Our staff picks are here!  Still looking for a wonderful gift for someone special?  Here are some of our top recommendations:

Jess, from Reference, recommends:

“Forty Acres” by Dwayne Alexander Smith, published July 2014.  This is a thriller I could not put down! Thought provoking and eye opening!

K.C. in Circulation recommends:

“Bird Box” by Josh Malerman, published July 2014.  A post-apocalyptic world where not being able to see what horror lies in front of you is necessary for survival.

“Cop Town” by Karin Slaughter, published June 2014.  Groovy 1970’s Atlanta where crime and fashion collide. A series perhaps?

“One Kick” by Chelsea  Cain, published Aug 2014 (and reviewed by RBRT In September).  A young kidnapping survivor becomes one heck of a vigilante.

“Southern Reach Trilogy” by Jeff Vandermeer, published Jan 2014, April 2014, and August 2014. Post Apocalyptic – is the world being taken over by nature thanks to the US government?

“Blue Labyrinth” by Douglas Preston and Licoln Child, published Nov 2014. Another installment featuring the always mysterious FBI Special Agent, AXL Pendergast.

“Mr. Mercedes” by Stephen King, published June 2014. A retired cop has to hunt down a serial killer.   A possible series.

Nicole, Teen Librarian, recommends:

Hawkeye Volume 1: My Life as a Weapon, by Matt Fraction and artist David Aja, Published March 2013.

What happens when Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye, aka ‘Hawkguy’) leaves his day job with the Avengers and heads home to Brooklyn? Focusing on the messy, mundane life of a non-superpowered superhero, his relationships with his neighbors and his protégé Kate Bishop, this innovative, stylish and award-winning series (three collected volumes have been released so far…) has been a big hit with comics readers.

Laurie, from Circulation, recommends:

Family Furnishings ( short stories ) by Alice Monro, published November 2014.

Still Life With Breadcrumbs by Anna Quinlan, published October 2014

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, published December 2014

The Round House by Louise Erdrich, published December 2012

The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein, published December 2014

Mark Z, Guest Reviewer, recommends:

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, published October 2014.  Once again Jodi Picoult takes the reader on an emotional journey featuring a female juvenile and the adults who try their best to help her discover and manage the search for her long lost mother. And, as usual Ms. Picoult inserts an awesome twist at the end — Fantastic story telling.

Beth, from the Children’s Library, recommends:

“Absoluely Almost” by Lisa Graff, published June 2014. Like “Wonder”

“The Boundless” by Kenneth Oppel, published April 2014.  Transcontinental Railroad ‘era’ –  train robbery/wealthy Railroad Baron.

“Courage for Beginners” by Karne Harrington, published August 2014.   Agoraphobia, Caretaking, Family Ties, Friendship – Main character (Mysti Murphy)  a lively , funny character who faces her caretaking challenges head on.

“Curiosity” by Gary Blackwood, published April 2014.  In 1835, when his father is put in a Philadelphia debtor’s prison, twelve-year-old chess prodigy Rufus Is recruited  to secretly operate a chess-playing automaton.  He soon questions the fate of his father and his own safety.

“The Forbidden Library” by Django Wexler, fantasy series published in 2014. Similar to Inkheart, The Books of Elsewhere and Coraline.  Themes are magic wizards, libraries, books and reading, fairies.

“A Snicker of Magic” by Natalie Lloyd, published February 2014.  A story about the magic of words and stories – and the power they hold to heal, hurt, make trouble and fun. Great story filled with family, love sweetness and joy.

Other Titles – Family Ties  –  Paulsen;

The Graveyard Book – Gaiman (Graphic Novel)

Memory Maze – Korman

So far – the favorite titles from this list are The Boundless and Snicker of Magic.

Paula, from Reference, recommends:

“The Short and Tragic life of Robert Peace : a brilliant young man who left Newark for the Ivy League” by Jeff Hobbs, published September 2014. Biography of the short life of an exceptionally bright young African-American man who with the guidance of a devoted, self sacrificing mother leaves the slums of Newark for Yale University only to be drawn back into the drug culture when he returns home.

“The Underground Girls of Kabul : in Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan” by Jenny Nordberg, published in September 2014. In Afghanistan, the birth of a son is cause for a celebration and the arrival of a daughter is often mourned. This is the story of several girls, known as bacha posh, raised as boys until they reach adolescence.  Researched and written by a Swedish journalist, it is a look into a culture I had no idea existed.

Mary, Reference Librarian, recommends:

“Neverhome” by Laird Hunt, published September 2014.  It’s a stunning and poetic novel of a woman who does what her husband cannot, which is enlist and fight in the Civil War.  Hunt’s writing is absolutely beautiful although there is much that is dark and haunting throughout her soul-altering journey.  This is historical, literary fiction at its best!

Virginia, from Circulation, recommends:

“Leaving Time” by Jodi Picoult, published October 2014.  I really like Jodi Picoult’s books because although they are fiction, they read like non- fiction. Leaving time is about a washed-up psychic named Serenity, and Jenna – the little girl she helps. Her mother Alice was a research scientist working at an elephant sanctuary. She disappeared 10 years ago and Jenna wants to find out what happened to her.