Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Staff Picks


At our staff meetings we take a few minutes to talk about the books we are reading. This is a list of recent favorites.
STAFF PICKS





Father's Day for Foodies

Father's Day is June 17, and dads who are King of the Grill love new cooking toys and clever cookbooks. Daniel Duane's memoir How to Cook Like a Man: A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession is all about cooking, eating and enjoying food in the manliest ways possible. Duane recounts an eight-year quest to further his kitchen skills, from butchering whole lambs and hunting pigs in Maui to fishing for salmon in Alaska. For family guys everywhere -- from new dads who hope to help out around the house to older dads who want to improve a favorite hobby -- How to Cook Like a Man is a timely Father's Day treat.

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A Perfect Storm
A Perfect Storm
By Foster, Lori
2012-03 - Harlequin Books
9780373776566 Check Our Catalog

"New York Times"-bestselling author Foster delivers the fourth sizzling novelin her Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series. Original. …More


Sugar Rush
Sugar Rush
By Kauffman, Donna
2012-01 - Brava
9780758266347 Check Our Catalog

…More


Something Rotten
Something Rotten
By Fforde, Jasper
2005-07 - Penguin Books
9780143035411 Check Our Catalog

Two years after Thursday Next's Ultraworld adventure, the now ex-head of Jurisfiction returns home. But the Swindon to which Thursday returns is not the one she left, for something is rotten in the state of England. …More


Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
By Fforde, Jasper
2008-08 - Penguin Books
9780143113560 Check Our Catalog

Literary sleuth Thursday Next is once again out to make the world safe for fiction in the fifth installment of Fforde's wildly popular series. Packed with word play, bizarre and entertaining subplots, and old-fashioned suspense, Thursday's newest adventure will be celebrated by fans and critics alike. …More


The Fourth Bear
The Fourth Bear
By Fforde, Jasper
2007-08 - Penguin Books
9780143038924 Check Our Catalog

In the second adventure by the bestselling author of the Thursday Next novels, "nursery crime" characters Jack Spratt and Mary Mary take on their most dangerous case so far, as a murderous cookie (The Gingerbread Man) menaces the streets of Reading. …More


The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God: And Other Stories
The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God: And Other Stories
By Keret, Etgar
2004-09 - Toby Press
9781592641055 Check Our Catalog

Israel's hippest bestselling young writer today, Etgar Keret is part court jester, part literary crown prince, part national conscience. The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God gathers his daring and provocative short stories for the first time in English. Brief, intense, painfully funny, and shockingly honest, Keret's stories are snapshots that illuminate with intelligence and wit the hidden truths of life. As with the best comic authors, hilarity and anguish are the twin pillars of his work. Keret covers a remarkable emotional and narrative terrain-from a father's first lesson to his boy to a standoff between soldiers caught in the Middle East conflict to a slice of life where nothing much happens. Bus Driver includes stories from Keret's bestselling collections in Israel, Pipelines and Missing Kissinger, as well as Keret's major new novella, "Kneller's Happy Campers," a bitingly satirical yet wistful road trip set in the afterlife for suicides. …More


The Great Perhaps
The Great Perhaps
By Meno, Joe
2010-04 - W. W. Norton & Company
9780393304565 Check Our Catalog

A breakout new novel from the critically acclaimed novelist and playwright Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned. Praise for The Great Perhaps . . . "The Great Perhaps is a darkly funny, lyrical, and shrewdly observant chronicle of a family on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Joe Meno has the rare ability to evoke midlife melancholy and teenage angst with equal authority."-Tom Perrotta, author of Election and The Abstinence Teacher "I think The Great Perhaps is the wisest, most humane and transcendent novel on the contemporary family since The Corrections. A marvelous book."-Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting and Crime . . . and for Joe Meno "Joe Meno is an interesting case: a punk/noir stylist who can imitate something more rarefied, poetic, and universal."-Elle "Meno is the closest thing [Chicago's] got to a literary ambassador."-GQ "What to make of Joe Meno, whose icepick-sharp books include many elements that might reasonably be described as quirky, but are rather heartfelt, beautifully written and vivid as a bad dream-or a very, very good one?"-Washington Post Express …More


Ghost Story
Ghost Story
By Butcher, Jim
2011-07 - Roc
9780451463791 Check Our Catalog

The eagerly awaited new novel in the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling series. When last seen, the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden wasn't doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin. But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has nobody, and no magic to help him. …More


Imagine: How Creativity Works
Imagine: How Creativity Works
By Lehrer, Jonah
2012-03 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
9780547386072 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title

"New York Times"-bestselling author Lehrer ("How We Decide") introduces readers to musicians, graphic artists, poets, and bartenders to show how they can use science to be more imaginative and make their cities, their companies, and their culture more creative. …More


Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey
By James, E. L.
2012-04 - Vintage Books
9780345803481 Check Our Catalog

