Stealing Buddha’s Dinner

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Title: Stealing Buddha’s Dinner

Author: Bich Minn Nguyen

Summary:This book is unique, entertaining and interesting in it’s perspective on the immigrant (Vietnamese) experience. The setting takes us back to the 1980′s in Michigan. Much of the assimilation experience is relayed through foods such as ice cream, Pringles, and Happy Meals.

Who will like this book?: This memoir is a must for foodie bookworms!

If you like this, try this: Bento Box in the Heartland by Linda Furiya and Fortune Cookies Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee

Recommended by: Laurie, Circulation.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City

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Title: Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone

Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Summary: A shocking account of life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of posh villas and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq. This bubble, cut off from wartime realities had a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a movie theater that screened shoot-em-up films, an all you could eat buffet piled high with pork and a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs – much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.

A startling portrait of an Oz-like place.

Who will like this book?: All interested in American foreign policy.

If you like this, try this: Fiasco by Thomas Ricks. Assassin’s Gate by George Packer

Recommended by: Cliff, Reference Librarian.

The Other

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Title:  The Other

Author:  David Guterson

Summary: David Guterson, the author of the PEN/Faulkner-winning Snow Falling on Cedars, has written an exquisite story about a transcendent friendship between two very different men.  John William Barry and Neil Countryman cross paths at a high school track event, and that chance meeting connects them for the rest of their lives.  While Neil comes from a modest background and leads a modest life, John William is a child of privilege and wealth.  Together the two share their love of hiking and the outdoors – we are treated to some beautifully written passages describing the wilds of the Pacific Northwest – and share  a bond, a literal blood oath, that is unbreakable, even as their lives continue in seemingly opposite directions. Neil becomes a teacher, marries and has a family, but John William retreats from society, moving permanently into a cave deep in the woods.  Neil is the only one who knows where he is, and keeps this secret even though it weighs heavily on him.  John William rewards him for this ultimate act of friendship him in an unfathomable way.

Webster’s dictionary defines the word ‘other’ as “being the one left.”  It may seem as though John William is the other in this relationship simply by his act of becoming a hermit.  But Neil is also an ‘other,’ the half that stays behind, lives the conventional life, and yet is haunted by the same question that John William struggles with – what is it that really matters in life.  It appears as though they are each living the opposite answers to that question.  In doing so, they complete each other.

Who will like this book?  Anyone who enjoyed Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.

If you like this try: East of the Mountains by David Guterson

Recommended by: Mary, Reference Librarian

Nixonland

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Title: Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America

Author: Rick Pearlstein

Summary: Great historical epic. Not jut a fascinating account of the rise of Richard Nixon, but also the best account of the decade of the 1960s. Full of detail and great characters.

Who will like this book?: Anyone interested in this period of our recent history.

If you like this, try this: Bush’s Law by Eric Lichtblau

Recommended by: Cliff, Reference Librarian

Escape

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Title: Escape

Author:Carolyn Jessop

Summary: When Carolyn was 18, she married Merril Jessop. She was his fourth wife. Fifteen years later, she took her eight children and fled, becoming the first woman to successfully win a custody case against a polygamist husband. In this harrowing book, Carolyn describes day to day life as a member of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and the monumental struggle she endured trying to protect her children from her petty and cruel ‘sister wives,’ emotionally abusive husband, and the community itself as it sank deeper into paranoia and religious fervor.

With the recent focus on polygamy in the Western U.S., this unforgettable book is as timely as it is fascinating. Jessop’s story is incredible, and her resilience and hopeful outlook are astonishing.

Who will like this book?: People who are interested in polygamy, or life in religious cults. People who like to read about the inner workings of, let’s say…non-traditional families.

If you like this, try this: Under the Banner of Heavenby Jon Krakauer. When Men Become Gods by Stephen Singular. Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

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Title: When You Are Engulfed In Flames

Author: David Sedaris

Summary: In his latest collection of comedic essays, David Sedaris picks up right where he left off – spinning amusing, unforgettable anecdotes from everyday topics, from walking through a zoo alongside (or far behind) his partner, his unwitting friendship with town outcasts, and busybody neighbors, his obsession with house spiders and an attempt to quit smoking in a tobacco-permissive Japan.

It’s not just that Sedaris is the undisputed master of this form: It’s that he doesn’t allow the humor to get in the way of the heartfelt sentiment of the tales he tells – and vice versa. Each essay takes you on a journey you’d never expect, and to conclusions you would never imagine when reading its opening sentences.

