May We Suggest...

The following books have only one thing in common—

they tell an exceptional story. Some have been on the bestsellers list,

most have not. Whether you prefer fiction or non-fiction, old or new,

these books are guaranteed to entertain, enlighten or inspire you and all are available

at the Manchester Public Library.

 

Montana 1948...Larry Watson

How is it that two children, raised in the same family, can have different, conflicting moral and ethics?

This family has both a sheriff and female predator—dinner conversations must have been interesting!

In the Lake of the Woods...Tim O’Brien

This is the perfect choice for a book club discussion. A Vietnam vet, a lake, a boat and a missing wife…with an

ending that is left to the reader, conversation is assured.

The Dollmaker...Harriet Arnow

A mother’s love for her children and the will to provide for them is the premise of this harrowing look at life in both

rural Appalachia and Detroit in the 40’s.

Crossing to Safety...Wallace Stegner

This dignified book shatters the illusions we may have about the genteel life of college academia while reaffirming

the need for strong friendships in our life.

Lonesome Dove...Larry McMurtry

On this cattle drive, you can feel the sand in your teeth! The characters are bold and colorful

and Blue Duck has to be the vilest villain ever conjured up. With alternating

chapters following several different story lines, this just may be the finest Western written.

Into Thin Air (796.522)...John Krakauer

Journalist, Jon Krakauer, climbed with and reported on the March 1996 Mt. Everest expedition with the

doomed Rob Hall and Scott Fisher. A compelling first hand account of the catastrophic climb.

A Fine Balance...Rohan Mistry

A widow, a college student, a tailor and his nephew throw their lots together when they find themselves all living in the widow’s

home. Societal discrepancies and hardships are Dickensian in scope, but the humor and pathos make this epic novel one not to miss.

The Stranger Beside Me (364.1523)... Ann Rule

Ann Rule befriended serial killer, Ted Bundy, while volunteering with him on a suicide hot line.

He obviously was not the person she thought he was!

The Circus Fire (974.63)...Stewart O’Nan

The Hartford Times and Hartford Courant, for years, published articles about the circus fire

which took place in Hartford on July 7, 1944.Now, all the facts and first person stories are put

together to record the most heartbreaking tragedy in Hartford’s history.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan...Lisa See

Friendship between two women is so easily shattered—by works or deeds taken wrong—and so hard

to put back together again.

Cheaper by the Dozen (818.5)...Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr.

Frank Gilbreth, Sr. was an internationally known time and motion study expert in the 1920’s,

and used his 12 children as his own personal laboratory with hysterical results. A true story of American spirit!

About the Author...John Colapinto

How far would you go to achieve the success you desire? Neither greed nor blackmail are out of the question in this

Manhattan psychological thriller!

Geek Love...Katherine Dunn

Did you know that the correct definition of “geek” is “a circus performer who bites off the heads of live chickens”?

Aren’t words great? This book is truly for the adventurous reader and not for the faint of heart!

Stranger in the Kingdom...Howard Frank Mosher

Sometimes you come across a book that you wish would go on and on. Baseball, politics and journalism

make for strange bedfellows in this small Vermont town.

What the Deaf Mute Heard...G. D. Gearino

Fifty-two years of living in a bus station where you were abandoned by your mother and pretending to

be deaf and mute—imagine the stories you could tell!

In Cold Blood (364.152)...Truman Capote

The perfect accompaniment to two recent movies, Capote and Infamous, this true crime saga was

published in 1965, and tells the chilling tale of a Kansas farming family who were murdered in cold blood.

Family Pictures...Sue Miller

In the 1950’s, popular belief held that a child born autistic was so due to an uncaring mother.

Four members of the same family tell of their destruction due to this misconception.

Life of Pi...Yann Martell

A boy, a raft, a tiger and the open sea—this is the setting for the adventure of a lifetime. But did it really

happen to the narrator or was it a fantasy created to help him survive? You decide.

Patron Saint of Liars...Ann Patchett

Have you ever driven on the highway, by yourself, doing errands or whatever, and thought, what would happen

if I skipped my exit and kept going? This lady does!

Killer Angels...Michael Shaara

The three day battle of Gettysburg is told in alternating chapters by generals of both the Confederacy and the Union.

Because it is the study of not only the battle but that of human nature, this historical novel is most compelling.

Disobedience...Jane Hamilton

A household is disrupted by a daughter who wants to disguise herself as a boy in order to be a Civil War re-enactor

and a son who snoops in his mother’s e-mail and discovers she’s having an affair.

 

updated 2/2013