Victoria’s October Recommendation

Posted on October 8, 2014 by GG Reads

This tells the story of a mother and wife and career woman who quits her job due to illness, and decides that she will commit suicide in five days, so she spends her time saying goodbyes.

Here is the official description:

‘Mara Nichols, a terminally ill career woman, wife, and mother, and Scott Coffman, a middle-school teacher whose eight-year-old foster son is about to return to his former inmate mother, traverse the last five days they have to say goodbye to their loved ones.”

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3 Similar Reads

The Sea by John Banville – Following the death of his wife, Max Morden retreats to the seaside town of his childhood summers, where his own life becomes inextricably entwined with the members of the vacationing Grace family. – Novelist

Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates – This book is similar because it also deals with family and how to deal with loss. After a murder, there are two suspects, and the children of the suspects are out to determine who the real killer is.

Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago – This book explores the question, what if you couldn’t die? At first, people are very excited to live forever, but they must figure out how to take care of people who are eternally sick, and many other complications.

Blaise’s August Recommendation

Posted on August 25, 2014 by GG Reads

The Sun and Other Stars by Brigid Pasulka

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Blaise says:

This is a great summer read, a good book to escape into. Set on the coast of Italy, the story is told from the perspective of 22 year old Etto, a young man who is struggling after the death of his mother and brother. Through friends, family and soccer he is able to find happiness and hope. I read this book in a weekend, it’s a page turner.

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Similar Titles:

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman – Also set in Italy, this literary and engaging novel focuses on the interesting characters that staff a struggling newspaper. Won Publishers Weekly and NY Times Book of the Year in 2010.

This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz – A collection of short stories focusing on love and loss. Told from the perspective of Yunior, a romantic and hardheaded young man. If you are looking for funny and beautiful writing, check this out. Won 2012 Publisher’s Weekly and NY Times Book of the Year. Won 2013 American Library Association Notable Books

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie – For a more historical novel written by an important author, try this story of a stranger who arrives at the court of Emperor Akbar with a tale about a mysterious woman. Set in two empires – Florence during High Renaissance and the Mogul Empire.

Margaret’s November Recommendation

Posted on November 10, 2012 by becks0216

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

“Tom returns to Australia healthy but haunted from WWI to become a lighthouse keeper on an isolated island. Tom is content to live this solitary life but by chance on a shore visit meets and falls in love with lively, spirited Isabel. Somewhat remarkably, the two create a happy life together alone on Janus Rock, and Tom realizes he may be able to have a full life despite the guilt and horrors that he has carried since the war. But, after Isabel suffers two miscarriages and a stillbirth, a heavy sadness descends on the cottage by the lighthouse. Then, one day a boat washes up on the island with a dead man and a crying infant. What follows is a heartbreakingly desperate story about right and wrong, family and love. This is a well-written and affecting novel set in an interesting time and place. Stedman does a good job of catching hold of his readers’ emotions without veering too close to melodrama. Pick it up if you like historical fiction, family stories, or just good literary fiction.”

Read about or request The Light Between Oceans from the library catalog today!

3 Similar Reads (Fiction)

1) The Sea by John Banville

2) Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark

3) Slow Man by J.M. Coetzee

3 Similar Reads (Nonfiction)

1) In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

2) The Keeper of Lime Rock by Lenore Skomal

3) To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild

Laona’s November Recommendation

Posted on November 3, 2012 by becks0216

Incendiary by Chris Cleave

“I just finished Chris Cleave’s Incendiary. This was Cleave’s first novel (he also wrote Gold and Little Bee). It is an intense and moving portrait of a distraught British woman surviving the aftermath of one of Osama Bin Laden’s (fictional) attacks. The book is written as a letter to Osama Bin Laden after her four-year-old son and her husband are killed in a massive suicide bomb attack at a soccer match in London. This is not a pretty story, and the main character is far from perfect. This novel is of the same style as Cleave’s second book, Little Bee, a powerfully heartbreaking story about a painful topic we’d prefer not to think about”.