Saturday Reference Librarian Christine’s Pick

The white queen The white queen / Philippa Gregory (2009 historical fiction, F Gregory)
A tale inspired by the War of the Roses follows the conflict from the perspective of Elizabeth Woodville, who ascends to royalty and fights for the well-being of her family, including two sons whose imprisonment in the Tower of London precedes a devastating unsolved mystery.

Reference Librarian Cyndi’s Pick

Everything you want me to be : a novel Everything you want me to be : a novel / Mindy Mejia (2017 suspense, F Mejia)
When a civic-minded high-school senior is found murdered on the opening night of the school play, town sheriff and family friend Del Goodman discovers unsettling truths about the victim’s mesmerizing nature and the secrets that led to her death.

Anonymous Reference Librarian’s Pick

The passion of ArtemisiaThe passion of Artemisia / Susan Vreeland (2002 historical fiction, F Vreeland)
A sweeping novel, set against the beautiful backdrops of Rome, Florence, and Genoa, vibrantly recreates the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most extraordinary female painters in history, whose search for love, forgiveness, and wholeness through her art led to her fame as a painter and her induction into the prestigious Accademia dell’Arte.

Saturday Reference Librarian Christine’s Pick

Anna Karenina : a novel in eight partsAnna Karenina : a novel in eight parts / Leo Tolstoy (2002 ed historical fiction, F Tolstoy)
Tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and thereby exposes herself to the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel’s seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness.

Circulation Manager Patricia’s Pick

The devil in the white city : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America The devil in the white city : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America / Erik Larson (2004 non-fiction, 364.1523 Larson)
A compelling account of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 brings together the divergent stories of two very different men who played a key role in shaping the history of the event–visionary architect Daniel H. Burnham, who coordinated its construction, and Dr. Henry H. Holmes, an insatiable and charming serial killer who lured women to their deaths.

Saturday Reference Librarian Christine’s Pick

Dad is fatDad is fat / Jim Gaffigan (2013 non-fiction, 814.6 Gaffigan)
The popular comedian and actor shares his misadventures as an unlikely father of five, presenting full-length accounts of the experiences referenced in his popular tweets, from his formative years in a large Irish-Catholic family, to his middle-of-the-night diaper-changing foibles, to his struggles to lull tyrannical tots to sleep.