Recommended Reads: Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

Recommended Reads: Every Last One by Anna Quindlen (FIC QUI)

Note: This review contains spoilers.

Throughout the first half of the book, we are intimately acquainted with the Latham family - a wholesome family with three young teenagers living in a peaceful and friendly neighborhood. There’s confident, popular and artsy Ruby; outgoing and athletic Alex who lives for sports; and his broody and intense twin, Max. The author weaves a disturbing undercurrent into this family dynamic with Ruby’s high school sweetheart Kieran, who refuses to acknowledge the reality that Ruby has broken up with him. A violent climax destroys the family, and Anna Quindlen leaves the reader picking up the pieces along with the survivors.

Recommended Reads: When Will There Be Good News?

Recommended Reads: When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (FIC ATK)

When Will There Be Good News? is a perfect blend of character study and suspense novel. The novel opens with the brutal murder of a mother and two of her three children. The action quickly shifts to the present day as the lives of four characters soon become the focus: Dr. Joanna Hunter (who survived the murder of her mother and siblings), 16 year old Reggie Chase (who works as a nanny for Dr. Hunter), private investigator Jackson Brodie, and Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe of the Edinburgh police. Dr. Hunter mysteriously disappears and the lives of the characters swiftly begin to intersect. More than just a thriller, this novel offers penetrating insights into loneliness and the struggle to do the right thing in a confusing world.

Recommended Reads: House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Recommended Reads: House Rules by Jodi Picoult (FIC PIC)

This is the story of a family of two brothers and a single mother, and the daily challenges they face due to the older brother’s Aspergers (an Autism Spectrum Disorder). We get a glimpse of what it is like to live with someone who has Aspergers - the highly rigid schedules, the lack of social interaction, the strict adherence to "food color days" such as all-blue Tuesday, etc. This challenge becomes exacerbated when Jacob, a high-schooler, is accused of murdering his social skills tutor. The chapters alternate between the point of view of the various characters, and Jodi Picoult is a master at leaving the reader wondering until the very end about whether Jacob is innocent or guilty.

Recommended Reads: Balancing Acts

Recommended Reads: Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman (FIC FIS)

Four friends (Charlie, Bess, Naomi, and Sabine) run into each other at a college reunion and agree to join a six-week yoga class. Each of the women have changed since college and through this class they come together. This is a light read and a wonderful story about female friendships.

Recommended Reads: Shattered

Recommended Reads: Shattered by Karen Robards (FIC ROB)

Lisa Grant returns to her home in Lexington, Kentucky to care for her mother who is dying from ALS. She takes a job as a research assistant for Scott Buchanan, the Lexington County District Attorney. While researching a cold case involving the disappearance of a family, Lisa discovers a photo and finds that the daughter looks just like she did as a child. Soon Lisa's life begins to shatter and she confides in Scott. Lisa and Scott unravel the mystery in this thrilling tale of romantic suspense.

April DVDs

12 Angry Men
Almost Famous
Avatar
Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call New Orleans
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Crazy Heart
Funny Girl
Ghost Hunters, Season Five, Part 2
Girl, Interrupted
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
It's Complicated
The Lovely Bones
The Maltese Falcon
An Officer and a Gentleman
The Outsiders
Pirate Radio
Pretty Woman
Young Frankenstein
The Young Victoria

New April Fiction

Adventure
The Barbary Pirates by William Dietrich

Christian Fiction
A Promise of Hope by Amy Clipston
Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs
The Inn at Angel Island by Thomas Kinkade
The Telling by Beverly Lewis
Small Change by Sheila Roberts

General Fiction
The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg
Get Lucky by Katherine Center
The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas
Uptown by Virginia DeBerry
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick
Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott
The Swimming Pool by Holly Lecraw
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
Exclusive by Fern Michaels
The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller
Bite Me: a Love Story by Christopher Moore
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Miss Julia Renews Her Vows by Ann B. Ross
Happy Now? by Katherine Shonk
The Other Family by Joanna Trollope
Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright

Graphic Novels
Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison

Historical Fiction
Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer
A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin
31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan
Pearl of China by Anchee Min
Matterhorn: a novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff

Mystery
Holly Blues by Susan Wittig Albert
Elegy for April by Benjamin Black
Cat of the Century by Rita Mae Brown
Haunt Me Still by Jennifer Lee Carrell
Wrecked by Carol Higgins Clark
Nashville Noir by Jessica Fletcher
This Body of Death by Elizabeth George
The Black Cat by Martha Grimes
Crimes by Moonlight by Charlaine Harris
Dead Head: a Dirty Business Mystery by Rosemary Harris
Laughed 'Til He Died by Carolyn Hart
The Third Rail by Michael Harvey
City of Lost Girls by Declan Hughes
The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King
Super by Jim Lehrer
The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
Mint Juleps, Mayhem, and Murder by Sara Rosett
Shoot to Thrill by P.J. Tracy
Memory by Donald E. Westlake
Hand of Fate by Lis Wiehl
The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

