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Here's more information on the candidates:
 Zeitoun by Dave Eggers Zeitoun is a riveting, disturbing and inspiring narrative non-fiction account of Hurricane Katrina. Dave Eggers takes the reader to New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina where Zeitoun, a Syrian born, prosperous painting contractor decides to remain behind to protect his property as his wife and four children flee. He uses a small canoe to rescue people and animals and to pass around supplies before being arrested by an army squad. He is swept powerlessly into bureaucratic brutality when he is accused of being a member of Al Quaeda. This book is a mighty indictment of post Katrina law enforcement and the role that culture and race play out in America. This American tragedy is now being reexamined in depth during the fifth anniversary of Katrina. -Estelle Read more reviews on amazon.com and librarything.com, or request a copy.  Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. Read more reviews on amazon.com and librarything.com, or request a copy.  Tinkers by Paul Harding, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Harding's outstanding debut unfurls the history and final thoughts of a dying grandfather surrounded by his family in his New England home. George Washington Crosby repairs clocks for a living and on his deathbed revisits his turbulent childhood as the oldest son of an epileptic smalltime traveling salesman. The descriptions of the father's epilepsy and the cold halo of chemical electricity that encircled him immediately before he was struck by a full seizure are stunning, and the household's sadness permeates the narrative as George returns to more melancholy scenes. The real star is Harding's language, which dazzles whether he's describing the workings of clocks, sensory images of nature, the many engaging side characters who populate the book, or even a short passage on how to build a bird nest. This is an especially gorgeous example of novelistic craftsmanship. (Review from Publishers Weekly) Read reviews on amazon.com and librarything.com, or request a copy.  Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters by Wally Lamb and the women of York Correctional Institution After Wally Lamb's huge literary success with She's Come Undone, he went to work as a writing teacher in a women's prison in Connecticut. This is a collection of work written by his incarcerated students and includes an essay by Wally and a short story by his fellow instructor. The writing is heart-breakingly good and the stories really make you ponder the true nature of crime, punishment and of course, justice. I found it a fascinating, moving and completely novel reading experience and believe it would provide a lot of interesting discussion and programming opportunities if it were to be chosen. - Susannah Read more reviews on amazon.com and librarything.com, or request a copy.  The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated Bibles, each other. And if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. Since its first publication, The Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of American literature, and a profound study of men at war that illumniates the capacity, and the limites, of the human heart and soul. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Read more reviews on amazon.com and librarything.com, or request a copy. Cover to CoverWhat if everyone in Carlisle read the same book and then joined all those readers in talking about it? That's the idea behind the community read. Throughout the month of January, readers in Carlisle will buzz about a single book. Our 2009 title was Fareed Zakaria's Post-American World, while in 2010 Carlisle discussed The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Toobin. Click here to subscribe to our monthly enewsletter for updates.Community reading projects, which connect people to literature through reading and discussion, have exploded in popularity in recent years. Usually organized by libraries, they bring members of a community together to read and discuss the same literary work. The "One Book" movement began in 1998 when Nancy Pearl, executive director of the Washington Center for the Book in the Seattle Public Library, initiated "If All Seattle Read the Same Book." For more information about Cover to Cover, or to volunteer to help with Carlisle's annual Community Read, please email carlislecovertocover@lists.mvlc.org. |
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Gleason Public Library, 22 Bedford Rd., Carlisle, MA 01741 |