An old Chinese proverb says that a good book is like having a garden in your pocket. The Book Doctors return to plant a few ideas in our minds, and help cultivate some great reads.
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The National Book Critcs Circle has released the finalists for its book awards for 2010.
Find the list here.
The Book Doctors are: John Mark Eberhart, reader's advisory coordinator for the Johnson County Library, Jeffrey Ann Goudie, a freelance writer, book reviewer and editor, and Kaite Stover, head of readers' services for the Kansas City Library.
Download the List (pdf)
| Kaite Mediatore Stover's Recommendations: | |
| A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness This is a debut novel, likely the first in a trilogy from a professor of history at USC. She also teaches classes in alchemy and magic. It's a paranormal/fantasy/historical fiction with witches and vampires for the adult reader who needs a little more substance than Twilight and characters a little older than Harry Potter. Same compelling storytelling and intriguing characters. | |
| A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh A well-respected and award winning romance author, this latest Regency romance is a recent award winner and breaks out of the drawing-room romance mold with a twist in the plot no one will see coming. | |
| The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde This cult fave author's visit will be the signature event in the KCPL winter reading program for adults, Altered States. Imagine a Great Britain where status and intelligence are measured by how well versed one is in the literary arts. Literature permeates every aspect of life in this alternate universe (bored while waiting for a plane? Drop a couple of shillings in the box next to your seat and listen to a recitation of a Shakespearean sonnet). Lively, witty fun for the smart set. | |
| To the End of the Land by David Grossman | |
| Jeffrey Ann Goudie's Recommendations: | |
| Bound by Antonya Nelson A novel set in Wichita during the re-emergence of the BTK killer by Wichita native Nelson. | |
| The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman A collection of linked stories coming out next week. | |
| Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. A National Book Critics Circle finalist | |
| Ellegies for the Broken Hearted by Christie Hodgen | |
| Great House by Nicole Krauss | |
| John Mark Eberhart's Recommendations: | |
| First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen | |
| I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (bio/memoir of Warren Zevon) by Crystal Zevon | |
| Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern | |
| Miss Me When I'm Gone by Kansas City's own Philip Stephens. | |
| Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot | |
Caller Recommendations: Nicole in Overland Park?Freedom by Jonathan Franzen | |