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2013 Summer Reading - Great Beach Books
The following books are available in the IMC.
You can download e books to your mobile devices from the
IMC Home Page using Overdrive. You can find directions
for downloading e books to you Nook, Kindle, iPad, and iPod on
the same page.
Adventure and Mystery - These authors have numerous books that you might enjoy.
Here are a
few of their adventure and mystery books
Arabat (F Barker) - Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, journeys to the Abarat, an
archipelago filled with strange wonders, where it is revealed to her that she has been there before, and that
it is her responsibility to save the mysterious place from threatening evil forces.
The Columbus Affair (F Berry) - Zachariah Simon has kidnapped disgraced journalist Steve Berry's
daughter and forces him to search for a treasure that involves Christopher Columbus.
(Other books by
Steve Berry include The Amber Room, The Templer Legacy, The Romanov Prophecy)
Deception Point (F Brown) - White House intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton is thrust into a life-or-death
situation when she travels to the Arctic to investigate the discovery of a rare meteorite that might prove
the existence of extraterrestrial life, and finds instead evidence of scientific trickery. ( Other books by
Dan Brown are Angels and Demons, The Lost Symbol, Digital Fortress)
The Affair (F Child) - Elite military cop Jack Reacher, having arrived undercover in Carter Crossing,
Mississippi, to investigate evidence linking a soldier to a murder of a young woman, reluctantly joins
forces with local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux and tries to uncover details about a conspiracy which
threatens to shatter his faith in the assignment. (Other books by Lee Child are Die Trying, Echo Burning,
Gone Tomorrow, Nothing to Lose, One Shot, and Persuader)
The Traitor (F Coonts) - Together in Paris, CIA agent Tommy Carmellini and his boss Jake Grafton work
to uncover the French intelligence service's alleged secret agent among Al Queda and the intelligence he
or she holds. (Other books by Stephen Coonts are America, Fortunes of War, and Liberty
Thirteen Moons (F Frazier) - At the age of twelve, orphan Will Cooper is sent to work a
trading post on the edge of the Cherokee Nation's land, where he spends his life learning
about and defending the lives of the Native Americans and desiring the love of Claire
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Featherstone, the wife of a successful Cherokee landowner and patriarch. (Another book by Charles
Frazier is Cold Mountain)
The Lost Gate: a Novel of Mither Mages (F Card) - Danny North, a member of a clan of mages in exile
in the human world who grew up in an isolated home in the mountains of West Virginia, finds his family
in danger by secrets which were kept from him and enemies who will do anything to keep them in exile.
(Other books by Orson Scott Card are Keeper of Dreams, Ender’s Game, Seventh Sun))
The Jungle (F Cussler) - Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the "Oregon" race against time to protect the
United States from the greatest security threat it has ever known. (Other books by Clive Cussler include
Atlantis Found, Black Wind, Flood Tide, Lost City)
American Assassin (F Flynn) - Mitch Rapp, an operative with the CIA-supported counterterrorism unit
the Onion Team, takes on his first assignment.
The Bourne Identity (F Ludlum) - Jason Bourne, having been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea after
being shot, awakes with no memory of who he is, and as he races to learn about his past, he begins to
uncover clues that lead him to believe he is an international assassin and his life is in danger. (Other
books by Ludlum are the Matlock Papers, Icarus Agenda, Promethus Deception, The Bourne series,
Amber Warning, Tristan Betrayal)
The Immortalists (F Mills) - Microbiologist Richard Draman is accused of stealing research that was sent
to him that could save his daughter from a genetic defect that is aging her rapidly.
Contagious (F Sigler) - While a mysterious, alien virus sweeps across America, transforming people into
raging killers, a small group gathers to fight back, but their time is running short, and the infected are
forcing the President of the United States to consider releasing nuclear weaponry.
Favorite Authors
Mitch Albom – The Time Keeper (F Albom) - Following his punishment for trying to measure God's
greatest gift, Father Time is granted his freedom and is sent on a mission to redeem himself by teaching
two earthly people the true meaning of time.
Michael Cabon - Telegraph Alley (F Chabon) - Longtime band mates Archy and Nat preside over
Brokeland Records, a used-record emporium, but trouble arises when a former NFL quarterback, one of
the country's richest African Americans, decides to build his latest Dogpile megastore on nearby
Telegraph Avenue which could spell doom for the little shop.
