previously published as Q & A) -- Vikas Swarup

Ram Mohammed Thomas, winner of the biggest TV game show jackpot, has been arrested as a cheater. His remarkable life story is told in flashback as he proves he knows the answers to the most obscure questions. While the premise is the same as the movie made from this book, the story is quite different.

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -- Mary Ann Shaffer

A series of letters to and from Juliet Ashton, a successful WWII journalist, tells the amazing story of the inhabitants of the island of Guernsey and how they survived the German occupation.

• Behind the Scenes of the Museum -- Kate Atkinson

The colorful life of Ruby Lennox, told through the stories of her great-grandmother, mother, and sisters.

• Fatal Thaw -- Dana Stabenow

Kate Shugak investigates the murder of a woman mistakenly thought to be killed by a serial killer. The woman's death is mourned by the men in town and celebrated by the women.

June 2009

• The Killing Circle -- Andrew Pyper

A would-be novelist joins a creative writing group and unwittingly becomes part of another writer's plot. A rather disappointing mystery story.

• A Cold Day for Murder -- Dana Stabenow

Kate Shugak comes out of retirement to help the Ancorage DA's office and the FBI find a park ranger who mysteriously disappeared from one of the largest wilderness areas of the Alaskan north.

• City of Ember -- Jeanne DuPrau

The city of Ember was built as the last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, 12-year-old Lina Mayfield and her classmate Doon Harrow believe the lights of their city will be forever extinguished. They find a lost message that could save them all. (YA)

• The Westing Game -- Ellen Raskin

An eccentric millionaire, Sam Westing, gathers together a motley group of unlikely heirs to follow the instructions of his will. Paired into groups, they try to figure out which one of them murdered their "Uncle Sam." (YA)

• Dust -- Arthur Slade

Eleven-year-old Robert Steelgate is not fooled by the odd looking stranger that appears in his town shortly after the disappearance of Robert's younger brother. Promising rain to the drought weary farmers in Depression-era Saskatchewan, Abram Harsich, is not what he seems. (YA)

• The Penderwicks -- Jane Birdsall

The four Penderwick sisters, Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty, liven up the neighborhood when they, their widowed father, and their dog Hound, rent a cottage in a small town in Massachusetts. (8-12 yr olds)

• The Last Dickens -- Matthew Pearl

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is only half completed when Charles Dickens dies. With a public mad for installments, and lots of money to be made, rival publishers attempt to find, or create, the missing chapters. A very satisfying, Dickens-worthy, historical fiction/mystery.

• Brooklyn -- Colm Toibin

Eilis Lacey is given the opportunity to leave her small Irish town for a good paying job in Brooklyn, New York. Despite her homesickness and trying situations in a new land, Eilish does well. She takes night courses in bookkeeping and unexpectedly falls in love. Tragedy back home forces her to make a decision about the course of her life.

• Still Alice -- Lisa Genova

Renowned Harvard linguistics professor Alice Howland is only 50 when she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. Her downward spiral is quick and has devastating impact on Alice, her husband and her three grown children.