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The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared
by Jonas Jonasson
Not only does it tell the story of Allan Karlsson’s escape from his retirement home, and all the trouble he
gets into, but it also takes you on a journey through Allan’s fascinating life.
419 by Will Ferguson
It all begins with a single email: “Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help…”
When Laura Curtis, a lonely editor in a cold northern city, discovers that her father has died because of one
such swindle, she sets out to track down—and corner—her father’s killer.
Above all Things by Tanis Rideout
This is a breathtaking novel of love and obsession, which tells the story of George Mallorys legendary
attempt to be the first man to conquer Mount Everest - and of the remarkable woman he left behind to await
news of his fate.
Annabel by Kathleen Winter
**Coming Soon**
In 1968, a mysterious child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor girl, but both at once.
Only three people are privy to the secret and together the adults make a difficult decision: to raise the child
as a boy named Wayne. Annabel is a compelling debut novel about one person's struggle to discover the
truth in a culture that shuns contradiction.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul, he has educated
himself by watching television and by listening closely to the words of his master. On the night before his
death, Enzo takes stock of his life, hoping, in his next life, to return as a human.
Away by Jane Urquhart
Away unites the personal and the political as it explores the most private, often darkest corners of our
emotions where the things that root us to ourselves endure. Powerful, intricate, lyrical, Away is an
unforgettable novel that takes the reader from Ireland to Canada in the 1800s.
The Bear’s Embrace by Patricia Van Tighem
The author and her husband were attacked by a grizzly bear, and although they survived, their ordeal was
just beginning. She endured numerous surgeries, endless pain, and was haunted by the experience. In
many ways she had to redefine her sense of who she was, yet she was resolved to recover.
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
Without her husband's knowledge, Christine, whose memory is damaged by a long-ago accident, is treated
by a neurologist who helps her to remember her former self through journal entries until inconsistencies
begin to emerge, raising disturbing questions.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many
memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful plantation where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s
new home is persistently haunted by the ghost of her baby girl.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach
Enticed by advertisements for a newly restored palatial hotel and filled with visions of a life of leisure, good
weather and mango juice in their gin, a group of very different people leave England to begin a new life in
India.
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
Much to his horror, Angus McLintock is elected and sent to Parliament Hill. He decides to see what good an
honest M.P. (who doesn’t care about being re-elected) can do in Parliament. The results are hilarious, and
this very funny book has something for everyone.
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
On the eve of her marriage, Elena Michaels learns that her fiance has been concealing his secret life as a
werewolf, and, as a bonus, he has made her into one also.
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lamb
Twelve interwoven stories follow the lives of a group of young doctors as they make their way from medical
school to the world of emergency rooms, evacuation missions, and research into new viruses, dealing with
challenges and moral dilemmas along the way.
Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
When Aminata Diallo sits down to write the story of her life, she has a world of experience behind her.
Abducted from her village in West Africa, she crosses the ocean in a slave ship. Once freed, she travels first
to Canada, then to the coast of Sierra Leone, then to London, where she writes her story.
The Boy in the Moon: a father’s journey to understand his extraordinary son
by Ian Brown
Walker Brown was born with a genetic mutation so rare that doctors call it an orphan syndrome. Honest,
intelligent, and deeply moving, The Boy in the Moon explores the value of a single human life.
Call the Midwife: a memoir of birth, joy and hard times by Jennifer Worth
Reflects on the experiences of Jennifer Worth as a midwife in London's postwar East End, including the
nuns from whom she learned her craft and the interesting and challenging births she aided during her
career.
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
While a cellist plays at the site of a mortar attack to commemorate the deaths of twenty-two friends and
neighbors, a woman sniper secretly protects the life of the cellist as her army becomes increasingly
threatening.
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
In 1348, as the Black Plague holds England in it's grip, nine strangers attempt to outrun death. Each
member has their own story to tell and each has a secret.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
Nomi Nickel is a bewildered and wry young woman trapped in a small Mennonite town. As Nomi searches
for the truth behind the disappearance of her mother and sister, she finds herself on a direct collision course
with the only community she has ever known.
