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Girl with a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier
 Historical fiction, about the life of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. His portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring is magnetic and lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's second novel. In fact, the cover of the book shows the portrait and the portrait gives the book its title. Girl with a Pearl Earring centers in Vermeer's prosperous household in Delft, Holland, during the 1660s. When 16 year old, Griet, the heroine, is hired as a servant, turmoil follows. First, she becomes increasingly involved with Vermeer. Then, Vermeer employs her as his assistant--and ultimately has Griet sit for him as a model. Chevalier vividly evokes the domestic tensions of the household: noisy children, wife, mother-in-law, and servant girl who has captured the painter’s interest. Girl with a Pearl Earring contains a final delicious twist.
I wonder if the art history here is true. Griet mixes the master’s colors from bone, lead and other materials. Is that what was done in the 1600’s? I don’t know; but this is a really good story and one you won’t want to miss. This story is similar to Susan Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue, both have an art history base, both about famous paintings, both set in Holland, and both really good stories.
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The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
 If you could wrap up the outside-looking-in perspective of the narrator of Our Town, the teen age angst of Anne Klein, and the strong young-girl voice of Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird you will understand the “feeling” of The Lovely Bones.
Told from the unusual perspective of a soul in Heaven, Susie watches her family and friends in the aftermath of her untimely death.
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Five Quarters of the Orange
by Joanne Harris
 Framboise Simon’s mother leaves her a scrapbook filled with recipes, memories and encrypted deeper insights about the events which shaped their lives. The story is set in France in the 1940’s, in a small village along the Loire, to which Framboise returns after many years. With her true identity unknown to her former neighbors, Framboise renews the family homestead and opens a restaurant in the town. She makes sure the locals do not recognize her, because, of course, they could never forgive her for the tragedy. The story unfolds just like the scrapbook, in delicious tidbits, in apparently random order, and with segments that remain encrypted until the very end. Written by the author of Chocolat, Five Quarters of the Orange is not as light-hearted, but has the same (or maybe even greater) sensitivity. This is one very, very good read.
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Prayers From A Nonbeliever
by Julia Cameron (Spirituality)
Reviewed by Pauline Finch
Bestselling author Julia Cameron has written an inspiring book focusing on a series of letters to God that an anonymous "nonbeliever" has penned, a young artist who is looking for answers to questions that relate to the identity of God, the power of creative energy, and the meaning and consequences of faith.
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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
By Marjane Satrapi (Memoir)
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
 Marjane Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq.
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The Pinocchio Syndrome
by David Zeman (Political Thriller)
Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day
 Terrorism --- political and biological --- is the timely topic that drives David Zeman's debut in this riveting thriller about a mysterious disease, a government cover-up, and a young senator who is determined to stem the rising panic.
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The Kalahari Typing School for Men
by Alexander McCall Smith (Mystery)
Reviewed by Kathy Weissman
Called "the Miss Marple of Botswana" by one reviewer, private investigator Precious Ramotswe not only unravels cases but also explores the mysteries of life --- her adventures are deep as well as diverting. This short, soul-stirring novel is the fourth in a justly celebrated series.
Another good read in the same series is The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
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Living History
by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Autobiography)
Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
 In her highly anticipated memoir, Hillary Rodham Clinton discusses her upbringing in suburban, middle-class America in the 1950s and her transformation from Goldwater Girl to student activist to controversial First Lady.
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The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd
 It’s about mothers and daughters and life in the South. It has a touch of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood; but with much more depth. You’ll read this book in a day or two because you won’t want to put it down until you have found out the secret of Lily’s attachment to Tiburon, S.C. Don’t forget to read the very interesting chapter introductions, which come from a variety of “bee” resources.
