Librarian's Pick
Here's what our librarians are reading lately.Librarian’s Pick: The Killer Across The Table – John Douglas
“The prolific duo of John Douglas and Mark Olshaker (Law & Disorder and Mindhunter, which was adapted for Netflix) return in The Killer Across the Table. Douglas, a retired FBI agent who spent his career interviewing and profiling criminals, proves his expertise in exploring the minds and murderous behaviors of four notorious killers. The aim of these interviews, Douglas states, “is not to be a friend. The aim is not to be a foe. The aim is to target the truth.” Why did Joseph McGowan, a mild-mannered high school teacher, brutally rape a neighbor’s child delivering Girl Scout cookies? Would he do it again? Why did Donald Harvey, the hospital aid and “Angel of Death,” kill as many as 87 patients in his care? Through painstakingly conducted interviews, ugly but useful answers emerge.”
Librarian’s Pick: Conviction – Denise Mina
“The day Anna starts listening to the podcast called “Death and the Dana,” her husband declares that he’s leaving her for her best friend, Estelle, and the two of them are taking Anna’s daughters on a vacation. In shock, Anna curls up in her marble hallway and hits play on “Death and the Dana.” It tells the story of a father and his two kids who were killed when their yacht exploded off the shores of a swanky French island. When a familiar name is mentioned in the podcast, Anna is jolted from her misery. The dead man was a friendly guest at a hotel where Anna used to work. And the wife left behind is the woman who once almost killed Anna.Nearly at that very moment, Estelle’s husband, a depressed former rock star named Fin, turns up on Anna’s doorstep. Heartbroken and reeling, Anna and Fin set out to solve the mysteries of the Dana explosion—and maybe save Anna’s life. To find answers, Anna and Fin go from Edinburgh to London to Venice to Paris.”
Librarians Pick: Drive-Thru Dreams – Adam Chandler
“In his enlightening and fun-to-read Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America’s Fast-Food Kingdom, Adam Chandler explores the complex industry that sprang from fry cook Walt Anderson’s “invention” of the hamburger in Wichita, Kansas, in 1916. Anderson’s partnership with real estate developer Billy Ingram led to the establishment of White Castle restaurants, which continue to thrive today and even celebrate their most loyal fans in their Cravers Hall of Fame.
The founders of many fast-food companies came from modest backgrounds, but through sheer determination, hard work and good luck, they achieved success. Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken is the most representative of the American dream in this regard. Despite setbacks that would discourage most people, his secret recipe, colorful personality and keen marketing skills propelled him to succeed.
Ray Kroc was so impressed by the hamburger stand created by Dick and Mac McDonald in California that he bought it from them, and McDonald’s eventually became the greatest fast-food success story of all. Kroc, a former sales representative of paper cups and milkshake machines, was “exacting, fastidious, and cruel” and took pride in saying he made more millionaires than anyone else in the United States.
There is much more here about customer loyalty and fast-food restaurants as meeting places. Based on interviews and careful research, this is a book to savor, especially if you’re a fast-food fan.”
Librarian’s Pick: Deep River – Karl Marlantes
“The story begins at the turn of the last century in Finland, the home of the brilliant, fearless, passionate Aino Koski and her family. At that time, Finland was under Russian rule, and Aino is drawn to socialism and revolution, which she clings to even through bouts of torture whose ghastliness is only hinted at. Her commitment to Comrade Lenin only grows when she and her brothers emigrate—flee is actually a better word—to Washington. Nothing dims her zeal for the coming socialist utopia, not even her troubled marriage or motherhood. Aino brings her baby along to Wobbly (Industrial Workers of the World) meetings or leaves her with her brother and his wife.
Marlantes, author of the powerful war novel Matterhorn, immerses the reader in the life of the Koski siblings, whose worldview is dominated by sisu, a Finnish concept of honor, dignity and inner strength. Sisu requires men and women to be stoic, to always fight for their honor and to work from sunup to sundown. Page after page is dedicated to the dangerous and grueling job of harvesting gigantic trees from old-growth forests—see “steam donkey.” The reader will be in awe of such hard labor done in the service of exploitive bosses who pay little. At the same time, Deep River bemoans the ruin of virgin forests, the pollution of pristine rivers, the fact that 100-pound wild salmon are now scarce. The book extols the love of family and friends and the beauty of the landscape even as that landscape is ravaged.”
