February

Don’t Make a Scene by Valerie Block.
Cinemaphile Diane Kurasik’s life is beginning to resemble the movies she so admires.  On the brink of her 40th birthday she receives an eviction notice. While crashing at the homes of parents and friends, she contemplates the twists and turns of fate – and the man in her life, a Cuban exile who truly can’t go home again. 

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly.
This funny and insightful memoir chronicles the life of a self-described 98-pound weakling who travels to the original Shaolin monastery in China to become a kung-fu expert.  While there he gets to know the young monks he trains with, and bears witness to a rapidly changing China at the end of the 20th century.

Them by Nathan McCall.
Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam found that increases in diversity in a community correlate with lower voter turnout, lowered donations to charities, less people working on community projects, and neighbors who trust one another about half as much as they do in more homogenous settings. McCall’s novel explores this phenomenon through the lives of Barlowe Reed, an African-American man in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, and his new, white neighbors. 

Untold Glory: African Americans in Pursuit of Freedom, Opportunity and Achievement
by Alan Govenar.
This collection of essays offers a wonderful insight into recent African-American history.  The subjects of these 27 essays came of age in the mid- to late-20th century and worked in fields as diverse as science and engineering, law, business, and fashion.

The Ghost by Robert Harris.
The charming and controversial ex-Prime Minister of Britain is writing his memoirs with a ghostwriter – who suddenly turns up dead.  When a new ghostwriter is hired his apprehension grows as he uncovers secrets about the ex-Prime Minister’s involvement in the war on terror.

Free For All – Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert.
Don Borchert lives and works in California, but anyone who has worked in any public library anywhere in the United States will recognize the ring of truth in this book. 

Finding Freedom: The Untold Story of Joshua Glover, Runaway Slave
by Ruby West Jackson and Walter T. McDonald.
Lovers of local history and of freedom will enjoy this new book about Joshua Glover, who escaped slavery in St. Louis with assistance from Wisconsin abolitionists living in Milwaukee.

On the Wrong Track by Steve Hockensmith.
Professional cowpokes and Sherlock Holmes aficionados Otto and Gustav find themselves employed as detectives on the Southern Pacific railroad in this rollicking mystery set in 1893.  In between the “detectifying,” there are train robbers, stolen gold, murder and a solid dose of humor.

Soul Fitness With Frederick D. Haynes III
by Frederick D. Haynes III and
Patricia Benjamin Webb.
This collection of inspirational messages and spiritual reflections from his radio broadcast “Inspirational Vitamin” is sure to give the soul a boost! Haynes gives an invigorating perspective to refreshing the soul and taking control of life.

H.I.V.E.: Higher-Institute-of-Villainous-Education by Mark Walden.
An excellent choice for anyone missing the crew from Hogwarts.  Otto is a white-haired, 13-year-old orphan who is suddenly and mysteriously admitted to a school with a very unusual purpose. There, he meets fellow students from around the world as he ponders whether evil genius is the right career path for him. 

Submitted by librarians Hermoine Bell, Kirsten Thompson, Center Street; Daniel Kentowski, Central

November/December

The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
Aloysius Pendergast sets sail aboard the maiden voyage of the Britannia, the world’s most luxurious ocean liner with his ward, Constance Green, in pursuit of an ancient painting stolen from a Tibetan monastery – a painting that has the capability of destroying the world. 

Inside Power by Gary Sheffield.
Former Milwaukee Brewer Gary Sheffield provides an intense, no-holds-barred glimpse into his personal and baseball life.  Beginning with Little League and extending to his tenure with the New York Yankees, Sheffield gives his take on racism, collusion, violence, Bud Selig and others.

Baltimore, or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden.
This multilayered collection of horror tales is framed by the story of an Ahab-like hunter of vampires spreading global plague in the aftermath of WWI.  Baltimore, the only survivor of a failed offensive, wounds one of the creatures and unknowingly unleashes their evil.  That evil follows him home, tragically forging him into the vampire’s nemesis. 

Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman.
Are our brains “wired” for altruism, compassion and rapport? Goleman’s research reveals how daily interactions shape the brain and affect even the cells of the body.  We develop a social intelligence that can nurture and affect these qualities in ourselves and others.

Awaken Your Strongest Self by Neil Fiore, Ph.D.
Break out of your old behavior patterns and “Awaken Your Strongest Self.”  Fiore offers a 4-step program to achieve your full potential.  This process provides the tools for developing lasting change that can turn your life around.

