Now through June 1st, join us in the worldwide OverDrive (Awards) ALA Notable Books 2011
Annotation:A‘70s punk band becomes the touchstone for a motley crew who spin their interconnected stories over time and distance.
Place a Hold
Annotation:A young clerk attempts to establish himself in the artificial and intense world of Dejima, the Dutch trading colony in 1800s Japan.
Annotation:The complex entangled lives of three people forever scarred by the Korean War are sympathetically portrayed in gorgeous prose.
Annotation:Filled warmth and humor, this coming-of-age novel set in a Dublin boys schools is a sprawling homage to adolescence, string theory, donuts, and unrequited love.
Annotation:Five-year-old Jack vividly narrates the story of his life confined in a room with his mother in this unsettling exploration of resilience and hope.
Annotation:Welcome to the worst day of Kevin Quinn’s life as he battles the anxieties of the modern world in steamy Austin, Texas.
Annotation:This lovely and unsettling account of pop trio The Browns reels you in as though the concept of rags to riches were brand new.
Annotation:An ambitious and idealistic American Marine faces the horror, heroism, futility, and pragmatism of war in this visceral portrayal of life in-country.
Annotation:The adrenaline high that danger offers infects photojournalist Helen Adams as she documents the war in Vietnam.
Annotation:In this big-hearted novel, Golden Richards and his clan navigate their chaotic lives as each clamors to be noticed.
Annotation:This incisive portrait of the fractured Berglund brood captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.
Annotation:Two men – one black, one white – must confront the secrets surrounding their childhood friendship following the disappearance of two girls in rural Mississippi.
Annotation:A landmark biography provides insights into the complexities of this founding father’s character, and brings him fully to life within the context of his times.
Annotation:The 20th century exodus of over 6 million Black Americans from the South is sensitively retold through the lives of three who left.
Annotation:Stricken by Russia love, a writer sets out to experience all things Siberian and takes us along for the rollicking journey.
Annotation:Russia’s ecological and cultural history serves as the backdrop for this riveting adventure tale of man versus beast.
Annotation:This moving work provides insight into the mind of a tormented genius attempting to understand an illusive aspect of human nature.
Annotation:Chronicling the experiences of six people, this powerful account draws back the curtain on the brutality of life under a totalitarian regime.
Annotation:An epic encounter between two iconic individuals is vividly portrayed in fluid, evocative, and decidedly objective prose.
Annotation:This intoxicating history of the 18th amendment reveals the surprising relationship between Prohibition and other social movements, and explores its lasting impact on American life.
Annotation:The poet and musician’s endearing memoir about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe captures life and art in New York City during the 1960s and ‘70s.
Annotation:A science writer uncovers the fascinating story of an African-American woman’s cancer cells harvested for medical research, thereby raising important questions of bioethics.
Annotation:Blending history, biography and art, this personal account elegantly traces the fate of a European Jewish family and their collection of 246 netsuke.
Annotation:In this compelling portrait three influential individuals persuade a reluctant President to come to the aid of a beleaguered nation in the early days of WWII.
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This list is selected annually by the American Library Association's Notable Books Council. The titles are selected for "their significant contribution to the expansion of knowledge or for the pleasure they can provide to adult readers." Titles for the 2011 list were selected from books published from November 2009 to November 2010. (Annotations from ALA RUSA website: http://tinyurl.com/4m64p3s )
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