Staff Picks
Stay in touch with the personal favorites of the KDL Staff. Each title is handpicked.
|
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A collection of twelve stories includes the tale of a medical student in hiding with a poor Muslim woman, and a woman who discovers a devastating secret about her brother’s death. Catalog Link |
|
|
|
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen A successful caterer in Bascomb, North Carolina, Claire has always remained tied to the legacy of the Waverly family, until her peaceful life is transformed by Tyler Hughes, an art teacher and new next-door neighbor, and by the return of her prodigal sister, Sydney. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares A first adult novel by the best-selling author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series finds a trio of summer friends, including a pair of sisters and a young man entering an early adulthood, marked by budding love, sexual curiosity, a sudden serious illness, and a deep secret. Catalog Link |
||
|
Befriend and Betray: Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods by Alex Caine A Vietnam vet, ex-con, and undercover agent describes his twenty-five year career infiltrating dangerous criminal organizations, in an account that chronicles his experiences with Hells Angels, the Russian mafia, and corrupt police. Catalog Link |
||
|
K Blows Top: A Cold War Comic Interlude Starring Nikita Khrushchev, America's Most Unlikely Tourist by Peter Carlson Recounts Khrushchev’s 1959 trip across America against the backdrop of the Cold War and a capitalist America living under the shadow of the hydrogen bomb. Catalog Link |
||
|
City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare After finding out that Jace is her brother and the Inquisitor is hunting for him, Clary Fray’s hopes for a quiet life are put on hold as she finds herself back in battle against warlocks, vampires, werewolves, and her own father, Valentine—the mastermind behind all demon attacks. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Associate by John Grisham Promising law school graduate Kyle McAvoy harbors a secret that falls into the hands of some unscrupulous characters who blackmail him into taking a job with a prestigious law firm, where he participates in a scheme that can land him in prison or get himkilled. Catalog Link |
||
|
True Colors by Kristin Hannah Despairing of receiving their critical father’s love, Winona occupies herself in books and dreams, while Vivi Ann makes a fateful decision to follow her heart instead of dutifully fulfilling their father’s ambitions. Catalog Link |
||
|
Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper In 1650, while Robert, a young medical student, steels himself to assist with her dissection, housemaid Anne Green recalls her life as she lies in her coffin, presumed dead after being hanged for supposedly murdering her child. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe Forced to set aside her Ph.D. research in order to help the settling of her late grandmother’s abandoned home, Connie Goodwin discovers a hidden key among her grandmother’s possessions that is linked to a darker chapter in Salem witch trial history. Catalog Link |
||
|
Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly Fleeing Ireland in the wake of the Great Famine and her beloved husband’s death, Honora, her gutsy sister, and their eight children resettle in Chicago and witness its transformation from a frontier town to a thriving city. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage) by Stieg Larsson Forty years after the disappearance of Harriet Vanger from the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family, her octogenarian uncle hires journalist Mikael Blomqvist and Lisbeth Salander, an unconventional young hacker, to investigate. Catalog Link |
||
|
Darling Jim: A Novel by Christian Moerk A reclusive aunt and her two nieces turn up dead and a young postal worker finds a diary in the dead letter office which offers clues about Jim Quick, a mysterious Irish storyteller, who had become obssessed with the aunt. Catalog Link |
||
|
Short Girls: A Novel by Bich Minh Nguyen Two estranged Vietnamese sisters, each wrestling with their own lives, careers, and romances, are reunited at their father’s American citizenship party, and forge a new relationship in this novel from the PEN/Jerard Fund Award-winning author. Catalog Link |
||
|
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell The author recounts how she escaped the doldrums of an unpromising career by cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a year-long endeavor that transformed her life. Catalog Link |
||
|
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods: A Novel by Ann B. Ross Learning that Hazel Marie is pregnant with twins and that the father, private investigator J. D. Pickens, has left town, Miss Julia summons the wayward man to solve a local theft in the hopes of reuniting the couple. By the author of Miss Julia Paints the Town. Catalog Link |
||
|
Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal Kiran, a young Indian American boy who finds it impossible to get the knack of “normalcy,” makes a startling revelation about himself that leads him on a remarkably strange and highly entertaining journey of self-discovery. Catalog Link |
||
|
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Help by Kathryn Stockett Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project against a backdrop of the budding civil rights era. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Must-Have Mom Manual: Two Mothers, Two Perspectives, One Book That Tells You Everything You Need to Know by Sara Ellington,Stephanie Triplett Whether it is bottle- or breast-feeding, cribs or co-sleeping, getting back to the office or staying home with the kids, best friends Sara Ellington and Stephanie Triplett, the team behind the popular book and radio show The Mommy Chronicles, rarely choose the same option. Lucky for us, in The Must-Have Mom Manual, they discuss the pros and cons of every aspect of child raising, from pacifiers to potty training, bedtimes to birthday parties, day care to Disney World. Catalog Link |
||
|
The Hummingbird's Daughter: A Novel by Luis Alberto Urrea When sixteen-year-old Teresita, the illegitimate and beloved daughter of a powerful late-nineteenth-century rancher, arises from death possessing the power to heal, she is declared a saint and finds her family and faith tested by the impending Mexican civil war. By the author of The Devil’s Highway. Catalog Link |
||
|
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg A creator of the award-winning Orangette blog presents a memoir about the life lessons she learned in the kitchens of her youth, in a recipe-complemented account that describes experiences of loss and love while enjoying her father’s French toast, her husband’s pickles, and her chocolate wedding cakes. Catalog Link |