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Sarah Macdonald
Holy Cow: an Indian Adventure
a favorite of Nancy's, Information Services
Macdonald, an Australian radio correspondent, quits her job and joins her journalist boyfriend in New Delhi for two years of hanging out, touring, and spiritual seeking. She shares her initial immersion into Delhi's filth, chaos, intense poverty, and passionately aggressive fascination with foreign women (and its consequent harassment) in troubling (and accurate) detail, and generously moves on to other observations of life as a visitor and observer in a fascinating, foreign land. Macdonald shares her experience of studies of Buddhism, her insights into Judaism and India's Israeli tourists, attends and embraces a silent meditation retreat, joins (and lives to tell about) the 30-million strong Kumbha Mele celebration, dabbles in Bollywood's extravagance and brushes with its glitterati. Read it not for her historical perspective (which is somewhat lacking) but for her entertaining and enlightening cultural and spiritual observations. She writes with humor and playfulness, and her generosity and openness are apparent as she approaches each new Indian undertaking. This should be required reading for western women embarking on an Indian journey - as preparation for the Delhi chaos, and especially as preparation for the way western women are received. 12/1/06
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Mukhtar Mai
In the Name of Honor: a memoir
a favorite of Rashmi's, Information Services
In June 2002, a 28-year-old Pakistani peasant woman Mukhtar Mai was ordered to be gang raped by a local clan known as Mastoi. The Mastoi clan falsely accused her 12-year-old brother of seducing their 23-year-old single woman. The Mastoi clan decided to destroy Mukhtar's family honor. This was not the first time a woman's body was negotiated for a family's honor. However, after her rape by four Mastoi clan members, instead of committing suicide (many women in her country had taken that route), Mukhtar Mai decided to fight back. She did this to protect her dignity and other Pakistani women from abusive and inhumane traditions. She sued the Mastoi council before the supreme court of Pakistan. She was awarded the equivalent of 8,500 US dollars in compensation. She used this money to open two schools -- one for girls and one for boys. Mukhtar's story is certainly very inspirational. Gloria Steinem puts it succinctly, "Mukhtar Bibi, a Pakistani women raised in poverty and illiteracy, has responded to the violence and gender apartheid directed at her and other women with an insistence on justice and education." 9/10/07
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Henning Mankell
Dogs of Riga: A Kurt Wallander Mystery
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
How could I not just love Inspector Wallander? He not only loves to listen to Callas, but part of the mystery takes place in Riga. A life raft with two dead men killed gangland-style washes up on the shores of Skane, Sweden. Inspector Wallander and his team must find the brutal killers. The trail leads to Latvia, a country in the throws of braking away from the all-powerful Soviet Union. In Latvia nothing is as it seems to be. Deception and corruption rule. Inspector Wallander finds himself aligned with Latvian dissidents and working outside of the law in this police state. Whom can he trust? Who is telling the truth? This is a great thinking man's thriller that will take you to places you have never been. 9/2/03
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Henning Mankell
Faceless Killers
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
Mankell is an author that any devoted fan of the mystery genre must read. This is the first novel that features the gloomy detective Kurt Wallander. How can I not like this man? He broods, he agonizes, and he loves classical music? His life is in shambles. His wife has left him. His daughter refuses to speak to him. His father doesn't seem to like him much either. Wallander works tirelessly, eats poorly, drinks too much, and sleeps badly, but he is a good detective. One early spring morning Wallander is called to a remote farmhouse in an isolated rural area of southern Sweden. He finds a bloodbath.The elderly farmer is bludgeoned to death. His wife is left to die with a noose around her neck. The crime seems senseless. It's not robbery. It's not revenge. What could it be? Before dying, the wife gives a clue that the killers could be foreign. Wallander must work fast against time and xenophobia. Exquisite and satisfying. The beginning of a splendid series! 6/23/08

