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Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
PR 6057.A319 A85 - Odegaard Stacks
Fat Charlie finds out that his lackadaisical dad was actually a god, and that his brother has inherited his father’s divine powers. Fat Charlie’s life is thrown into chaos when his brother Spider pays him a visit in this novel based loosely on West African stories of trickster Anansi, the spider-god. - Kathleen, OUGL
Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
PS 3552 .R685434 A82 - Odegaard Stacks
Another historical fiction adventure about the heroic symbologist of The Da Vinci Code. This story uncovers more secrets of Christianity as well as scientific discovery. - Madelyn, Media
Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
PS 3566 .A7756 B – Odegaard & Tacoma Stacks
The plot sounds implausible, but I couldn’t put it down! Nothing goes as planned when terrorists invade a birthday party in South America and the hostages include a famous opera singer and an assortment of international diplomats. - Anne, OUGL
Blindness, by Jose Saramago
PQ 9281 .A66 E513 - Suzzallo & Tacoma Stacks
Imagine what would happen if blindness were a pandemic disease. Left to fend for themselves in a quarantined facility, the affected learn that the human condition can be rendered "blind" by fear and helplessness. One of my favorite books. - Laura, Suzzallo
The Brief History of the Dead, by Kevin Brockmeier
PS 3602 .R63 B75 - Odegaard Stacks
A deadly virus sweeping the planet causes Laura Byrd to become stranded at a science station in Antarctica. As she struggles for survival, her memory sustains the population of the city of the dead. ... A fascinating exploration of the power of memory, this science fiction novel is a thought-provoking read. - Hana, Collection Management
A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
PS 3563 .I42 C3 - Odegaard & Suzzallo Stacks
A three-part novel depicting the slow recovery over hundreds of years from a 20th-century nuclear holocaust, experienced by clergymen of a persistent Roman Catholic church. Ironic, thought-provoking and occasionally hilarious. Has something of a cult status. - John, Special Collections
Captain Alatriste, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
PQ 6666 .E765 C3713 - Suzzallo Stacks
Welcome to 17th Century Spain and the adventures of Alatriste, an ex-soldier who is a swordsman-for-hire. Perez-Reverte writes so beautifully that you sink into the tapestry of his words, phrases and Spanish history. You can smell the sweat, taste the blood, and feel the fears of his characters. Ah, and those swashbuckling sword fights and back alley intrigues are not to be missed! - Elaine, Development & Training
The Day the Bubble Burst, by Gordon Thomas
HB 3717 1929 .T54 - Foster Stacks
This fast-paced, well written book held my interest from the first page. It gives back ground to the great Wall Street crash of 1929, illuminating a time in American history that shaped American attitude for the rest of the century.- Judy, Administration
Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
PS 3573 .I45652 D66 - Odegaard Stacks
A young archaeologist travels in time to visit a 14th-century English village which her colleagues are excavating. A miscalculation drops her into the village just ahead of the Black Death. A parallel story in the present deals with the archaeologists and academics coping with a surprise epidemic. A page-turner! Also, an excellent evocation of life in a late-medieval village. - John, Special Collections
Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
G 154.5 .G55 A3 - Odegaard Stacks
Gilbert writes about her quest for spiritual awakening in her memoir. Midwest Book Review says: “In mid-life author Gilbert ... [decided to] sell everything she owned, give up friends and family, and embark on a year-long journey around the world, alone. Eat, Pray, Love is more than just a travelogue: it's a story of personal transformation and change which touches upon cultural interactions and inner wisdom with equal deftness.” - Guita, OUGL
The Eight, by Katherine Neville
PS 3564 .E8517 E35 - Odegaard Stacks
An adventure story set in 1972 and 1790 about a young computer expert who falls into a quest for Charlemagne's infamous chest set. - Madelyn, Media
Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn
PS 3604 .U56 E45 - Odegaard Stacks
On the island of Nollop, people venerate Nevin Nollop, creator of "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." When letters start falling off the inscription on Nollop’s statue, the island council bans those letters from spoken and written language. Soon, citizens must choose between following unjust laws and defending freedom of speech in this epistolary fable. - Kathleen, OUGL
The Grand Complication, by Alan Kurzweil
PS 3561 .U774 G73 – Suzzallo Stacks
Alexander Short, an obsessive-compulsive reference librarian hired to do some after-hours work researching an 18th-century curio cabinet. When Short determines that an empty drawer once held a watch nicknamed “The Grand Complication” and made for Marie Antoinette, the plot thickens in this tale of adventure, suspense, humor, and, above all, research! - Kathleen, OUGL
The Great Starvation Experiment, by Todd Tucker
W 20.55 H9 T894g - Health Books & Tacoma Stacks
Fascinating account of a little known episode in World War II history. A group of conscientious objectors agree to go on a starvation diet for the benefit of science and humanity. A glimpse into the origins of modern food science and the psychological effects of malnutrition. - Cari, Art
Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
PZ 7 .J684 Hp - Children's Lit. (Suzz. 1st Flr.)
A spell that turns a young woman into a withered crone; a vain wizard with a reputation for eating maidens’ souls; a captive fire demon who powers a castle with doors that open into other worlds – Jones weaves these elements into a tale that mixes magic and the mundane with wit and humor. - Kathleen, OUGL
Imperial Life in the Emerald City, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
DS 79.769 .C53 - Suzzallo, Tacoma, & Bothell Stacks
An eye-opening account of the early days of Iraq's Green Zone. If anyone wonders how things became such a mess over there, this book will answer those questions and leave the reader shaking their head and possibly more at the Bush Administration. - Susan, Periodicals
Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain
TX 649 .B58 A3 - Odegaard Stacks
Bourdain writes true stories about sex, drugs, and haute cuisine. - Nia, Media
Master and Commander, by Patrick O’Brien
PR 6029 .B55 M37 - Suzzallo Stacks
Any of the 20 Aubrey-Maturin series would be great, but it's best to start with Master and Commander and read them in order. It's some of the best writing I've ever read. The books are well-written, full of humor, excellent historical research and wonderful deeply explored characters. - Lorna, Gov. Pubs.
The Mummy, by Anne Rice
PS 3568 .I265 M8 - Odegaard Stacks
A thrilling period piece about the mummy of Ramses the damned coming back to life after drinking the elixir of life. - Madelyn, Media
The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende
PZ 7 .E6967 Nev - Children’s Lit. (Suzz. 1st Flr.)
It's sooo much better than the movie, though I love the movie too. - Stina, Media
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith.
PR6063 .C326 N6 - Odegaard Stacks
These books are short, funny, have likeable characters, and give a glimpse into the culture and daily life of Botswana. If you like the first book, No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, you'll enjoy the others that follow. - Jennifer, Suzzallo
A Northern Light, by Jennifer Donnelly
PZ 7 .D7194 No - Children's Lit. (Suzz. 1st Flr.) & Tacoma Children's Lit
In 1906, Mattie Gokey’s struggle to choose between family obligations and education is interwoven with the true story of Grace Brown, whose drowned body is found in the lake near the inn where Mattie works. - Nia, Media
Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs
PS 3552 .U745 Z477 - Suzzallo Stacks
Simultaneously horrific and hilarious true story of Burroughs’s experience living with the Finches, the eccentric family of his mother's psychiatrist. Filled with wit and humor about dark themes like psychotic breaks and sexual abuse, this coming-of-age story is unsettling but deeply affecting. - Nia, Media
Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse
PR 6045 .O53 S8 - Odegaard Stacks
Have you ever wondered why that search engine is called “Ask Jeeves” or why when people make butler jokes, the butler is always named Jeeves? This series of books explains all and are hilarious. Jeeves is the valet to Bertie Wooster, a silly English gentleman with a bunch of silly friends, who often finds himself in sticky. Jeeves to the rescue! - Jennifer, Suzzallo
Suite Française, by Irène Némirovsky
PQ 2627 .E4 Z9513 - Suzzallo Stacks
The author's own story (documented in letters included as an appendix) only amplifies the incisive portraits provided in this work which unflinchingly and yet with great compassion documents human frailty and resilience during the German invasion of France during the Second World War. - Anne, Maps
Timbuktu, by Paul Auster
PS 3551 .U77 T56 - Suzzallo Stacks
After his owner, a homeless street person, dies, a very intelligent dog takes off to find a new life. Serious, funny, and touching but not cutesy. - John, Special Collections
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
823 St4t2 - Suzzallo Stacks
PZ 7 .S8482 Tr Children’s Lit. (Suzz. 1st Flr.)
This is a classic adventure story about treasure, life at sea, and of course, pirates. This book is full of the classic pirate lingo such as 'shiver me timbers. - Madelyn, Media
The Water in Between, by Kevin Patterson
G 530 .P398 P398 - Suzzallo Stacks
"In August of 1994, I bought a twenty-year-old ferro-cement ketch on the coast of British Columbia." So begins Patterson's autobiographical adventures on a 37 -foot sailboat. Trouble is, Patterson has never sailed a boat and he's heading for the South Seas! He intersperses his sea stories with tales about his past as a Canadian Army doctor in the Arctic. This guy who now lives on Saltspring Island is a funny, wonderful storyteller. - Elaine, Development & Training
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon
PS 3553 .H15 Y54 - Odegaard Stacks
This is a mystery novel but the setting is an alternate version of history where Sitka Alaska has been a temporary Jewish haven for 60 years following the Second World War and the lease is coming to a close, Orthodox Jews are the center of organized crime, and the interactions between Americans, Jews, and Native Americans provide a contentious political context. The mystery keeps you guessing and you'll learn some great Yiddish expressions! - Anne, Maps
Zazoo, by Richard Mosher
PZ 7 .M8485 Zaz - Bothell &Tacoma Child.Lit
Vietnamese-born Zazoo lives in France with her adoptive Grand-Pierre. She unearths secrets from WWII, making bittersweet discoveries about love, war, hope, and forgiveness. - Nia, Media |
