Novel Destinations: India

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

INDIA:

FICTION

An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy

The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing: From the Files of Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Investigator by Tarquin Hall

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta by Paul Theroux

The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri

East of the Sun by Julia Gregson

English, August: An Indian Story by  Upamanyu Chatterjee

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The Hero’s Walk by Anita Rau Badami

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Ladies Coupé by Anita Nair

The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

The Miniaturist by Kunal Basu

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni

Partitions by Amit Majmudar

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

The Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundaresan

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna

The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

NON-FICTION

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham

Eating India: An Odyssey into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices by Chitrita Banerji

In the Valley of Mist: Kashmir: One Family in a Changing World by Justine Hardy

India: A History by John Keay

Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic by Ramesh Menon

Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India by Miranda Kennedy

Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire by Diana and Michael Preston

The Tiger Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir by Sudha Koul

Two Under the Indian Sun by Jon and Rumer Godden

FILMS

3 Idiots

Aloo Chaat

Bride & Prejudice

The Darjeeling Limited

Gandhi

Like Stars on Earth

Monsoon Wedding

The Music Room

Singh is Kinng

Slumdog Millionaire

A Wednesday!

Novel Destinations: Australia & New Zealand

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND:

FICTION

The Adventures of Miles and Isabel by Tom Gilling

After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld

At Home with the Templetons by Monica McInerney

Blood Moon by Garry Disher

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

The Colour by Rose Tremain

Dead Man’s Chest: A Phryne Fisher Mystery by Kerry Greenwood

Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan

Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland

Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Sorry by Gail Jones

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Truth by Peter Temple

The Unquiet Night by Patricia Carlon

The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran

The World Beneath by Cate Kennedy

NON-FICTION

A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia by Thomas Keneally

The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

The Proving Ground: The Inside Story of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race by G. Bruce Knecht

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

FILMS

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Australia

Animal Kingdom

A Cry in the Dark

Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger

Rabbit-Proof Fence

The Road from Coorain

The Square

The Sundowners

Ten Canoes

Whale Rider

Walkabout

Novel Destinations: Japan

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

JAPAN:

FICTION

The Cloud Pavilion by Laura Joh Rowland

Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka

Country of Origin by Don Lee

Fear and Trembling by Amélie Nothomb

Girl in a Box by Sujata Massey

The Masuda Affair: A Sugawara Akitada Mystery by I.J. Parker

On Parole by Akira Yoshimura

The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby

The Tales of the Heike translated by Burton Watson

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery

Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace

Volcano by Shusaku Edno

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Villain by Shuichi Yoshida

NON-FICTION

Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki

The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan by Christopher Benfey

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix

The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan by W.G. Beasley

Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat

Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life by Lafcadio Hearn

Samurai: The Story of Japan’s Great Warriors by Stephen Turnbull

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein

Writings from Japan: An Anthology by Lafcadio Hearn

FILMS

The Ballad of Narayama

Departures

High and Low

Hula Girls

Japan’s Killer Quake

The Last Samurai

Lost in Translation

Memoirs of a Geisha

Ran

Rashomon

Ringu

Seven Samurai

Sway

Tokyo Sonata

Twenty-Four Eyes

Who’s Camus Anyway?

The Yakuza Papers: Battles Without Honor & Humanity

Novel Destinations: Africa

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

AFRICA:

FICTION

The African Queen by C.S. Forester

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (Rwanda)

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia)

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (Kenya)

The Crocodile’s Last Embrace: A Jade del Cameron Mystery by Suzanne Arruda (Kenya)

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (South Africa)

Djibouti by Elmore Leonard (Djibouti)

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson (Kenya)

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Nigeria)

The Impostor by Damon Galgut (South Africa)

In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (Libya)

The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by M.G. Vassanji (Kenya)

Let the Dead Lie by Malla Nunn (South Africa)

Links by Nuruddin Farah (Somalia)

The Lovers of Algeria by Anouar Benmalek (Algeria)

Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela (Sudan)

The Madonna of Excelsior by Zakes Mda (South Africa)

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)

Oil on Water by Helon Habila (Nigeria)

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Congo)

Salamander Cotton by Richard Kunzmann (South Africa)

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana)

Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan

The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo by Peter Orner (Namibia)

The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu by Michael Stanley (Botswana)

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin (Nigeria)

The Storyteller of Marrakesh by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya (Morocco)

The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien (South Africa)

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)

Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer (South Africa)

True at First Light by Ernest Hemingway (Kenya)

Unconfessed by Yvette Christiansë (South Africa)

Wife of the Gods by Kwei J. Quartey (Ghana)

NON-FICTION

African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe by Doris Lessing (Zimbabwe)

Africa’s Animal Kingdom: A Visual Celebration by Kit Coppard

Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth-Century Congo by Pagan Kennedy (Congo)

The Black Nile: One Man’s Amazing Journey Through Peace and War on the World’s Longest River by Dan Morrison (The Nile)

Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart by Tim Butcher (Congo)

Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo by Vanessa Woods (Congo)

Born Wild: The Extraordinary Story of One Man’s Passion for Africa by Tony Fitzjohn (Kenya)

Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life by J.M. Coetzee (South Africa)

Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town by Paul Theroux

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller (Zimbabwe)