Henning Mankell
One Step Behind: A Kurt Wallander Mystery
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
Kurt Wallander is faced with one of the most horrific murder cases of his career. Three young friends gathered in a secluded meadow to celebrate Midsummer's Eve. They were dressed in costumes and had food and wine. The murderer shoots all three and then inters the bodies for several months. Later he exhumes them and puts them in a grotesque tableau vivant in the same meadow. Shortly thereafter one of Wallander's colleagues is found murdered. Is there a link between the murders? Wallander has serious health problems but has to garner all his energies to solve these gruesome murders. 7/2/03
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David Maraniss
They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace, Vietnam and America, October 1967
a favorite of Jim's, Administration
Pulitzer Prize winning author Maraniss interweaves the stories of the 2/28 Black Lions battalion marching into an ambush NW of Saigon with protests against napalm manufacturer Dow Chemical on the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin. The depth of his research is evident as the reader gets to know and connect with the many characters. Of special interest to Oak Park local history buffs is the role of Percy Julian, Jr., one of the attorneys representing anti-war protesters. 1/5/04
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Margaret Maron
Storm Track
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
Smart and pretty, Judge Deborah Knott sits on the bench in Colleton County, North Carolina that is filled with southern charm and lovable down-home characters. Underneath this sheen of warmth, however, lie illicit love affairs, brutal murders, and busy moonshine makers. While searching for the murderer of the voluptuous wife of a respected lawyer, deadly hurricane Fran is tearing up the Carolina coast and rearranging the lives of those she trashes. Judge Deborah is kept busy at the courthouse, as well as snooping around the countryside trying to solve the murders. 9/3/02

Evan Marshall
Stabbing Stephanie
a favorite of Trish's, Information Services
Literary agent Jane Stuart and her cat Winky are on the trail of another murder in their small quiet village of Shady Hills. The cast of characters includes a distant cousin and the former Queen of Ananda. Stolen jewels and murders force Jane to go undercover. Of course, she solves the mystery but not before the stabbing of Stephanie. 11/5/01
 

Lee Martin
The Bright Forever
a favorite of Alan's, Fiction and Audiovisual Services
For fans of The Lovely Bones and Crow Lake, this page turner relates a small town murder from all points of view and perspectives. Subtle and affecting, this isn't just a book that you'll read quickly, but one that will stick with you for a good, long while. 7/2/07
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Kati Marton
Hidden Power
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
Marton has written an illuminating book in which she looks at presidential marriages and how they set the tone and affected the character and policies of twelve administrations from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush. We see Woodrow Wilson madly in love with his beautiful “Little Girl,” Edith Wilson. Eleanor Roosevelt suffered immeasurably from her husband’s infidelity but became a full partner in his administration. Bess Truman was blunt, loyal, and totally unpretentious. In spite of her grandmotherly image, Barbara Bush was all granite and steel while the press generally dubbed her husband a “wimp.” This is fascinating and informative reading. 5/1/02