Paulo Coehlo – Veronika Decides to Die (F Coehlo) - Twenty-four-year-old Veronika wakes up in a
mental hospital after a failed suicide attempt and learns that the pills she took damaged her
heart so severely that she has only days to live, and in the week that follows, Veronika learns
some important lessons about life and love.
Nicholas Evans – The Brave (F Evans) - Tom Bedford's life is forever changed by a shocking act of
violence that destroys the Hollywood dream he has created while living with his sister and her
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husband, Tom's childhood idol, but years later, when Tom's son is accused of murder, Tom must face the
demons from his past once and for all in order to save his son's life.
John Grisham – Calico Joe (F Grisham) - The careers of a golden boy rookie hitter for the Cubs and a
hard-hitting Mets pitcher take very different paths.
Sophie Kinsella – Mini Shopaholic (F Kinsella) - Bargain shopper Becky Brandon is thrilled to be able to
dress her two-year-old Minnie in designer clothes, but things get out of control when Minnie learns the
word "mine," and a financial crisis requires Minnie and mom to find another outlet for their shopping
energy.
Fern Michaels – Southern Comfort - Special agent Kate Rush resigns from the DEA and moves back to
her native Miami where she is intrigued by a job offer to watch a property suspected of being a center for
human trafficking, and teams up with former homicide detective Patrick "Tick" Kelly, who has been
hiding and writing novels since his family was murdered, but through their work together, Kate and Tick
find an opportunity for a second chance at happiness.
Toni Morrison – Home (F Morrison) - When Frank Money joined the army to escape his too-small world,
he left behind his cherished and fragile little sister, Cee. After the war, his shattered life has no purpose
until he hears that Cee is in danger.
Anna Qunidlen - Every Last One (F Quindlen) - Mary Beth Latham puts everything else aside in order to
focus on her one son who suffers from severe depression, but she is not prepared for the violence that
follows.
Seth Grahame-Smith – Unholy Night (F Graham Smith) - Depicts the lives of the Three Kings of the
Nativity, casting them as a set of infamous thieves who accidentally happen upon Joseph, Mary, and the
newborn king and help them escape to Egypt
Christina Schwartz (F Schwartz) - Unable to deal with her problems, Amanda Starkey flees to her
sister's farm, but when she her sister drowns in a mysterious accident, Amanda is forced to take
charge of her young niece, and she soon realizes that she has not left her problems behind, she
has merely brought them with her.
Alexander McCall Smith - A Conspiracy of Friends (F McCall Smith) - The residents of Corduroy
Mansions are worried about William's terrier Freddie de la Hay, the only dog clever enough to have
been recruited by MI6, who has disappeared while on a mystery tour around the Suffolk countryside.
Ann Patchett – Bel Canto (F Patchett) - A group of international guests, taken hostage by
terrorists while attending a birthday party at the home of the vice president of a small South
American country, form bonds with their captors and enter into an almost idyllic lifestyle, united
by the music of Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano.
Nicholas Sparks – Safe Haven (F Sparks) - Katie arrives in the small town of Southport, North Carolina,
hoping to hide from her past and avoid raising suspicions, but when she reluctantly begins a relationship
with Alex, a widowed store owner with two young children, and befriends her neighbor Jo, Katie is
forced to confront the dark secret she is hiding if she wants to put down roots and find true love.
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Anne Tyler – The Beginner’s Goodbye (F Tyler) - Aaron, a middle-aged man ripped apart by the death of
his wife Dorothy, is gradually restored by her unexpected appearances--in their house, on the roadway, in
the market--helping him to live in the moment and to find some peace.
Lauren Weisberger – Last Night at Hotel Marmot (F Weisberger) - Brooke has always supported
her husband Julian's dream of becoming a musician, but when a chance performance on the
"Tonight Show" makes Julian an overnight star, the fame becomes too much for the couple to
handle and causes Brooke to wonder what she really wants out of life.
If you like Historical Fiction, you will love these books which many staff
members enjoyed reading.
The Aviator’s Wife (F Benjamin) - A fictional account of the relationship between famed pilot Charles
Lindberg and his wife Anne.
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln (F Carter) - Tells the alternative history story of Abraham
Lincoln's impeachment after he survived the assassination attempt
If you liked Stephen King’s 11/22/63, you will like this book.
