All-Time Favorite: Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll
SF CARR
First line: "The Axe Boy lived downstairs."
Every night a woman dreams of journeying with her young son and their unusual animal companions through a strange world called Rondua. Her only child in the real world is an infant daughter, but now, it seems, she is a mother of two. She comes to realize that she is helping her dream-son to procure the Bones of the Moon. As a child, she herself had almost accomplished this important task. She is only now beginning to remember her own journey -- and why she had failed. Troubles mount in Rondua, and they are portents of great danger in her waking life.
This powerful, beautiful, funny, terrifying story utterly captivated me. The "real world" characters are so ordinary and appealing that when the story shifted to Rondua I had no trouble believing in Mr. Tracy (a giant dog in a bowler) or Sizzling Thumb (a king who speaks only in gibberish and worships light).

1997 Favorite: Rapture by David Sosnowski
F SOSN
First line: "It starts like this: with a hat."
You've fallen into a coma, pupated, and emerged with wings -- you're an "Angel." How do you sit in a chair now? None of your clothes fit anymore. "Pedestrians" are jealous of you. There are bigger problems. A magnetic presence in Angels' chests makes it impossible for them to be near computers or any electronic device. "Penguins" are Angels who cannot fly or even walk. Psychologists, religious leaders, conspiracy theorists, and public health officials all have their say about Angels. Angelism feeds slang, pop culture, opportunistic industries -- and a new kind of murderer, called a "Vampire."
This is a hilarious, touching story of Angelism's dramatic transformation of individuals, as well as their society. The wry portrait of American culture and the mundane, yet exalted, core love story are equally enthralling.

All-Time Favorite: Charade by Sandra Brown
ROM BROW, TC ROM BROW
Romance and suspense.

1997 Favorite: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
F SPAR, LARGE TYPE F SPAR, TC F SPAR
Love story.

All-Time Favorite(s): Still Life With Menu (cookbook)

One of my fiction favorites: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
F COLL

and I still love
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
916.76 DI, LARGE TYPE 916.76 DI, TC 916.76 DI, VC OUT

1997 Favorite: Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian
B BALAKIAN
A revelation about family and survival.

All-Time Favorite(s): The Book of Lights by Chaim Potok
F POTO

The Hobbit
YA F TOLK, J TOLK, TC F TOLK, VC J HOBB and

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

F TOLK, YA F TOLK, TC F TOLK by J.R.R. Tolkien

1997 Favorite: The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963
by Christopher Paul Curtis
YA F CURT, NEWBERY J CURT

All-Time Favorite(s): The Bean Trees
F KING

and its sequel
Pigs in Heaven
F KING, LARGE TYPE F KING
both by Barbara Kingsolver
I was looking for "something different" and someone recommended these. Just great stories, good if you're in a "reading rut."

1997 Favorite: Babyhood by Paul Reiser
649.122 RE, CD 649.122 RE
So true! Comforting after a week of "up all-nighter" (with a new baby) to actually be able to laugh about it! Good therapy...and cheap too!

All-Time Favorite: Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach
158.12 BA
Reading books changes lives. This book is organized as a walk through the year with its gentle lessons of comfort and joy -- helps you appreciate the wonderful life you were born to live.

1997 Favorite: Handbook for the Soul
edited by Richard Carlson and Benjamin Shield
291.4 HA
This is a magnificent gathering of inspiring words that addresses the importance of caring for and nourishing the soul. An inspiring book to read over and over again!

All-Time Favorite(s): Books by Miriam Grace Monfredo
(Seneca Falls Inheritance, North Star Conspiracy, Blackwater Spirits, Through a Gold Eagle...)
M MONF
Set in pre-Civil War America, these novels about Seneca Falls librarian Glynis Tryan are not only historically interesting, but very suspenseful and fast moving. The characters are fascinating and the plots blend in very well with the history. Great mystery novels!

1997 Favorite: Firestorm by Nevada Barr
M BARR
All of Barr's books about park ranger Anna Pigeon are worth the read, but this one was the most suspenseful and action-packed.

