SUSAN EI RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle by Ingrid Betancourt Organic Crops in Pots by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell Starter Vegetable Gardens by Barbara Pleasant A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Ernest Hemingway On Writing by Ernest Hemingway A Lion Named Christian: the True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle Fiction: The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.by Sandra Gulland (the Josephine Bonaparte Trilogy) Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland The Real Minerva by Mary Sharratt The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (YA for adults!) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Widow's War: a Novel by Sally Gunning Bound: a Novel by Sally Gunning The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd The Thirteenth Tale: a Novel by Diane Setterfield A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Return to top
ROBYN SWAN FILIPPONE RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: The Lost City of Z by David Grann Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
Fiction: The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart State of Wonder by Ann Patchett The NIght Circus: a Novel by Erin Morgenstern Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks The March by E. L. Doctorow Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton City of Thieves by David Benioff The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin Gilead by Marilynne Robinson People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout The Help by Kathryn Stockett The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson; the first of the trilogy The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson; the second of the trilogy The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling Tinkers by Paul Harding Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay Suite Française by Irène Nemirovsky Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett March by Geraldine Brooks The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Mystery/Novel: The Beekeeper's Apprentice, first in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Laurie R. King Maisie Dobbs, first in the series by Jacqueline Winspear The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley; a Flavia de Luce mystery The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley; the second Flavia de Luce mystery The Number One Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith
Biography: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Classics: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - 75th Anniversary in 2011 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - 50th Anniversary in 2010 Anything by Jane Austen: Emma Sense & Sensibility Mansfield Park Northanger Abbey Pride & Prejudice Persuasion Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Return to top
ADAIR HEITMANN RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: The Journal Keeper by Phyllis Theroux Holy Ghost Girl by Donna Johnson The Boy Who Bit Picasso by Anthony Penrose Lift by Kelly Corrigan Here if You Need Me by Kate Braestrup Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen Yarn: Remembering the Way Home by Kyoko Mori The Color of Water by James McBride Red Bird or any poetry book by Mary Oliver Any book by May Sarton
Fiction: Clay's Quilt by Silas House The Book of Salt by Monique Truong Voyager by Diana Gabaldon Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain The Saturday Big Tent Wedding by Alexander McCall Smith The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon An Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett The Book Thief by Markus Zusak The Postmistress by Sarah Blake Still Alice by Lisa Genova Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See Peace Like a River by Leif Enger Tinkers by Paul Harding Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (Historical Fiction)
Mystery/Novel: False Mermaid by Erin Hart
Cookbooks: Simply Ming: One-Pot Meals by Ming Tsai and Arthur Boehm The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World by Lynn Alley The Redwall Cookbook by Brian Jacques Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond (As a memoir)
Young Adults (YA): The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War ll by Joseph Bruchac Soldier Boys by Dean Hughes Heroes Don't Run by Harry Mazer The Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief series by Rich Riordan Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan The Ruins of Gorlan The Burning Bridge The Icebound Land The Battle of Skandia The Sorcerer of the North The Siege of Macindaw Erak’s Ransom The Kings of Clonmel Halt’s Peril The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins The Giver by Lois Lowry The Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief series by Rich Riordan Wolf Brother (first in a series) by Michelle Paver (For kids who have loved Star Wars-themed books you can progress onto books by Walter Jon Williams such as Destiny's Way and Backlash)
For Kids: The Redwall series by Brian Jacques Three Strong Women by Claus Stamm The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling Mama Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse The Little Bear series by Elise Holmelund Minarik
Classics: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Call of the Wild by Jack London White Fang by Jack London
Return to top
LESLIE MAHTANI RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn Saks Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Black Boy by Richard Wright The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell Blink by Malcolm Gladwell Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner The Man who Loved China: the fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom (re: Joseph Needham) by Simon Winchester Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire, and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment by David Bodanis A Beautiful Mind: a Biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr., winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics by Sylvia Nasar Days of Grace: a memoir by Arthur Ashe and Arnold Rampersad The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic Story of the Transatlantic Cable by John Steele Gordon Out of Africa by Isak Dineson (the pen name of Baroness Karen Blixen) The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester An Anthropologist On Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks On Writing: a memoir of the craft by Stephen King On Writing Well : An Informal Guide to Writing Nonficiton by William K. Zinsser Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel Get out of my life, but first could you drive me and Cheryl to the mall?: a Parent's Guide to the New Teenager by Anthony Wolf Open: an Autobiography by Andre Agassi
