Site visitors suggested reading
A handful of titles suggested as “good reads” by visitors to our website…

Richard

Origin, Dan Brown
Robert Langdon, Harvard symbology and religious iconology professor, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to attend a major announcement—the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever.” The evening’s host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist whose dazzling high-tech inventions and audacious predictions have made him a renowned global figure. Kirsch, who was one of Langdon’s first students at Harvard two decades earlier, is about to reveal an astonishing breakthrough . . . one that will answer two of the fundamental questions of human existence.

As always, Brown’s novel will entertain and pass the time well for most readers, particularly if a Brown fan. However, Brown peaked with Da Vinci Code.

Suzanne

I Know This Is True, Wally Lamb

Another family dynamic of twin brothers and the effect they have on one another’s lives and all the supporting background. The characters of Mom and Stepdad are powerful and ring true. The dead Grandfather enters the story and gives a surprising account of the mother’s life from his view. A story within a story.

The following is from the library files and there is much more to read there –

Dominick Birdsey’s entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth–her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she’d had no control.

Dominick’s talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick’s lives.

I would recommend this book 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Sabrina

L’amica geniale – Elena Ferrante (in Italian) and would like to read the rest in the series. They are available in English at the Library.
A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.

The Fifth Gospel Ian Caldwell (took him 10 years to write)
A mysterious exhibit is under construction at the Vatican Museums. The curator is murdered at a clandestine meeting on the outskirts of Rome a week before it opens. That same night, a violent break-in rocks the home of Greek Catholic priest Father Alex Andreou. When the papal police fail to identify a suspect in either crime, Father Alex decides that to find the killer he….

The Rule of Four with Dustin Thomason
An Ivy League murder, a mysterious coded manuscript, and the secrets of a Renaissance prince collide memorably in The Rule of Four—a brilliant work of fiction that weaves together suspense and scholarship, high art and unimaginable treachery.

12-21 by Dustin Thomason (Mayan calendar mystery)
The world ends for someone every day. One day it will end for everyone.

All the Steve Berry books to date
All the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon
I also read a lot of historical romance (ie. Sabrina Jeffries)

I’ve read “The Good Girl”. Interesting story line with a twist at the end.

Val

I am reading “The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper” which is a charming story about an elderly man who has recently lost his wife of 40 years. He goes on an adventure when he finds a charm bracelet that belonged to his wife. The bracelet gives him clues/ information about his wife he didn’t know about.

Eva

The Secret Wife by Gill Paul

I enjoyed reading this book because it was a historical novel set in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. It extends to WWI and to the persecution of the Russian Jews. The plot is quite involved with strong characters, adventure, and a lost romance. I liked the historical context, and how the young characters evolved through time. The ending is beautifully appropriated. I enjoyed this novel.