All-Time Favorite: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
F DICK, LARGE TYPE F DICK, LIFE F DICK, J DICK, J* DICK, JE D, TC F DICK, JUV TC DICK, VC 792.6 GU
I've read this out loud yearly for more than 15 years and it never fails to move me. Dickens' descriptive language is exquisite.

1997 Favorite(s): The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
F SHAA, VC F GETT (Gettysburg, the movie based on the novel)
A fictionalized account of the conflict at Gettysburg which marked the turning point of the American Civil War; the author is meticulous about events but especially about personalities -- participants in this battle really come to life; brilliant, thought-provoking writing that carries the reader philosophically far beyond a single battle; Chamberlain was my favorite character because he was so idealistic (and so am I).

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
F SHIE, LARGE TYPE F SHIE, TC F SHIE
I like Shields' plays on words starting with the title. I had fun noticing all the images and meanings of the word "stone" within this novel. The author was experimenting with the concept of an autobiography -- how accurate is one's memory concerning one's own life and how does one convey it to others. There is a family tree in the front and a section of actual photographs in the center of the book giving it a nonfictional flavor. The author explores the universal problems of loneliness and lost opportunities and demonstrates that all lives are vital and significant regardless of outward appearances.

1997 Favorite(s): Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
F CLAR, LARGE TYPE F CLAR, TC F CLAR
It has a lot of suspense and mystery to it. I could hardly put it down! Her writing really captivates me!

I have two other favorites both by Mary Higgins Clark:
I'll Be Seeing You
F CLAR, LARGE TYPE F CLAR

Midnight Becomes You
F CLAR, TC F CLAR
I love the way Mary writes. She really knows how to hold a reader's interest. I can't wait to read the others she's written!

All-Time Favorite: All This, and Heaven Too by Rachel Field
F FIEL
A very good (though lengthy) romance written in the vein of Charlotte Bronte.

1997 Favorite: Missing Pieces by Joy Fielding
F FIEL, TC F FIEL
A cast of very unconventional, yet believable, characters makes this psychological mystery hard to put down until you've read the last page.

All-Time Favorite: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
F MCCU, VC F HEAR
I have a hard time convincing my peers to read this because they hear the title and thinks it's a woozy romance, which couldn't be further from the truth. Because I don't have much space, I'm just going to say it's a darker southern "Prairie Home Companion."

1997 Favorite(s):Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution by Margot Adler
B ADLER, for being written in 1997

-- otherwise it's tied with
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
YA SF CARD
Heretic's Heart is Adler's autobiographical account of the sixties as a student at Berkeley who was an activist, but not strung out in size three bell bottoms. I don't have enough room to go on about Ender's Game. Just read it.

All-Time Favorite: anything written by Dean Koontz
F KOON

1997 Favorite: Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War by Yukio Tsuchiya
JE940.531 TS
So sad but true children's nonfiction.

All-Time Favorite(s): The World According to Garp by John Irving
F IRVI
A somewhat strange book but with some great characters. Very entertaining.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
F TOLK, YA F TOLK, TC F TOLK
A great fantasy and adventure series. Combined with The Hobbit, it makes for many nights of enjoyable reading.

1997 Favorite(s): The Partner by John Grisham
F GRIS, TC F GRIS, CD F GRIS
Typical Grisham book...but I like Grisham books with their legal drama.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
YA SF CARD
Suspenseful, exciting and an intriguing ending -- good to read by itself or continue the series -- although the later installments get more and more philosophical.

All-Time Favorite: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
F RAND
Not a novel for wimps at about 1,300 pages. A story about love, big business, and government interference. It often resembles situations that happen today in the USA.

All-Time Favorite: The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
F PENM
A sympathetic re-telling of the life of King Richard III.

1997 Favorite: Dean's List by Jon Hassler
F HASS
When a famous poet comes to Rookery State, the dean of the college hopes to find an opportunity to put his institution on the map.

