| Here are some more LHS library
books recommended by the J's. To review last month's picks, click here. |
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The Secret Life of Bees Blue Gold In the Garden of Iden |
Joanie: A Civil Action The Street Lawyer 1st to Die |
Judy: The Shipping News Between a Rock and a Hard Place Maus I: My Father Bleeds History Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began |
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The
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed, escapes her father's home to live with an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce her to the mesmerizing world of bees and honey and the Black Madonna. |
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A Civil Action by John Grisham The true story of an obsessed young lawyer who gives up just about everything to fight two prestigious law firms and two of the nation's largest corporations on behalf of the citizens of Woburn, MA., whose loved ones died because they drank the water. |
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The Shipping News |
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| Jeanie: I thoroughly enjoyed this story because I liked the characters so much. The narrator, Lily, was honest and down-to-earth, the bee-keepers were loving and supportive and Lily's father was incompetent as a parent and bitter over the loss of Lily's mother. Together they tell a great story. | Joanie: I really liked this book. I kept rooting for the underdogs: the families and lawyers who fought the corporations not to win a settlement but to have those companies claim responsibility for their wrong-doings. | Judy: Go with Quoyle to the world of the inhabitants of Newfoundland and its lore of fishing and the sea. | ||||
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Blue Gold by Clive Cussler What would happen if companies could buy the water rights for entire river systems? What if they convinced the US government that they could provide abundant and clean water to states without spending a single tax dollar? What if those companies were working to achieve the same thing worldwide? Thank goodness for the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) and a mythical white goddess from the South American jungle who together combat the evil eco-terrorists and save the world's water supply. |
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The Street Lawyer by John Grisham Young lawyer Michael Brock's investigation into the motives of a homeless gunman who was killed by police after taking Brock and eight of his fellow attorneys hostage, leads him to the discovery of a dirty little secret that changes the course of his life and career. A suspenseful story about a young lawyer forced to look beyond his sheltered middle-class life and take on the challenge of representing the homeless. |
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Between a Rock and
a Hard Place by Aaron Ralston Aaron Ralston was climbing in a Utah canyon when a rock dislodged and pinned his arm. This is a personal account of his 6 days of survival culminating when he amputated his trapped arm to set himself free. |
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| Jeanie: The possibility of someone privatizing all the rights to fresh water intrigues me. Of course the teacher part of me is thinking what a great question to research! The cynic is thinking that our society is materialistic enough that I could envision someone doing that through legal channels. The part of me that cares for my fellow human beings rails against a situation where the wealthy control something so basic to survival as water. | Joanie: This book gives us insight into the uncertain world of homeless people and the circumstances that put them there. | Judy: Agonize with Aaron. | ||||
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In the Garden
of Iden by Kage Baker In the 24th century, "old school" things like extinct plants and animals are in big demand. Also in demand are art, literature, music or any other treasure from the past that can be recovered through the vast resources of Dr. Zeus and The Company. How, you ask, can this happen? Through the miracle of time travel, of course. In this story Mendoza explains the secrets of time travel and becoming immortal. She also tells the tale of returning to the time of the Tudors disguised as a Spaniard, with the mission of collecting a species of holly from the year 1554 that is about to go extinct. |
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1st to Die by James Patterson In San Francisco newlyweds are being stalked and slaughtered. Four women join forces, pooling their talents, courage, and brains, and they have one goal. To find, trap, and outwit the most terrifying killer ever imagined. |
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman In these two graphic novels, Art Spiegelman tells his father's story: his rise in Poland as a successful businessman in the 1930s, his coping with the Nazis and the subsequent erosion of his life and business, his survival of the concentration camp, and his life in America. Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman |
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| Jeanie: I liked this story because it has some basis in history yet it takes place in the future, too. Add in the romantic interest and the intrigue and there you have many of my favorite elements of fiction. | Joanie: A good, fast-read mystery that will keep you on the edge of suspense and staying up all night to finish it. | Judy: This is my first reading of a graphic novel. Spiegelman protrays the Jews as mice and the Nazis as rats. His father's resourcefulness awed me. It was fascinating how his experiences colored his later life and his relationships with his wife and son. | ||||
Jeanie: Eragon Sarah Rebekkah |
Joanie: Memoirs of a Geisha Poisonwood Bible Yellow Raft on Blue Water |
Judy: Enchantment All the Pretty Horses Shadow Catcher |
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Eragon by Christopher Paolini In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. |
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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who was taken from her home at the age of nine and sold into slavery as a geisha, discovers a rare opportunity for freedom when the outbreak of World War II forces an end to the only life she has ever known. |
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Enchantment |
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| Jeanie: The main character isn't a super hero, but still accomplishes some heroic deeds. Eragon is a fun fantasy written by a high school student. | Joanie: One of my favorite books of all time. | Judy: The romantic in me loves this book. It is humorous, informative, and not just for women...Ken liked it, too! | ||||
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Sarah by Orson Scott Card The first novel in a trilogy on the women of Genesis, focusing on the life of Sarah, a devoted wife, and follower of the God of Abraham, who is chosen to experience a miracle. |
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The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver Nathan Price and his family move to the Belgian Congo in 1959, and the experiences they have while living in Africa affect each member of the family in a different way. |
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| Jeanie: What I liked about the books Sarah and Rebekah is how Card brings these Biblical characters to life. | Joanie: A wonderful novel full of cultural diversity and a great story with life lessons. | Judy : Genuine
cowboys, romance, tragedy, a scary 1940's Mexican jail, a chase scene,
and well-written horses, pun intended. |
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Rebekah by Orson Scott Card A fictionalized account of the life of Rebekah, who was chosen by God to be the wife of Isaac and struggled to find her place in the family of Abraham. |
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A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris A saga of three generations of Native American women, beset by hardship and torn by angry secrets, yet joined together by the bonds of kinship. |
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| Joanie: My book club's pick for this month. | Judy: I liked the mix of real and fictional events to portray the moral dilemmas of early 1900 attitudes toward Native Americans and the West. | |||||
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