Making Money by Terry Pratchett.
Semi-reformed confidence man and Ankh-Morpork’s Postmaster General, Moist Von Lipwig is back in this wild sequel to Going Postal.  This time, he’s in charge of the Royal Bank & Mint.  Saddled with a dog as bank chairman, a golem secretary with a crush and more enemies than he can count, he’s got to find the missing gold, invent paper money and switch to the golem standard before the final accounting. 

Rucker Park Setup by Paul Volponi.
Mackey and J.R. dreamed of playing in the championship at Rucker Park—where pro and street ballers battle it out on the court.  But when J.R. is killed, Mackey faces the dream alone and must struggle against his opponents and his guilt over J.R.’s murder. 

Mercy on These Teenage Chimps by Gary Soto.
Best friends Ronnie and Joey have just turned thirteen and something is happening to them.  They feel like chimps, all gangly, long-armed, and big-eared.  When Coach Puddlefield calls Joey a “monkey” for climbing a rafter to impress pretty Jessica, Joey is embarrassed and hides in his tree house. How can Ronnie rescue his friend?  

Contributed by Atkinson Librarians Amy Finn, Karli Pederson, Barbara Sherman, David Sikora and Library Services Assistant Clark Caughey.

Pearl’s Picks
Recommended by librarian and author Nancy Pearl. Find more Pearl’s Picks on the library’s Web site at www.mpl.org.

The Folded World by Amity Gaige.
Charlie and Alice meet, fall in love, marry, have twin daughters, and attempt to make a satisfying life for themselves.  But Charlie, a dedicated social worker, finds himself torn between the needs of his clients and the needs of his young wife and family.

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson.
This is an entertaining and informative exploration of a particular time and place – the seemingly endless months of bright sunshine and above average temperatures that were an ironic prelude to the horrors of World War I. Fans of the television series “Upstairs, Downstairs” will enjoy Nicolson’s character-driven social history.

October

The Sacred Place by Daniel Black.
It’s 1955 and Money, Mississippi is as racist as any other southern town. When 14-year-old Clement comes from Chicago to visit family, he decides to change Money, Miss. or lose his life trying.

Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal by Ann Rule.
On a chilly December morning in an upscale suburb of Atlanta, a little boy discovers his mother’s dead body and runs to the neighbors’ house asking them to call 911.  At first Jenn Corbin’s death appears to be a suicide, but her family thinks otherwise, and soon the façade of her seemingly happy marriage begins to shatter.

Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande.
This collection of essays ranges from something as seemingly simple as getting health care workers to always do the one thing that consistently halts the spread of infection – wash their hands – to the monumental goal of the World Health Organization to eradicate polio from the world. 

Feingold: A New Democratic Party by Sanford D. Horwitt.
This independent biography of the maverick civil libertarian senator from Wisconsin chronicles his childhood in Janesville, the seven-year battle of the McCain-Feingold reform bill, his vote against the Iraq invasion, and the senator’s concern about the assault on civil liberties post- 9/11. 

The Department of Lost and Found by Allison Winn Scotch.
Natalie Miller’s perfect life plans are abruptly interrupted when she receives a diagnosis of stage III breast cancer. While struggling with her illness and an addiction to “The Price Is Right,” her live-in boyfriend leaves her. When Natalie faces her own mortality, she comes to the realization that she’s been sleepwalking through much of her life.

The Burnt House by Faye Kellerman.
Faye Kellerman brings Los-Angeles police detective Peter Decker back on the scene to handle a commuter airplane crash that burns up an apartment building in the city.  An unaccounted for flight attendant supposedly on the plane and a 30-year-old skeleton found in the wreckage create two separate mysteries to be solved. 

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan. 
In this continuing saga of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Percy and a handful of his friends have to battle monsters and weird dreams in
order to rescue the goddess Artemis.

Contributed by Martin Luther King Library librarians Rachel Collins, Jane Haupert, Irene Moraniec and Anna Walls.

Pearl’s Picks
Recommended by librarian and author Nancy Pearl. Find more Pearl’s Picks every month.

The House That George Built: With a Little Help From Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty by Wilfrid Sheed.
Sheed has written a witty and thoroughly delightful history of American popular music in the first half of the 20th century with insights and sparkling prose that bring his subjects and their music to life.

