KDL Recommends

History finally comes out of the water-closet in this exploration of how people’s need to relieve themselves shaped human development from ancient times to the present; through a blend of historical photos and humorous illustrations, the author traces human civilization using a fascinating (albeit revolting) theme.

Profiles the Islamic faith as a rich and vital religion far more complex than that suggested by the modern fundamentalist strain, documenting its history and citing the importance of understanding Islam as part of today’s religious climate.

A finalist for the Booker Prize, a national best-seller by the author of The Handmaid’s Tale tells the story of an enigmatic Victorian woman accused of a double murder and the psychologist who treats her.

A full-length narrative account of the author’s original article as included in Best American Crime Reporting 2007 describes the lucrative heists of book thief John Charles Gilkey and the cat-and-mouse efforts of book dealer Ken Sanders to bring him to justice.

Co-existing peacefully for 500 years after creating their magically protected valley, the surviving members of four non-demon races from the Genesis of Shannara trilogy band together against frightening creatures that are penetrating the shield around their home.

Collects the shorter works featuring Chicago’s own professional wizard, Harry Dresden, including a previously unpublished novella.

A poignant and gently humorous novel reveals how a completely ordinary day can change a whole life when family man Peter Boyd finds his simple life becoming filled with more uncertainties.

When his teenage son, Keith, is accused in the disappearance of an eight-year-old girl, Eric Moore struggles to shelter Keith from the police investigation while seeking legal counsel and wondering about his son’s possible guilt.

The mother of the most famous person with autism today, Temple Grandin, Ph.D., tells the story of her death-lock struggle with medical authorities and her husband to keep her daughter from being warehoused in an institution, delving into myth and reality, angst and guilt, family and society ultimately defining the travails of all of humanity.

Her life turned upside-down when a Japanese internment camp is opened in their small Colorado town, Rennie witnesses the way her community places suspicion on the newcomers when a young girl is murdered.

Reveals the hidden life of the sixteenth U.S. president, who was actually a vampire-hunter obsessed with the complete elimination of the undead, and uncovers the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of the nation.

A year after his family is shattered by the disappearance of his twin sister, thirteen-year-old Johnny Merrimon risks everything in a final, desperate search through the dark side of his hometown with the aid of a giant-sized man.

Packing for Pennsylvania after her husband loses his job, Meg and her family suffer a car accident and are aided by an Amish family who invite them to stay for the Christmas holiday while they wait for car repairs, a situation that reveals cultural differences and the strength of family bonds.

A personal memoir explores the intertwined natures of happiness and sadness, discussing how bitter experiences balance out the sweetness in life and how change can be an opportunity for growth and a function of God’s graciousness.

Investigating the murder of an AIDS worker in an African community from which his mother went missing years earlier, Detective Inspector Darko Dawson collects details about the killing and realizes that he is close to solving the truth about his mother’s disappearance.