Recommended Reads
January, 2006

Staff Picks

Throughout the year, our staff selects few titles we've enjoyed and want to share with other readers. For recommendations from previous months, visit our Recommendations Archive.

Fiction
	Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos Seventy-five-year-old Margaret Hughes lives alone in a mansion full of antiques and the memories of those she has lost.  She's also been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Determined to change her lonely life, she decides to take in boarders.  Young stage manager Wanda Shultz, smarting from a recent breakup, connects with Margaret, and together they set out to rid the place of both the antiques and painful memories.  They also forge bonds with Margaret's other boarders—a registered nurse, a gay chef from Alabama, a yoga instructor/love interest for Margaret, and a technical assistant who tries to win Wanda's bruised heart.  Recommended by M. Robertson
	The History of Love by Nicole Kraus In Poland, just before WWII, young Leo Gursky fell in love with a girl named Alma and wrote a book for her.  Now in his eighties and living in New York, he relates the consequences of their separation and ponders the fate of the book (later published without his knowledge).  Meanwhile, teenaged Alma Singer (named for the Alma in Leo's book) is trying to hold her fragile family together after the death of her father.  When she embarks on a quest to learn more about her namesake, the tangled history of the book is slowly revealed.  A beautiful book about loss, loneliness, and the redemptive power of human connection--one of the best things I read in 2005.  Recommended by B. Hinton
	Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire This sequel to 1995's Wicked begins with young Liir recuperating in a nunnery from a near-fatal attack.  Slowly, we learn what befell him in the ten years since the death of Elphaba (better known as the Wicked Witch of the West).  His tasks: find out what became of his abducted childhood playmate Nor, fulfill his duties as a soldier of Oz, aid the elephant princess Nastoya with a magical cure for her ailment, and, not least, discover whether Elphaba was actually his mother.  A fantasy, a coming-of-age story, and a political satire wrapped into one, and the ending certainly leaves room for a third installment.  Recommended by B. Hinton
	The Witch of Cologne by Tobsha Learner Set in 17th-century Cologne and Amsterdam, this earthy historical romance is not for the faint of heart.  Ruth bas Elazar Saul, daughter of the chief rabbi of Deutz, is beautiful, headstrong, and a gifted midwife who uses both science and Kabala to help women during childbirth. Accused of practicing witchcraft by Catholic inquisitor Carlos Solitario, Ruth must face her detractors and defend her practice.  Recommended by K. Belczyc
Thrillers/Mysteries
	Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jefffry Lindsay Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter expert for the Miami P.D., is an ordinary, genial guy, except for one thing--he's an accomplished serial killer.  His foster dad, a cop, realized his dangerous tendencies early and helped channel them into more useful service--Dexter only preys on other serial killers.  His work is complicated by his affection for his foster sister, also a cop, and the suspicions of a few of Miami's finest.  When a new serial killer begins a gruesome campaign, Dexter feels the pull of both competition and kinship.  Though the gore factor initially put me off, the writing is top-notch.  Lindsay brings the south Florida setting alive, and makes Dexter a fascinating, even likable character.  Dexter's misadventures continue in the newly published Dearly Devoted Dexter.  Recommended by B. Hinton
Nonfiction
	Julie and Julia:  365 Days, 524 Recipes, and 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell Discouraged and bored by her job as an administrative temp, New Yorker Julie Powell embarked on a project:  within a year, cook all the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  What began as a lark soon became a mission, with Powell blogging her progress for online well-wishers.  There's  entertaining bonus material on young married life, decrepit apartment living, and the love lives of her friends, but it's Powell's admiration for the late Child's can-do attitude (if not for her aspics) that makes this a real treat.  Recommended by B. Hinton
	102 Minutes: the untold story of the fight to survive inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn Most accounts of 9/11 praised the efforts of the police, firefighters, and emergency workers involved in the rescue operation.  This book focuses on the civilians involved--the witnesses, friends, and good Samaritans whose stories haven't fully been told.  NYC reporters Dwyer and Flynn also recount some of the bad decisions and miscommunication between officials that resulted in many needless deaths.  A fascinating perspective on the tragedy.  Recommended by B. McNamara
	A Very Good Year:  the journey of a California wine from vine to table by Mike Weiss The Ferrari-Carano Vineyards in California's Sonoma County produces a number of popular American wines--in particular, an excellent Fume Blanc.  Weiss goes behind the scenes at Ferrari-Carano to tell the story of how this particular bottle is created, from the picking of the grapes to the wine's initial public tasting at the Four Seasons in New York.  Weiss also highlight the 20-year-old winery's own story and the cast of colorful characters that bring their products to life.  Recommended by G. Schaake
	It's Called a Breakup Because it's Broken: the smart girl's breakup buddy by Greg Behrendt and Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt From the author of He's Just Not That Into You comes this guide to coping with an unexpected breakup.  Berendt and his wife Amiira share their own breakup stories, as well as advice on how not to fall into the common traps of the post-breakup days:  obsessing, eating, overspending, and tiring your friends with endless analysis of the situation.  They offer strategies on becoming a "breakup warrior"--getting over it, letting go, and moving on.  Recommended by P. McKinnon
Young Adult
	The Geography Club by Brent Hartinger Russell, a sophomore at a small-town high school has kept the fact that he's gay a secret.  When he discovers that the school's star athelete is also gay, they form a club with a small group of other students, naming themselves "The Geography Club" as a cover.  Peer pressure and insecurities soon take their toll on the group, though, and Russell has to decide to keep his silence or remain true to his new friends.  Recommended by K. Lynn
	13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson 17-year-old Ginny receives a letter from her beloved Aunt Peg, who has recently died.  The letter contains instructions for a sort of European scavenger hunt--Ginny is to open one of 13 envelopes at each destination, and each will give her tasks to accomplish.  She sets off on a whirlwind tour of Europe, trying along the way to understand what Aunt Peg intended her to get from the experience, and learning much about herself along the way.  Recommended by K. Belczyc