http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/ Staff recommendations and reviews in answer to the question, "What should I read next?" en rbrenner@minlib.net Copyright 2010 2010-08-03T20:56:27+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/looking-for-a-good-book/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/looking-for-a-good-book/#When:16:36:48Z Due to the current requests and limited time of staff here at the Main Library, we have had to temporarily suspend the Looking for a Good Book service.  We will be relaunching as soon as possible, so keep an eye on this page for when we reopen requests! The Brookline Public Library is happy to provide our community of readers with a new and exciting service. We all know that tracking down the right book at the right time can be a struggle, especially when many of us don’t have as much times as we’d wish to browse shelves or pore over reviews.  So, let us do the work for you!  This new online reader’s advisory service is a way for you to request a customized reading list from the library staff, taking into account your reading habits, likes and dislikes, and current story must-haves.  Here’s how it works: 1. Fill in our survey here.  It’s substantial, but the length and detail is all so we can provide you with a list of recommended titles best suited to what you’re seeking.  The more information you provide, the more likely it is we can suggest the best books for you. 2. Librarians at the Brookline Public Library will use your answers to create a customized reading list for you. 3. Within three weeks, we will get back to you with your customized reading list, either to be picked up in person at the library or emailed to you, whatever your personal preference. 4. Once you’ve gone through the list, send us feedback via this form, or start another request by filling out another survey. 5. Browse our recommendations gleaned from answering readers’ requests at our Looking for a Good Book Reader’s Advisor blog here to see what else you might be interested in reading! If you have any questions, or want to follow-up with us, please feel free to send us an email at brooklinera {at} brooklinelibrary {dot} org. Please be aware this is a trial service. Due to the generosity of the Friends of the Brookline Library, we are able to offer this service for a trial period of a year, but after a year, depending on staff scheduling and commitments, we may have to suspend the service.   2009-08-25T16:36:48+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks/#When:20:56:27Z “Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping.” Robin’s Note: This is a gripping bestseller for a reason: while the summary here emphasizes the scientific side of the story, the engaging part is the story of Henrietta Lacks herself.  The complications of scientific research, racial prejudice, medical ethics, and a personal relationship with the Lacks family drove Skloot to write an astounding, affecting work. 2010-08-03T20:56:27+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/1969-the-year-everything-changed/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/1969-the-year-everything-changed/#When:20:53:02Z “Chronicles American music, news, politics, art, publishing, and sports during 1969, from Woodstock to the Manson family and Richard Nixon’s presidency to the gay rights movement.” Robin’s Note: Kirkpatrick is a free-wheeling writer, and this look at the end of the decade is both far-ranging and not too serious.  He addresses some grim moments (the Zodiac Killer, for example) but also rhapsodizes about the Mets and jazz.  As a journey through the last year of the decade, it’s a strong read, and while it doesn’t cover every aspect, it’s an enjoyable ride through some major historical beats. 2010-08-03T20:53:02+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/on-the-road-to-freedom/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/on-the-road-to-freedom/#When:20:49:42Z “An award-winning black journalist takes a pilgrimage through the sites and landmarks of the civil rights movement as he journeys to key locales that served as a backdrop to important events of the 1960s, journeying around the country to pay tribute to the people, organizations, and events that transformed America.” Robin’s Note: For anyone interested in the 1960s and the struggle for civil rights, this personal view of history illuminates.  Cobb was a part of these events and has a vast memory for the people, places, and situations, and the narrative presented as a travelogue is an engaging and different way to present recent history.  If you’re curious for more, you might also try Freedom Riders by Raymond Arsenault. 2010-08-03T20:49:42+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/running-in-the-family/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/running-in-the-family/#When:20:46:24Z “An autobiographical journey of discovery gathers together fragments of memory, experience, and family history in order to understand the meaning of his parents’ legacy and his own heritage.” Robin’s Note: Michael Ondaatje is famous for writing the novel The English Patient, bu this is his memoir of childhood and his own family’s quirks and secrets.  As with all of his writing, the language is rich and absorbing, and his fondness for his homeland shines through even with the breakdown of his family.  His sense of place is unmatched. 2010-08-03T20:46:24+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/harriett-and-isabella/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/harriett-and-isabella/#When:20:41:47Z “A novelization based on a nineteenth-century sex scandal traces how the downfall of Henry Ward Beecher divided the nation and severed the loving relationship between his sisters, author Harriet Beecher Stowe and suffragist Isabella Beecher Hooker.” Robin’s Note: For anyone interested in American culture and history.  It’s part history, part gossip, and part biographical portrait.  The conflict of appearances versus fact and between two headstrong sisters (who are famous each in their own right) makes for a dramatic story.  The courtroom scenes as well as family betrayals are suspenseful, moving the story along, and the depth of the history lends weight to what could be just a scandal-driven tale. 2010-08-03T20:41:47+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/the-guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie-society/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/the-guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie-society/#When:20:34:36Z “January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb…. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Liz’s Notes: Don’t let the title fool you. This novel brings the period just after WWII to life, and creates characters that are thoroughly believable. The island of Guernsey is a setting one does not often see, and the period emphasis makes this a charming and moving novel. 2010-08-03T20:34:36+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/the-air-we-breathe/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/the-air-we-breathe/#When:18:32:46Z “Detached from the rest of the country on the eve of World War I, the tuberculosis-stricken residents of an Adirondack lakeside sanatorium are housed in accordance with their economic status and languish in their isolation before an enterprising patient initiates a weekly discussion group.” Robin’s Note: Angela Barrett is well known for compelling historical fiction, often paired with investigations into the history of science and medicine.  Most of all, though, her stories are human and beautifully described without being too dense.  You might also try Ship Fever, her collection of short stories, to get a taste of her style and her first novel, The Voyage of the Narwhal. 2010-08-03T18:32:46+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/a-live-coal-in-the-sea/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/a-live-coal-in-the-sea/#When:18:30:41Z “Three generations of a family struggle with loyalty, commitment, and identity when Camilla Dickinson is confronted by her granddaughter, Raffi, with the news that her father has hinted that Camilla is not really her grandmother.” Robin’s Note: Another read-alike for Irving, L’Engle’s adult works are often eclipsed by her reputation as a writer for children.  That is a shame: her adult novels beautifully explore characters in depth and she has a knack for making the ordinary evocative and special.  She tends toward the spiritual, but she’s neither preachy nor judgmental. 2010-08-03T18:30:41+00:00 http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/inner-circle/ http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/readers-advisor/entries/inner-circle/#When:18:16:21Z “In 1940, innocent young John Milk accepts a job as an assistant to Dr. Alfred Kinsey, an Indiana University zoologist studying human sexuality, and takes part, along with his wife, in sexual experiments that become ever more uninhibited.” Robin’s Note: T. Coraghessan Boyle is an author highly recommend as a read-alike for John Irving given his evocative characters, settings, and his treatment of ideas both extraordinary and mundane.  This novel explores many of Irving’s favorite issues: fidelity, sex, and love. 2010-08-03T18:16:21+00:00