Sujata Massey
The Flower Master
a favorite of Trish's, Information Services
Rei Shimura, a Japanese American antiques dealer, is trying to make a living in Tokyo. Thanks to her Japanese father she can speak the language, but can read only the most basic characters. Urged by her family, she signs up to take a class in flower arranging - something any Japanese woman expecting to find a husband must know. But her instructor is found stabbed with flower cutting shears, and Rei is caught up trying to protect her family's name. She finds plenty of dirt in the flower world. 1/2/03
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Ed McBain
Hark! A Novel of the 87th Precinct
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
In Ed McBain's latest zany romp, a clever villain, the "Deaf Man," wants to humiliate the cops of the 87th precinct. After killing the woman who betrayed him in a recent heist, he has great plans for another heinous deed. He gives clues of his plans by sending the 87th Shakespearean quotes, encrypted anagrams and palindromes which are interpreted and misinterpreted in hilarious discussions by the cops. There are plenty of soap operatic personal relationships described in spicy detail and various subplots that will keep you turning the pages way past your bed time. 11/12/07
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James McBride
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
McBride has written this lovely paean to his mother, who claimed to be black, but just very light skinned. Actually, she was the daughter of a traveling Orthodox rabbi who sexually abused her as a child. After his failed rabbinate, the family operated a store in rural Virginia. She never would talk about her past and McBride was an adult before she opened up to him. His mother, Ruth, ran away to New York where she married a black man, Andrew McBride, with whom she had eight children. Her family said kaddish, the ritual of mourning. Ruth was dead, as far as they were concerned. When Andrew died of lung cancer, she married another black man and had four more children. Growing up in the projects was not easy, but all of the children eventually got a college education. There were doctors, social workers, PhDs and teachers. This is an amazing book. 1/14/08
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Anne McCaffrey
The Tower and the Hive
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
If you don't normally read science fiction, why not start with this easy-to-read series? As overpopulation for all species becomes a problem, humans are working together with the peaceful alien Mrdini to combat the predatory Hiver species. The power telepaths, kinetics, and teleporters, all descendants of the Rowan, want to control but not kill the Mrdini. Many brilliant minds work together to try and understand the Hivers. To their surprise, it is pheromones that unlock the secret. Start with The Rowan and Damia and go on through the series. 12/2/03
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Alexander McCall Smith
Portuguese Irregular Verbs
a favorite of Donna's, Maze Branch Library
Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is a noted German philologist of romance languages with an inflated sense of his own importance. Unable to see that while he's a "big fish" in a very "small pond," von Igelfeld lives off of the recognition earned by his one great (but obscure) book. He leads a life of humorous desperation, seeking the respect he believes is his due and stumbling into adventures leading to his own comic undoing. McCall Smith, who captivated us with detectives in the diverse cultures of Botswana and Scotland, has created a character equally charming. Along with its two sequels, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, these small volumes provide some light-hearted entertainment for those days when reading about world problems, intrigue, or suspense just won't do. 4/1/05
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Frank McCourt
Teacher Man: A Memoir
read read by Frank McCourt on Recorded Books, unabridged
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
What an absolute delight! Funny, witty, informative and pedagogicaly sound! As I am driving along listening to Teacher Man McCourt, I burst into full throated laughter. If you loved Angela's Ashes you will delight in this continuation of his life from his "miserable childhood" to his ups and downs in his 30-year career as a New York City schoolteacher. On his first day of teaching, a fight breaks out in his classroom. A student tosses a sandwich. What to do? That never came up in his education classes. Nonchalantly, McCourt picks it up and eats it. "The best sandwich he has ever had," he says. Thus began a splendid, unorthodox teaching career in which among other things he has students read recipes from cookbooks accompanied by violin, bongo drums, and guitar in a creative writing class. Sheer delight! 9/24/07
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Colleen McCullough
Morgan's Run
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
McCullough writes historic novels that come to life with rouges and heroes, salty dialect, well researched period detail, malicious intrigue, a touch of comic relief, betrayal, anguish, and romance. This novel focuses on England's colonization of Australia. A gentle tavern keeper, Richard Morgan, loses his wife and two young children in a short span of time. He is then framed for robbery and extortion and sent on a horrendous prison ship to Botany Bay. During the horrific journey, he becomes a leader of the prisoners. Because of being an indefatigable worker and skilled gunsmith, he is able to start a new life and new family in Australia. A most rewarding read with tremendous historic detail. 3/1/07
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William McDonough and Michael Braungart
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
a favorite of Sharon's, Administration
This book presents an alternative to our current throw-away culture and goes way beyond the bandage of recycling. The authors ask, what if nature is used as a design model? What if designs are fair to people, restorative of the environment, AND good for profit? In a cradle-to-cradle model products are designed with their future function in mind. Biological materials are kept separate from technical resources and are therefore easily recaptured, uncompromised in quality, and readily up-cycled. This exciting and plausible vision of a better future is one in which economic growth is good and the planet is enriched, not depleted, by human activity. Full of lots of smart thinking, this book will revolutionize how you think of manufacturing, industry, economy, and environmental sustainability. 2/2/04
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Michael McGarrity
Tularosa
a favorite of Bryan's, Information Services
Haven't read many mysteries? This book is a great starter. Set around an army base in southern New Mexico, this story has a way of really taking you into the landscape. I've never been to the southwest, but this story made me feel like I was there. The story, itself, is about a retired detective searching for a close friend's son. Kevin Kerney, a police officer who retired after being injured in the line of duty, picks up his badge to help his ex-partner find his AWOL son, Sammy Yazzi. Kerney bands with Captain Sara Brannon and Private Eddie Tapia to solve the mystery of Sammy's disappearance. Though the writing gets a little bogged-down in cliché, the story was very enjoyable. If you enjoy southwestern scenery, mysteries, and/or detective stories this might be the book for you. 9/1/04
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Elizabeth McGregor
The Ice Child
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
McGregor cleverly weaves together the fascinating account of the lost 1845 Franklin Expedition to the Artic with a modern day love story that creates a heartbreaking tale of passion, courage, and a mother's indomitable love. Journalist Jo Harper falls in love with maverick archaeologist Douglas Marshall, who is determined to learn why two ships and over a hundred men disappeared in the Arctic over 150 years ago. Their tragic romance produces a child with a rare blood disease, and the mother is desperate to save her young son. Because McGregor has researched her material so thoroughly, the Franklin Expedition, as told by the doomed twelve-year-old Gus, becomes real. The reader will not be able to put down this all-consuming novel of the past and the present until the very last page. 6/1/05
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Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The Nanny Diaries
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
There are some really nasty super rich folk living in those fancy Park Avenue apartments. Nanny is hired to take care of four-year-old lovable Grayer who clings to her, because his parents are never there. Mrs. X doesn't work, cook, clean, or relate to her child. Mr. X is a philandering executive. Nanny is overworked and underpaid and "treated like fungus found growing out of her employer's Hermes bag." This is a comic yet poignant satire that skewers those Manhattan snobs written by two former nannies. 3/3/03
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Mardi Oakley Medawar
Death at Rainy Mountain
a favorite of Bryan's, Information Services
Death at Rainy Mountain places you into the world of the Kiowa Nation during the Civil War. The story, told from the first person point of view, focuses on the exploits of Tay-bodal, a loner, native american doctor. Though the main plot is the mystery of a man who dies in the Nation, the novel seems primarily about a large number of changes in Tay-bodal's life. Death at Rainy Mountain is a fun and easy read. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the mystery genre. Enjoy! 12/2/03
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Joe Meno
The Boy Detective Fails
a favorite of Mandy's, Fiction and Audiovisual Services
Every so often a book will come along that grabs me so tightly with the first sentence that I don't want to put it down until I'm finished. The Boy Detective Fails is just that kind of book. Billy Argo, our boy detective, has just been released from a mental hospital after a ten year stay prompted by his younger sister's suicide. Unwillingly thrust into the real world, Billy is forced to face the fact that perhaps there are mysteries in life that he simply cannot solve. The prose is stylized, yet simplistic and Billy is probably one of the most loveable characters I have ever read about. Meno also throws in some priceless homages to other childhood detectives and puzzles for readers to solve, which just makes for an even more entertaining read. 11/1/06
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China Mieville
Un Lun Dun
a favorite of Mandy's, Fiction and Audiovisual Services
Un Lun Dun has a little bit of everything - quirky, endearing characters; mystery; adventure; fantastical lands and creatures plus wonderfully entertaining illustrations to accompany you throughout your read. It's the kind of book that makes you sad when you're finished because whatever you read after it will not even remotely compare. 2/12/08