Free Fire by C.J. Box.
Box’s seventh mystery featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is a doozy. Wyoming’s unpredictable new governor asks Joe to investigate the shooting deaths of four Yellowstone National Park employees, in which the identity of the shooter is known but various law enforcement agencies have told the governor that the shooter can’t be prosecuted.

September

A Good and Happy Child: A Novel by Justin Evans.
George Davies is haunted by demons from his past – the question is: are they real? Was his imaginary childhood friend really only imaginary? Was it really a friend? And why is George so afraid of going near his newborn son?  A deliciously ambiguous tale of psychological horror.

Send: The Essential Guide to E-mail for Office and Home by David Shipley.
This entertaining guide to email etiquette will help you avoid misunderstandings that could damage personal and business relationships. Although this is a useful reference book, it doesn’t read like one.  Examples of real-life blunders will have you cringing and laughing out loud.

It Can Happen Here: Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush by Joe Conason. 
Is it the end of American democracy?  In this compelling look at the state of the nation, Conason shows how and why America has been wrenched from its founding principles and is moving toward dictatorship leaving the future of democracy in doubt.

Dead Man’s Song by Jonathan Maberry.
From the imagination of new horror author Maberry comes this chilling tale of a small town that finds itself bathed in the blood of a nightmare.  The serene village of Pine Deep has twice in 30 years endured the savagery of a murderous lunatic, but if the townsfolk believe that the death of a serial killer has put an end to the carnage—they’re dead wrong.

Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra.
Chopra brings a fresh perspective to the life of Buddha in his retelling of the enigmatic spiritual leader’s life.  Readers will find the Buddha of this retelling to be more accessible and vibrant than Herman Hess’s Siddhartha.

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley.
This examination of the impending Social Security crisis pits the Baby Boomers against Generation X with a modest proposal of which even Jonathan Swift would be proud. Religious leaders, political pundits, advertising executives and even the Presidency become involved in Buckley’s social satire on one of today’s critical political issues.

Wish I Could Be There:  Notes from a Phobic Life by Shawn Allen.
This engaging memoir by composer Shawn Allen focuses on the author’s agoraphobia.  Combining both the scientific and personal perspective, his account of this condition makes for fascinating and revelatory reading.

At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman.
One of the finest essayists of our time, Fadiman has written another delightful collection addressing topics which range from Artic Exploration to coffee.

Contributed by Forest Home librarians Kathryn A. Mlsna, Richard Plachter and John Sieracki, and by library reference assistant Mary DiMilo.

July/August

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
Why do some ideas stick? The authors take a look at the characteristics of stories, deeds, and advertising that have intrinsic “sticky” elements. The implications of creating “stickiness” in advertising (Got Milk?) and political campaigns (I like Ike) are enormous.

Get Rich With Options: Four Winning Strategies Straight From the Exchange Floor by Lee Lowell.
Lowell explains how four basic trading strategies allow traders to successfully use the “leverage” of options to reap the benefits of such trades while putting less money at risk. For investors who feel comfortable trading stocks on a regular basis and want to get started with options.

Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night, and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother by Peggy Orenstein.
While working on an article in Japan, Orenstein begins to learn how different the Japanese culture deals with pregnancy.  Her story is a fascinating account of a woman’s battle to join the ranks of motherhood after 35.

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton.
Leaving her life in Brooklyn, NY Fiona Sweeney takes the opportunity to bring books to a remote region of Kenya.  The camel bookmobile brings a clash of cultures and a suspicion of modernization. 

Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski.
A freelance journalist in Thailand becomes obsessed with the story of a female anthropologist imprisoned for the murder of a Christian missionary. The mystery of the anthropologist’s life and her subsequent suicide combines with a fascinating look at the Thai people with whom she lived.

Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan’s Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks by Zack Hample.
This is a great resource for fans of all levels. Presented in a very readable format, Hample defines terminology and slang, explains complicated plays, superstitions, historical origins, and scoring.

Submitted by East Library librarians Enid Gruszka, Katharina Himsel, Dan Thompson, and Library Reference Assistant Jillian Scheffner.

Pearl’s Picks
Recommended by librarian and author Nancy Pearl. Find more Pearl’s Picks every month.

By the Time You Read This by Giles Blunt. Mystery. 2007.
Canadian policeman John Cardinal believes his wife’s apparent suicide was a murder, and begins an investigation that will try the patience of his superior officers.

