2010 Book List

2010 Book List


Nonfiction

1001 children's books you must read before you grow up
Off the Tourist Track: 1000 unexpected travel adventures
Concord Quartet, Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorn, Thoreau.
Mortimer Adler, Charles Van Doren. How to Read a Book 1940, 1976
Sharon Begley Train Your Mind, Change your Life
Blogging for Dummies / iPhone for Dummies
Bill Bryson Seeing Further: Science, Discovery, and the Genius of the Royal Society, At Home
Nick Bunker Make Haste from Babylon
Caleb Carr The Lessons of Terror
Celtic Wisdom
Bruce Chatwin Far journeys : photographs and notebooks
Nick Collins The End of the Line 2005
Bernard DeVoto Western Paradox
David Hackett Fischer Champlain’s Dream
Atul Gawande. The Checklist Manifesto
David Grann The Devil and Sherlock Holmes
Claire Harman. Jane’s Fame 2009
Charley Hopper (art books/environmental posters)
Bill Holm Poles in Minnesota.
Matthew Mark Jacob What the Great Ate
PD James Talking about Detective Fiction
Henry James: A life in letters Ed Philip Horne,
Sam Kean. The Disappearing Spoon (periodic table)
William Bryan Logan Oak, frame of civilisation 2008
Leonard Maltin 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen
John McPhee Giving Good Weight
John Medina Brain Rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school
Sy Montgomery Birdology (adventures with a pack of hens, a peck of pigeons, cantankerous crows, fierce falcons, hip hop parrots, baby hummingbirds and one murderously big living dinosaur (emu)
Philip Mould The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures
Diana Norman 1970 Tom Corbett’s Stately Ghosts of England.
Stephanie O'Dea Make it fast, cook it slow.
Nancy Pearl Book Lust to Go: recommended reading for travelers, vagabonds, and dreamers
A passion for books (ed Dale Salwak) 1999
A passion for books : a book lover's treasury of stories, essays, humor, lore, and lists on collecting, reading, borrowing, lending, caring for, and appreciating books (1999) Eds Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan.
Eric Pooley The Climate War
William Powers Hamlet’s Blackberry: life in digital age
Eva Rice The Lost art of Keeping Secrets
Sarah Rose For all the tea in China : how England stole the world's favorite drink and changed history
Amy Stewart Flower confidential. The good, the bad and the beautiful in the business of flowers 2001 Wicked Plants 2009
Tom Slayton The Beauty of Vermont
Mark Strand. Hopper
Suzanne Strempek Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama: a year in a Bookstore 2004
Robert Sullivan The Thoreau you Don’t Know 2009
J. Maarten Troost Lost on Planet China
Abraham Verghese Cutting for Stone
Donald Worster A Passion for Nature: the life of John Muir 2008
Donald Worster Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity and the growth of the American West 1985
Zagat Ann Christenson Chicago Restaurants

Poetry/Short Stories

TS Eliot Four quartets
Will Weaver - new book! MN press
James Lenfestey (ed) Low Down and Coming on



