After a busy day of helping our patrons research, use technology, apply for jobs, check out books, and more, many on our staff love to go home and unwind with a good book. Here are our favorite books we read in 2013 (find part two here). Find and order these books through our website.
Title: I am Malala: The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban
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Author: Malala Yousafzai
Why I Liked It: “I found this a stunning revelation of what life is like in Pakistan for young women, and I was very impressed with the courageous way Malala and her family are making their lives count for the benefit of not only their people, but for people world-wide.”
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- Anne, Public Service Assistant
Title: Let Him Go
Author: Larry Watson
What It’s About: A melancholy story about the transformative power of love. When their former daughter-in-law remarries an abusive man, Margaret and George Blackledge find themselves cut off from their grandson. Having already lost their son in a horseback riding accident, Margaret Blackledge is unwilling to lose their grandson too. She sets out on a journey that pushes her and her unwilling husband into a dangerous confrontation, involving family pride, intimidation and violence.
- Mary S., Youth Services Librarian
Title: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Author: Michelle Alexander
What I Thought:The reviews say: “Devastating”—Forbes Magazine; “An Instant classic”—Cornell West; “The bible of a social movement”—San Francisco Chronicle; “(An) extraordinary book”—Marian Wright Edelman. I say: REQUIRED READING FOR 21ST CENTURY.
- Bruce, Public Service Assistant
Title: The Kitchen House
Author: Kathleen Grishom
What It’s About: Seven-year old Lavinia is orphaned while she and her family sail from Ireland to become indentured servants in America. Due to her young age and poor health, the man who paid for her voyage brings her to his plantation where she lives and works with the slaves of the kitchen house. She is fiercely loyal to her black “family,” who take her in and nurse her to health. Yet because of her white skin, she later finds herself caught between two different worlds and forced to choose. A captivating story with unforgettable characters.
- Mary A., Senior Librarian
Title: More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity
Author: Bob Goff and Jeff Shinabarger
Why It Made Me Think: How long could you eat with only what’s in your cupboards and freezer? One couple lasted 7 weeks. If you wore one outfit per day how long before you ran out of clothes? One young woman lasted 156 days! How about this? When you arrive at a friend’s house for a social gathering, she collects everyone’s cell phone in a basket until they leave.
I love this one! Jeff has a theory: everyone owns one piece of furniture that they don’t like. When he and his wife were moving to an apartment without money or furniture, they offered to take that one piece of furniture off people’s hands. They furnished their home.
While the title tells us this book is about generosity, it’s about wonderful creativity and so much more. It’s a challenge presented with fun, not condemnation. Shinaburger is not suggesting that we not enjoy our luxury. He simply wants us to name it for what it is.
And while I consider myself on a pretty conservative budget, I found that some of the “Rich People Problems” applied to me.
- Lonnie, Public Service Assistant
Title: Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
Author: Sherri Duskey Rinker
Why My Family Loves It: It is the perfect bedtime book for a little boy that loves construction vehicles. It is a fun book to read with easy rhyming and good illustrations. Our son loves it! – Susan M
- Susan, Circulation Supervisor
