Staff Picks Reviewer: Julie

Hearts Made Whole by Jody Hedlund [Book]

view/request

This book is part of Hedlund’s Beacon of Hope Series and is the Sequel to Love Unexpected.  Set in 1865 Michigan, Caroline Taylor has helped her father tend to a lighthouse and care for her younger siblings.  When her father dies unexpectedly, she is forced to give up the job and their home. Ryan Chambers, a wounded Civil War veteran with alcohol and drug addictions and no experience arrives as the new lighthouse keeper.  This is a story of faith, hope, healing and romance.

The Professor and the Madman: a Tale of murder, insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester [Book]

view/request

The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary containing 414,825 definitions was begun in 1857 and took 70 years to complete.  The first edition of the OED was given to President Coolidge and is in the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum at Forbes Library.  The “Professor” is  James Murray, a former schoolmaster and bank clerk, and the editor and leader of the OED project. The “madman” is Dr. W. C. Minor, a retired American Civil War surgeon who was the largest contributor with over 10,000 entries to the OED project.Minor was an extraordinary contributor but he was also a murderer, clinically insane, and incarcerated in  Broadmoor, England’s asylum for criminal lunatics. Winchester tells the history of the dictionary as well as the biographies of Murray and Minor.  While parts are long-winded, the story of the dictionary appeals to those who love words, books and libraries.  The biography of Minor appeals to those interested in the mind, behavior and psychology.  Readers who enjoy psychological fiction and are looking for a non-fiction bookmight also enjoy this.

Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo [Book]

view/request

Widow Gabby Summerhill invites her 4 children and their families home to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to celebrate Christmas together, their first holiday together since their father died 3 years ago. Gabby announced in a video message to her children that she will be getting married on Christmas but the identity of the groom will remain a secret until the wedding. While the book is not a typical James Patterson thriller, it has many emotional twists and turns.

Wedding Season by Katie Fforde [Book]

view/request

Wedding Season is the story of wedding planner Sarah who secretly doesn’t believe in love. Her personal love life is non-existent as she plans the perfect nuptials of others. The book begins as she takes on two new clients who are getting married on the same day in just a few months–a celebrity and her own sister. Sarah’s friends, dress maker Elsa and hairdresser Bron have also not been lucky in love until now. This British romantic novels follows the 3 women as they meet new men and deal with demanding brides. While the story is somewhat predictable, anyone in the midst of wedding planning will enjoy the romance and comedy.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn [Book]

view/request

Flinn is an American journalist and computer executive in London and gets let go from a high power high stress job and decides to go to cooking school at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. When enrolling in cooking school, she set out to write a book about her experiences so this chronicles her year of self-discovery and finding love. It is full of humor, recipes and her adventures in a new country and language.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister [Book]

view/request

This novel about a cooking class will make you hungry, and every detail was so beautifully written with well-drawn characters each with very different issues. While learning to cook, students come away with greater life lessons to help them with their issues. My favorite class was pasta and red sauce, all from scratch. The lesson: the ability to cook and live without worry of time.

Calvin Coolidge At Home in Northampton by Susan Lewis Well [Book]

view/request

Using original material from the collections of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum, Well presents the daily life and residences of Calvin Coolidge in Northampton, Massachusetts. She uses new sources to document the unique and interesting personal life stories of Coolidge’s landlords and neighbors.

Copies are also available to purchase in at the library or in our online store.