In This Rain by S.J. Rozan. Mystery. 2007.
Joe Cole, former inspector for the city’s Buildings Department, went to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  Now, out on parole, he can only watch from the sidelines as deaths from accidents at construction sites begin to pile up.  But are they accidents or sabotage?

Napoleon’s Pyramids by William Dietrich. Fiction. 2007.
In 1798, Ethan Gage, a protégé of Benjamin Franklin’s, wins an unusual medallion in a Paris poker game, and almost immediately finds his life in danger.  Dietrich includes information on military and political history, the Freemasons, and Egyptology as well as introducing readers to a host of real characters, along with the ones he’s invented. 

June

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.
Citizens of a small town struggle to understand the life and motives of a teenager, bullied for years, who carries out a shooting at his high school. Telling the story from many perspectives, Picoult explores the minds and hearts of her characters.

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian.
Laurel Estabrook, a social worker at a homeless shelter still traumatized by a sexual assault that occurred six years earlier, is pulled into a mystery that is part personal discovery and part literary homage to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman.
Groopman provides an insightful look at how doctors synthesize and integrate their medical knowledge with their instincts and experiences to understand and diagnose their patients’ illnesses.  He also considers how medical decision-making can be led astray by emotion or preconception.

It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life With Less Stuff by Peter Walsh.
The author, a professional organizer featured on TLC’s Clean Sweep, shows how organizing your home and everything in it has to involve much more than just sorting things into the right cubbyholes or keeping the sock drawer neat.

The Jesus Family Tomb by Simcha Jacobvici and Charles Pellegrino.
Since the birth of Christianity, questions have surrounded the historical Jesus.  When two archeologists return to a site that was dismissed 25 years ago, they use new methods to come to some startling conclusions.

Paper Trails by Pete Dexter.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of Dexter’s columns from the Philadelphia Daily News and Sacramento Bee in the 1970s and ‘80s. Sometimes tragic, sometimes hilarious, Dexter’s masterful essays reveal the talent that served him well in his later career as an award-winning fiction writer.  

Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakthrough by Isabel Sharpe.
When she is acquitted of her husband’s murder, Vivian escapes the media blitz by moving into her late grandmother’s house in Kettle, Wisconsin where she bonds with three other women who all have some flaw in their lives and are relying on each other as they make radical changes.

Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund: The Second Dixie Hemingway Mystery by Blaize Clement.
When the dachshund she is walking as part of her new pet-sitting job leads her to the body of another client, Dixie is thrust back into the investigative activities she had formerly pursued as a sheriff’s deputy. 

Barbaro, A Nation’s Love Story by Tom Philbin.
Philbin tells the story of Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who sustained an injury during the Preakness from which he never recovered. The story provides added insight as to how a foal emerges as a promising colt and is schooled to become a champion through the required discipline of everyone involved in the thoroughbred industry.

Contributed by Library Reference Assistant Anthony Frausto, and librarians Christopher Gawronski and Susan Love, Bay View

May

There’s a Business in Every Woman: A 7-step Guide to Discovering, Starting and Building the Business of Your Dreams by Ann M. Holmes.
Holmes has been a successful businesswoman for more than 20 years and was a co-founder of the company that created MD/TV, the first medical education network that broadcast advertising for prescription drugs.

Overcoming Life’s Disappointments by Harold S. Kushner.
Rabbi Kushner, author of the highly successful When Bad Things Happen to Good People, uses the life of Moses to demonstrate how to overcome life’s disappointments.

In Dublin’s Fair City by Rhys Bowen.
In the sixth installment of the award-winning Molly Murphy series, Molly returns home to Ireland from America. Bowen, a native of England, has won the Anthony and Agatha Awards for Mystery.

The Way We Garden Now: 41 Pick-and-Choose Projects for Planting Your Paradise Large or Small by Katherine Whiteside.
Whiteside is known as House Beautiful’s “Garden Goddess” and says gardening should be energizing, inspiring, edible and exciting.

Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth by Paul Hornung with Billy Reed.
Former Green Bay Packer Hornung compiles anecdotes, personal recollections and accounts about the legendary coach Vince Lombardi from teammates, NFL dignitaries and others who knew him.

What Paul Meant by Garry Wills.
Wills writes about Paul – one of the most controversial figures in early Christianity.  Paul’s writings reveal a man who re-enforced Christ’s teachings and was a great influence in spreading Christianity – yet later inspired much controversy.