Mysteries, Fiction
DM Annechino They Never Die Quietly
M Gannon ed. Blood Bedlam Bullets and Badguys
Emily Arsenault The Broken Teaglass 2009
Stephanie Barron. A Flaw in the Blood, The White Garden, Jane and the Madness of Lord Bryon
Lorna Barrett Bookmarked for Death
Lauren Belfer A Fierce Radiance
Vanora Bennett The Queen’s Lover (Henry VI)
Jane Borodale The Book of Fires
Gyles Brandreth Oscar Wilde and the dead man's smile
James Buchan The Persian Bride
Andrea Camilleri The Shape of Water (novel of food wine and homicide in Sicily, first Insp Montalbano)
Jennifer Lee Carrell Haunt Me Still
Kate Carlisle If Books could kill, Homicide in Hardcover
Sarah Caudwell The Sibyl in her Grave 2000
Barbara Cleverly Strange images of Death, Darker God
John Connolly The Whisperers
Martin Davies The Conjurer's Bird, Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose
Catherine Delors For the King
Mathew Dicks Something Missing
Gerald Elias. Devil's Trill
George Eliott Silas Marner
Carolly Erickson Memoirs Mary Queen of Scots
Charles Finch Stranger in Mayfair
Marina Fiorato Glassblower of Murano, The Botticelli Secret
Dick Felix Francis Crossfire
Ariana Franklin Mistress of the Art of Death, Serpents Tale, Grave Goods, Murderous procession, City of Shadows
Tana French Faithful Place
Juliet Gael Romancing Miss Bronte
Andrew Gross Dark Tide
Elly Griffeths The Crossing Places, Janus Stone
Martha Grimes The Black Cat
CS Harris What Remains of Heaven
Erin Hart Haunted Ground 2003 Lake of Sorrows 2006 False Mermaid
Georgette Heyer Duplicate Death
Homer Hickam The Dinosaur Hunter
Quintin Jardine Fatal Last Words 2009
Kathleen Kent The Wolves of Andover
Kathleen Kent The Heretic's Daughter 2008
Elizabeth Kostova. 2010 The Swan Thieves
Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall 2009, Fludd 2001 The Giant, O'Brien, Beyond Black 2005
Peter May Virtually Dead, Extraordinary People
Archer Mayor Price of Malice, Red Herring
Sharyn McCrumb The Devil amongst the Lawyers
Caroline Miniscule An Unpardonable Crime
Diana Norman Taking Liberty 2003
SJ Parris Heresy
Anne Perry The Sheen of the Silk
Elizabeth Peters Rivers in the Sky 2009
Ian Rankin. Doors Open
CJ Ransom. Dark Fire, Sovereign
Cornelia Read Field of Darkness, Crazy School, Invisible Boy
Kathy Reichs Spider Bones
Peter Robinson The Price of Love, Bad Boy
John Sandford Storm Prey, Bad Boy (Virgil)
Cathleen Schine Three Weissmanns of Westport.
Olen Steinhauer Victory Square 2007 The Tourist 2009, The Nearest Exit
Andrew Taylor Bleeding Heart Square 2009Roth Trilogy, the Lyndmouth Series, Blaines Trilogy and Dougal Series, A Stain in the Silence, The Barred Window, Raven in the Water, The American Boy.
World of Gerard Mercator.
Charles Todd The Red Door, A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery, An Impartial Witness



Biography

Confucius Sayings
Rusty Dewees Scrawlins (Vermont)
William Fiennes The Snow Geese (2002)
Claire Harman. Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World 2009
Woody Holton. Abigal Adams 2009
St Clair McKelway Reporting at Wit’s End: Tales from the New Yorker
Alice Munro The View from Castle Rock 2006
Edna O’Brien Byron in Love: a short daring life
Val Ross Robertson Davies Portrait
Andrew Taylor The World of George Mercator
Mark Twain Autobiography



Science Fiction

Dave Duncan Monster War
Richard Morgan The Steel Remains, Altered carbon
Paul Hofman. The Left Hand of God
Terry Pratchett I shall wear Midnight
Kim Stanley Robinson Galileo's dream

Literature/Fiction

Peter Carey Parrot and Olivier
Barbara Cleverly Tug of War 2006
Tracy Cheveliar Remarkable Creatures
Justin Cronin Passages
Catherine Delors For the King
Tatiana De Rosnay Sarah’s Key 2007
Joshua Ferris Then We Came to the End 2007
Adam Gopnik The Lost Estate
Einar Mar Gundmundsson Angels of the Universe 1993 (winner Nordic Council Lit Prize)
Paul Harding Tinkers
Barbara Kingsolver The Lacuna
Sandor Marai Casanova in Bolzano 1940, translated 2004 The Rebels
Kate Morton The Distant Hours
Julie Orringer The Invisible Bridge
Ali Shaw The Girl with Glass Feet 2009
Alexander McCall Smith, Corduroy Mansions
AMS Double Comfort Safari Club
Lost Art of Gratitude, The Charming Quirks of Others
Helen Simonson Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
Rebecca Stott The Coral Thief 2009
Elizabeth Strout Abide with Me 2006, Olive Kitteridge (2008 Pulitizer)



Romance

Amanda Quick Burning Lamp
Gail Carriger Soulless, Changeless, Blameless
Deanna Raybourn Silent on the Moor 2009
Julia Quinn What happens in London
Emma Wildes My lord Scandal
Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Gulbert The Professor’s Daughter (graphic 1997)

Childrens

GA Aiken What a Dragon Should Know
Kate DiCamillo Louise, the Adventures of A Chicken
Neil Gaiman Wild Hair
Maurice Sendak Where the Wild Things Are
Brandon Mull Fairhaven series
Lemony Snicket Thirteen Words
Lane Smith It’s A Book!



Movies/DVDs

Iron Man
Robin Hood
Climate of Change
Shrek 3D
Nanny McPhee
Secretariat
Fantastic Mr Fox
Blindside
Sherlock Holmes
Crazy Heart
From Paris with Love
Young Victoria
How to Train Your Dragon
Foyle’s War MI-5
King’s Speech
Avatar
Girl who played with Fire/Dragon Tattoo

Book Group in A BAG

Think outside the bag!
The Library has a great selection of BOOK GROUP in a BAG, with hundreds of titles in Fiction, Non Fiction, Children's and Young Adult. There are also wonderful Reading Group or Book Club Guides (with questions, or if you like this author, read these).

