GREAT READS

Imagine only being able to blink your eye lid. Now, imagine writing a book. In December 1995 Jean-Dominique Bauby had a massive stroke at the age of 43. When he woke from a coma 20 days later he could only blink his left eye. He was a victim of "Lo...

This book was a childhood favorite, but I still enjoy rereading it today. Based on a true story, 16 year old Boston bred Katherine Mary O'Fallon is sent to live with her Uncle in Alberta, Canada in 1907. There she meets and marries Canadian Mountie,...

If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, you might find George R. R. Martin's unfinished fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, an intriguing read. Containing much more murder, mayhem and sex than Tolkien's masterpiece, this series is a fast-paced, no h...

I could not put this book down and yes, I cried at the end. Enzo, the canine narrator of Garth Stein's entrancing novel, has the soul of a human being and the book provides a recipe for how to live life. On the eve of his death, Enzo is remembering...

Do not confuse this with the campy American Civil War series North and South. This is the award winning BBC production of British author Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1855 novel North and South.  Set in England in the mid 1800’s, it is the tal...

This is truly a great mystery. More than that, it is a commentary on racism, perseverance and courage of convictions.  It's 1978 and in a rundown West London neighborhood, black Mad Annie is dying in the street.  Despised and rejected by he...

No one captures the darkness descending on Europe during the years leading up to World War II and the war years themselves better than Alan Furst.  The thinking man's espionage novels, they center on ordinary people trying to survive in confusin...

Did you ever want to run away to join the Circus? Sara Gruen's marvelous Water for Elephants provides all the color, smells, tragedy, humor and romance of the big top tent.  Ninety + Jacob Jankowski, lodged in a nursing home, recalls his li...

A powerful story, Ian McEwan's Atonement begins in prewar England of 1935 with all its class distinctions and discriminations. Thirteen-year-old Briony has failed to grasp the nature of the relationship between her older sister, Cecelia, and the son ...

Gorky Park is the first book in the Arkady Renko series, an exceptionally well-written mystery series by Martin Cruz Smith.  The cynical Renko is a criminal investigator in Communist Russia just trying to keep a low profile and stay out of troub...