Cecil County Public Library - Great Reads

The Forgotten Garden

Kate Morton.

This fictional historical novel begins in 1913 with a 4-year-old girl hiding on a ship bound for Australia - alone. The story weaves back and forth through 100 years of the Mountrachet dynasty, from England to Australia and back again, as it unravels a mystery of a kidnapping. I like Morton's light, descriptive writing which is easy to visualize. She portrays the key characters so that you understand them personally and join in their search for answers. However, just as I thought I had cleverly......more

Recommended by Deanna Jenks

Snow Angels

James Thompson.

Longing for a vacation from the sizzling summer heat and humidity? Read Snow Angels by James Thompson and escape to Lapland, a hundred miles inside the Arctic Circle during kaamos, just before Christmas, where the setting is as much a character as any human. The never-ending darkness and cold so bitter that any exposure causes instant frostbite might be an explanation for rampant alcoholism and the high crime rate. Still, the murder of Somali actress Sufia Elmi is unusually brutal and even th......more

Recommended by Carol Brannock

The Lonely Hearts Club

Elizabeth Eulberg.

Penny Bloom is done with dating and all of the drama that goes along with it. She convinces her friends to swear off dating too and join her in forming The Lonely Hearts Club, a group that emphasizes the importance of friends and not changing yourself for a guy. In no time at all, the club's membership includes girls from every grade in the school. However, just as the club's popularity is skyrocketing, Penny finds a guy worth breaking her no dating rule for. With the support of her friends, Pe......more

Recommended by Amanda Krumrine

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time

Joel Comm.

Yes, I admit it, I have a Twitter account and I am proud that I have 25 faithful followers! Just a few months ago, I had no idea what it meant to tweet and thought it was awfully creepy to have people follow you, and now I get excited every time I get a new follower! Thanks to Joel Comm's book, Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time, I am beginning to grasp how to successfully use Twitter to its fullest potential. As the small business librarian, I am always interested......more

Recommended by Laura Metzler

Escape

Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer.

When I read or watch TV, I'm a quiet, calm person. You won't hear me yelling at the TV or breathing a sigh of relief when an ill-fated situation goes well. But this memoir was so shocking that my mouth was dry, so troubling that I audibly agonized over the futures of people I'll never meet. Carolyn Jessop was born into the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, a secretive and insular sect that became synonymous with underage marriage and polygamy. Under the leadership of self-proclaimed p......more

Recommended by Leah Davies

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Allison Hoover Bartlett.

What is it that attracts you to a book? Is it the content? The writing style? The cover? Maybe it's the memories conjured up by the book, or the autograph inside, or the year it was printed. For me it's the physical book's journey, its place in time. For John Gilkey, book thief, it was because he believed that owning a collection of rare books would make him a cultured gentleman in the eyes of others. Over a period of years, Gilkey used carefully stolen credit card receipts to acquire a fortune ......more

Recommended by Angela Prandini

Confections of a Closet Master Baker

Gesine Bullock-Prado ; illustrations by Raymond G. Prado.

On the heels of last year's Julie & Julia craze and the ensuing literary rebirth of all things cooking, I dove headfirst into epicurean fiction, foodie memoirs and even the occasional cookbook. If it was about food or had an ooey-gooey cover, I read it. I delighted in funny tales of kitchen angst, personal triumphs and narratives so wonderfully descriptive the pages fairly dripped with bacon grease. Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado was a standout in my self-impos......more

Recommended by Priscilla Garvin

Running a Side Business: How To Create a Second Income

Attorney: Richard Stim and Lisa Guerin.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of earning money by running a side business? Perhaps you have intentions of one day starting your own business, but you are not quite prepared to quit your day job. Or maybe this economy has been particularly tough for you and a second income sounds pretty good right about now. As the small business librarian at the Cecil County Public Library, I meet many people who are interested in starting a side business. Attorney Richard Stim and Lisa Guerin,......more

Recommended by Laura Metzler

Blacklands

Belinda Bauer.

In this debut novel by journalist and screenwriter Belinda Bauer, the reader is taken into the life of a family that has been destroyed by tragedy. Eighteen years ago Billy Peters disappeared. Billy was presumed murdered by the infamous serial killer Arnold Avery, who buried his victims in the desolate moor surrounding the small English village where Billy lived. Billy's body was never recovered. Rather than give into Avery's demands to reveal where the remainder of his six victims lay, the ......more

Recommended by Tony Pellicone

Caught

Harlan Coben.

Harlan Coben's new thriller, Caught proves to be another one of the author's page turners. Wendy Tynes, television reporter extraordinaire is determined to bring down sexual predators. Her show "Caught in the Act", which is very successful, uses a sting operation to catch the predators. However, the case of Dan Mercer is very different and he maintains his innocence until he is found dead. Has Wendy accused an innocent man or is this the case of the guilty always maintaining their innocence? ......more

Recommended by Lucinda Taber

DATE	TITLE	RECOMMENDED BY
7/21/10	The Forgotten Garden	Deanna Jenks
7/19/10	American Gods	Megan Willan
7/19/10	Snow Angels	Carol Brannock
7/09/10	The Lonely Hearts Club	Amanda Krumrine
7/02/10	Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time	Laura Metzler
6/23/10	Escape	Leah Davies
6/22/10	The Man Who Loved Books Too Much	Angela Prandini
6/22/10	Confections of a Closet Master Baker	Priscilla Garvin
6/22/10	Running a Side Business: How To Create a Second Income	Laura Metzler
6/22/10	Blacklands	Tony Pellicone
6/22/10	Caught	Lucinda Taber
6/22/10	The Glass Room	Ruth Ann Johnson
6/22/10	Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie	David Healey
6/22/10	Soulless	Megan Willan
6/22/10	Now Eat This!: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories	Kristi Burr
6/14/10	Masterpiece	Amy Lewis
5/18/10	The Beach	Tim Andrews
5/14/10	Feed	Tim Andrews
5/14/10	Born to Rock	David Healey
5/14/10	Nine Dragons	Carol Brannock

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