The outbreak of cholera in London, 1854 was one of its deadliest. This book chronicles the work of Dr. John Snow who painstakingly "mapped" the outbreak of cholera and connected it to one water source. Snow was ahead of his time and the local media people were resistant to this line of thinking. However, the modern day medical society consider him responsible for changing the way we think about disease and how it is spread. The book is compelling and reads like a novel - very Devil in the White City-ish.

This is the heart wrenching memoir of a young woman, raised in a “Good Family” in a small community in New Hampshire. In 1964, at the age of 16, as things begin to disintegrate within her own family, Meredith makes a poor choice, ending up pregnant. What happens next is mind boggling- her family and community, inexcusably, shun her. She is forced to live with her father and his cold wife, retreating to the upstairs when there are people round. Ironically, just when Meredith needs her mother’s love the most, it is snatched away from her. How she ends up, pulling things together to make a life for herself make an incredible, stunning, yet ultimately healing story

Civil war rages on the fictional island of Bougainville in the early 1990's; 13-year old Matilda and her mother fight for survival, along with the other remaining islanders, when the only local white man, Mr. Watts, volunteers to teach the children. He reads to them from his only book, Dickens' Great Expectations. The children, particularly Matilda, are soon swept away from their immediate troubles and taken into the imaginary world of Pip. Conflict builds as Matilda's mother becomes more and more distrustful of Mr. Watts and the story of Pip; she feels like she is battling Mr. Watts for Matilda's soul. Outrageous acts occur when the soldiers return and try to track down this man called "Pip." Jones writes with faultless prose -- it is a beautifully written, if horrific story, and ultimately Matilda discovers that whatever happens in your life, your "voice" is your own and special and no one can take that from you. Shortlisted for the Man Booker award in 2007, this book is deserving of all of its accolades. Highly recommended!

You are transported through sight, sound and smells into Sirine's kitchen, where she is the chef at a small Lebanese restaurant in the middle of an Arab-American community in L.A. Abu-Jaber's language is beautiful and sensual. Sirine is 29, unmarried, living with her Iraqi uncle and is more passionate about her cooking than any boyfriend she's had - until she meets Han. Hanif is an exiled Iraqi professor and forces Sirine to examine her broken past. Crescent is part romance and part cultural discovery. It is a lovely read for all ages.

I fell in love with this book when it came out in 2004(?)- it is a psychological thriller at the top of its game. Full of twists and turns it follows 2 U.S. Marshalls who have come to Shutter Island to investigate the escape of a violent psychotic criminal, only to be trapped on the island in the worst hurricane they've had in 30 years. The marshalls stumble upon a government conspiracy in mind control- this is Lehane at his best- the characters are well thought out, the setting is creepy and the pace is perfect. I look forward to the movie!

This is a wonderful book! Based on a true story, told in flashbacks, you relive Marina's life as a docent at the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad. Her job is to dismantle the artworks, the Madonnas, and ready them for safekeeping. As the war creeps in, Marina, her family and the staff move into the basement to survive, while her dear friend Dmitri is off at war. To keep her sanity, Marina creates a memory palace where she can retreat; she walks the rooms, now vacant of the madonnas, as though they were still present. Fast forward to the present, Marina's granddaughter is getting married; Marina is losing her hold on present day and living more and more in the past. It is beautifully written and so touching, without being maudlin.

If you need the perfect gift for the cook in your life, look no further. La Cucina is a brand new Italian cookbook straight from the villages of Italy. In an effort to preserve old traditional recipes, the Italian Academy of Cuisine’s members spread out to towns and villages all over Italy to gather authentic recipes. While doing so, they collected stories, anecdotes as well as many recipes that had never been documented. There are no shortcuts here, just the beauty of classic homey Italian cooking. Recipes are grouped by regions and it is interesting to see how ingredients and techniques vary from region to region. This is truly a special piece of history.

This is a wonderful read! Gods in Alabama tells the story of why mistakes made, covered up, by one at an early age may not be what they seem! This is full of funny and endearing characters with plenty of backbone. It reassures us that no matter where you may hail from, we are all ultimately the same. I loved it!

This is a fabulous story- a true example of the human spirit! The author, a trauma nurse by trade with a passion for mountain climbing, fails at his attempt to summit K2. He ends up stranded in a small unmapped village in Baltistan. There he finds a group of people who have nothing but give him everything. He decides he needs to do something to help them and promises to come back and build them a school. Many obstacles and setbacks slow his progress but he succeeds, and has since built 55 schools in the area. This truly goes to show you what one man with passion can do, in the face of many odds. Very inspirational and a great read!