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Mama Makes Up Her Mind : And Other Dangers of Southern Living
By Bailey White
 I hope I never hear Bailey White’s real voice. I’d be very disappointed if it didn’t sound like the droll, ironic, pure South Georgia voice in my head as I read Mama Makes Up Her Mind. I loved Bailey White’s vignettes about her Mama, her extended family, her first graders, and her wonderful eclectic house, where the Christmas greens stay in place until the summer because they smell best when they are dried out and nothing ever gets throw out. The stories about the Porsche on the porch and the location of the bathtub portray the South at its eccentric best. Each small chapter is a separate story making this a good choice for the “Listening” portion of a Language Therapy lesson for an older student, or something to read aloud just for fun.
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The Professor and the Madman
By Simon Winchester
 This story deals with the making of the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century. One contributor, Dr. William C. Minor, a Civil War veteran and an American expatriot, contributed thousands of entries from his residence in England. After nearly 40 years of correspondence, Professor James Murray called on Dr. Minor. He found that his co-contributor was a resident of the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Minor had been incarcerated for delusional behavior that resulted in murder.
Winchester also paints a rich portrait of the OED's leading light, Professor James Murray, who spent more than 40 years of his life on a project he would not see completed in his lifetime. Winchester traces the origins of the drive to create a "Big Dictionary" down through Murray and far back into the past; the result is a fascinating compact history of the English language (albeit admittedly more interesting to linguistics enthusiasts than historians or true crime buffs). That Murray and Minor, whose lives took such wildly disparate turns yet were united in their fierce love of language, were able to view one another as peers and foster a warm friendship is just one of the delicately turned subplots of this compelling book. --Tjames Madison --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, 70 years in the making, was an intellectually heroic feat with a twist worthy of the greatest mystery fiction: one of its most valuable contributors was a criminally insane American physician, locked up in an English asylum for murder. British stage actor Simon Winchester leads us through this uncommon meeting of minds (the other belonging to self-educated dictionary editor James Murray) at full gallop.
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Touching the Void: The Harrowing First Person Account Of One Man's Miraculous Survival
By Joe Simpson, Chris Bonington
 This is one book I never thought I would read, and having started it, never thought I would enjoy. Once started, it was riveting. Outdoorsy or not, this is a remarkable story told remarkably well. Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, went through an ordeal too harrowing to think actually happened. How both men overcame the torments of those frightening days in the Andes is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival; and of unshakable courage and friendship. I read this one on vacation and read ‘til dawn one morning.
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Ahab's Wife: The Star-Gazer
By Sena Jeter Naslund, Christopher Wormell (Illustrator)
 You may have read Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. This is the same Captain Ahab, but definitely not the same story. Moby-Dick is a man’s book. Ahab’s Wife: The Star Gazer is not. The story starts with Una, Ahab’s wife, reminiscing, “Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last”. The tone is set. The character is carried through pre-civil war Kentucky, through the whaling communities of New England, and then to the very real salons of the Boston of Melville’s real time. The story is 700 pages long; but is imaginative and entertaining. You may not always like Una; but you’ll love her strength, and you’ll love the way Sena Jeter Naslund tells this story. KM
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Girl in Hyacinth Blue
By Susan Vreeland
 The Girl in Hyacinth Blue is fun to read, and so short it would make a good companion for a plane ride or a quiet evening at home. This story has all the magic and history of The Red Violin. There are only 35 known Vermeers extant in the world today. In Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland supposes the existence of another. The story begins at a private boys' academy in Pennsylvania and goes backward in time to the painting of the Girl in Hyacinth Blue. - through the Nazi occupation of Holland and other significant historic events, to the very inception of the painting in the everyday setting of the Vermeer household.
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John Adams
By David McCullough
 In a time when the values of patriotism above personal gain are being reanalyzed and appreciated, the biography of John Adams strikes a resounding chord. David McCullough writes, Adams was "not a man of the world" and surely left alone, he would have remained a quiet New England farmer. But the times required more of him and he rose to the occasion. In the shadow of two more illustrious presidents, this biography shows Adams to be a man of quiet principle and integrity. Adams was a true patriot and a heroic figure. Not at all a dry biography, this is a great story, about a great man, told by a great storyteller. KM
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