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
Witnessing Germany's November 14, 1940 attack on Coventry, widow Harriet bonds with a young man who
reminds her of her late husband during the ensuing chaos, while at home, the young man's single mother
waits in agony for her son's return.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Marion and Shiva Stone, twin brothers born from a secret love affair between an Indian nun and a British
surgeon in Addis Ababa, come of age in an Ethiopia on the brink of revolution, where their love for the same
woman drives them apart.
Daydreams of Angels by Heather O’Neill
From "The Robot Baby," in which we discover what happens when a robot feels emotion for the very first
time, to "Heaven," about a grandfather who died for a few minutes when he was nine and visited the pearly
gates, O'Neill's distinctive style and voice fills these charming, sometimes dark, always beguiling stories.
Deadly Appearances by Gail Bowen
When her husband Ian's murderer, Kevin Tarpley, is shot to death in the exercise yard at the penitentiary, it
dredges up all of Joanne's worst nightmares. Joanne thought that Ian's brutal death was behind her, but
now she's not so sure.
Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James **Coming Soon**
P.D. James applies her great talent for writing crime fiction to the world of Pride and Prejudice. It is 1803,
and Darcy and Elizabeth have been happily married for six years. Their peaceful lives are disturbed when a
chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland, and as it pulls up, Lydia Wickham
tumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.
Devil In The White City by Eric Larson **Coming Soon**
The story of two real men during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. One plot line centers on
Daniel Burnham, the architect who builds the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The other plot line focuses on
character H.H. Holmes, the serial killer who exploits the fair to find his victims.
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer **Coming Soon**
Brilliantly synthesizing philosophy, literature, science, memoir and his own detective work, Eating
Animals explores the many fictions we use to justify our eating habits-from folklore to pop culture to family
traditions and national myth-and how such tales can lull us into a brutal forgetting.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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Eating Dirt by Charlotte Gill
Fiction writer Charlotte Gill spent twenty years working as a tree planter in the forests of Canada and offers
up a slice of tree planting life, while questioning the ability of conifer plantations to replace original forests
that evolved over millennia into complex ecosystems.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
We are in the centre of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. The lives of
fifty-four-year-old concierge Rene Michel and extremely bright, suicidal twelve-year-old Paloma Josse are
transformed by the arrival of a new tenant, Kakuro Ozu..
Endless Knot by Gail Bowen
When journalist Kathryn Morrissey’s sensational book on the lives of thirteen adult children of prominent
Canadians is published, one of the parents, Sam Parker, is furious enough to take a pot shot at the author,
grazing her shoulder. Charges are laid, and Joanne’s new beau is hired by Parker as his defense counsel.
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
Eighty-two-year-old Etta has never seen the ocean. So, early one morning she takes a rifle, some
chocolate, and her best boots, and begins walking the 3,232 kilometers from Saskatchewan to Halifax. This
is a story of pilgrimage, fulfilling lifelong promises, a talking coyote called James, and unlikely heroes.
Everything Was Goodbye by Gurjinder Basran
The story of an Indo-Canadian woman as she struggles to compromise the demands of her tradition and
culture and her wish for a Canadian lifestyle. In this often painfully honest and original narrative, we witness
Meena's painful process of self-discovery and independence.
Exit Lines by Joan Barfoot
Life at the Idyll Inn, a brand new retirement residence, promises peace, perhaps even boredom, but four
seniors form their own little group dedicated to small acts of pleasurable rebellion. The limits of their loyalty,
compassion and strength are tested when one recruits the others for a dead-of-the-night undertaking.
February by Lisa Moore
Propelled by a local tragedy, in which an oil rig sinks in a violent storm off the coast of Newfoundland,
'February' follows the life of Helen O'Mara, widowed by the accident, as she continuously spirals from the
present day back to that devastating and transformative winter that persists in her mind and heart.