Ishiguro's latest work is a masterpiece of understatement. Told through the voice of the placid Kathy H., who is preparing to begin the next phase of her life, the story is revealed in a series of reflections of her past. Growing up in an idyllic country setting in a seemingly privileged English boarding school, Kathy and her close friends Ruth and Tommy learn poetry and art and are made to feel special. But as details are revealed subtly, beautifully and ever so slowly, truth begins to dawn on the reader that things are not as they seem. Like the children in the story, there is much the readers are "told but not told." The book is haunting and leads to some very interesting thoughts on the topic of science without ethics. I couldn't put it down!

This book is heart wenching on many levels- first there are Frank and Ellie, who are recovering from the loss of a child; then there is the case of the American company Frank works for in India, wreaking havoc on the lives of native Indians in its typically naive American way; and lastly the Indian house servants Frank and Ellie have inherited, along with their young son...you see where this is going? Umrigar takes the reader on this bumpy journey of love and loss, where the end in sight is inevitable. Good reading!

Four Spirits was truly a compelling read- you are drawn into a particularly painful part of our history through her choice of interestingly drawn characters. The story parallels events of the time and is told through various voices that lend credence and humanity to the story, which is in turn haunting and intriguing. Four Spirits has no “Hollywood” ending, but the ending is appropriate and feels right. In spite of its painful subject matter, it is inspiring and hopeful, and on top of that written beautifully. Definitely worth tackling!

Walters takes an edgy look at the desperate situation many an average Joe finds themselves in during this rocky roller coaster of financial times we are in right now. Out of work and faced with the prospect of losing his house and marriage, Matt makes some reckless choices while at a 7/11 one evening that take him spiraling down into the world of drugs and all of its various sides. Walters takes shots at everyone and everything in this dazzling satire, making it akin to a Catch 22 for the 21st century.

Here's a fresh, at times funny, but always honest new novel for you. You'll watch the very likable, wise beyond his years, "Claybird Catts" grow up - and sometimes a very bumpy ride - poignant yet very charming - I really liked it.

The quote on the back of the book hits the nail on the head -- "tender, tough, and tearful" -- yes, all of that plus a great story about sisters, families, and life! Written in a very unique style, this will grab you from the beginning.

A dusty box discovered in the remains of a basement of an old North Carolina plantation house opens the door to the reader on an extraordinary life from the past. The treasures include an 1870’s diary of a young girl, letters, court documents, news clippings, marbles, dolls, etc.; all allowing us to meet the irrepressible Molly Petree, the protagonist from Lee Smith’s newest novel. Raised in the ruin of the post-Civil War era by relatives, Molly refuses to waste time on self pity. She means to live life to the fullest, so when a mysterious benefactor shows up to rescue her, she doesn’t look back, until she is an old woman and returns to the old family home on “Agate Hill.” Molly lives her life with the throttle on high, risking everything to remain true to herself. Spanning half a century, On Agate Hill is a novel of love, unexpected adventures and luck, both good and bad. This is a wonderful piece of historical fiction with flesh and blood characters and equal doses of comedy and tragedy. Lee Smith at her finest!

A simple premise, the 60-something English teacher retires to try his hand at farming, his wife leaves him and he decides to hit the road in the hopes of visiting each state and at the same time, restoring his soul....Harrison writes with warmth and attention to detail; you'll alternate chuckling with a feeling of reminiscence. Witty and engaging, you'll be left with Harrison's point that change can be beneficial at any time.

This is such a great series and Larsson has not let us down with the final book in the trilogy. With Salander recovering from brain surgery (come on, you knew she had to survive, right!), Blomkvist moves to the forefront to get the mystery solved; he is not able to do it without her help and help she does, even from her lockdown room at the hospital. Slowly but surely the pieces begin to fall into place, but not without enough twists and turns to keep you up at night. I savored every bit even when I could not put it down- story telling at its best!

"Jeannette Walls' 'The Glass Castle' was not a one hit wonder, but rather one piece of a very complicated puzzle. After reading this book I felt as though I had completed a large corner of that puzzle of which is the life of Jeanette Walls. Lily Casey Smith (Walls' Grandmother) helps to break wild horses at age 6 with her father and teaches in a frontier school at age 15. Her independence at such a young age is amazing. She continues to be inspiring and larger than life throughout the story. This is a mesmerizing story and a "have to have" for all readers of 'The Glass Castle."

This is a riveting account of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; initially, the hardships of the storm are first and foremost, and then in the days following, New Orleans is swept up in a sea of paranoia, chaos and inept management. Eggers follows the Zeitoun family as they try to regroup in the ensuing horrors of Katrina. When Zeitoun takes to his canoe to hand out supplies to fellow victims, he is arrested by the police in a possible case of racial-profiling. Eggers tells the story with his unique brand of clear prose and wry humor. The reader is sucked into the horrifying circumstances slowly and eloquently, ever the worse because it is true. A disturbing yet compelling look at human nature at its best and at its worst.