Anchee Min
Empress Orchid
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
Empress Orchid is the fascinating tale of a poor rural girl who becomes the emperor's wife, bears him a son and rules China as regent for 46 years. Tsu Hsi was reviled by the revolutionary Chinese, but Min weaves a sympathetic portrait. It is spellbinding to read about the seven royal wives, 3,000 concubines and 2,000 scheming eunuchs. The inhabitants of the Forbidden City lead lives of incredible luxury, but are totally out of touch with reality. The Ch'ing Dynasty in 1852 has lost its vitality; the court is insular and xenophobic. The Emperor, "the Son of Heaven" is ill and not capable of keeping the barbarians, the foreigners, out. He is forced to sign unequal treaties, pay exorbitant indemnities and sign away Hong Kong to the British for a hundred years. Min has done extensive research about Tsu Hsi. This is an informative and captivating read. 7/1/04
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Denise Mina
Deception
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
It was great fun listening to the recording of Deception as read by Richard Matthews in his wonderful Scottish brogue. The fast becoming international star, Scottish author Mina, relates her novel from the point of view of the house husband Lachland Harriott whose psychiatrist wife Susie is convicted of murdering Glasgow serial killer Andrew Gow. Never believing that his beloved Susie could be guilty of murder, Lachland frantically searches Susie's heretofore off limits computer files for material that might help with her appeal. How can a seemingly happy wife, good mother, and competent doctor fall apart so quickly? As Lachland reads the files he soon sees a Susie that is not what she seemed. There is plenty of deception and self-deception to go around. This psychologically insightful book will keep you up nights to finish it. 8/1/05
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Andres Montoya
The Iceworker Sings and Other Poems
a favorite of Liene's, Information Services
The late Andres Montoya won the 1997 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize, University of California, Irvine, and a 2000 American Book Award for this collection of poems. In these stories, prayers and letters about his people in the barrio of Fresno, California, he speaks against injustice to so many who continue to labor in hope, but are repeatedly reduced to despair in an unresponsive and uncaring world: "...it wounds me, this silence. Even the tears have been abandoned, and though I collect the salt from all the eyes, tasting them, filing each according to its purity of sadness, this too is forgotten." 2/2/01