Loving Frank (F Horan) - Blends fact and fiction in a historical novel about the love affair between
Mamah Borthwick Cheney and architect Frank Wright, who was commissioned by Mamah and her
husband Edwin in 1903 to design a new home for them. (Get ready for a jolt)
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (Fowler) - A fictionalized account of Southern belle Zelda Sayre and her
relationship with author F. Scott Fitzgerald. (You might want to also read F. Scott Fiztgerald’s Tender is
the Night or a biography of Zelda
The Paris Wife (F McClain) - Portrays the love affair and marriage between Ernest
Hemingway and Hadley Mowrer from their Chicago meeting in 1920 to their lives during
the Jazz Age in Paris, but as Ernest struggles to find his literary voice, Hadley tries to define
her role in their relationship as wife, friend, and muse. (This book has been a constant best
sellers’ lists)
Wolf Hall (F Mantel) - Henry VIII, anxious about the consequences of dying without a male heir, is
denied permission to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn, but the power struggle
between the Church and the Crown is mediated by astute politician Thomas Cromwell, who manages to
get the king what he wants while keeping his eye on the prize of a free England.
Becoming Madame Mao (F Min) The author takes on the identity of Madame Mao, wife of Chinese
Communist leader Mao Zedong, presenting her as insecure and in need of love instead of simply
vindictive and cruel, and uses historical facts, characters, and documents to tell her story.
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The Chaperone (F Morarity) - Adolescent, pre-movie-star Louise Brooks, and her thirty-six-year-old
chaperone have their lives changed on their visit to New York City in the summer of 1922. (This book is
not on any bestseller list, but it should be. It is a book that once you’ve read it, your will recommend it).
The Accursed (F Oates) - In early-twentieth-century Princeton, New Jersey, the brother of a bride
who was abducted and seduced right before her wedding by a dangerously compelling man, sets out
to find her and crosses paths with Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Upton Sinclair, and other
notable people while searching for the woman and the European prince who might actually be the
devil.
The End of Baseball (F Schilling) - Promoter Bill Veeck, having hustled his way into buying the
Philadelphia Athletics in 1944, has plans to get rid of all the white players and fill his roster with
the legendary stars of the Negro Leagues, but bringing the team to the playing field is going to
take a lot of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that comes to involve even President
Roosevelt and J.Edgar Hoover
Mary Coin (F Silver) - Describes the lives of photojournalist Vera Dare and her subject Mary, a migrant
worker, whose paths cross in 1936 California.
The Rules of Civility (F Towles) - Twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent, having met banker Tinker Grey
while hanging out at a Greenwich Village jazz bar, finds her way into the upper echelons of New York
society, and, as she makes new friends and waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her life, she
begins to realize she regrets some of the choices she has made.
New Arrivals in the IMC
New Fiction
Life After Life (F Atkinson) - "On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English
banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night,
Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual.
For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on
towards its second cataclysmic world war. Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the
power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can -- will she?"
The Hit (F Baldacci) - Skilled assassin Will Robie is asked by the U.S. government to track down fellow
assassin Jessica Reel, who has gone rogue, but during his pursuit of Reel, Robie realizes that her betrayal
may be concealing a larger threat that could impact the whole world.
The Innocent (F Baldacci) - When hit man Will Robie refuses to kill his target he has to go on the run
from his own people, and, along the way, he meets up with a fourteen-year-old runaway who is in danger
after her parents were murdered.
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A Week in Winter - (F Binchy) - Chicky Starr, having transformed a decaying, Irish mansion into a bed
and breakfast with the help of handyman Rigger and her niece, Orla, welcomes her first guests, who are
all facing different challenges in life.
He’s Gone (F Caletti) - Dani Keller wakes up one Sunday morning to find her husband, Ian, missing and
while the police search for him, Dani struggles with decisions about her marriage and fears that Ian has
just left for good.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (F Fountain) - A satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq that
explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad. Follows the
surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive
"Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and
cheerleaders.
Benediction (F Haruf) - A terminally ill cancer patient is attended throughout his final days by his
wife and daughter while the trio contemplates their relationships with an estranged son, and a
situation that stirs up painful memories for a new next-door neighbor who has recently lost her
mother.
Silver Girl (F Hildebrand) - Meredith Martin Delinn, under siege after it is learned her husband cheated
rich investors out of billions of dollars, persuades her estranged friend Connie Flute to take her along to
Connie's house in Nantucket, where the two women, both nursing their broken hearts, learn lessons of
love, healing, and redemption.