Gifted by Gail Bowen
Jo and Zack are both proud and a little concerned when their youngest daughter Taylor has two paintings
chosen for a high-level fund-raising auction. One they've seen; the other, a portrait of a young male artist's
model, Taylor has carefully guarded in her studio.
The Girls by Lori Lansens
Born during a ferocious tornado in 1974, conjoined twins Rose and Ruby Darlen were extraordinary from the
start. Approaching thirty, Rose decides she must write their shared story – of adoption, alienation, love and
a heartbreaking search – with Ruby adding her own comments.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing,
during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors
and the authorities.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
When a woman goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her
marriage, while her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more
disturbing than murder may have occurred.
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
From the smoky bars of pre-war Berlin to the salons of Paris, the reader is led through a fascinating, littleknown world of jazz, race, love and loyalty, and the sacrifices we ask of ourselves, and demand of others,
in the name of art.
Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In a future world where the birth rate has declined, fertile women are rounded up, indoctrinated as
"handmaids," and forced to bear children to prominent men.
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
When Elspeth Noblin dies, she leaves everything to the twin daughters of her own long-estranged twin,
Edie. Valentina and Julia, as enmeshed as Elspeth and Edie once were, move into Elspeth's London flat
and through a series of developing relationships a crisis develops that could pull the twins apart.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
When artifacts from Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War II are uncovered during
renovations at a Seattle hotel, Henry Lee embarks on a quest that leads to memories of growing up Chinese
in a city rife with anti-Japanese sentiment.
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
The remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father
who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and
of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
I am Woman Hear Me Roar by various
A collection of memoirs by funny, strong, smart women. Includes 2 copies of each: And Then There Were
Nuns by Jane Christmas, Bossy Pants by Tina Fey, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling,
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen, Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham and Yes
Please by Amy Poehler.
Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
Distills the insights gleaned from Thomas King's critical and personal meditation on what it means to be
"Indian" in North America. A sometimes inconvenient but nonetheless indispensable account for all of us,
Indian and non-Indian alike, seeking to understand how we might tell a new story for the future.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Saul Indian Horse, having hit rock bottom in a treatment centre for alcohol addiction, wants peace. He sees
the only way to find it is to tell his life story as a Northern Ojibway with all its joys and sorrows. As he
journeys back he comes to recognize the influence of everyday magic on his life.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The author describes his spring 1996 trek to Mt. Everest, a disastrous expedition that claimed the lives of
eight climbers, and explains why he survived.
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
Nineteen-year-old Irma Voth lives in a Mennonite community in northern Mexico. Deserted by her husband
of one year, who has left to pursue a life of drug-running, instead of working her family’s farm, she’s left to
live under her father’s domineering rule alone.
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
In 1790, Lavinia, a seven-year-old Irish orphan with no memory of her past, arrives on a tobacco plantation
where she is put to work as an indentured servant with the kitchen house slaves The Kitchen House is a
tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves
past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change
the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Life of Pi is at once the story of a young castaway who faces immeasurable hardships on the high seas, and
a meditation on religion, faith, art and life that is as witty as it is profound. Yann Martel has woven a glorious
spiritual adventure that makes us question what it means to be alive, and to believe.
Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland
Young Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s
grandfather Pascal. André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from
the Nazis’ reach. With German forces spreading across Europe, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings.
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby **Coming Soon**
Four lost souls decide to end their lives on the same night, New Year's Eve. When this disillusioned quartet
of strangers meet unintentionally at the same suicide hotspot, they agree to call off their plans for six weeks,
forming an unconventional, dysfunctional family and becoming media sensations.
The Loyalist’s Wife by Elaine Cougler
When American colonists resort to war against Britain and her colonial attitudes, a young couple caught in
the crossfire must find a way to survive. Pioneers in the wilds of New York State, John and Lucy face a bitter
separation and the fear of losing everything, even their lives.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill
A gritty novel about bruised innocence on Montreal’s feral streets, this coming-of-age story is narrated by
Baby, who grows up with her addicted father Jules. Baby's gift is a genius for spinning stories and for
cherishing the small crumbs of happiness that fall into her lap.
Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
In a tale spanning twenty-five years, a doctor delivers his newborn twins during a snowstorm and, rashly
deciding to protect his wife from their baby daughter's affliction with Down Syndrome, turns her over to a
nurse, who secretly raises the child.
Midnight at the Dragon Café by Judy Fong Bates
Su-Jen Chou, a Chinese immigrant growing up in 1950s Ontario, finds herself shouldering the weight of her
mother's hopes and dreams as her isolated family attempts to forge a life for themselves in a small town.
Minister Without Portfolio by Michael Winter
**Coming Soon**
Henry Hayward joins a contracting crew that takes him overseas to a Canadian base in Afghanistan. When
a routine patrol turns fatal, Henry, who survives, knows in his heart that he is responsible. Upon returning
home, tormented by guilt, he resolves to take care of the people and places around him, trying his best to
seek roots after a rootless life.
Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger
When her mistress departs from Victorian London society to seek relief from tuberculosis symptoms in
Egypt, maid Sally throws herself into their new culture and comes to know freedoms she has never
experienced before she is harshly reminded of her humble station in life.
Nesting Dolls by Gail Bowen
Just hours before her body is found in a car in a parking lot, a young woman hands her baby to a perfect
stranger and disappears. The stranger is the daughter of Delia Wainberg, a lawyer in the same firm as
Joanne Kilbourn's husband.
Omens by Kelley Armstrong
Olivia's world is shattered when she finds out that she's adopted and her real parents are notorious serial
killers, each still serving a life sentence.
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at a federal correctional facility Piper Kerman, the wellheeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187-424--one of the millions of people who disappear
"down the rabbit hole" of the American penal system.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
Powerful and deeply moving, The Orenda traces a story of blood and hope, suspicion and trust, hatred and
love. An epic story of first contact between radically different worlds, steeped in the natural beauty and
brutality of our country's formative years. Winner of “Canada Reads, 2014”.
The Outlander by Gil Adamson
After killing her husband, Mary Boulton races toward the mountains while being tormented by visions of the
cold-blooded brothers-in-law who pursue her, forcing her to retreat deeper into the wilds of the West and her
own imagination.
Paris Wife by Paula McLain
This novel tells Ernest Hemingway’s story from a unique point of view - that of his first wife, Hadley. Through
her eyes and voice, we experience Paris of the Lost Generation and meet fascinating characters such as
Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Gerald and Sara Murphy.
Philida by Andre Brink
Philida is the mother of four children by Francois Brink, the son of her master. The year is 1832 and the
Cape is rife with rumours about the liberation of the slaves. Philida decides to risk her whole life by lodging a
complaint against Francois, who has reneged on his promise to set her free.
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult **Coming Soon**
When an Amish teen hides a pregnancy, gives birth in secret, and then denies it all when the baby's body is
found, defense attorney Ellie Hathaway decides to defend her. But she finds herself caught in a clash of
cultures and discovers that circumstances are not always what they seem.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The story of Dinah, a tragic character from the Bible whose great love, a prince, is killed by her brother,
leaving her alone and pregnant. The novel traces her life from childhood to death, in the process examining
sexual and religious practices of the day, and what it meant to be a woman.
Room by Emma Donoghue
A five-year-old narrates a story about his life growing up in a single room where his mother aims to protect
him from the man who kidnapped her when she was a teenager and has held her prisoner for seven years.
Ru by Kim Thuy
An autobiographical novel chronicling the author's journey from Vietnam to a Malaysian refugee camp to
Québec and from childhood to adulthood. Translated from the original French.
