Books

Books you may have missed:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
The narrator of this unusual mystery is Christopher Boone, an autistic 15-year-old narrator who eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. When his neighbor’s poodle is killed in the night-time Christpher decides to take a page from his hero, Sherlock Holmes’ book and find the killer. Author Mark Haddon does a remarkable job of getting into the head of a socially-handicapped, but compelling character.

The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
I loved this book, but I know several people who had an equal but opposite reaction. Martel’s surrealistic novel tells the story of a young boy named Pi who finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  Give Pi a try and let me know how you liked it.

Killer Angels, by Micheal Shaara
The late Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the Battle of Gettysburg  features deft characterizations of all of the major participants, including Lee, Longstreet, and Pickett. The hero of the book however, is Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, whose 20th Maine regiment of volunteers helped turned the tide of the war against the rebels. Though this is a book of fiction, the history it tells is sound and riveting.

For more suggestions click on Lots of Book Lists under the Blogroll. This will link you to Morton Grove Public Library’s Webrary where you will find lots of books listed by genre, author, character and setting. Cozy Mysteries links you to a very handy website with lots of great suggestions.