Flight Behavior (F Kingsolver) - Tired of living on a failing farm and suffering oppressive poverty, bored
housewife Dellarobia Turnbow, on the way to meet a potential lover, is detoured by a miraculous event
on the Appalachian mountainside that ignites a media and religious firestorm that changes her life forever.
The Dinner (F Koch) - Meeting at an Amsterdam restaurant for dinner, two couples move from small talk
to the wrenching shared challenge of their teenage sons' act of violence that has triggered a police
investigation and revealed the extent to which each family will go to protect those they love.
77 Shadow Street (F Koontz) - an ancient evil that inhabits the very essence of the former mansion house
on Shadow Hill. Now called the Pendleton and long since converted into luxury apartments, this infamous
place known for acts of madness, suicide, murder and much, much worse is ready to have its dark host
reawaken for an act of terror that always seems to arrive in 38-year intervals. This time, the 2011
inhabitants of the Pendleton will not be prepared for what “the One” has in store for them.
Defending Jacob (F Landay) - When his fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a
fellow student, assistant district attorney Andy Barber is torn between loyalty and justice as
facts come to light thatlead him to question how well he knows his own son.
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (F O’Farrell) - Iris Lockhart is shocked when she receives a phone
call informing her that her great-aunt Esme, whom Iris never knew about, is being released from the
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mental hospital where she has spent the last sixty-one years, and wonders what long-buried family secrets
the woman will bring with her when Iris takes her in.
Dangerous Refuge (Lowell) - Environmental conservancy advocate Shaye Townsend and big city cop
Tanner, who has come home to work on his uncle's historic ranch, join forces to uncover the truth behind
Tanner's uncle's death, but when Shaye becomes a killer's target, Tanner realizes he'd give up anything to
protect her, including his life.
Afterwards (F Lupton) - Grace's daughter Jenny's school was purposely set on fire, and while the two
recover from their injuries at the hospital, they realize Jenny may still be in danger from the person who
set the fire.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Mathis) - 1923, African American Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia,
settles in Philadelphia, marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment, loses her
first-born twins, and raises her next nine children to face a world that will not love them.
The Accursed (F Oates) - In early-twentieth-century Princeton, New Jersey, the
brother of a bride who was abducted and seduced right before her wedding by a
dangerously compelling man, sets out to find her and crosses paths with Grover Cleveland,
Woodrow Wilson, Upton Sinclair, and other notable people while searching for the woman
and the European prince who might actually be the devil
The Wolf Gift (F Rice) - A young reporter on assignment is attacked and bitten by an unknown
beast in rural Northern California and begins a terrifying but seductive transformation into a
being with a dual nature, both man and wolf.
All That Is (F James Salter) - In the years after World War Two, ex-naval officer Philip Bowman finds a
place for himself in America as a book editor, and an enthralling woman sets him on a course he could
never have imagined for himself.
Don’t Go (F Scottoline) - Fleeing home from his military service in Afghanistan when his
wife dies in an apparent freak household accident, Dr. Mike Scanlon struggles with the
tragedy, his inability to bond with his new baby daughter and a downsizing in his medical
practice only to discover a shocking secret that changes his understanding of everything.
Where’d You Go Bernadette (F Semple) - When Bee aces her report card she claims her reward, which is
a trip to Antarctica, but her mother, Bernadette, disappears due to her intensifying allergy to Seattle and
people in general, which has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most
basic errands and Bee uses emails, invoices, school memos, private correspondence, and other evidence to
try and understand why her mother has left.
The Light Between the Oceans (F Stedman) - "A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a
childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore"
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The Burgess Boys (F Strout) - Catalyzed by a nephew's thoughtless prank, a pair of brothers confront
painful psychological issues surrounding the freak accident that killed their father when they were boys, a
loss linked to a heartbreaking deception that shaped their personal and professional lives.
The Rules of Civility (F Towler) - Twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent, having met banker Tinker Grey
while hanging out at a Greenwich Village jazz bar, finds her way into the upper echelons of New York
society, and, as she makes new friends and waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her life, she
begins to realize she regrets some of the choices she has made. (This is a great paired book for The
Chaperone)
The Shoemakers Wife (F Trigiana) - Enza and Ciro meet as teenagers despite growing up in villages
just a few miles apart in the Italian Alps. When Ciro catches the local priest in a scandal, he is
banished from his village and sent to hide in America, leaving behind a bereft Enza. Unbeknownst to
one another, they both build lives in America, until fate intervenes and reunites them, but not before
Ciro has volunteered to serve in World War I.