Don’t Flinch – Barry Alvarez: The Autobiography: The Story of Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin’s All-time Winningest Coach by Barry Alvarez with Mike Lucas.
Alvarez took a perennial losing program and turned it into one of the top football programs in the country. He credits his success to his upbringing in Western Pennsylvania, mentoring he received from coaches, and hurdles he overcame as a high school and college assistant coach.

The Political Zoo by Michael Savage.
The sharp-tongued national talk show host lampoons politicians and pundits of both the Left and Right including George Bush and Nancy Pelosi. Witty and funny, it has the ability to outrage and amuse.

Windows Vista for Starts: The Missing Manual: Exactly What You Need to Get Started by David Pogue.
The basic nuts and bolts of Vista, the latest Windows’ operating system, from desktop features to sharing files in a well-written, step-by-step guide.

Price of Admission by Leslie Margolis. Young Adult Fiction.
Hollywood’s ritzy teen Jasmine Green anonymously writes a movie script about her life. When the hot script becomes the big gossip in Hollywood, she realizes she doesn’t want the juicy tidbits about her family and friends to get out – but eager reporter Barry wants her secrets exposed.

Contributed by Tippecanoe librarians Neal Kaluzny, Michael Terry and Kim Tomlinson.

April

Alternadad by Neal Pollak.
Thirty-something-indie-culture-soon-to-be-parents may have hoped Pollak’s memoir would be the bible of alternative child-rearing, but instead they’ll find he’s just a 21st century hippie who likes punk music rather than psychedelic rock, forced to reconcile fatherhood with coolness. An engaging early parenthood narrative written in a hilarious, no-holds-barred style. 

Dust by Martha Grimes.
Grimes’ mysteries appeal to readers who like many characters and plot twists. Superintendent Richard Jury is again on the case, this time taking up with the intense, attractive DI Lu Aguilar. Melrose Plant is “deputized” to aid Jury in this tale of famous artworks, WWII references and the stories of Henry James.

Bone. Vol. 5. Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border by Jeff Smith.
Fone Bone and Smiley Bone head off into the wilderness to return a baby rat creature to its home, but run into opposition from Roque Ja and Kingdok in this graphic novel for teens. Fone and Smiley are unsure of what to do regarding the war in the forest until they meet friends who help them defeat their enemies and figure out who can be trusted.

The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes by William Ury.
Author of the bestselling Getting to Yes, Ury now promotes a more measured use of Yes by using No to illicit a positive response, aiding the reader to achieve win-win outcomes by advocating consideration of the other person’s viewpoint while asserting one’s own.

Latino Wisdom: Celebrity Stories of Hope, Inspiration and Success to Recharge Your Mind, Body and Soul by Cathy Areu.
Areu, founder of CATALINA magazine, has collected stories from celebrities such as Daisy Fuentes, John Leguizamo, Jaci Velasquez, Cheech Marin, and America Ferrera. This book delivers on its promise to recharge mind, body and soul.

A Deeper Sleep by Dana Stabenow.
Louis Deem has been terrorizing the small community of Niniltna, Alaska for years.  When he is acquitted of murdering his third wife, the “aunties” who unofficially run Niniltna demand that private investigator Kate Shugak bring him to justice.  This page- turning mystery incorporates the harsh realities of Alaskan life with a deep respect for its beauty and the tightly knit communities that live there.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick.
In this story, told through the use of narrative and illustrations, 12-year-old orphan Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a Paris train station.  He steals both what he needs to survive, and spare parts to repair a robot left to him by his father.  When he meets a strange toy seller and his granddaughter, Hugo is drawn into a dangerous mystery.

Returning to Earth by Jim Harrison.
Donald is a Chippewa-Finnish man dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease in his Upper Peninsula ancestral home. Confronted with the specter of carrying the family memory to his grave, he dictates his oral history to his wife.  Following Donald’s journey, those closest to him struggle to find redemption from their challenging pasts. 

Submitted by librarians Fran Gieldon, Linda Vincent, Brian Williams-Van Klooster, Library Reference Assistant Britany Buechel and Library Services Assistant Jason Riess, Zablocki

March

Rasputin’s Daughter by Robert Alexander.
Grigori Rasputin’s daughter Maria describes the last week of her father’s life. Even in hindsight Maria struggles to reconcile the many personas Rasputin projected to the man she knew as a father. Was he a true mystic or was he merely a lecherous drunkard?