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana's quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too--but on his own terms. …More


Cartooning: The Ultimate Character Design Book
Cartooning: The Ultimate Character Design Book
By Hart, Chris
2008-05 - Chris Hart Books
9781933027425 Check Our Catalog

Hart delivers detailed instructions, inspiring ideas, and invaluable tips for creating appealing and original manga-style characters. Illustrations. …More


The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz
By Seder, Rufus Butler
2011-09 - Workman Publishing
9780761163732 Check Our Catalog

We re off to see the wizard The magic of Scanimation meets the wonderful "Wizard of Oz," bringing to life 10 memorable scenes from the movie that's enchanted generations of viewers. …More


The Big Test
The Big Test
By Danneberg, Julie
Illustrator Love, Judy
2011-07 - Charlesbridge Publishing
9781580893602 Check Our Catalog

…More


The Monstrous Book of Monsters
The Monstrous Book of Monsters
By Hamilton, Libby
Illustrator Duddle, Jonny
Illustrator Bitskoff, Aleksei
2011-09 - Templar
9780763657567 Check Our Catalog

Packed with nauseating novelties and foul facts, this book will teach readers how to avoid monsters, show them how to spot them in the news or on the street, and give them a peek inside their dangerous (and smelly) world. Full color. …More


Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck
By Selznick, Brian
Illustrator Selznick, Brian
2011-09 - Scholastic Press
9780545027892 Check Our Catalog 2012 Schneider Family Book Award Winner-Middle Grades
2012 Children's Choice Award Winner-Illustrator


Set 50 years apart, two independent stories weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," Caldecott Medalist Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. …More


Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
By Sweet, Melissa
Illustrator Sweet, Melissa
2011-11 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
9780547199450 Check Our Catalog 2012 Golden Kite Picture Book Illustration Award
2012 Sibert Award Winner
2012 Orbis Pictus Award Winner


In brilliant collage illustrations, the award-winning artist Sweet tells the story of the puppeteer Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America--the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Full color. …More


Billy & Milly, Short & Silly
Billy & Milly, Short & Silly
By Feldman, Eve B.
Illustrator Mourning, Tuesday
2009-06 - Putnam Publishing Group
9780399246517 Check Our Catalog

Youngsters are invited to follow Billy and Milly through 13 adventures in these funny and simple short stories. Through very basic storytelling, these brief narratives are told in only three or four words apiece. Full color. …More


One Love
One Love
By Marley, Cedella
Illustrator Brantley-Newton, Vanessa
Created by Marley, Bob
2011-09 - Chronicle Books (CA)
9781452102245 Check Our Catalog

In this illustrated version of Bob Marley's song, a young girl enlists her friends, family, and community to transform their neighborhood for the better. …More


M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)
M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)
By Cronin, Doreen
Illustrator Cornell, Laura
2011-10 - Atheneum Books for Young Readers
9781416961505 Check Our Catalog

From a powerhouse pair of picture book rock stars--"Giggle Giggle Quack" creator Cronin and "My Mommy Hung the Moon" illustrator Cornell--comes the ultimate guide for kids: How to handle Mom. Wickedly funny and acutely perceptive, this is a book that, basically, no one should be without. Full color. …More


Ollie the Purple Elephant
Ollie the Purple Elephant
By Krosoczka, Jarrett J.
2011-10 - Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
9780375866548 Check Our Catalog

Ollie is a purple elephant who is lost and has no place to call home. Until Shelby and Peter find him in the park--and invite him to live with them. Soon Ollie is a regular part of the family. He doesn't have a room to call his own, but he doesn't mind. He is happy. He loves hopscotch and kickball--but most of all he loves the dance parties the McLaughlins have after dinner.
But Mr. Puddlebottom, the downstairs neighbor, most certainly does not love Ollie. And neither does the McLaughlins' cat, Ginger. Ollie has taken her spot on the couch at night. When the conspirators hatch a plan to get rid of Ollie, the purple elephant walks right into their trap--and onto a circus cart. Will he ever be reunited with his family?
…More


Little Man [With CD (Audio)]
Little Man [With CD (Audio)]
By Warwick, Dionne
Author Wooley, David Freeman
Illustrator Willingham, Fred
2011-10 - Charlesbridge Publishing
9781570917318 Check Our Catalog


Little Man is a drummer, thats his thing. He wants to take lessons to get better, but he'll need a bike to get him there. In the meantime, a little encouragement from his father and friends keeps Little Man practicing his cool beats. Soon he has enough confidence to play the drums at the local block party. Its no shock that Little Man is a big hit, but its a pleasant surprise when his neighbors donate enough money for him to buy the new bike. CD recording included.
…More

Library Lily
Library Lily
By Shields, Gillian
Illustrator Chessa, Francesca
2011-06 - Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
9780802854018 Check Our Catalog

First published in Great Britain in 2011 by Gullane Children's Books: London. …More

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