One of the joys of working at the library is when we share what we are reading with each other.  We have such varied reading tastes so to see the wide range of what everyone is interested in is always a treat.  Here is our latest list of what we are reading:


Broken Window by Jeffrey Deaver
The staff member who read this said it's a typical Lincoln Rhyme novel (Lincoln Rhyme, if you don't know, is a quadriplegic who helps the NYPD solve crimes).  This one deals with identity theft and is good so far.
She also has been looking at Cake Love by Warren Brown and says "if you get a chance, look at it."  The recipes aren't easy but the results are phenominal.


Another staff member read Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney.  Cheney worked as a high powered lawyer in LA, but much of the book is about her experiences in dealing with her manic depression and bipolar episodes.  Both the staff member and her daughter are enjoying this look at life from a different perspective.  She has also enjoyed listening to Voodoo Season by Jewell Parker Roades, naratted by Myra Taylor.  It's part of series set in New Orleans where the characters come from a heritage of Voodoo Queens and so it goes into a lot of history about Voodoo and the people that practice it.


Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson was the pick of another staff member, it's a thriller/spy novel where an American agent has infiltrated the al Qaeda organization.  He has had to keep quiet to protect himself, and his silence has his CIA handlers questioning his loyalty.  When he is sent back to the States he knows there must be a big terrorist attack in the works, but with the agency distrustful of him and with the limited information he is given he is unsure if he can stop it.  So far this book is a good thrill ride, although it might cause some unease about how safe we really are from another 9/11 type terrorist attack.


Another staffer is reading The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon.  It's kind of a double story about an immigrant who was gunned down in 1908, and the modern day immigrant who decides to investigate this shooting and why it happened.  The way the two stories parallel each other makes it interesting.  He is also reading Apples are from Kazakhstan by Chrisopher Robbins.  Kazakhstan is a country few of us know much about, and yet it is the size of western Europe and apples really did come from there.  The author embarks on a journey to discover all he can about Kazakhstan after encountering a man on a plan who is on his way there to meet his future bride.


Our next staffer read Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka.  It is about her experiences growing up in Hawaii and is very nostalgic, but also has a bitter tone in parts, as it shows the cruelty of race relations on the islands.


Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa See is what one of our staff members is reading, (and what one of our book discussion groups will be discussing in July).  She has wanted to read this book about 17th century China for a while.  It is fascinating (and heart-breaking) to see how the women were treated, escpecially with the practice of foot binding.  She is also reading Fowl Weather by Bob Tarte--the sequel to Enslaved by Ducks.  She was hooked right away by his antidotes about life with a menagerie of animals.


Another staffer is reading Circling my Mother by Mary Gordon, but says she may not finish it.  She expected it to tell her a lot about Gordon's mother, but so far it doesn't talk about her mother much so she has kind of given up on it.


One of our staff members loves British history, especially the period of Henry the Eighth.  and is reading Henry VIII, the King and His Court by Alison Weir.  She loves all of the intrigue.  She also recommends Sovereign by C.J. Sansom, which is part of a mystery/historical fiction series featuring a lawyer who is involved with the court of Henry VIII--but thankfully only on the fringes (as being more involved was very dangerous).   Of course this doesn't keep him from becoming involved with a few murders--and more court intrigue.