James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips.
A classic sci-fi writer, Tiptree developed deep friendships via mail with fellow writers. More than ten years later came the stunning revelation – Tiptree was actually Alice B. Sheldon, a brilliant, beautiful woman leading a most unconventional life.

A False Mirror by Charles Todd.
Inspector Ian Rutledge survived the Battle of the Somme physically, but carries with him the ghost of Hamish McLeod, shot on the battlefield for disobedience. Acting as a reminder of the fragility of life and the horrors of war, Hamish accompanies Rutledge on his search for a murderer in the seaside village of Hampton Regis.

Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke.
When Hollywood comes to Lake Eden, Hannah, owner and chief baker of the Cookie Jar, provides sweets for the crew and ends up sleuthing when the director kills himself with a prop gun. This popular crime series includes tasty recipes along the way.

Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish by Tom Schachtman.
From a life almost ascetic in its simplicity, Amish youth are allowed to set forth at age 16 into the “real” world to face its many temptations on the way to adulthood. Some return to Amish life, others are lured away. These interviews offer unusual insight into the Amish culture and the outside world.

Hit Parade by Lawrence Block.
John Keller is a hit man who is considering retirement. While dispatching a baseball player, a stamp collector, a jockey and others, he discusses his jobs and his unusual take on life and death with his partner, Dot. An unusual series from four-time Shamus- and Edgar-winner Block.

At Risk by Patricia Cornwell.
Ambitious District Attorney Monique Lamont opens a 20-year-old case to apply new tools to new evidence in the hopes that solving the case will propel her to the governor’s seat. State investigator Winston Garano is assigned to help her on the case – but ends up questioning her motives.

Horsemen of the Esophagus: Competitive Eating and the Big American Dream by Jason Fagone.
Not for the squeamish – this book offers a look at the newest way to make fast cash while abusing the digestive tract. A no-condiments-barred look at the baffling world of competitive eating.

Contributed by librarians Katherine Ratzburg and Patricia Schriefer, Library Services Assistant Jan Butchart, and Library Circulation Assistant Kathi Gardner, Capitol Library.

February

The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven.
The fate of all existence lies in the hands of three London teenagers as they battle demons both in the physical world and from within themselves. Sounds like Harry Potter and friends – but this science fiction adventure travels to Hell and back through a gateway in a rundown British pub.

Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings.
Best known for his record-shattering 75 appearances and $2 million earned on Jeopardy!, Jennings charmingly recounts his personal experiences from the game show and provides a detailed and often eyewitness account to the history of the obsession with obscure knowledge. Wisconsinites, take note: the annual Stevens Point trivia contest is featured prominently.

Changing Faces by Kimberla Lawson Roby.
Three women leading very different lives find strength and support in each other: Charisse hates her daughter and abuses her husband, successful attorney Taylor is dating a wonderful man whose secret life is keeping him from commitment, and Whitney, who has tried every diet known to man, can’t figure out why an intelligent, attractive stranger would be interested in her.

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris.
Jackpot recipes, unique crafts and entertaining ideas for a wide variety of social situations abound in this practical yet outrageous collection that defies categorization. Part cookbook, part entertaining guide, all hysterical, Sedaris’ first book is a must-read for those who enjoy the off-kilter worldview of both Amy and her brother David.

Auschwitz: A History by Sybille Steinbacher; translated by Shaun Whitside.
A concise history of the ethnically diverse and sleepy Polish village that became the location of the major extermination camp of World War II. Although much has been written on this topic, Steinbacher’s clear and poignant work offers an important historical context, as well as an examination, of life within the camp and in the Auschwitz area.

Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille.
John Corey is back in Demille’s sequel to the very popular Night Fall.  The novel takes place one year following 9/11, and what goes on in the pages of this thriller reflects much of the current scene in the United States.  An invasion of Iraq, right wing fanatics and the growing potential for chaos at home make this book impossible to put down.

A Piece of Cake: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown.
Life has not always been a piece of cake for lawyer and professional speaker Cupcake Brown. After the death of her mother she was raised by an abusive foster parent, frequently ran away from home and was tangled in a web of drugs and prostitution. In spite of her past, Cupcake Brown emerges as a strong woman who has turned her dark past into a bright future.

Contributed by Washington Park librarians Sha’Nese Burnell, Nancy Torphy and Amanda Tuthill