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell
Trying to decipher an ancient text that weaves a mathematical labyrinth within a love story, two researchers
obtain a diary that may contain the key to the code, but when a fellow researcher is killed, they realize that
the book contains a dangerous secret.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a jazz bar on New Year's Eve 1938 catapults Wall Street
secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multimillionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, and a single-minded widow.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
On the sixtieth anniversary of the 1942 roundup of Jews by the French police in the Vel d'Hiv section of
Paris, an American journalist is asked to write an article on this dark episode and embarks on an
investigation that leads to long-hidden secrets and the ordeal of Sarah, a young girl caught up in the raid.
Saturday by Ian McEwan
A successful, happily married neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne is drawn into a confrontation with Baxter, a
small-time thug, following a minor motor vehicle accident, an encounter that has savage consequences.
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest
newsmaker in the world in 1938. Author Hillenbrand brilliantly re-creates a universal underdog story, one
that proves life is a horse race.
The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue
Emily "Fido" Faithfull, a spinster pioneer in the British women's movement, is distracted from her cause by
the details of her friend's failing marriage and affair with a young army officer, in this drama of friends,
lovers, and divorce, Victorian style.
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and the child that binds both of their destinies, Secret Daughter
poignantly explores the emotional terrain of motherhod, loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the
lives of two families--one Indian, one American-- and the child that indelibly connects them.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
In 1806 London a man caught stealing to feed his family is transported to New South Wales, Australia. With
his wife and children, he arrives in a harsh land to serve his sentence and then claim a hundred acres of
land. But aboriginal people already live along the river where the family settles and are not welcoming.
Sisters in the Wilderness by Charlotte Gray
Award-winning author Charlotte Gray breathes life into two icons of the Canadian imagination, English
gentlewomen Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie, and brings us a vivid picture of their lives in the
backwoods of Upper Canada.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Feeling at the top of her game when she is suddenly diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease,
Harvard psychologist Alice Howland struggles to find meaning and purpose in her life as her concept of self
gradually slips away.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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Strange Heaven by Lynn Coady
She’s depressed, they say. Bridget Murphy, almost eighteen, has had it with her zany family. When she is
transferred to the psych ward after giving birth and putting her baby up for adoption, it is a welcome relief.
But this oasis of relative calm is short-lived as she is transported back to her family chaos in Cape Breton.
Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes
Depicts the lives of three women in the fashion trade, exploring the trials and tribulations as well as the
happiness and joy of true friends in the fast-paced worlds of love and career.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
In this gothic suspense novel Vida Winter, a famous English author, decides it is time to tell the truth about
her life and hires bookish amateur biographer Margaret Lea to tell her story.
Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner
In a memoir about life in small-town America, the author relates her adventures growing up in the 1950s as
the daughter of a pharmacist in Lewiston, New York, a small village near Niagara Falls.
Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand
In 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific leaving only 3 survivors stranded in a life
boat, one of which was former Olympic runner Louis Zamperini. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s
journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Orphaned and penniless at the height of the depression, Jacob Jankowski jumps on a passing train and
inadvertently runs away with a third rate circus. Jacob uses his veterinary skills in the circus menagerie and
becomes a saviour for the animals he comes to love, including the baffling elephant Rosie.
The Way of a Boy: A Memoir of Java by Ernest Hillen
Ernest Hillen’s peaceful and comfortable childhood on a tea plantation in Java came to an abrupt end with
the the Japanese invasion of Indonesia in 1942. Told through the eyes of a child, The Way of a Boy, is the
moving and remarkable account of the struggle to endure with dignity, humour and courage.
The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Twenty years after her early 1960s military father is forced to choose between loyalties in the wake of a
local murder, Madeleine begins to understand the case's implication and launches a search for the killer.
Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
A powerful, blazingly honest, inspiring memoir: the story of a 1,100 mile solo hike that broke down a young
woman reeling from catastrophe--and built her back up again.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016
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CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT TITLES
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young women in nineteenthcentury New England.
Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
When the mothers of four sixth-grade girls with very different personalities pressure them into forming a
book club, they find, as they read and discuss "Little Women," that they have much more in common than
they could have imagined.
Middlesex County Library, www.middlesex.library.on.ca / Updated January 2016