Don't forget that the Rochester Reads book The Worst Hard Time is also available as a BookGroup in a Bag.

So, what is your book group reading next??
We'd like to hear what you are reading throughout the coming year. We would be delighted to open discussion on authors or particular books too. There will be new titles added this year as well. Please let the Library know if you have any titles you can't wait to read.
Don't forget to meet the author too = the Library has a number of author visits scheduled for 2011. Watch this space! There are quite a few regional visits of authors as well. Share if you plan to attend.

Wit Wisdom & Wine fundraiser

Oooh Shiny! This year's 10th Annual Wit Wisdom & Wine raffle on January 15, 2011,  features the winner's choice of one of three pieces of jewlery donated by Hight & Randall, Ltd.

18 karat white gold Art Nouveau arrow pin with 25 square cut channel set blue sapphires weighing approximately 0.75ct and 22 single cut bead set melee diamonds weighing approximately 0.25ct, circa 1930. This piece weighs 4.6 grams.

14 karat yellow gold antique revival style filigree ring containing 37 round brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 0.52 ct, H color S12 clarity.

We are grateful for the generous support of our event co-sponsors:

Additional Sponsors:

Andy's Liquor	Associated Bank
Daube's Cakes & Bakery	Davies Printing
Doubletree Rochester Downtown	Barb and Phil Henoch
Hight & Randall, Ltd., Personal Jewelers	Lasker Jewelers
League of Women Voters	David & Lois Marris of Keller Williams Realty
Nigon Woodworks	US Bank
Windsor Financial Group/David Koch

Proceeds are used to support the mission and vision of the Rochester Public Library Foundation.

Peter Robinson Bad Boy

There are several current titles with Bad Boy, but this mystery by Peter Robinson is another fasinating read. This continues the story of Det Chief Insp Alan Banks, with his partner Annie Cabot. England never feels very safe when they are involved in a case. Lately they seem to all have insidious, devious pychopaths, masquerading as smooth individuals, the pillars of the community. This has truly grisly details, not just physical, but the psychological impact; again not just the crimes, but the implications in every day lives of the consequences of our actions, and other deeds.  Keep the lights on, expect a fast read, hope your nightmares are less than mine!
I had two comments about small details: they were sipping whiskey as they are wont to do, but if it is spelled with an 'e' it isn't the singlemalts of their northern neighbours. Are they drinking irish whiskey?? Or is this the american typeset??
I love the fact that the main characters like to read, as well as drink wine and listen to music.
The echo of "we're a right pair" closes with a sense of survival, but at  a huge cost.
Can't wait for the next installment.

Library and Bookstore Holiday closings

Closed:
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, January 1, 2011

Wit Wisdom & Wine fundraiser

Registration information is now available for our 10th Annual Wit, Wisdom & Wine fundraiser for the Rochester Public Library Foundation.

This entertaining and intellectual fundraising event features a variety of speakers.  Attendees select two class choices to attend. Wine and Hors d'oeuvres will be served throughout the evening, with special wine tasting and refreshments following the second class. 

Library and Bookstore Holiday closings

A reminder that the Friends Bookstore and the Library will be CLOSED tomorrow and Saturday::

Friday, December 24
Saturday, December 25

We will also be CLOSED to observe New Years:
Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, January 1, 2011

ANOTHER reminder to ALL VOLUNTEERS
Please put your volunteer hours in the signup sheets/books (both bookstore, sorting, etc) for Nan to log in your annual hours. This is very important, not just to recognize all the work that you do (which the Library and Friends GREATLY appreciate) but also these numbers provide the basis for additional support and community recognition.
THANK YOU AGAIN everyone, for all the hard work that you do. It is a wonderful contribution to our library and to the community (and to the next generations!)

Donations and Recycling!

REMINDER the Library and Bookstore will be closed on the Christmas and New  Year Holidays!

Remember you can recycle your books (new, old, textbooks, foreign language, etc) to our  Friends bookstore. The Rochester Public Library will look at them first to see if they want to add them to their collection. Then the books will be sorted for online sales, unusual and special, Book Store or Book Sales.


You can also recycle your magazines! The BookStore sells current magazines for 50cents! I am always amazed at the number of titles we have.  Free magazines are located outside the bookstore in the Library foyer. Don't forget the Library also accepts ink cartridges for recycling.

The Holidays

When I discovered libraries, it was like having Christmas every day. Jean Fritz
Support your local library this year, give generously.