Librarian’s Pick: The Truffle Underground – Ryan Jacobs
“Truffles are one of the most revered wonders of the gastronomic world. Although they’re found all over the globe, it’s the black winter variety, also known as black diamond or black pearl, that is especially rare, lusted after by thieves as much as valuable jewelry. The French countryside is one of their richest places of origin, nestled within the roots of oak and hazelnut trees in the Périgord region. Jacobs’ years covering international crime as an investigative reporter translate perfectly, as he drills down into the inner workings of the truffle underground.
Jacobs follows the truffle from spore to plate, a journey “fraught with so much biological uncertainty, human competition, and logistical headaches that a single shaving could be understood as a testament to the wonder of human civilization.” His in-depth research not only focuses on the present day but also covers how truffle farming came to be so secretive, exclusive and competitive. It’s an uncertain process that requires specific conditions and timing, made all the more difficult by today’s changing climate. And when truffles do form, their appearance is random, unearthed by specially trained dogs with the keenest of scent glands.
Librarian’s Pick: Evvie Drake Starts Over – Linda Holmes
“Ever since her husband—a successful surgeon and her hometown’s golden boy—died in a car crash, Evvie Drake has been in the worst kind of rut. Everyone in her small Maine town chalks up her funk to grief, but as far as Evvie is concerned, the truth is far worse. So much worse, in fact, that Evvie can’t even bear to share it with her best friend, Andy, and has instead resigned herself to a life spent as a young widow, rattling around a house that is now far too big for her, content to lose herself in big books and watch life slowly pass her by.
Everything changes, however, when Andy suggests that Evvie rent out her home’s attached apartment to a friend who also has more than a passing familiarity with life not turning out according to plan. Dean Tenney, once one of baseball’s hottest players, is now infamous for his case of “the yips,” a baffling development that forced him into early retirement after he inexplicably lost his ability to pitch, seemingly overnight. After Dean moves in, a tentative friendship forms between the two that ultimately transitions into something more. Together, Dean and Evvie encourage one another to face their pasts and their present truths, all while discovering that even when life throws you a curveball, it’s never too late to find your happily ever after.”
Librarian’s Pick: The Tenth Muse – Catherine Chung
“Katherine was raised in a small Midwestern town as the daughter of a Chinese immigrant and a white American veteran of World War II. Already ostracized because of her mixed parentage, Katherine is further scorned by her classmates after her mother abandons the family. Though Katherine is clearly a gifted math student, her teachers don’t acknowledge her abilities, and on the cusp of college graduation, she is brutally tricked by a classmate who claims her work as his own. At the same time, her father’s plans to remarry force Katherine to uncover the tangled truth behind her parents’ relationship.”
Librarian’s Pick: Aloha Rodeo – David Wolman
“In Aloha Rodeo, David Wolman and Julian Smith answer these questions with the same engaging, thorough prose that marks their solo work. On the surface, this is a book about the cowboy history of Hawaii, which was a new United States territory in the early 1900s. But this book also explores “identity, imperialism, and race” through the wild narratives of “ranchers, warriors, showmen, cowgirls, missionaries, immigrants, [and] royalty.” The narratives are so wild, in fact, that they often read like fiction.”
Librarian’s Pick: Mrs. Everything – Jennifer Weiner
“At the outset, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel pays homage to Little Women: Older sister Jo, a tomboy and athlete, wants to be a writer, while younger sister Bethie just wants to be a sweet, pretty daughter. But in Alcott terms, these two sisters are more like Jo and Amy—sometimes they just don’t get along. Mrs. Everything follows the two sisters from their Jewish girlhood in post-World War II Detroit through the present and into the near future, 71 years in all. With its long timespan and focus on cultural change, Mrs. Everything is a departure for Weiner, but she still delivers flawed but approachable female characters, well-examined friendships and romantic relationships and often-joyful sex scenes.”
Librarian’s Pick: Slime – Ruth Kassinger
“If you’re like most people, it will conjure up images of icky green goo, pond scum or seaweed. But Kassinger will change your mind, taking an obscure topic that might seem boring, perhaps even gross, and making it fascinating and relevant. In her exhaustive research of the slimy microorganism, she crisscrosses the globe, interviewing people from all walks of life who have knowledge of and experience with algae, including psychologists (scientists who study algae), algae farmers, scuba instructors and even culinary experts. As Kassinger finds unique nuggets within algae’s backstory and possible future, she unravels amazing, microscopic details of this vital resource.”