Library Reads: October 2013

It's month #2 for Library Reads.  The list is below. Remember you can pull up all past lists by using the "library reads" tag.

For the record, I am already on the hold list for Longbourn (see below), and I am NOT a huge Pride and Prejudice fan.

October 2013 LibraryReads List

The Rosie Project: A Novel

by Graeme Simsion

Published: 10/1/2013
by Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781476729084

“Don Tillman, a brilliant geneticist, thinks that having women fill out a six-page, double-sided questionnaire before a date is logical and reasonable. Rosie Jarman, an impetuous barmaid, thinks Don should loosen up and learn to live a little. Follow the unlikely pair in this laugh-out-loud, feel-good story of unexpected joys, discovery and love.”

Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library, Elm Grove, WI

Longbourn: A Novel

by Jo Baker

Published: 10/8/13 by Knopf
ISBN: 9780385351232

“Using Pride and Prejudice’s familiar setting and characters, Baker tells a very different story of family, love and self-discovery. Bold and intelligent, Sarah is an orphaned housemaid whose days are filled with hard, body-punishing work. Baker doesn’t sugar-coat. A beautiful, uplifting novel full of mystery, hope and romance. Highly recommended for Austen fans and historical fiction readers.”

Jenifer May, Secaucus Public Library, Secaucus, NJ

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The Lowland: A Novel

by Jhumpa Lahiri

Published: 9/24/2013 by Knopf
ISBN: 9780307265746

“Spanning the oceans from India to Rhode Island, this is a story of brothers and allegiances, mothers and challenges, families and turmoil. Lahiri fleshes out her characters and events with such exquisite prose that I find myself rereading sentences just for the experience of their impact. Another literary triumph for Lahiri!”

Jeanne Altman, Darien Library, Darien, CT

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Cartwheel: A Novel

by Jennifer duBois

Published: 9/24/2013 by Random House
ISBN: 9780812995862

“College student Lily Hayes is an accident waiting to happen. While studying abroad in Buenos Aires, she becomes the prime suspect in her roommate Katy’s murder. DuBois’s haunting story captures a family shattered by their young daughter’s imprisonment. A well-written novel highly recommended for book clubs.”

Karen Kilbride, Hennepin County Library, Minneapolis, MN

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Hawthorn & Child

by Keith Ridgway

Published: 9/23/2013 by New Directions
ISBN: 9780811221665

“Ridgway has taken the ‘partner cops’ and ‘troubled cops’ sub-genres to new levels. Hawthorn is a haunted man with a callous worldview. Child is his apt foil: humane, funny and insightful. Set in contemporary London, the story draws readers quickly and completely into a complex, seedy world of crime, madness and despair.”

Margaret Donovan, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA

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The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement

by Nick Saul & Andrea Curtis

Published: 9/24/2013 by Melville House
ISBN: 9781612193496

“Nick Saul chronicles his years spent as director of The Stop, a community food center in Toronto, Ontario that reinvented itself by starting several innovative programs to combat poverty and hunger while building community in the process. Read this book and be inspired to create change in your own neighborhood!”

Melissa DeWild, Kent District Library, Comstock Park, MI

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We Are Water: A Novel

by Wally Lamb

Published: 10/22/2013 by Harper
ISBN: 9780061941023

“Annie Oh, a newly famous artist, sends her family into a tailspin when she announces her intention to marry her powerful gallerist, Viveca. While Annie’s husband Orion is devastated by the loss of his wife of 27 years, her children’s responses range from delight to denial. Good writing and distinct characters, personalities and voices.”

Katie Karkheck, Valley Cottage Library, Valley Cottage, NY

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The Goldfinch

by Donna Tartt

Published: 10/22/2013 by Little, Brown
ISBN: 9780316055437

“Fans of The Secret History will rediscover the Tartt they loved back in 1992. Readers who love the novelist for her richly developed, dark, multi-layered characters and thoroughly researched topics will not be disappointed. Tartt pulls together many threads of a story across a long span of pages and into a complete masterpiece.”

Kim Dorman, Princeton Public Library, Princeton, NJ

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The Tilted World: A Novel

by Tom Franklin & Beth Ann Fennelly

Published: 10/1/2013 by William Morrow
ISBN: 9780062069184

“The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 is the backdrop for one of my favorite historical novels of the last few years. Bootleggers, revenuers, an orphaned child, extreme weather, a disintegrating marriage and romance. There are no dull characters or moments in this beautifully-written story.”

Janet Lockhart, Wake County Public Libraries, Cary, NC

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Hunting Season: Immigration and Murder in an All-American Town

by Mirta Ojito

Published: 10/15/2013 by Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807001813

“Ojito, a former New York Times reporter, chronicles the events leading up to the 2008 murder of an undocumented Ecuadorian immigrant on Long Island, detailing the reactions of family and community members, government officials, civic leaders and public library staff. A nuanced and in-depth look at hate crimes, and a powerful story that deserves to be told.”

Anne Lee, Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA