The Library staff is reading!!  Everyone, from page to library director, is encouraged to recommend their favorites.  See if you agree. 

100 one-night reads : a book lover's guide / David C. Major and John S. Major
The slogan "So many books, so little time" dovetails with the premise of this fun-to-read offering.  The authors suggest 100 books in a variety of areas and styles, from travel to fantasy to memoirs and points between, that could conceivably be read in one night--but feel free to take longer if you so desire!  Many of their suggestions are overlooked jewels, and along with brief plot descriptions and reasons why each book is worth reading, the authors also tell about the writers. 100 one-night reads is an enjoyable one-night read itself, and a terrific springboard for book lovers.

Deep Dish / Mary Kay Andrews
In this romance set in the Deep South, Gina Foxton is a thirty-year-old chef with a health conscious approach to traditional Southern fare.  Her public access cooking show is cancelled after the sponsor finds his wife in bed with Gina's producer, who also happens to be Gina's boyfriend!  So news that the Cooking Channel is looking to add a new show comes as welcome news.  One problem:  the producers are also interested in another cooking show called "Vittles", hosted by kill-it-and-grill-it Tate Moody.  The competition between Gina and Tate ramps up when the network decides to turn their competition into a reality show.  The close quarters and competition create the right atmosphere for the two chefs to fall in love.  Deep Dish is a delicious treat full of sass, wit and Southern charm.

Book of Lost Things / John Connolly
In a departure from his private detective series, the Irish author follows young David who inadvertently finds himself  in a dangerous fairy tale world where his only hope for a safe return is to find the king whose Book of Lost Things may contain a way for him to go home.  David finds friends and enemies among easily recognizable fairy tale characters with very grown up twists which are sometimes amusing;  for example, the fat greedy Snow White and the entrepreneurial Seven Dwarves who can't get rid of her.

How the States Got Their Shapes / Mark Stein 
The story of how the 50 states each got their shapes reflects the history, politics, and culture that is America. Why are California and Texas larger in comparison to the other states?  What part did the conflict over Slavery play in determining the North and the South? Why do Florida, Oklahoma and Idaho have "panhandles'? How did the California Gold Rush impact borders in the west? What's the story behind the nib of land at the Southeast corner of Missouri? Which state is split in half? These questions and much more are answered in Mark Stein's highly readable and informative How the States Got Their Shapes.

The Ghost Map : the story of London's most terrifying epidemic-- and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world / Steven Johnson
The Ghost Map starts out with John Snow (known as the father of epidemiology) searching for the cause of the 1854 Cholera outbreak in London.  Snow traces the epidemic back to the Broad Street Pump through interviews and map making.  This is where the story really begins.  Convincing Victorian England that the disease was water born instead of miasmatic (smell in the air theory) proved to be difficult.  The book then becomes an education in the growth of civilization, urban planning and culture.  The author writes a fascinating account that brings lessons of the past to the 21st century.

My Most Excellent Year : a Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park / Steve Kluger
Steve Kluger's newest book is the story of three unlikely friends - T.C., a walking encyclopedia of baseball facts; his "brother" Augie, a fan of classic movie starlets and musicals; and Alejandra, a diplomat's daughter who is forever failing to live up to the role her parents see her in. Told though a series of essays, letters, and emails, this book has moments that are both laugh-out loud hilarious and extremely touching.  My Most Excellent Year is a funny and fulfilling read for teens and adults alike.

Remember Me? / Sophie Kinsella
I had not read this author before and was delighted with the humorous, fast moving story. I found myself wondering I would cope if I woke up from a car accident with memory loss and finding I can't remember the last 3 years of my life!?! Lexi finds her life completely different from her last memories. "New" Lexi wakes up to have a perfect body, husband and "killer" job and she does not remember how that all happened. In Remember Me?, we get to see as she tries to fit back into her new life/surroundings/job/relationship.

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy / Lindsay Moran
I don't know about you, but I always wondered how similar Hollywood's representations of CIA operatives are compared to actual CIA agents. Are there real Sydney Bristows and Jason Bournes out there? Lindsey Moran discusses her time as a CIA agent in this intriguing memoir. Moran, a top of her class Harvard grad, undergoes a six-month training camp in unbelievably harsh conditions. After grueling tests and polygraphs, Moran becomes an agent and must lie to her friends and family about her day job. She candidly discusses her interaction with other agents, her method to obtain informants in her stationed country and ultimately her disillusionment with an organization she once revered. Although Blowing My Cover is not as action packed as Alias or the Bourne series, it does provide insight into the life of an agent.