Readers' Advisory: Librarian's Choice 2009

“Full of beautiful, heart-wrenching, and hilarious stories, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details one man's opportunity to edit his life as if he were a character in a movie.” Donald Miller is hilarious, genuine, and always enlightens me spiritually.

Wilco’s tale of turning in their fourth album “Yankee Hotel Fox Trot” to Reprise Records label executives and the label executives asking for it to be “more radio-friendly.” Wilco eventually sold the record as-is to Nonesuch on Warner Brothers, where it peaked at #13 on the Billboard charts. A great story of one of the greatest American bands ever.

“After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.”

“A heartfelt and witty debut about feeling different and finding acceptance--beyond the rules.”

“Every Thursday morning for two years in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a bold and inspired teacher named Azar Nafisi secretly gathered seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics.”

I absolutely loved this book. Never having read Little Women, I feel a bit of loss for not truly knowing the Mr. March's presence or lack-there-of in Little Women. Brooks broke my heart and forced me to view the Civil War from the riveting perspective of the Mr. March, who struggles with the weight of morality as he finds his place in the Civil War. When Brooks switches to his wife's voice for the last eigth of the novel, the novel suddenly becomes the story their marriage and the battle of brutal truth versus concealment to protect our loved ones. It only took me two days to read this book, but I think I will remember it for a lifetime.

I waited a month and half after I finished the book to write this review, so the details are fuzzy. I remember reading this book on the bus trip to visit my family for Easter. My father picked me up and realized how tired I was from the 6 am bus ride. He said, "surely, you had time to sleep." I explained to him that I was reading a very good book and refused to fall asleep. Beginner's Greek features a love hexagon (perhaps?) of intertwining lives. The book is surprising at times and the narration is clever and reminded me of Jim Dale's narration on the television show Pushing Daisies. BG is a clever and fun read. It's a love-story that I would recommend to my cynical husband. I'll leave it at that.

Kristen Chenoweth is hilarious and tells it how it is. I adored her in Pushing Daisies and after reading her memoir, I have become a huge fan. She shares her struggles with illness and criticism and truthfully shares her relationship with Mr. Writer. Even if you are not a fan of her, it is a very well-written and highly entertaining memoir. It was one of my favorite books from 2009 (and my husband's!).

As one who is obsessed with music, playlists, and nerdy romance, I was very excited to read this heartfelt memoir about Sheffield’s wife’s sudden death in their fifth year of marriage. As I have said before, my favorite books are those that make me both laugh and cry. This book hit me in the belly. Sheffield is hilarious when sharing his musical knowledge and commentary. He is also passionate and deeply moving when he shares his memories of Renee’. This title is one I would recommend to everyone, but especially those who are musically inclined.

Formatted by short chapters each representing one day in the 28-day program, Burton offers her wisdom and personal experiences to help others become less busy. I found this book very worthwhile and extremely helpful. She reminded me that self-care and connecting with others comes first in the hierarchy of life. If you make time for yourself to do the things you love, to meditate, and to exercise, then your mindframe will be changed when it comes time to do all the busy stuff. I took lots of notes in my journal and have continued to reflect back on them. I highly recommend this book to anyone knows that they are too busy and overwhelmed with life's responsibilities.

“The first part of The Poisonwood Bible revolves around Nathan's intransigent, bullying personality and his effect on both his family and the village they have come to. As political instability grows in the Congo, so does the local witch doctor's animus toward the Prices, and both seem to converge with tragic consequences about halfway through the novel. From that point on, the family is dispersed and the novel follows each member's fortune across a span of more than 30 years.”

“Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father's antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history.”

This book rocked my world. I actually read the first 100 pages a couple of months ago, then picked up other titles, and then went back to it. I decided to start all over I was semi-lost. I made a great decision.
After Oskar losses his father in 9/11, he discovers a key in his father's closet. At once, he begins an extensive search for the lock that belongs to the key. Meanwhile, his grandparents' heart-breaking history and relationship is slowly revealed. Photographs and illustrations are sprinkled throughout the novel adding to the characterization of Oskar and his grandparents.
I love books that carry me through a range of emotions (without being cliche'), and this book fulfills. I cried (5 times) and laughed (many times) and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my loved ones and my life.

“In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm--a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not--charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.”

This book has the family history tapestry of 100 years of Solitude but packs a punch of modern, crass, and witty story telling. This year's Pulitzer Prize Winner blew me away. Oscar Wao's ex-roommate and Oscar's sister's ex-lover, Yunior, narrates the cursed family history of Oscar Wao. The footnotes, the history of the Domincan Republic, the Spanglish, and the narrator's pompous, witty, yet compassionate voice makes me want to recommend this book to everyone I know (as long as you can stomach a lot of swearing.) A modern day epic, my friends.