Laura Moriarty
The Rest of Her Life
a favorite of Anne's, Fiction and Audiovisual Services
This thoughtful novel begins with a tragedy-Kara, a teenager, is distracted while driving and strikes and kills a fellow high school student. The accident rocks the closely-knit Kansas town, and Kara's family struggles to cope-especially Kara's mother Leigh. Moriarty explores the strained relationship between the two, and the complex nature of all mother-daughter relationships. There aren't any easy answers in this book, but through the weighty subject matter and relatably flawed characters, Moriarty shows that growth is possible at any point in life. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult or Sue Miller. 8/25/2008

Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels
Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients
a favorite of Rashmi's, Information Services
About three decade ago, Henry Gadsden, the CEO of the drug company Merck, made a comment that his dream was to make drugs for healthy people, so that the company could "sell to everyone." Ray Moynihan, a reputable health journalist, and Alan Cassels, a well-known science writer, make us aware that the Gadsen's vision has become reality. According to the authors, drug companies, by providing various incentives, have successfully influenced many doctors into prescribing unnecessary drugs to healthy people. Common conditions have been redefined as "disorders" requiring pharmacological treatments. For example, shyness is diagnosed as "Social Anxiety Disorder." The authors detail how celebrities are paid exuberant amounts of money to promote unnecessary medications. For example, a few years ago, drug manufacturer Wyeth hired supermodel Lauren Hutton to "educate" female consumers about Hormone Replacement Therapy. Hutton shared her tips for looking gorgeous, "My No. 1 secret is estrogen." The authors suggest that many of the redefined "diseases" and "disorders" can be treated through alternative means such as diet, exercise, and changes in lifestyle. The issues raised by the authors about the multi-billion dollar drug industry are thought provocative. Another title that critiques the practices of the pharmaceutical industry is Marcia Angell's The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to do About It. 9/1/06
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Marcia Muller
While Other People Sleep
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
This is Muller's nineteenth mystery with the formidable forty year old Sharon McCone, PI. Muller is regarded as the creator of the contemporary female detective. With her San Francisco detective agency considered one of the best in the city, McCone learns that a female look alike is using her name, handing out her business cards, using her credit cards, and picking up men for sexual encounters. The impostor not only looks like McCone but seems to have an intimate knowledge of her life. It's as if she can get inside her head. Does she want to ruin McCone? Is it revenge? A subplot involves her gay office manager and his torments. McCone's own lover, Hy Ripinsky, is in Brazil on business, but he hasn't contacted her for weeks. The situation is becoming unmanageable. A good, light read. 6/5/01

Haruki Murakami
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
a favorite of Anne's, Fiction and Audiovisual Services
Where do I begin? It's a hunt for a runaway cat that takes detours down a well and into neighbors' houses. It's an exploration of the beginning and end of a marriage. It's a dreamlike gem of magical realism with a twist of David Lynch-style characters and settings. It's a meandering-but compelling-walk through the inner life of Toru Okada and the back stories of all the people he meets along the way. However you try to sum it up, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is impossible to define. Disturbing, transcendent, and charged with metaphor and a shifting sense of reality, this Japanese author's beautifully translated novel begs to be read and puzzled over. 2/19/08

Mary Mycio
Wormwood Forest, a Natural History of Chernobyl
a favorite of Irene's, Information Services
Truly an incredible book! In 1986, when the number four reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant exploded and spewed radioactive materials world-wide, everyone imagined that the surrounding area would be a dead zone, a nuclear waste land. Twenty years later, in this so called Zone of Alienation, life goes on. Even some humans have gone back to live there and are refusing to leave. The flora and fauna are thriving, although they are radioactive. The Chernobyl area, about the size of Rhode Island, has become Europe's largest wildlife refuge with some rare and endangered species making their home there. There are wolves, lynx, moose, fox, eagles, and storks, just to name a few. Two herds of the rare and endangered Przewalski's horses were brought there and now are thriving in the wild. Rodents, being closer to the contaminated soil, are not doing as well, however. I don't think this would be my tourist destination, but package tours to Chernobyl are available. An absolutely fascinating read. 4/3/06
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Tamar Myers
Gruel and Unusual Punishment
a favorite of Trish's, Information Services
Mennonite inn owner Magdalena Yoder is always putting her considerable proboscis into other people's business in Hernia, Pennsylvania. This time she is investigating the murder of Clarence Webber, who died of poisoning after eating a dinner prepared by Magdelena's cousin Freni. In the process of discovering who really poisoned him, she discovers that he leaves four wives in mourning and some big questions about the motives of those four widows. Sprinkled throughout are recipes, this time not featuring the usual Mennonite ones, but a sampling of grits recipes. 3/4/02