Something Wicked This Way Comes

In the 1970s backwater of Coden, Alabama, a teenage orphan called Annie mysteriously arrives and quickly drives a wedge in an apparently perfect family.  Full of creepy supernatural elements and family secrets reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw and The Amityville Horror, The Darkling by R. B. Chesterton (aka Carolyn Haines) is a quick and easy read, which is sometimes exactly what you want on a sunny, beautiful afternoon.  HM

They're Coming to Take You Away . . .

Truthfully, I don't get to read as often as I would like -- and when I do, it usually takes me weeks to get through a book.  I read Jennifer McMahon's Don't Breathe a Word in 2 days because I honestly could not put it down.  Fifteen years ago, Lisa was a dreamy twelve year-old who went missing in the woods behind her house after claiming that she was going to live with the fairies.  Now she's back, and it's up to her brother and his girlfriend to figure out what exactly happened to her -- even if that means delving into some deep, dark family secrets.  HM

Read a Banned Book!

In 1937, writer and ethnographer Zora Neale Hurston published her greatest work to little fanfare -- Their Eyes Were Watching God was largely ignored, and was even viewed as tawdry.  Decades later, scholars and readers rediscovered her classic and fell under the spell of its heroine, Janie Crawford, a strong-willed African-American woman who narrates the passionate and tragic events of her life in 1930s Florida.  It is now regarded as one of the most important works in 20th century African American literature.

Their Eyes Were Watching God is just one of many books that the American Library Association has recorded as being banned or challenged by various groups -- check out our Banned Books display in the Adult Department.  HM

Not Exactly Camelot

In 1935, before he penned Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck wrote a short novella about a group of friends living the life in a poor district of Monterey, called Tortilla Flat.  Based loosely on Arthurian legends, Steinbeck's story centers on the accidental landowner Danny and his tribe of devoted comrades as they conspire, drink, gossip, and have a holy experience or two.

For more retellings of classic stories, check out our reading list at the Adult Reference Desk, "Covering the Classics."  HM

Left Behind

Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta, is about an unexplained mass disappearance of millions of people. It follows the story of the residents of one small town who all handle this apocalyptic event in a variety of ways. Some drop out of school, others run away, a few join newly sprung cults, such as The Guilty Remnant. Nora, who lost her entire family, and Kevin, who didn't lose anyone the day of the disappearance but lost his family all the same, are two of the main characters in this somewhat slow-moving, but intriguing story. Don't expect a thrilling page turner but expect more of an interesting character study. The book is not religious, or preachy at all, but it does make you consider your beliefs and imagine what you would do if this happened in real life. SG