Attn: Jodi Picoult Fans!

An excerpt from Jodi Picoult's (as far as I know, still untitled) 18th book due out in 2011, is available to read on her website. Her next book, House Rules, is due to be released on March 2.

Thanks to Lauren for the link.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time isn't your typical murder mystery, because in this book the murder victim is Wellington. Wellington is a poodle, a poodle belonging to Mrs. Shears. Mrs. Shears is the neighbor of the narrator, Christopher John Francis Boone. Christopher isn't your typical protagonist either. Christopher is autistic and takes everything literally. He doesn't understand emotions, sarcasm, or even jokes, and that is why there are no jokes in this book.

When Christopher is accused of killing Wellington, he takes it upon himself to investigate in order to find the real killer. Prompted by his teacher, Siobhan, he writes down what he learns in the form of a murder-mystery novel. Along the way, Christopher's investigation leads him to some unexpected information about his own family and the end of his parents' marriage.

Christopher is also a mathematical genius, and he is working on passing his A-levels in mathematics (the British version of American high school Advanced Placement tests). Christopher often explains the way he thinks about things by describing math puzzles, so there are a lot of diagrams and drawings in the book. While I listened to the audio version and liked it very much, I do feel like I missed out by not reading the book.

Mark Haddon chooses a curious narrator for his curious book. He explores human emotion through a character who cannot experience emotion himself. As we follow along with Christopher we learn about the daily struggles he faces that make his investigation even more difficult. For example, seeing 5 red cars in a row makes it a Super Good Day, but 4 yellow cars in a row makes it a Black Day.

Despite Christopher's assertion that there are no jokes, the book is both funny and illuminating. At no point does the reader feel as though they are laughing at Christopher, but at themselves. Christopher's dry observations about things he doesn't understand, shows the reader how very silly we are sometimes. Haddon himself worked with autistic children as a young man and is able to give the reader a glimpse into what like is like for teens like Christopher, handling the subject with grace.

Readalikes

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is also a great book for Young Adults, having made the Top Ten List of Best Books for Young Adults in 2004 and winning an Alex Award (adult books with appeal for teens) the same year. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, is a book written for young adults in which Marcelo, a high-functioning, autistic, 17-year-old, is pushed out of his comfort zone and into the mailroom of his father's law firm.

If you'd like a rather non-traditional memoir, try Episodes: My Life as I See It by Blaze Ginsberg, a high-functioning, autistic young man who tells the story of his life as episodes in the format of the Internet Movie Database.

For a parent's perspective, try Louder than Words by Jenny McCarthy or Making Peace with Autism by Susan Senator.

Stitches by David Small

Stitches is the haunting, graphic memoir of the award-winning children’s illustrator, David Small. As a child, Small's health problems were treated with a series of x-rays, administered by his father. The resulting cancer went long untreated and caused the loss of one of his vocal chords. Since the surgery, he has never been able to speak in more than a whisper. In a story that could only be told graphically, Small shows how his own enforced silence was a reflection of the silence in his own family. The spare text and monochromatic illustrations reinforce the lack of dialogue.

If you have always wanted to try a graphic novel, Stitches isn't a bad place to start. It has been highly-praised by a number of reviewers and can be read in less than an hour. As a word of caution, the book does contain some nudity, language, and acts of violence. Elements such as these tend to be harder for some readers to "skip over" as you could in a novel.


Readalikes:

Persepolis and Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi. Another great graphic memoir which depicts Satrapi's life in Iran, during and after the Islamic Revolution. It was adapted to film in 2007.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The children of Rex and Rose Mary Walls learned from a young age to take care of themselves, spurred on by their nomadic and frequently neglectful parents.

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg. Laura Bartone must reconcile her sister's accusations of abuse by her mother, with her own happy childhood.

January Book Clubs at the Library

The Adult Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room. Members will discuss Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell on January 13, 2010. A 38-year-old Ohio spinster school teacher, along with her little dog, travels to Egypt where she meets T. E. Lawrence and Winston Churchill, and falls in love with a German spy.

The Mystery Book Club meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 1:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B. On January 20, 2010, members will discuss Envy the Night by Michael Koryta. In Koryta's latest thriller, a young man runs into serious trouble while going after the mobster he believes is responsible for his father's death.

New members are always welcome. Stop by to pick up your copy at the Adult Services Reference Desk on the second floor.

There is still time to read the December selections. The Adult Book Club is reading The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, and the Mystery Book Club is reading Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer.

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

I have read several of Richard Paul Evan's books before and knew before I turned one page of this book I would not be disappointed. I absolutely loved it! In fact, I think I read the book in about four hours. I had to know what would happen next, it was that good.

