Sunday April 11th, 2010 TBPL Reads

While I am a regular browser of library shelves, I can just as regularly be found browsing the shelves of a local bookstore for new ideas or suggestions. Often I will go straight to the “staff suggested” area for my next selection. This habit got me to thinking about the eclectic reading tastes of the public library staff. I sent out an email to find out what everyone is currently reading and was amazed at the wide variety of responses I received. With such a range of literary tastes I won’t even try to group them but will let the following suggestions stand on their own and speak for themselves.

Author Amit Goswami is a theoretical physicist who uses empirical scientific evidence in quantum mechanics to provide veracity for quantum consciousness, or God in the 2008 book GOD IS NOT DEAD.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY by Amy Patricia Meade is a delightful Depression era novel. It is part screwball comedy and part mystery with a hint of romance. When British ex-patriot Creighton Ashcroft buys a mansion with a shadowy past, he’s thrown together with mystery writer Marjorie McClelland as both try to sleuth out the crime, unfortunately the closer they get to the solution, the closer the killer gets to them.

One staff member is currently working her way through everything to do with Spain’s Camino de Santiago de Compostela. She started with the travel guide ALL THE GOOD PILGRIMS by Robert Ward, then moved on to WHAT THE PSYCHIC TOLD THE PILGRIM by Jane Christmas and THE CAMINO by Shirley MacLaine.

Another staffer is reading VEGAS PRO 9 EDITING WORKSHOP by Douglas Spotted Eagle (and according to him is interesting where it lacks in entertainment value).

The response I found most interesting was from someone currently reading EATING ANIMALS by Jonathan Safran Foer. She described it as a great read, very educational, not a feel good read but one book everyone should read. She goes on to explain her interest in this topic coming out of how debatable factory farming has become and that knowing how food is manufactured is a good idea. A review from Booklist states it is an indelible book that should reach a diverse audience and deepen the conversation about how best to live on a rapidly changing planet. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too sure I want to shatter my illusions about how chicken makes its way to the dinner table.

Among the many other staff suggestions available, I found some lighter reading material with BEST OF FRIENDS by Mariana Pasternak. It chronicles a twenty year relationship between the author and domestic diva Martha Stewart. Other books currently being read include THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson, SIZE 14 IS NOT FAT EITHER by Meg Cabot, SUDDENLY by Bonnie Burnard, HOW TO BE SINGLE by Liz Tuccillo, WHEEL OF TIME by Robert Jordan and LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING by John Carnell. One brutally honest person admitted to trying to read THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE but not getting very far due to falling asleep with the book open on their face.

For anyone interested in more staff suggestions, thoughts and opinions on reading material, check out the Best of the Backlist Blog . There you will find discussions on all sorts of books that staff have loved or hated. A recent post describes THE CROSS GARDENER by Jason Wright. According to the blog post this book brings a comforting message to anyone who has ever been distressed that their loved one was alone when they died. It’s a wonderful book and brings a message of hope to anyone who has ever grieved.

Everything from light hearted fiction to deeply intellectual physics, this experiment demonstrated exactly what I hoped it would - you can’t judge a book by its cover and the best way to find out more is to ask questions.

Jesse Roberts, Head of Reference Services