The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood by Elspeth Huxley (Kenya)

The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa by Alexander McCall Smith

God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation by Joseph Sebarenzi (Rwanda)

In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall (Tanzania)

Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone by Martin Dugard

Journey Without Maps by Graham Greene (Liberia)

Kenya: A Country in the Making, 1880-1940 by Nigel Pavitt (Kenya)

Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda by Rosamond Halsey Carr (Rwanda)

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (Sierra Leone)

Love in the Driest Season: A Family Memoir by Neely Tucker (Zimbabwe)

Notes from the Hyena’s Belly: An Ethiopian Boyhood by Nega Mezlekia (Ethiopia)

The Orphan Girl: And Other Stories, West African Folk Tales retold by Buchi Offodile

The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri (Uganda)

Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King (The Sahara)

The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Marcus Samuelsson

There Is No Me Without You: One Woman’s Odyssey to Rescue Africa’s Children by Melissa Fay Greene (Ethiopia)

The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari (Sudan)

Traversa: A Solo Walk Across Africa, from the Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean by Fran Sandham

Unbowed: A Memoir by Wangari Maathai (Kenya)

West with the Night by Beryl Markham (Kenya)

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin (Zimbabwe)

FILMS

Blood Diamond (Sierra Leone)

Changing Times (Morocco)

The Constant Gardener (Kenya)

Days of Glory (Algeria)

Disgrace (South Africa)

Dreams of Dust (Burkina Faso)

Hotel Rwanda (Rwanda)

Invictus (South Africa)

The Last King of Scotland (Uganda)

Moolaade (Burkina Faso)

Nowhere in Africa (Kenya)

Out of Africa (Kenya)

Raja (Morocco)

Tsotsi (South Africa)

Xala (Senegal)

Happy Fourth of July

In honor of Independence Day, explore books about the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.

In honor of Independence Day, explore books about the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.

1776 by David McCullough

American Heroes: Profiles of Men and Women Who Shaped Early America by Edmund S. Morgan

American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People by T.H. Breen

The American Patriot’s Almanac: Daily Readings on America by William J. Bennett & John T.E. Cribb

The American Revolution: A Concise History by Robert J. Allison

Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution by Benson Bobrick

Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War by Edwin G. Burrows

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis

The Idea of America: Reflections on the Birth of the United States by Gordon S. Wood

A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic by John Ferling

The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young

Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day is Sunday, June 19! Celebrate with one of these books about fatherhood.

Father’s Day is Sunday, June 19! Celebrate with one of these books about fatherhood.

A Bully Father: Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children by Joan Paterson Kerr

A Father’s Love: One Man’s Unrelenting Battle to Bring His Abducted Son Home by David Goldman

Almost a Family: A Memoir by John Darnton

Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson

Family Business: Selected Letters Between a Father and Son by Allen and Louis Ginsberg

Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant

Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love by Myron Uhlberg

Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis

My Father’s Fortune: A Life by Michael Frayn

My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar

Reading My Father: A Memoir by Alexandra Styron

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me by Bruce Feiler

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love by Matthew Logelin

Award-Winning Mysteries

The Edgar Awards and the Agatha Awards were recently awarded to mysteries published in 2010.

EDGAR AWARDS

Presented by the Mystery Writers of America, the Edgar Awards honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, and television.

Edgar Allan Poe

BEST NOVEL
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard

BEST FACT CRIME
Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime, and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendezvouz with American History by Yunte Huang

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER – MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

AGATHA AWARDS

Named in honor of Agatha Christie, the Agatha Awards honor the “traditional mystery,” mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence.

Agatha Christie

BEST NOVEL
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

BEST FIRST NOVEL
The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames

BEST NON-FICTION
Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: 50 Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran

2011 Days of Remembrance

Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims. This year’s Holocaust remembrance week is May 1–8, 2011. The theme designated by the Museum for the 2011 observance is Justice and Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned?

Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims. This year’s Holocaust remembrance week is May 1–8, 2011. The theme designated by the Museum for the 2011 observance is Justice and Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned?

The Boy: A Holocaust Story by Dan Porat

The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response by Peter Balakian

Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide by Gérard Prunier

The Envoy: The Epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe in the Desperate Closing Months of World War II by Alex Kershaw

The Last Jew of Treblinka: A Survivor’s Memory, 1942-1943 by Chil Rajchman

Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle & John Prendergast

A Promise at Sobibór: A Jewish Boy’s Story of Revolt and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland by Philip “Fiszel” Bialowitz, with Joseph Bialowitz

A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility by Taner Akçam

Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends by Tom Segev

The Witness House: Nazis and Holocaust Survivors Sharing a Villa During the Nuremberg Trials by Christiane Kohl

Celebrate Earth Day

Celebrate Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green.

Celebrate Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green.


American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau edited by Bill McKibben

Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen–The New Green Basics Way by Kate Heyhoe

Cut Your Energy Bills Now: 150 Smart Ways to Save Money & Make Your Home More Comfortable & Green by Bruce Harley

Do One Green Thing: Save the Earth Through Simple Everyday Choices by Mindy Pennybacker

Earth: The Operator’s Manual by Richard B. Alley

Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach

Green Interior Design by Lori Dennis

Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys To Sustainability by David Owen

No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan

Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology by Alexis Madrigal