A donation (remember those taxes!), a donation in someone's name (a great gift!), a ticket to Wit Wisdom and Wine (January 15th), a book purchase in the Friends' Bookstore, a Friends membership purchase (early entry into our book sales, Winterfest is next!), a bottle of wine or the Balvenie Single Malt Whisky (in December at Andy's)  are all ways to contribute just a little more to benefit the entire community. You benefit as well!

Book Groups - Book Clubs

What is your book group reading next??

We'd like to hear what you are reading throughout the coming year. We would be delighted to open discussion on authors or particular books too. The Library has a great selection of BOOK GROUP in a BAG, with hundreds of titles. There are also wonderful  Reading Group  or Book Club Guides (with questions, or if you like this author, read these).

Don't forget to meet the author too = the Library has a number of author visits scheduled for 2011. Watch this space! There are quite a few regional visits of authors as well. Share if you plan to attend.

A favourite spot to locate new book titles, subject or ideas or award winning authors is htttp://www.vintagebooks.com/read

One of my book groups has a Poetry Pot Luck in December - an annual event now. In January we are reading  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese


Books discussed or suggested or on want to read lists: (Feel free to recommend or not any on this list!)

Diego and Frida by LeClezio

Half Baked Ponies by Jeanette Walls (memoir)

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It by Ken Aulett (NF)

The Piano Teacher by Janice K. Lee (F)

The House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (F)

Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution by Leonard Schain, recently recommended
House Keeping by Marilyn Robinson ( a recent Writer's Almanac)
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson

Making Democracy Work: A Judge's View by Stephen Breyer (just out in Sept!)

Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Man(NF) by Laney Salisbury, Ally Sujo,

When the Crocodile Ate the Sun ()NF) by Peter Godwin,

Five Quarters of the Orange (F) by Joanne Harris

Remembering Smell for Fun (NF) by Bonnie Blodgett

Sea of Poppies (F) by Amitov Ghosh

The Little Stranger (F) by Sarah Waters

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Outcasts United by Warren St. John (NF)

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James (recently featured on MPR)

Holiday Books

Cheers! It is the season to celebrate with Friends ;-)


Enjoy a wee nip to keep the cold at bay while perusing the latest Library book, or Friends' Bookstore Find! Remember that Andy's Crossroads and NE Stores have Balvenie Double Wood and 15 yr Single Malt Whiskies for sale during December and that a portion of the proceeds ($5) of each bottle benefits the Rochester Public Library. You still have 11 days left of this month!

Remember that we are making a Library Collection of interesting wines, with wonderful labels for the next few months. The Favourite so far is SSShhhhhh ardonnay, with an outstanding photo of one of our first librarians! I personally like Well Red, on either the Merlot or the Cabernet.  Pair it with your favorite book for an outstanding gift.


Wine really does improve with age. The older I get, the more I like it. Urban Graphic

Holiday Books

LIFE IS SHORT
READ FAST!!

Cheers! It is the season to celebrate with Friends ;-)
Enjoy a wee nip to keep the cold at bay while perusing the latest Library book, or Friends' Bookstore Find! Remember that Andy's Crossroads and NE Stores have Balvenie Double Wood and 15 yr Single Malt Whiskies for sale during the Month of December and that a portion of the proceeds ($5) of each bottle benefits the Rochester Public Library.

AND Remember that we are making a Library Collection of interesting wines, with wonderful labels for the next few months. The Favourite so far is SSShhhhhh ardonnay, with an outstanding photo of one of our first librarians! I personally like Well Red, on either the Merlot or the Cabernet. 
We will consider personalised labels for orders of a case or more. A local Book Club decided it was the perfect gift for members and created a label with "reading between the wines".

A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world: Louis Pasteur

Second Saturday Sale

Due to the inclement snowy weather last weekend, we closed the bookstore. Do not despair! We moved the Book Sale to THIS next Saturday December 18th so you can still find the perfect book gift!
We have a wonderful selection of Gift Quality Books for our Second Saturday Sale,  in the Friends' Bookstore and Library Foyer. Join Paige Turner in selecting a great holiday read! I will soon be posting my annual reading list, with recommendations, so check this space!

Visiting Author Series

Please join us for our successful visiting author series 2010/2011 at the Rochester Public Library! Sundays at 2:00 pm in the auditorium. The next scheduled visit is Gayla Marty on March 6. Save the Date! Come early to get a seat.

Holiday Books

Let the Holiday Season Begin! From Sinterklaus through 12th Night*
Books make Great Gifts because they appeal to almost everyone; they're affordable, shippable and wrap-able; and they complement the fine taste of the giver as well as the receiver.