The story is about a man named James Kier. James is a successful, middle aged business man. Putting all his time and effort into his business has made him what he is today. He has worked hard and to say the least, his business is his life and his main focus. His wife and son have been deserted. His wife is coping with cancer treatments, and his son will not speak to him. James is seeking a divorce during a time his family needs him the most. However, James is a greedy, self-absorbed human being who only wants more, more control, more power, more money and he doesn't care who he hurts or steps on to get what he wants and what he feels he deserves.

His life takes a drastic turn one morning when he reads his own obituary in the newspaper. He turns to the internet to see what comments his friends and acquaintances have written about him. Everyone wants to leave a legacy right? What he reads disturbs him. People hate him, they write how he has cheated and lied to them, stolen their homes, forced them into bankruptcy, and much more.

He meets the family of the "other" James Kier. This James leaves behind a family who loved him dearly. He didn't have much money, in fact he worked as a bus driver. He loved his family, friends, neighbors, and community. Many, many friends and neighbors come to pay their respect and to honor a man who really made the world a better place. James attended the wake saw with his own eyes how much this man was loved.

James makes a decision to right some of the wrongs he has done to people. This journey is difficult for James. He initially expects people to accept his apologies and his method of righting the wrong done to them. However, this is not always the case. At the same time James tries to make amends to his wife and son.

Forgiveness can take some time. It is not always easy for people to forgive someone who has devastated their life, their home or their family. James becomes a better person for seeing how his decisions affected all the people around him. The decisions he makes now are all for the better-to bring people together and benefit others not himself.

Richard Paul Evans has written yet another great story of compassion, love, and most of all forgiveness. Give it a try!

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Since a serial killer stopped terrorizing local citizens in the 1990's, nothing much happens in the rural burg of Painters Mill, Ohio, which is just how Chief Kate Burkholder likes it. After years of experience in the more urban setting of Columbus, Ohio, she jumped at the chance to become the police chief of her hometown. Her past as a member of the local Amish community has given her a unique perspective and ability to act as a go-between between the private Amish community and the "English."

When one of her officers responds to a "loose cattle" call and instead finds the nude body of a young woman in the snow, Kate's peaceful existence comes to an abrupt halt. Not only is the murder reminiscent of the serial killings that took place in the '90's, but it brings Kate's history crashing back to her, including a secret that she, her brother and sister have kept all these years. When the town calls in outside help, Kate is resistant, fearing her secret will be exposed after 16 years, but as bodies continue to turn up, she must face her fear in order to solve the gruesome crimes.

John Tomasetti has been to hell, and does not seem to want to leave. Since losing his partner and family a few years earlier, his life has continued in a downward spiral, thanks to his steady diet of booze and painkillers. When he is assigned to work on the Painters Mill murders, he knows it is his last chance. Can Kate overcome her fear and mistrust to work with Tomasetti?

This is the first book in a promising new series featuring Chief Kate Burkholder, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of John Tomasetti as well. Despite the Amish connection, this is definitely NOT a cozy mystery - the grisly details, salty language and sexual situations and references are not for the faint of heart. Kate is a great heroine - strong yet vulnerable, principled yet hesitant, and damaged yet hopeful. I look forward to seeing more from this series. Fans of this book may also like Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series or Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series.

New Book by the Author of The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, explores the world of gothic literature in her latest novel, Her Fearful Symmetry. Although this story takes quite a turn from her previous work, it still requires some suspension of belief to make it through the plot.

Elspeth is dying, in London, leaving her younger lover, Robert behind to mourn. Rather than leaving her worldly possessions to him, she leaves her flat and its contents to her twin nieces, whom she has never met. Julia and Valentina have grown up with their parents, Edie and Jack, in Lake Forest, Illinois. Edie and Elspeth were twins as well, but estranged.

The twins move into Elspeth's flat, and begin exploring London, meeting their neighbors in the building, Martin, who has severe OCD, and Robert, Elspeth's former lover. Before long, they also realize that Elspeth herself is occupying the flat as well, and they and Robert begin communicating with her. As Elspeth grows in strength, she discovers she can remove souls from living creatures when, in trying to pet the twins' kitten, she accidentally hooks its soul and removes it from its body. She is able to put it back in, with Valentina's help, and the kitten seems unscarred from the experience. This gives Valentina an idea to finally escape the over-bearing Julia once and for all. But will Elspeth and Robert agree to her plan?

This book has so many things I like in a story - ghosts, cemeteries, romance, family secrets, London. Niffenegger's writing style is lovely and the story slowly unwraps. I have a difficult time believing Valentina was willing to go as far as she did in order to escape her twin; perhaps that is part of what makes this story so ultimately horrific. The ending is a bleak one, devoid of much hope for the future for the parties involved. In short, this is a beautifully written gothic horror novel for our times.