Adult Fiction

• Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games is a gift for avid readers who have longed for a big book in every sense of the word. It is big—900 pages—and it is a gift of his shining talent as he depicts the teeming, complicated city life of Mumbai, India. He introduces us to two men: one a ruthless gangster and the other a Sikh policeman. Stories of people at every level in Mumbai—rich, poor, terribly poor—crowd the pages and come alive to the reader. Corruption at every level of life; family strengths and weaknesses; the violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims; the still present effects of colonialism; the joys of food, music and films-all of this is given to us in all its vividness and with great compassion.
• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory,
• Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
• Herself the daughter of a British father and Iranian mother, Yasmin Crowther brings to life the story of a family whose future and past are defined by these different cultures. The Saffron Kitchen spans four decades and is set in both England and Iran. Crowther powerfully explores the potency of heritage and the pain of exile.
• The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
• The Monk Downstairs by Tim Farrington
• The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
• Ghost at the Table by Suzanne Berne
• The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
• The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
• Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman
• The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton
• Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
• Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
• Khaled Hosseini’s new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns is equally as good as his debut novel, The Kite Runner. Again it is a journey through Afghanistan’s troubled history, beginning with the Russian occupation and ending with the fall of the Taliban. A powerful, harrowing tale set primarily in Kabul, the story follows two women from their childhoods and into their marriage to the same man, Rasheed. Through a portrait of one household, Hosseini leads us through the country’s insufferable leadership changes that parallel a personal story of struggle.
• Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett
• No, I Don’t Want to Join a Book Club by Virginia Ironside
• The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
• The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine
• In The Last Chinese Chef, Nicole Mones tells the subtle and layered history of Chinese cuisine in the Imperial Court—almost lost under Mao’s restrictions—interweaving this history with a delicate love story. Changing Light by Nora Gallagher
• Consequences by Penelope Lively
• North River by Pete Hamill
• Slipknot by Linda Greenlaw
• Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
• Divisadero Michael Ondaatje
• Keeping the World Away by Margaret Forster
• New England White by Stephen L. Carter
• Restless by William Boyd
• The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty
• Letter from Point Clear by Dennis McFarland
• The Careful Use of Compliments Alexander McCall Smith
• The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
• Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
• The characters in Ann Patchett’s new novel Run are as complex and interesting and maddening as your own cousins and uncles. Parental love and expectations as well as the bond between siblings are explored in the beautiful novel with Patchett’s own keen insight and compassion.
• The Faraday Girls by Monica McInerny
• Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
• Song without Words by Ann Packer
• Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo
• Tipperary by Frank Delaney
• Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
• A Peculiar Grace by Jeffrey Lent
• A Monk Jumped Over a Wall by Jay Nussbaum

Adult Nonfiction

• The Lost Life of Eva Braun by Angela Lambert
• Wrestling with Gravy by Jonathan Reynolds
• Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog by Kitty Burns Florey
• Stealing Buddha’s Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen
• Atul Gawande is a wonderful writer who probes our understanding of how the medical profession can and does work to improve itself in Better, a collection of 12 essays. From the battlefields of Iraq to cystic fibrosis practices in the Midwest, Gawande discusses everything from malpractice laws and salaries to hand washing habits and doctors’ roles in lethal injections.
• In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver takes readers on a 12-month journey of living off her farm and eating only what she grew or local farmers raised. Peppered throughout the book are recipes from her daughter and journalistic blurbs by her husband. As always, she is funny and wise, probing into our nation’s eating disorder from a personal angle.
• The Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez
• Cabin Pressure by Josh Wolk
• Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney
• The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam
• Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire by Alex von Tunzelmann
• Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton

Children’s Picture Books

• One Winter's Day by M. Christina Butler
• So Sleepy Story by Uri Shulevitz
• Diamond in the Snow by Jonathan Emmett
• Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
• Jackie Urbanovic’s new Duck at the Door is a fun read-aloud picture book about Max, a duck who decides not to travel south for the winter. With large, clear and colorful illustrations, we see Max taking over and moving into his new home with new housemates.
• Alphabet Explosion: Search and Count from Alien to Zebra by John Nickle
• Someday by Alison MeGhee
• A Place for Butterflies by Melissa Stewart
• Stick by Steve Breen
• Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy by Jane O’Connor
• Where is the Cake by T. T. Khing is a puzzle, a maze and an adventurous look-and-find book with a story but no text. This a delightful book for children and adults.
• A Perfect Day by Remy Charlip
• On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
• Together by Jane Simmons
• Has Anyone Seen My Emily Greene? by Norma Fox Mazer
• How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
• Someday by Eileen Spinelli
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
• All in Just One Cookie by Susan E. Goodman
• Dogku by Andrew Clements
• Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk
• Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto
• The Lonely Moose by John Segal
• Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems
• Henry the Dog With No Tail by Kate Feiffer

Elementary School Readers

• Sunset by Erin Hunter
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is an innovative novel for older elementary and middle school aged readers. Almost half of the 544 pages are pencil illustrations, making the novel one that is told with both narrative and pictures. The story is about Hugo, a 12-year-old orphan who lives in a train station in Paris.
• Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan
• Trouble According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee
• Welcome to Camden Falls AND Needles and Thread by Ann Martin
• H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden
• The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John
• Barnstormers by Loren Long and Phil Bildner
• No Talking by Andrew Clements
• Garden of the Purple Dragon by Carole Wilkinson
• The Secret Life of Sparrow Delaney by Suzanne Harper
• Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
• Judy Blume’s latest book, Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One, will be a hit with the young reader. This book explores the difficulties and joys of having a sibling.
• Silence and Lily: 1773 by Kathleen Duey
• Annie’s War by Jacqueline Sullivan
• Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke

Middle School Readers

• Eoin McNamee The Navigator
• The Killing Sea by Richard Lewis
• Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot
• The Cupid Chronicles by Coleen Murtagh Paratore
• The Chestnut Soldier by Jenny Nimmo
• Michael Scott’s The Alchemyst
• Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big In This? is about a girl named Amal who has decided to wear a woman’s traditional muslim head covering, the hijab. Student reviewer Jasmine tells us, “The story talks about how she faces her school and family with the hijab. In the end, she learns that she doesn’t have to listen to what other people think about her, but what she thinks about herself.”
• Summer Ball by Mike Lupica
• The Dream of the Stone by Christina Askounis
• Billy Hooten Owlboy by Thomas E. Sniegoski
• In Jennifer Holm’s Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf, Ginny narrates her seventh grade year with all of her humorous and somewhat disastrous experiences. This is an enjoyable and hilarious look at middle school through the eyes of a 12-year old.
• The Book of Time by Guillaume Prevost
• Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

High School Readers

• Recommended for mature readers, Mal Peet’s Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion and Betrayal is a story of violence and resistance, love and deception, loyalty and betrayal.
• In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth
• Click by ten famous authors including David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle and Greg Maguire
• 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Other Books for Children

• It's Snowing, It's Snowing by Jack Prelutsky
• The Kids’ Book Club Book by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
• Lift-the-flap books are fun for any age, and we are always curious about what lies beneath us. Usborne Publishers has just released See Under the Ground by Alex Frith and Colin King, a book with 75 flaps to lift. Exploring the hidden world below ground, readers will discover the amazing secrets that lie beneath the street, under the city, in the animal underworld and more. Once again, this publisher has released a fascinating book for older (7+) lift-the-flap fans.