There's something for everyone, including yourself.

VISIT THE FRIENDS' BOOKSTORE SOON for the perfect gift.

* the elves made me do it ;-)

READ A NEW BOOK MONTH

Remember, December is "Read a New Book Month"!
We know that every month is for our Friends Bookstore Readers, but since it is now official, we may as well CELEBRATE!
Come into the Bookstore for great book suggestions and a great selection of holiday gift ideas. Don't know what to get someone for the Holidays? A BOOKSTORE GIFT CERTIFICATE is a great idea!!
Santa is Busy!!!
Be an ELF** and support the Rochester Public Library!

*An ELF is  an Extraordinary Library Friend!

His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis

His Excellency: George Washington   by Joseph Ellis
Review by Matt Ruzek

His Excellency is a look into the character of one of our founding fathers George Washington. Joseph Ellis is also the author of Revolutionary reads such as Founding Brothers and American Sphinx. In my opinion His Excellency is the most captivating of three because George Washington is the central figure. The book takes you from Washington’s youth through to serving in the militia in the French and Indian War, as General during the American Revolution, then presiding over the Continental Congress, and eventually becoming our first recognized President. Along this journey, however, you see the stoic resolve and strong constitution of a man during our most tumultuous time in our country’s history. This is not another biography written in textbook form. This comes from Washington’s personal papers found at Mount Vernon. You see Washington’s struggle with slavery, land exploration, and the lack of a legacy through children. The book is a great study in determination and resolve under the most trying circumstances such as the Valley Forge and the design of a Federal Banking system. For anyone who loves history, character studies, or just a good read I would recommend this book. It reads like a novel and will delightfully occupy a weekend. Enjoy!!!!

What to read next...

It is a busy holiday season, yet I have STACKS of books to read. Literally. The Stack on the right has to be read soon, as they are library books! There are only 16 to read in the space of 15 days ;-) Unusually for me, I am reading several at a time. That happens with non fiction, but also with Book Lust to Go (Nancy Pearl) you end up reading 2 pages, and getting 6 more books....So do I buy Book Lust to Go in paperback or on Kindle??

The Book Stack on the left has accumulated over the last three months, when travel enlisted virtual reading. Many of these were purchased in the Friends' Bookstore, where you can often find books in mint condition, for a fraction of the price. Winter is the Perfect READING Season, and it is delightful knowing I have the next book all set to go. Of course, I have an enormous wish list too!

Second Saturday Sale

We have a wonderful selection of Gift Quality Books for our Second Saturday Sale, December 11th in the Friends Bookstore and Library Foyer.  Join Paige Turner in selecting a great holiday read!

Book Reviews

The Friends have started a books recommended area in our Friends' Bookstore. There are so many wonderful books out there, as well as amazing prices in our store, that it is an ideal pairing. Many of the volunteer staff can also comment of books that you might be interested in buying.
We would like to include more book reviews in this blog. If you are interested in recommending a book, an author, a series, a movie, please send in your review, or idea and we will consider posting it.
If there are books you are looking for, do let us know as well. We have a large selection in our bookstore, but also have online inventory.
We will look forward to hearing from you.

John Sandford, Bad Boy

Has anyone read the new Virgil Flowers book, Bad Boy?
I would like to start a discussion since I have heard so many different comments. And read so many varied reviews.
It was not an easy book, with the subject matter, and I thought I wouldn't want to live in Blue Earth until I talked with another library staff member who said he recognized people! If Garrison Keillor had lived here, Lake Wobegon would have been full of nightmares. I couldn't marry the two Minnesotas together. Still, it was first and foremost a Sandford book: There were some delightful Flowers' comments and the usual storyline.
Another discussion point includes the comments that the subject matter was more Davenport than Flowers. Whereas I felt that this would have been a brilliant Kidde book. I so wish he brought back those characters.
Not a book to enjoy, but a book that is fast paced and packs a punch. I read it in one sitting because I needed to be done with it, didn't sleep well, had to have a discussion to exorcise it, passed my copy on as I will not reread this, but still recommend reading it.

Holiday BOOK AND BAKE SALE

Don't miss our annual holiday book and bake sale!
Sunday afternoon December 5th in the Auditorium of the Rochester Public Library.
There are amazing gift quality books at very reasonable prices, some specifically for the holidays plus other new fiction and nonfiction.

Don't forget, we always have a wide selection of Christmas cookies and baked goods! These are best sellers and disappear fast! Come early for a good assortment! I know some people who come and get their holiday cookies and don't bake for the rest of the month!

Remember, eliminate regifting! Buy and book and then buy a bottle of library wine at Andy's Liquor Crossroads!