A Hundred Flowers (F Tsukiyama) - A tale set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution follows the
struggles of Kai Ying to safeguard her family when her teacher husband is arrested and sent to a
"reeducation" labor camp for criticizing the Communist Party.
New Biographies
The Astor Orphan: A Memoir (B Aldrich) - Aldrich, a direct descendant of John Jacob Astor, tells the
story of her eccentric, fractured family; her 1980s childhood of bohemian neglect in the squalid attic of
Rokeby, the family's Hudson Valley Mansion; and her brave escape from the clan.
A Wedding in Haiti (B Alvarez) - Alvarez talks about three of her most personal relationships--with her
parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti.
Thomas Becket : Warrior, Priest, Rebel (B Thomas) - A biography of Thomas Becket the son of middleclass Norman parents, who rose to be the second most powerful man in England and the archbishop of
Canterbury, and after being forced to choose between King Henry II and the Catholic Church chose his
faith and was martyred for it.
Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey (B Carnarvon) - Tells the story behind
Highclere Castle and the life of its most famous inhabitant, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess
of Carnarvon, drawing on the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and
photographs.
Coolidge (B Coolidge) - Delivers a brilliant and provocative reexamination of America’s thirtieth
president, Calvin Coolidge, and the decade of unparalleled growth that the nation enjoyed under his
leadership.
The Warrior’s Heart (B Greitens) - Eric Greitens shares his life journey from being an average kid to
working to make a difference in the world's trouble spots and joining the Navy SEALS to protect the
weak, and encourages readers to reflect on the power of choice and acts of courage.
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Basketball Junkie (B Herren) - Former NBA basketball player Chris Herren chronicles the rise and fall of
his basketball career, his struggle with drugs, his marriage to his high-school sweetheart, and life with his
children.
The Tender Bar: A Memoir (B Moehringer) - The author presents his memoirs of growing up without his
father and finding himself looking for male role models among the regulars at Publicans, a Manhasset,
Long Island, bar.
Newspaperman: Inside the News Business at The Wall Street Journal (B Phillips) - Former Wall Street
Journal publisher Warren Phillips describes his journey through the newspaper business and gives an
insiders look at how the news is made.
Her a Memoir (B Parravani) - Christa Parravani's memoir of growing up with her identical twin Cara
chronicles being raised in poverty by a single mother, becoming artists, Cara's downward spiral into
depression and drugs after being raped, and her struggle to stay alive after her sister's death.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana (B Sediqui) - Recounts the true story of Kamila Sidiqi, a woman who
was forced to support herself and her five siblings after the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul and
her father and brothers fled the country.
Until I Say Goodbye: A Year of Living with Joy (B Spencer-Wendell) - A memoir by celebrated
journalist Susan Spencer-Wendel who makes the most of her final days after discovering she has
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Biographies for Those Who Love Rock and Roll
Becoming Jimi Hendrix, Greg Allman’s My Cross to Bear, Neil Young’s Waging Heavy Peace and The
Rolliing Stones at 50
New Non Fiction
Gulp: Adventures of an Alimentary Canal (612.3 Roa) - Examines the alimentary canal and the digestive
system, answering such questions as, can constipation kill a person, why the stomach doesn't digest itself,
how much can be eaten before the stomach bursts, and more.
Other books by Mary Roach that you might enjoy are Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife,
Packing for Mars, Stiff: The Curious Life of Cadavers
Father’s Day: A Journey into the Heart and Mind of an Extraordinary Son (306.87 Bis) - Buzz
Bissinger travels with his mentally handicapped adult son, visiting places they lived in the last
twenty-four years with the hopes to better understand his son.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (658.4 San) - Looks at what women can do to help
themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.
Contagious: Why things Catch On (658.8 Ber) - Discuses consumer behavior and what makes things
popular and how to leverage these concepts to help your own ideas catch on.
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Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland and the History Making Race Around the World (910.4
Goo) - and Recounts the race between newspaper reporters Nellie bly and Elizabeth Bisland, to travel
around the world in eighty days or less on their own in 1889.