Who will like this book?:If you enjoy the satire and humor of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and you haven’t read any Sedaris yet, what are you waiting for! It doesn’t have the political bent, just the same sharp social critique and merciless self-deprecation.

If you like this, try this:Anything else by Sedaris, especially Holidays on Ice. Also note: The audiobook versions of his stuff are excellent. Fraud by David Rakoff. Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

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Title:  The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

Author:  Bill Bryson

Summary:  This book is ideal for any baby boomer who remembers their childhood fondly.  No heart-wrenching drama here.  The reader needs to have a good sense of humor and delight in the seriously silly adventures of children. I have not laughed out loud this much while reading a book in a long time.  Don’t you remember how seriously you took the “play” time you relished as a child? Don’t you want to feel so astonished by adult behavior again? Don’t you want to jump right into some great nostalgic read where all is fun, good and safe?

Bill Bryson, accomplished author of the favorite A Walk in the Woods(among others), shares his childhood and family life of the 1950′s and 1960′s growing up in Des Moines, Illinois.  He even likes his parents and appreciates their quirks! His storytelling is hilarious and warm. He laments about the wonderful things about this era in American history and what we may have lost. His impressive writing talent allows the reader to a take a nostalgic trip down memory lane in a feel-good and informative way.

I listened to the audio with someone who is not a baby boomer but sadly, was born, a tad too early, and he laughed out loud with me. The stories about childhood and the American way of life are universal. Please pick up a copy of the audio book while going on a long trip this summer and laugh with your family and friends.

Recommended by:  Karen, Deputy Town Librarian

Hold Tight

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Title: Hold Tight

Author: Harlan Coben

Summary: First, let me just say “WOW”. I have not stayed up well past 2:00 a.m to finish a book in a long time, but this book was worth it. Hold Tight has suspense, thrills, chills… you name it. I found myself rushing through my day so I could get back to reading this book.

One woman is missing. One turns up dead, beaten beyond recognition. Mike and Tia Baye’s teenage son Adam goes missing soon after his best friend commits suicide. Mike has an idea where to look for Adam because Tia insisted on installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer. They can read his email, his instant messages, and track the websites he has visited. Oh, and Adam’s phone has a GPS. The Bayes’ soon find out that having too much information can lead to disaster.

Betsy Hill finds a picture of her son Spencer, taken the night he committed suicide. She sees Adam in the background of the picture. Betsy now believes Spencer was not alone on the rooftop when he overdosed on prescription drugs and alcohol. Are all of these events connected? You bet they are. Everything comes together in the end, which makes this a great read from cover to cover

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

The Know-It-All

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Title: The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

Author: A.J. Jacobs

Summary: The premise of this book is quite simple: Jacobs, then an editor for Esquire, decides to fill the ever-growing gaps in his education by reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica. The whole thing, from start to finish. As his ‘knowledge’ increases, so do the hilarious encounters between his mostly-patient wife, his father (who once attempted the same feat, but stalled B), his obnoxiously smart brother-in-law, Alex Trebek, and the staff of the hallowed encyclopedia itself.

Organized from A to Z, this is a very funny book with a very big heart, especially concerning the struggles of Jacobs and his wife to conceive. Full of trivia (including Descartes’ preference for cross-eyed women), and amusing anecdotes about modern life, this book is probably a better way to spend an afternoon then hefting a volume of the Britannica – not only will it make you feel smarter, it will put a smile on your face.

Who will like this book?:Fans of comedic writing, trivia masters, confirmed know-it-alls or know-it-alls in training.

If you like this, try this: Jacob’s latest book, The Year of Living Biblically. For a more serious look at famous reference books, go for The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

Soul Catcher

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Title: Soul Catcher

Author: Michael White

Summary:Augustus Cain has a dependency on laudanum, a weakness for gambling, and a talent for slave catching. When he gambles and loses his favorite horse to a wealthy tobacco planter, the only way to get him back is to accept a job hunting down the man’s runaway slave.

This is the moving story of two people grudgingly joined together on what will become a life altering journey for both of them. Rosetta, the runaway slave determined to stay free no matter what the cost and Cain, the reluctant “soul catcher” hired to bring Rosetta back to captivity.

Michael White is an extraordinary writer who brings to life the exceptional, multi-dimentional characters in this story.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator