Sashenka

Sashenka
by Simon Montefiore

A 16 year old school girl is arrested as she leaves the gates of her exclusive school for noble young ladies in St. Petersburg. The year is 1916. I was drawn into the very roots of the Russian Revolution as Sashenka marries a member of the Red Guard, and eventually becomes a victim of the very world that she has helped to create. I could not put this book down.

- Sally

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

by Christopher Moore.

If you are NOT in the mood for a sappy Christmas tale, try the The Stupidest Angel. It isn't brand new (published 2004) but it is definitely worth a look if you enjoy black comedy. It's the story of Christmas in tiny Pine Cove, California. Though Pine Cove is a typical small town, where everyone knows everyone else's business, this particular Christmas is anything but typical. An angel's blunder makes this year's Christmas celebration go terribly, terribly wrong. I liked this laugh-out-loud tale very much - just be aware that, if books were rated like movies, this would be rated R!

- Linda

Man On Wire

Man On Wire
DVD

Man On Wire is more than a documentary about a quirky high-wire artist and his dream of walking on a wire rigged between the New York World Trade Center's twin towers. It is a suspenseful tale of how in 1974 Phillippe Petit and his friends planned and carried out this stunt.

This is a wonderful story of those brave and crazy enough to follow their dreams. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, and the story of Phillippe Petit proves it.

Watch this captivating movie; you won't be disappointed.

- Kathy S.

Izzy & Lenore

Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me
by Jon Katz

Join Jon Katz, former city dweller, now owner of Bedlam Farm, in up-state New York, his rescued Border Collie, Izzy, and new Labrador Retriever, Lenore, on an uplifting tale of love, compassion, and the rich and complex relationships between dogs and their humans. As trained hospice volunteers visiting homes and nursing homes, Katz & Izzy bring comfort and canine companionship to people who most need it. Along the way, the author confronts his past, embraces his current life, and rediscovers the meaning of friendship, faith, and family. Jon Katz has written many other books, of which I will now be reading! I'm hooked!

- Ann

A Virgin River Christmas

A Virgin River Christmas
by Robyn Carr

I don’t usually read mass market paperback, but I really liked the book covers and I found out that Robyn Carr is an extremely good writer. I have read every book in the Virgin River series and am very excited that three more books are to be published in 2009. What I like so much are the characters in this series, and the author carries them from book to book throughout the series. If you enjoy small-town America, good people and a good story, you need to read this series. The other books in this series are, so far, Virgin River, Shelter Mountain and Whispering Rock.

- Patti

Christmas on Jane Street

Christmas on Jane Street
by Billy Romp with Wanda Urbanska

This is an uplifting, real-life tale of the Romp family from Salisbury, Vermont and their annual trek to Manhattan, New York to sell Christmas trees on Jane Street. They arrive the day after Thanksgiving and leave just in time to make it home for Christmas morning. For a few weeks, this family transforms a corner of the Big Apple into a Frank Capra-esque small town alive with heartwarming holiday spirit. An ideal Christmas story, it is about the lasting and profound difference one person can make to a family and one family can make to a community.

- Ann

The Wordy Shipmates

The Wordy Shipmates
by Sarah Vowell

I listened to the audio version of Sarah Vowell's latest book about the Puritans who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony 10 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. Using research from primary sources as well as anecdotes from her own life, Sarah Vowell brings these people to life. If, like me, your sense of these early settlers comes mainly from elementary school social studies, this is the book for you. The audio version is read wonderfully by the author with many guest stars taking the parts of the principal Puritans.

- Linda