No Easy Day (958.1 Owe) - A memoir of a former member of Navy Seal Team 6 about his career in the
military, including his firsthand account of the successful mission to kill Osama bin Laden.
Quick Reads - The IMC has many, many books by these authors
Carrie Diaries (F Bushnell) - In this prequel to Candace Bushnell's "Sex and the City," Carrie Bradshaw is
enjoying her senior year of high school and her intense relationship with the dashing Sebastian Kydd,
until a friend's shocking betrayal threatens to ruin everything.
Size 12 is not Fat (F Cabot) - Assistant dorm director Heather Wells investigates the mysterious deaths of
several students when neither the police nor her colleagues believe they are victims of foul play.
Love the One Your With (F Giffin) - Ellen's seemingly perfect marriage comes into question when she
runs into Leo, the man who left her brokenhearted eight years before.
Another Piece of my Heart (F Green) - Andi finally finds the man of her dreams and marries into a readymade family with his two daughters, but when Ethan's daughter insists on fighting against her all of their
happiness is in danger.
The Island (F Hilderbrand) - Birdie Cousins planned trip to Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket
with her daughter Chess before her upcoming marriage takes a different turn when Chess suddenly breaks
her engagement and her fiance dies in a rock-climbing accident.
I’ve Got Your Number (F Kinsella) - After she loses her engagement ring and her phone is stolen during a
hotel fire drill, Poppy Wyatt, discovering an abandoned phone in a trash can, crashes into the life of the
phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton, when she uses his phone to make her wedding preparations.
The Brightest Star in the Sky (F Keyes) - wandering spirit brings an expectancy of change to the
residents of a Dublin town house, including forty-year-old public relations representative Katie,
who has just dumped her commitment-phobic boyfriend; Lydia, a sassy cab driver having a casual
affair while trying to figure out what to do about her mother's advancing dementia; Jemima, an
aging psychic invaded by her hunky foster son--just cast in a television show; and a struggling
newlywed couple.
Peony in Love (F See) - In post-Ming dynasty China, Peony, a young girl betrothed to someone she has
never met, observes a handsome man while hidden from view at a performance of the opera "The Peony
Pavilion"--a work that has compelled young Chinese women to starve themselves to death--and, dead at
sixteen, begins a transformative journey as a "hungry ghost."
Chasing Harry Winston (F Weisberger) - Longtime friends Emmy, Leigh, and Adriana, each beautiful
and accomplished, look at their lives as they approach the age of thirty and, unsure if they like what they
see, two of them make a pact to make some drastic changes within one year.
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Series Books
Ken Follett (F Follett)
Fall of Giants - Five families become entangled in events from the beginning of the twentieth
century, following as thirteen-year-old Billy begins working in the Welsh mining pits, an
American law student gets a job with Woodrow Wilson's administration, two orphaned brothers
try to leave their native Russia for the U.S., and Billy's sister's employer begins an affair with a
spy at the German embassy in London.
The next book in the series is Winter of The World.
Pillars of the Earth - The ambitious prior of Kingsbridge, England, dreams of building the greatest Gothic
cathedral in the world, and the struggle to construct it leads to a battle between good and evil in twelfthcentury England.
The other book in the series is World Without End.
David Baldacci (F Baldacci) – The Camel Club Series
The Camel Club - After witnessing a murder with ties to a prestigious businessman's club, Harry
Stone steals a crucial piece of evidence from the crime scene and is pursued by a dangerous
member of the club.
The other books in the series are The Collector, Stone Cold, Divine Justice, Hell’s
Corner.
Michael Connelly (F Connelly) The Harry Bosch series
The Narrows - Retired Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch agrees to look into the death of former
colleague and friend Terry McCaleb and finds himself immersed once again in the pursuit of a serial
killer, presumed dead by the FBI, who calls himself the Poet.
The other books in the series are Nine Dragons, Overlook, the Poet
Janet Evanovich (F Evanovich) - Stephanie Plum
Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey becomes a bounty hunter to maker ends
meet after losing her job.
There are 20 books in the series which include the number of the series in the title and go from
One for the Money to Plum Twenty (the IMC has up to Notorious Nineteen)
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Series
The Dark Tower series tells the story of Roland Deschain, Mid-World’s last gunslinger, who is traveling
southeast across Mid-World’s post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for the powerful but elusive magical
edifice known as The Dark Tower. Located in the fey region of End-World, amid a sea of singing red
roses, the Dark Tower is the nexus point of the time-space continuum. It is the heart of all worlds, but it
is also under threat. Someone, or something, is using the evil technology of the Great Old Ones to destroy
it.
