Readers > Booklists > Staff Picks

Staff Picks

We love to read, and we've got some interesting recommendations. Check Staff Picks weekly for new titles!

2009 January–June

The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming: One-of-a-kind story of the author's Chinese great-grandfather, a vaudeville magician and wanderer of five continents. Graphic novel.
Chiggers by Hope Larson: New friends, old friends, summer crushes — summer camp is an emotional roller coaster for middle schooler Abby. Graphic novel.
It's How You Play the Game by Brian Kilmeade: Inspiring interviews reveal some transforming moments in sports. For teens too.
What the Rat Told Me by Marie Sellier: Striking linoleum prints illustrate the story of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts: A prison escapee seeks redemption through helping others in this outsized, partially autobiographical novel set in the Mumbai slums.
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork: When his father challenges him to "join the real world" for the summer, Marcelo, a 17-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome, discovers talents and abilities he didn't know he had.
A Changed Man by Francine Prose: A neo-Nazi is transformed by a hit of ecstasy into an advocate for world brotherhood. This novel pokes satirical fun at almost everybody.
Tillie Lays an Egg by Terry Blonder Golson: Follow Tillie the chicken through these engaging photo tableaus as she wanders the barnyard in search of the perfect place to lay her egg.
Mother on Fire by Sandra Tsing Loh: A comedian's wry take on her panicky search for the perfect school for her daughter will provoke parental howls of recognition.
Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci: The continuing adventures of the Plain Janes, the hippest clique of artsy misfits around.
Kept: A Victorian Mystery by D. J. Taylor: Plot twists worthy of Dickens wind through this literary modern Gothic.
The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin: Remarkable colorless illustrations, imagistic descriptions and Braille translations invite readers to imagine living without sight.
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley: Breaking from his Easy Rawlins series, Mosely gives us the gritty drama of ex-con Socrates Fortlow's search for a good life in the mean streets of Watts.
Black Box by Julie Schumacher: A taut, intimate portrait of the effect depression has on its immediate victim and those around her.
Design Like You Give a Damn by Architecture for Humanity: Offers sustainable and innovative approaches to shelter.
Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie by Robbin Gourley: Edna Lewis, a descendent of slaves who grew up to be a famous chef, learns to cook with the seasons on her family farm.
Educational Tourist by Dara Greenwald: A graphic artist's trip to Cuba sparked this zine's provocative analysis of politics and culture.
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell: When her jovial stepfather returns from WWII, Evie finds he brings back secrets that force her to choose between loyalty to her parents and feelings for the man she loves.
The Fifth Floor by Michael T. Harvey: A seemingly simple murder case leads Chicago PI Michael Kelly into a corruption scandal reaching back to the Great Fire of 1871.
Big Plans by Bob Shea: A bold, brassy boy details his outsize ambitions in this quirky, over-the-top romp.
Seeker by Jack McDevitt: A determined woman pilot seeks a lost space colony in this elegant scifi original.
Burn My Heart by Beverley Naidoo: In a country torn apart by hate, friends can be enemies and enemies can be friends.
Wild Ducks Flying Backwards by Tom Robbins: Short articles, stories, and poems from the 30-year career of the author of Still Life With Woodpecker and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.
One Beetle Too Many by Kathryn Lasky: Vivid and humorous illustrations bring to life the adventures of the very curious and influential naturalist Charles Darwin.
Family Romance: A Love Story by John Lanchester: A novelist turns to memoir in a tribute to his eccentric, worldly parents, uncovering startling revelations of his mother's past.
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor: Twelve-year-old Addie's giant spirit (and her loving stepfather) sustain her until she can climb out of her life of neglect with her erratic mother.
Good Faith by Jane Smiley: This cautionary tale of how a well-meaning, small-town real estate agent succumbs to the greed of the 1980s is sly, funny and timely.
Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell: Stunning photographs and a fact-packed story deliver a closeup look at a day in the life of a tiny and unexpected predator: the seriously slimy wolfsnail.
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan: Escaped from the Baghdad zoo in a 2003 bombing raid, four lions give us a wrenching take on war. For teens too. Discuss this graphic novel.
My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger: Three bright and funny Boston teens narrate their ninth-grade year by assembling instant messages, e-mails, diary entries and letters to a celebrity diva.
The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien: An Irish woman near the end of her life seeks reconciliation with her writer daughter.
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka: The wolf gives his own outlandish version of what really happened when he tangled with the three little pigs. .
Ratking by Michael Dibdin: A puzzling kidnapping sends Italian detective Aurelio Zen to Perugia in this psychological thriller.
Madapple by Christina Meldrum: A girl brought up in near isolation is thrown into a twisted web of family secrets when her mother dies.
Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry: Bookstore owner and Pulitzer Prize-winning author McMurtry shares stories from his life as a lover of books.
There's a Wolf at the Door by Zoë B. Alley: A sly retelling, in comic book style, of five classic tales.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville: Convict William Thornhill struggles to prevail in 1806 Australia, bringing ruin to the Aborigines he displaces.
Way Up and Over Everything by Alice McGill: Elegant folk-art watercolor paintings illustrate this "flying story," a quintessential tale of enslaved people in the American South.
A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living by Michael Dahlie: "Midlife crisis" doesn’t quite cover the comic meltdown of failed Manhattan businessman and sometime fly fisherman Arthur Camden.
What the World Eats by Peter Menzel: An intimate, cross-cultural journey that focuses on the typical food choices of families in 21 countries. Splendidly illustrated with crisp color photographs.
Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum: A veteran journalist takes us from Venezuela to Ivory Coast to Paris — and Hershey, Pennsylvania, too — to find out what makes chocolate so special.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow: After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security, 17-year-old Marcus decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson: Two deep-wreck divers chase thrills and history when they discover a German U-boat off the New Jersey coast.
One Hen by Katie Smith Milway: When a poor boy from Ghana buys a chicken through a community loan program, he sets off a chain of events that will lift his whole community out of poverty.
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter: It’s 1980 in Spokane: Election politics, poker, maple bars and crime frame this sharp, inventive modern noir.
Incredible Earth! by Play Bac Edu-Team: Eye-opening photographs of the planet's most amazing animals and extraordinary landscapes.
Incognegro by Mat Johnson: Harlem journalists — light-skinned enough to "pass" — investigate lynching in the Jim Crow South. Graphic novel.
What To Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley: This vivacious romp through history introduces Teddy Roosevelt’s "small problem," a high-spirited daughter whose outlandish antics captivated the public — and drove her father barmy.
Laughing Without an Accent by Firoozeh Dumas: The setting is California and the culture is Iranian, but this funny memoir of food, weddings, funerals and eccentric relatives will connect with readers everywhere.
Boycott Blues by Andrea Davis Pinkney: Illustrations and rhythmic text recall the December 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
Patriot Hearts by Barbara Hambly: Richly imagined accounts of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Sally Hemings and Dolley Madison.
The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg: A lonely pencil timidly draws one friend and then another, but soon his creations begin demanding changes.