This Norwegian novel, which won the 2007 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, pulls the reader into the quiet story of a man in his sixties recalling a long-ago summer and re-constructing his father's involvement in World War II. It iscomplex in the shadings of feelings and knowledge, yet simple in its style and beauty – a book that is a satisfying pleasure to read. Sheila B.
Rick Dockery is a Cleveland Browns quarterback who ends his NFL career by throwing three interceptions at the end of a division championship game. His job choices are slim after that, but he lands a starting quarterback position playing American football for the Parma Panthers in Italy. Will Dockery lead the Panthers to the Italian Super Bowl? See a new side of Grisham’s writing and kick-off football season by reading this winning book! Sky K.
This Pulitzer Prize winning novel captures the experiences of immigrants to this country through the character of Oscar de Leon, a Dominican boy suffering from excessive nerdiness, being overweight, and an inescapable family curse. The story is told using liberal amounts of Spanish and vulgarity, and this language adds, rather than detracts, to the vibrancy and freshness of the telling. Lina C.
After the 9/11 attacks, Michigan beautician Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan, newly liberated from harsh Taliban rule, with American aid workers. She soon found her beautician skills in great demand, especially among Afghan women eager to catch up on the latest styling techniques that they had missed during the years when the Taliban regime had forcibly closed hair salons. “Miss Debbie,” as she was known, quickly found her beautician skills in great demand, and with products donated from leading American hair products companies, she opened a school to train beauticians. Soon after, she started her own demonstration salon to provide job opportunities for her students and teach them business skills so they could achieve independence in the traditional male-dominated culture. Rodriguez writes a first-hand, often chatty, account of the joys and setbacks she found as a Western in a foreign land. Susan L.
The Camel Club is a Washington-based group that concerns itself with conspiracy theories. At the latest of their late-night meetings held on a desolate island in the middle of the Potomac River, the eccentric members of the club wonder if there is really any point in continuing their club. After all, not much has happened lately. Suddenly, the group hears the sound of a boat engine approaching and shortly afterwards, they become witnesses to a murder which will entangle them in a suspenseful conspiracy involving the President and the Secret Service. A fast-paced piece of political fiction, this novel will take its readers on a thrilling ride. Bonina G.