John Resch, Technical Services

All-Time Favorite: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
808.8 TO, F TOLS
Covers every aspect of the human condition. In-depth analysis of individual personalities.

1997 Favorite: Cider House Rules by John Irving
F IRVI
Gives a balanced view of differing perspectives concerning the issue of abortion. Excellent story and character development.

Rita Rosauer, Adult Services

All-Time Favorite: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
F UNDS
This trilogy (also published separately as The Bridal Wreath, The Mistress of Husaby, and The Cross) is a romance set in 14th century Norway. We follow the story of Kristin, a young woman betrothed to one man but in love with another, through her marriage, the birth of her sons, and her eventual dispossession from her home after her husband's death. The book has wonderful historical and political detail. We feel as if we are actually present in the Norway of medieval times. We also learn to care about Undset's characters, with all their human foibles. This is top-notch historical fiction.

1997 Favorite: Straight Man by Richard Russo
F RUSS, TC F RUSS
This hilarious but poignant novel is set in contemporary academia. William Henry Devereaux, Jr., chairman of the English Department at an obscure Pennsylvania college is a witty and irreverent protagonist. Devereaux becomes frustrated with academic politics. With TV cameras rolling, he grabs a goose from the campus pond and threatens to kill it, and another like it, every day until his department gets its funding. Readers who enjoyed Russo's earlier novels, The Risk Pool and Nobody's Fool know what to expect from this talented author. It's laugh-out-loud funny.

Judi Sarafin, Information Services

All-Time Favorite: The Land Remembers by Ben Logan
917.75 LO
Bittersweet story of four boys growing up on a farm in Wisconsin.

1997 Favorite: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
796.522 KR
Fascinating page-turner! Opened my eyes to the obsession that is mountain climbing.

Carol Scharff, Audio-Visual Services, Circulation Services

All-Time Favorite(s): Many mystery titles by authors like Grimes, McCrumb, George, Yorke, James, Crombie, etc. The English authors seem to write a cleaner, more believable murder story.

1997 Favorite: A recent favorite is nonfiction
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
975.8724 BE, TC 975.8724 BE
It's a chronicle of real people in Savannah, Georgia, their lives and acquaintances, their social standings and personal habits as seen by the visiting author. Though it is supposedly a true story, the author admits to changing names and making use of poetic license. It's an easy read, written in novel form.

Favorite Video: Fly Away Home
VC J FLY

All-Time Favorite: The Holy Man by Susan Trott
F TROT
An inspiring book about a wise holy man living on top of a mountain and the people who make a pilgrimage to seek his wisdom. Each of the 34 chapters deals with a human condition (jealousy, impatience, etc.) and show how the holy man deals with them. Fast, light reading.

1997 Favorite: The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
F DALL, TC F DALL
A humorous suspense novel with zany small town characters set in prohibition Kansas.

All-Time Favorite(s): The Brother Cadfael mystery series by Ellis Peters
M PETE, LARGE TYPE M PETE, TC M PETE

Mark Weedman, former Page

All-Time Favorite: Iron John by Robert Bly
305.31 BL
If you can read only one book about why men are the way they are, read this 1990 weave of myth, history and social psychology.

1997 Favorite: Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh
294.337 NH
A profound ecumenical voice from the East.

(One of Her) All-Time Favorites: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
YA SF CARD
Fabulous novel for science fiction readers and non-science fiction readers. Wonderful three-dimensional characters, intrigue, suspense, action, pathos -- Ender's Game has it all!

1997 Favorite: Your Oasis on Flame Lake by Lorna Landvik
F LAND
Real people with real-life concerns.


For more recommendations, go to:
Staff, Board, & Volunteer Favorites 2002
Staff, Board, & Volunteer Favorites 2001
Staff & Board Favorites 2000 * Staff Favorites 1999
Staff Favorites 1998 * Reader's Favorites
"If You Like..." (recommends similar authors)
Hot Picks (recommends new books)
About Books (WVIK radio show) -- program schedule & book recommendations from hosts, guests, & listeners
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