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Customer's Picks
We love to talk with our customers about books. Here are a few of their favorites. If you'd like to see one of your picks listed here, email it to us. Oh, and if you're looking for recommendations for kids books, check out Flannery's picks.
Wishin' and Hopin'
Fifth grader, Felix Funicello (distant relative of Annette),
tells the story of the Christmas season at his school and the chaos that erupts
around their school play. While I wasn't
initially excited about a Christmas story, I love Wally Lamb, so I decided to
give it a go. This book is a hilarious,
light-hearted quick-read. I was
literally laughing out loud and finished the book in an afternoon. It is very well written and definitely worth
picking up.
--Jessie
The Romantic Movement
Customer Brian recommends The Romantic Movement by Alain de Botton
State of Wonder
Customer Diana recommends State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
Cutting For Stone
Customer Leslie recommends Cutting For Stone as a great summer read.
Optimist's Daughter
Our customer Julie recommends The Optimist's Daughter.
The Inner Voice
Renee Fleming is one of America's most celebrated sopranos and a superstar of the opera world. She's also intelligent, reflective, and articulate. Maybe the engaging storytelling and lucid prose in this memoir are the work of novelist Ann Patchett, who is thanked for her "silent work on paper" in the acknowledgements. In any case, I enjoyed learning about this hard-working artist's struggles to overcome stage fright, combat perfectionism, balance work and family needs, and understand, improve, and maintain her vocal production. Many performers' memoirs are flooded with name-dropping and gossip; this one instead offers helpful lessons for aspiring singers.
Recommended by Jessica Files Squier of The Birchtree Center.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
This is a humorous novel told in the voice of a fifteen-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder. Christopher intersperses his detective-inspired narrative with an entertaining assortment of diagrams, math problems, and candid observations about the absurdity of common social niceties. I enjoyed seeing Christopher overcome many obstacles as he investigates the mystery of the murder of a neighbor's dog.
Recommended by Jessica Files Squier of The Birchtree Center.
Team of Rivals
Much in the news recently for its purported influence on Barack Obama as he, like Lincoln, takes office in a time of national crisis. This is a study of a President overcoming his "lack of experience" through character, intelligence, shrewdness and empathy. For me the first third of the book was a trifle slow as Goodwin must introduce a large cast of characters and describe state level politics in the antebellum years. Perseverance is more than rewarded as the story becomes an absorbing drama during the war years. Under unimaginable pressure Lincoln suppresses his ego in service to his cause while also dealing with crushing sadness in his own household. The chapters describing his assassination, and the near fatal wounding of his former rival, now devoted follower, William Seward, Secretary of War, are heartbreaking. No need to read this searching for analogies; read it to feel yourself in the company of true greatness and genuine humanity.
Recommended by Zeke Zubrow.
Heartsick and Sweetheart
Cain's debut pyschological thriller Heartsick introduces the fascinating and twisted relationship between beautiful serial killer Gretchen Lowell and severely damaged Detective Archie Sheridan. Their obsession permeates the gripping sequel, Sweetheart. Cain takes the reader on heart-stopping roller-coaster rides that plunge into unexpected evil and depravity in these well-crafted, can't-put-'em-down tales of suspense.
Recommended by mystery writer Pat Remick.
The Year of Magical Thinking
Having reached an age in my life where friends are traveling through a passage of grief, this author gives amazing insight into the myriad of emotion that follows a devastating, life-altering loss, while allowing us to peer through a window into her "year of magical thinking".
Recommended by Dodie Cameron.
The Last Lecture
I find this to be the perfect gift for a multitude of occasions; from high school/college graduations to grieving an illness/ loss, or simply for everyday motivation. This man left a legacy of bringing out the "Tigger" in us all.
Recommended by Dodie Cameron.
The Last Island
A field guide to love, marriage and how to walk in this world with a keen eye and a listening ear: The Last Island is the one book to tuck into life's backpack.
Recommended by Marie Harris, former Poet Laureate of New Hampshire.
The Night Battles
Portsmouth author M.F. Bloxam's debut novel, The Night Battles, ratchets up the psychological suspense as a troubled American anthropologist encounters the paranormal in an ancient Sicilian fortress town. Part love story, part thriller, and told in chiseled, elegant prose, The Night Battles has already drawn comparisons to Don DeLillo's The Names, Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now, and Henry James's The Turn of the Screw. Don't miss this one!
Recommended by Peggy Hodges.
No Great Mischief
This beautiful novel, set mostly in Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, tells the story of a family of miners who are immigrants from Scotland. It weaves past and present in a haunting portrait of the hardscrabble lives of the miners, those who get out and those who don't. MacLeod is one of the greatest living writers in the English language.
Recommended by novelist Katherine Towler.
My Petition for More Space
I bought My Petition for More Space on a lark while wandering through SecondRun Bookstore. John Hersey’s 1974 dystopian novella on overpopulation (imagine living in an 8x12-foot square in a huge dorm area) quickly became one of my favorite books. If you liked George Orwell’s 1984 or Ayn Rand’s Anthem, find some space for this classic.
Recommended by Gina Carbone of The Portsmouth Herald.
Awake in the Dark
Hauntingly beautiful stories of family secrets hidden and revealed during and after the Holocaust. Powerful and heartbreaking, Shira Nayman weaves together people and events into vignettes of life and shadows. Her words are spare and thoughtful, and the results are devastating. I read and reread her stories over and over again... her words stay with you long after you've closed the pages. One of the few books I would say is a must-read.
Recommended by Cheri Hegi of Primal Media.
House Lust
This is a marketing book masquerading as a pop-psychology exploration of America's obsession with houses. It's a surprisingly intelligent and humorous look at every aspect of the housing boom (and bust), from McMansions to flipping; HGTV to the realtor craze. A must read for anyone who has ever felt the intense longing associated with a patch of land and a few 2 x 4s.
Recommended by Cheri Hegi of Primal Media.
So B It
This is a book that begs to be read aloud, to the point where I was stopping coworkers in the hallways to share favorite passages. Heidi's mother has a mental disability that severely limits her ability to speak (she has a 23 word vocabulary) or to function in the world outside their apartment. Kind-hearted, agoraphobic neighbor Bernadette does what she can to help Heidi and her mother, but ultimately, Heidi is on her own. The nagging mystery of her own identity, the reasons behind her mother's mental illness, and the meaning of her mother's word favorite word "soof" send Heidi on a journey to very unexpected answers.
Recommended by Kathy Pearce, Portsmouth Middle School Librarian.
Anathem
This book is hard to put down. It's about a bunch of Monks who'se religion is Math. When the world appears to be in peril the Monks are called upon to save the day. It's about 933 pages long, and is a little slow to get into initially, but is well worth the journey. Neil Stephenson also wrote Snow Crash.
This review is by Adam Hegi of Primal Media.