Fiction: Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee Native Son by Richard Wright The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon Howards End by E.M. Forster A Room with a View by E.M. Forster The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King, the first of a series including Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers including Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, Part 1 of a series Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers including Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, Part 2 Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers including Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, Part 3 Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers including Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey, Part 4 Last Orders by Graham Swift Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan The short stories of Katherine Mansfield The Chosen by Chaim Potok Divisadero by Michael Ondaajte The Red Tent by Anita Diamant The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy Quentins by Maeve Binchy Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon Bel Canto by Ann Patchett These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (1st of a trilogy) Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer (2nd of the trilogy) An Infamous Arny by Georgette Heyer (3rd of the trilogy) The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
For Older Kids: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett Half Magic by Edward Eager Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (1st of a trilogy) Elmer and the Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (2nd of the triolgy) The Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannett (3rd of the trilogy)
For Younger Kids: Pete's a Pizza by William Steig Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann The Story Snail by Anne Rockwell Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard (1st of a triogy) Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard (2nd of the trilogy) Miss Nelson has a Field Day by Harry Allard (3rd of the trilogy) One of Each by Mary Ann Hoberman I am Not Cute by Jonathan Allen Let's Do Nothing by Tony Fucile Bread, Bread, Bread by Tana Hoban Hats, Hats, Hats by Tana Hoban Strega Nona: an Old Tale by Tomie de Paola (and his other books about Strega Nona)
Return to top
ELIZABETH PATTERSON RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: At Home by Bill Bryson (all his books are terrific, especially his travelogues) The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove, Cathy Erway Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (or any of his other books) Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat by Hal Herzog Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall Origins by Annie Murphy Paul As Always: The Letters of Julia Child edited by Joan Reardon
Memoir: Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison This Life Is in Your Hands: One Dream, Sixty Acres and a Family Undone by Melissa Coleman Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman (gives you a whole new view of our prison system) The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball Marcus of Umbria by Justine van der Leun
Fiction: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks Room by Emma Donoghue Fall of Giants by Ken Follett The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett World Without End by Ken Follett Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (always a classic, always a favorite!) The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (the audiobook is fantastic!) The Help by Kathryn Stockett Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson Rules of Civility by Amor Towles Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
Young Adults (YA): The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan The Giver by Lois Lowry Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede and the other books of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
Return to top
BOB REPKO RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Fiction: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin Serena by Ron Rash Savages by Don Winslow The Tourist by Olin Steinhauer Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto Scorched Earth by Davin L. Robbins The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson City of Thieves by David Benioff Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford Dark of the Moon Heat Lightning Rough Country Bad Blood
Return to top
KAI ALEXIS SMITH RECOMMENDATIONS Non-fiction: Art in Latin America: The Modern Era, 1820-1980 by Dawn Ades Art and Revolution in Latin America 1910 – 1990 by David Craven The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature by Susan E. Davis and Margo DeMello The Guide to Owning Dwarf Rabbits by Dennis Kelsey-Wood
Biography: Just Kids by Patti Smith
Young Adults (YA): The Giver by Lois Lowry
For Kids: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein (30th Anniversary Special Edition) by Shel Silverstein
Return to top
DAN SNYDACKER RECOMMENDATIONS Non-Fiction: Autobiography by Mark Twain The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson Commonwealth, by Jeffery Sachs Walden by Henry David Thoreau The Green Building Revolution by Jerry Yudelson The Smithsonian Book of Books, Michael Olmert Enemies of the People: My Families Journey to America by Kati MartinMay Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough The Book: The Life Story of a Technology by Nicole Howard
Fiction: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Payton The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway The Optimists Daughter by Eudora Welty The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco The Red Rover by James Fennimore Cooper Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Return to top
|