Romance
A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare
Stay a Little Longer by Dorothy Garlock
A Father for Zach by Irene Hannon
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber
Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick
Shameless by Karen Robards
Night Tales: Night Shield & Night Moves by Nora Roberts
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks
Home in Carolina by Sherryl Woods
Sweet Tea at Sunrise by Sherryl Woods

Science Fiction/Fantasy
Changes: a novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
At the Gates of Darkness by Raymond E. Feist
A Mighty Fortress by David Weber

Suspense/Thrillers
Deliver Us From Evil by David Baldacci
The Bone Thief by Jefferson Bass
Nowhere to Run by C.J. Box
212 by Alafair Burke
The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark
The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
The Burying Place by Brian Freeman
The Killing Edge by Heather Graham
Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson
Eight Days to Live by Iris Johansen
The Executor by Jesse Kellerman
The Book of Spies by Gayle Lynds
The 9th Judgment by James Patterson
The Moonlit Earth by Christopher Rice
Lucid Intervals by Stuart Woods

Westerns
The Book of Murdock by Loren D. Estleman

Recommended Reads: Hush

Recommended Reads: Hush by Kate White (MYS WHI)

Lake Warren takes a job as a marketing consultant for a fertility clinic in New York. Lake is going through a divorce and custody battle. She has a one night stand with Dr. Keaton--who is murdered. How will Lake prove she isn't a murderer, fight a custody battle, and keep her job at the fertility clinic? This thriller proves to be a quick read and a compelling page-turner.

Recommended Reads: Fireworks Over Toccoa

Recommended Reads: Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff (FIC STE)

This is a great book from a first time author. Set in Georgia near the end of World War II, Southern belle Lily awaits the return of her husband who she hasn't seen in three years. One day, she meets Jake, a pyrotechnics specialist and soon Lily is torn between her husband Paul and her love for Jake. Reminiscent of The Bridges of Madison County and The Notebook, this love story is a perfect light read.

Recommended Reads: Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight: an African Childhood

Recommended Reads: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: an African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller (BIOG FUL)

This compelling autobiography opens with Alexandra's mother warning her six year old daughter not to startle her parents while they are sleeping because "We might shoot you . . . by mistake." Alexandra's parents sleep with loaded guns by the bed because they are white farmers living in Rhodesia during the civil war between the black natives and the white colonial rulers. In vivid language, Alexandra describes her childhood in southern Africa, a place she loves despite its harshness. Surrounded by war and domestic chaos, Alexandra (nicknamed Bobo by her family) grows up and creates her own identity while never ceasing to love her unusual parents and her homeland. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is moving book that will especially appeal to readers who love autobiographies.

Recommended Reads: Alice I Have Been

Recommended Reads: Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin (FIC BEN)

Curious about the real Alice in Wonderland? This entrancing novel brings to life the girl (and woman) behind the story. Narrated in the first person by Alice Liddell Hargreaves, the book recounts her life from her childhood in Oxford (where she forms a friendship with Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll) through a romance with Queen Victoria's youngest son, and later marriage and motherhood. Her struggle to forge her own identity beyond that of Carroll's Alice is a gripping one. A wonderful blend of literary mystery, romance, and coming of age story, Alice I Have Been is an enthralling tale.

New March DVDs

2012
The African Queen
Armored
The Blind Side
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Brothers
Capitalism: a Love Story
Captain Abu Raed
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
Dracula
An Education
Ghost Hunters: Season Five, Part One
The Grapes of Wrath
Men Who Stare at Goats
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
New Moon
Precious
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
The T.A.M.I. Show
Up in the Air
White Heat

New March Fiction

Adventure
The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler
King, Ship, and Sword by Dewey Lambdin

Christian Fiction
Letters to God by Patrick Doughtie
Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze
Take Three by Karen Kingsbury
Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers

General Fiction
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
Losing Charlotte by Heather Clay
Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman
Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman
The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald
Solar by Ian McEwan
Game Over by Fern Michaels
Fragile Beasts by Tawni O'Dell
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
The Long Way Home by Robin Pilcher
The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
So Much For That by Lionel Shriver
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Big Girl by Danielle Steel
One Good Dog by Susan Wilson

Historical Fiction
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
The Queen's Lover by Vanora Bennett
Red Inferno 1945 by Robert Conroy
The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry

Horror
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
Horns by Joe Hill

Mystery
From the Grounds Up by Sandra Balzo
The Intrigue at Highbury: Or, Emma's Match by Carrie Bebris
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
The Last Illusion by Rhys Bowen
The Teaberry Strangler by Laura Childs
Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke
False Mermaid by Erin Hart
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell
Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin
Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
Known to Evil by Walter Mosley
The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo
Invisible Boy by Cornelia Read
Grey Matters by Clea Simon
The Bad Kitty Lounge by Michael Wiley
The Highly Effective Detective Plays the Fool by Richard Yancey