Titles in the series include The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, Waste Land, Wizard and
Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, The Dark Tower, and The Wind Through the
Keyhole
Charlaine Harris - Sookie Stackhouse
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Dead Ever After (F Harris) - Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana, who has a vampire
boyfriend and the ability to read minds, turns down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants
her job back, but then Arlene is found murdered and Sookie, after making bail, realizes that she must
discover the truth with the help of her friends both living and undead.
Titles in the series include Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to
The World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, From Dead to Worse,
Dead and Gone, Dead in the Family, Dead Reckoning, Deadlocked, Dead Ever After
Harris also has another series called The Grave
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (F Preston) – Detective Pendergast series
Relic - When visitors are killed at the New York Museum of Natural History before the opening of
the Superstition exhibition, graduate student Margo Green discovers a link between the killings, a
tragic archaeological trip to the Amazon Basin, and a figurine from the exhibit.
The other books is the series are Reliquary, Cabinet of Curiosities, Brimstone, Dance of
Death, The Book of the Dead, Wheel of Darkness, Cemetery Dream, and Fever Dream
They also have a new series called Gideon Crew
Gideon’s Sword - Gideon Crew, having witnessed the brutal murder of his father at the age of
twelve, gets his chance at revenge more than twenty years later when a mysterious witness steps
forward and offers him a chance of a lifetime. The next book in the series is Gideon’s Corpse.
Nora Roberts – The Inn Boonsboro Trilogy
The Next Always (F Roberts) Beckett Montgomery and his brothers begin renovations on the historic
hotel in Boonsboro, Maryland. A second chance for the inn leads to a second chance for love – Other
titles in the series are The Lst Boy Friend and The Perfect Hope.
Other series by Roberts are Bride Quartet and Circle Triology
Gilliam Roberts (F Roberts) – Amanda Pepper Serier
I’d Rather Be in Philadelphia (F Roberts) – Amanda Pepper, a Philadelphia English teacher, discovers a
cry for help scribbled in the margin of a book about abused women, and sets out to find the desperate
victim.
Other titles in the series are How I Spent My Summer Vacation, In the Dead of Summer
Bluest Blood, Adam and Evil, and a Hole in Juan
John Twelve Hawks (F Twelve) – The Fourth Realm Series
The Traveler - Three secret societies, the Travelers, the Harlequins, and the Tabula, head for a showdown
when the mercenary Tabula who want to control the world, target Gabriel and Michael Corrigan who may
have inherited their Traveler father's gifts as a prophet of wisdom, forcing Maya, a reluctant Harlequin, to
take up her duties as sworn protector to the brothers.
The other books in the series are The Dark City and The Golden City
Teacher Recommended Books
* Books are available in the IMC
Bob Barnshaw
Stacy Bickett
Dale Biebel
Lincoln’s Battle with God: A Presidential Struggle with Faith and
What it Meant for American (Stephen Mansfield)
Anything by Dorthea Benton Frank. My favorite is Plantation
The Lost Symbol (Brown) *
13
Marty Bouchard
Ann Hill
Shannon
Hornibrook
Greg Janecki
Shannon Malloy
Candance Morz
Killing Floor and Die Trying (Lee Child)*
Cutting for Stone (Verghese)
Death by Black Hole (Neil deGrasse Tyson)*
Silver linings Playbook (Quick)
Marzano’s The Art and Science of Teaching*
Whiskey Beach (Nora Roberts)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet*
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie*
The Murderer’s Daughters
Joe Rosenello
Jessica Sawyer
The Human Factor (Greene)*
11/22/63 (Stephen King)*
I Was Told There’d Be Cake ( Sloane)
What Alice Forgot
The Midwives (F Bohjalian) *
Tell the Wolf to Come Home
The Painted Bride
Family Pictures (Green)*
Sara Simpson
Amanda Schramm
Keesport
Denise Skow
Kirsten Smith
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarity*
Defending Jacob by William Landay*
Slammed by Colleen Hoover
Stories I Only Tell My Friends- Rob Lowe*
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom*
11/22/63 by Stephen King*