FictionWe Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (Alena)I read this based on what my mother said. It is about family; a girl that grows up with a very unusual story. When it starts you know that her sister disappears when she is very little, her brother is on the lam, and she is estranged from her parent. Halfway through the story you really find out why she is so screwed up. This book is about memory and what this world does to you and how we treat each other. It is beautifully written. I could not stop thinking about it because it is so thought provoking. I recommend that you do not read the book jacket because it will ruin it for you. I just love a book that tells a story in an unusual way.

An Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (Betty)This book starts when a middle aged man comes back to his hometown after attending a funeral. After the service he goes to the house he was raised in but ends up at the house down the lane. This story could have gone in so many directions. It wasn’t until after I finished it that I realized it was about childhood. In 181 pages, he puts so much in there that resonates with our childhood – love, cruelty, resentment and even monsters. And the monsters in this book are really, really scary. But reading the book is such a warm, loving kind of experience. His writing style reminds me very much of Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine.

All You Can Ask For by Mike Greenford (Nancy)This wasn’t a great book but it is pretty easy and light. He is the cohost of the ESPN show Mike and Mike in the Morning so it really shocked me the way he can write from a woman’s perspective. It was amazing. This is perfect if you want something light and even though it was light it has really stayed with me.

The Iron Heel by Jack London (Paul)I read this book because it claims to be the first dystopian novel. London’s protagonist is a guy who is a socialist and he is an agent. The main story is about unions and how the only way unions will win is through violence. He doesn’t really have a good view of the future because of the Industrial Revolution but the writing is wonderful and there are a lot of side stories about the main character. I think London did a great job especially since all his other stories are so different than this.

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell (Margita)This book is set in the 1920s and the main character, Rose, is a reserved and quiet woman working for the New York Police Department as a typist. When Odalie starts working as a typist, she captivates everyone and the reader enters the world of speakeasies and drinking. Rose is fascinated with Odalie who is so different from her. The end just killed me; I had to re-read it a couple of times. You had to choose what happened or what you believed really happened. Although it wasn’t a mystery, it was mysterious and very interesting. Someone else needs to read it so we can talk about the ending!

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld (Kathy)I don’t want to talk about this book because I loved it but rather because I was hoping someone else had read it. I have really enjoyed Sittenfeld’s other books but I had a harder time with this one. Daisy and Violet are twins that have the ability to see the future. Daisy has rejected this ability in search of a “normal” life where Violet has cultivated it. The story is driven by Violet’s prediction of a huge earthquake in the coming weeks but really it is about family and identity; who we are and to what extent we can alter it. I enjoyed it because I love Sittenfeld’s writing but I found Daisy, the narrator, to get too annoying at times.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (Erica)This story begins in Italy in 1962 and progresses until present time. To me, the book was just about life and plain living. I thought the writing was exquisite and the story was told in a very interesting way. You just have to pick it up and read it. You really need to get into the story. I started it on the train and there were too many distractions. I had to re-read it at home so I could pay attention to the little details.

Non-FictionThe Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey (Lois)This book is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. If you go to New Orleans this story is everywhere there but outside of New Orleans, not many people know about it. It is about a group of German immigrants that had some misadventures. They lost their money and signed up with a boat that brought them over if they contracted for indentureship. The story begins when a German woman swears a plantation worker looks like a relative. She is convinced that she is the long lost Sally Miller and she sets about proving it is her. You get a little bit about the courts and slavery as well.

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs (Karen)I don’t usually get excited about funny books but this book is so funny; I laughed out loud at times. He writes about his two year quest to become the healthiest person in the world. When he starts, he interviews lots of people about all sorts of healthy lifestyles and living. A lot of the book is the interplay between him and his wife. I just get the biggest kick out of him. It is also a really easy book to put down and come back to later.

Citizens of London by Lynne Olson (Sandy)I really learned a lot from this book and it really started me on a non-fiction kick. I was amazed at what I did not know about prior to World War II. For instance, I always thought FDR was so powerful and independent but was astounded at how much he was influenced by other people and factors. Even while war is going on, the people of London were having a good time and experiencing all kinds of intrigues. How these people endured was amazing. History could have been really different if the citizens of London were different. It really changed my perspective on the war. The last quote of the book brought me to tears.

American Wine: The Ultimate Companion to the Wines and Wineries of the United States by Jancis Robinson (Ann)The photographs in this book are beautiful. It covers all fifty states and somehow they all have wine. They start with the major regions but they also discuss some of the less notable places that often, surprisingly have wine. It is not something you would lug around with you but if you are looking for wine places this is definitely a good book. It is really cool because in the past Europe was the big wine region but now Americans are starting to drink and make more wine.

TeenAltered by Jennifer Rush (Elizabeth)

Hannah is a 17-year-old that lives with her widowed father. He works for The Branch but she doesn’t really know what he does for a living. One day she breaks into her father’s lab and discovers four boys in the basement who are essentially lab rats being used for experimentation. They escape and take Hannah with them. They begin an epic quest to find out what their life was before the basement. Hannah also discovers that she can’t trust her own memory because, she too, has been subjected to experiments and her memory has been tampered with. This was a good, fast-paced read with a bit of a romance as well.