Romance
Out of Body by Stella Cameron
Moonlight Road by Robyn Carr
Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie
Wedding Season by Katie Fforde
Down River by Karen Harper
What Mother Never Told Me by Donna Hill
Here Comes Trouble by Donna Kauffman
Steamed: a Steampunk Romance by Katie MacAlister
The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn
Shattered by Karen Robards
Big Jack by J.D. Robb

Science Fiction/Fantasy
Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
Spellwright by Blake Charlton
Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison
Warriors by George R.R. Martin
Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley
The River Kings' Road: a novel of Ithelas by Liane Merciel
Stealth (Star Wars: Clone Wars) by Karen Miller
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Secret of the Dragon by Margaret Weis

Short Stories
Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger by Lee Smith

Suspense/Thrillers
Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
The Moses Stone by James Becker
Capitol Betrayal by William Bernhardt
The Pallbearers by Stephen J. Cannell
Caught by Harlen Coben
Clean Kill by Jack Coughlin
The Cold Room by J.T. Ellison
Hell Gate by Linda A. Fairstein
Final Target by Steven Gore
Money to Burn by James Grippando
Deception: an Alex Delaware novel by Jonathan Kellerman
If the Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr
Down to the Wire by David Rosenfelt
Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline
Blood Vines by Erica Spindler
Live to Tell by Wendy Corsi Staub
Once a Spy by Keith Thomson
Angelology by Danielle Trussoni
Hush by Kate White
Deep Shadow by Randy Wayne White

Urban
Married on Mondays by Honeyb
Take Your Pleasure Where You Find It by J.D. Mason

Recommended Reads: The Diana Chronicles

Recommended Reads: The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown (BIOG DIA)

This week's recommended read is inspired by March's Women's History Month. The Diana Chronicles is perhaps the definitive biography of Princess Diana. Not just a recounting of juicy gossip, this book provides insights into Diana's private life, the British Royal Family and the celebrity culture of the late 20th century. The various triumphs and setbacks of Diana's life resemble a real-life soap opera and Tina Brown uses vivid, propulsive language that truly puts readers into the action. This biography paints a portrait of a complex woman who captured the hearts of many in the not too distant past.

Recommended Reads: Sharp Objects

Recommended Reads: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (FIC FLY)

To say that journalist Camille Preaker has serious issues is an understatement. Fresh out of a stay in a mental hospital for carving words into her flesh with a razor, Camille is sent on assignment to her home town of Wind Gap, Missouri ("one of those crummy towns prone to misery") to write about the murders of two young girls. While there Camille is forced to interact with her dysfunctional family and confront the her troubled past. This lurid thriller is a cross between V.C. Andrews and Chuck Palahniuk and features a propulsive plot that will keep you turning the pages to find out what creepy secret will be revealed next.

Recommended Reads: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

Recommended Reads: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (289.33 KRA)

Under the Banner of Heaven is an intriguing blend of true crime narrative and religious history. The book opens with the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her baby daughter by two of her brothers-in-law who claim that they were following a commandment from God. Krakauer then traces the founding of Mormonism by Joseph Smith and the contemporary practice of Mormon fundamentalism. The fascinating page turner explores the boundaries between faith and insanity in contemporary America while explaining the influence of the past.

February DVDs

Amelia

The Box

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Coco Before Chanel

Couples Retreat

The Cove

Emma (2009)

Everybody's Fine

Howard's End

The Informant!

Jailhouse Rock

Law Abiding Citizen

Love Happens

Message in a Bottle

Midnight Cowboy

A Serious Man

The Stepfather (2009)

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Wolf Man

Zombieland

Recommended Reads: Brick Lane

Recommended Reads: Brick Lane by Monica Ali (FIC ALI)

Brick Lane is the story of Nazneen. Nazneen is born into poverty in Bangladesh but when she is 18 she travels to London to marry an older man chosen for her by her parents. Nazneen passively accepts her fate with her boorish, foolish husband and soon becomes a mother to two girls. As time passes, Nazneen gains confidence and begins to challenge the rules set for her by the immigrant Muslim community in which she lives. This fascinating novel gives readers insight into the contemporary immigrant life in Great Britain as Nazneen pursues her modest dreams with quiet tenacity.

Recommended Reads: Imperial Life in the Emerald City

Recommended Reads: Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran (956.7044 CHA)

This suspensful, true life story tells of life in Baghdad's Green Zone during the American occupation of Iraq. After toppling Saddam's regime, American forces set up their headquarters in a protected bubble away from the turmoil and uncertainity that Iraqis faced daily. The narrative details the numerous mistakes the Americans made early in the occupation from spending billions of dollars to make the Green Zone just like America (complete with GMC Suburbans and bottomless quantities of pork available at every meal) to hiring people for important positions based on political affiliation. A movie based on the book and starring Matt Damon will soon be in theaters; read the book before heading to the show!

January DVDs

Big Fan
The Boys Are Back
Bright Star
Gamer
Halloween II
The Hurt Locker
Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself
In the Loop
The Invention of Lying
Michael Jackson's This Is It
Moon
Pandorum
Post Grad
Saw VI
Sergeant York
Surrogates
Whip It
Whiteout