Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan (2009)

Excellent haunted house story set on the Upper West Side of New York City. It's a hidden gem--a quality trade paperback hidden in the pages of a mass market paperback.  Good, complex characterization (the ex-fiance and shrewish boss are not painted as black and white bad guys), as well as an unusual, complicated backstory (chaotic naturalism!) and many scenes that just cry out to be filmed.  This is a great fit for fans of the contemporary gothic of Gillian Flynn.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai (2011)

I loved, loved, loved this novel about a children's librarian who gets mixed up in the life of one of her favorite young patrons as he runs away from an unhappy home life.  I loved this for the charming, quietly hilarious writing; the excellent characterizations; and her unbelievable insight into the true, realistic life and mind of a modern librarian. So many delightful literary allusions and references, but none of it gets in the way of a truly compelling story. This is an easy sell to librarians, but hopefully loved by others as well!  How can you not love a book with these introductory words: 

"These are the settings and main characters. We are nestled into our beanbags: let us begin. (Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern.)"

More quotes I love:

"[Loraine Best, the head librarian] came downstairs some Fridays just to smile and nod at the mothers as they dropped them off, as if she had some hand in Chapter Book Hour. As if her reading three minutes of Green Eggs and Ham wouldn't make half the children cry and the others raise their hands to ask if she was a good witch or a bad witch."

And of course: 

"..and there were at least three stacks of books I personally loathed but held onto just in case someone asked me to loan them ....I'd hate to have to say that I knew the perfect book, but I'd just given it away. Not that people often asked. But once in a while my landlord, Tim, or his partner, Lenny, would invite themselves in to peruse the stacks and ask the world's best question: 'Hey, what do you think I should read?'  It was nice to be prepared." 

A little librarian fun:

"Once a year all the librarians in the county wedged themselves into high heels, tried to pull the cat hair off their sweaters with masking tape, and smeared their lips with an awful tomato red that had gone stale in its tube, all to convince the benefit set of the greater Hannibal region that libraries do better with chairs and books and money."

(See also chapter 8 for "If You Give a Librarian a Closet.")

"I am the mortal at the end of this story. I am the monster at the end of this book. I'm left here alone to figure it all out, and I can't quite. How do I catalogue it all? What sticker do I put on the spine? Ian once suggested that in addition to the mystery stickers and the sci-fi and animal ones, there should be special stickers for books with happy endings, books with sad endings, books that will trick you into reading the next in the series."

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010)

Amazingly gripping non-fiction book about Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman whose cells were used for scientific research (and still are). The skill in this book for me is the depiction of her family, as well as mixing the science in in a very palatable way for the non-scientifically inclined. Skloot skillfully makes herself a part of the family, but only as she has to in order to accurate depict her relationships with Lacks' family.  The issue that she's a white woman talking about this black family's experience is raised early and well. Very well done, gripping book. I totally welled at the end. Love the slightly supernatural bits where the family attributes events to Henrietta and her cells.

Gimme Shelter by Mary Elizabeth Williams (2009)

Subtitled: Ugly Houses, Cruddy Neighborhoods, Fast-talking Brokers, and Toxic Mortgages: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream, this is a personal story of the author's search for a home in New York City. Williams has an engaging, endearing, self-deprecating tone that makes the whole book a pleasure to read. Plus, she has a wide circle of friends with different experiences in the housing market all across the country, so it helps broaden the focus. She pops in facts here and there, but they're well woven into the narrative and she has lovely turns of phrase. Just a great book that goes through all of the many dramas and joys involved in becoming a homeowner.

Creating Magic by Lee Cockerell (2008)

Subtitled: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney, This is an amazing, amazing, amazing book on leadership. Cockerell worked in the hospitality industry for years and managed the Disney World Resort operations. Amazing insights into leading and managing and lots of real-world strategies for anyone who's interested in encouraging happy, motivated employees and customers.

My Antonia by Willa Cather (1918)

Okay, so explain to me why we make eighth graders read this book? What on earth do we think they're going to get out of it except a loathing for literature and literature analysis?   I read this for a book club, and it was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.  Essentially, I've hated it for years based on my experience reading it in Ms. AnderSEN's English class.  (I bear grudges enthusiastically.)  The novel is actually rather beautifully told--after all, it's a classic.  The elements that spoke to me most--the midwestern setting, the lives of children and their relationship to nature--I could not have possibly appreciated them when I was in my early teens.  A couple of my favorite quotes:

"The pale, cold light of the winter sunset did not beautify--it was like the light of truth itself.  When the smoky clouds hung low in the west and the red sun when down behind them, leaving a pink flush on the snowy roofs and the blue drifts, then the wind sprang up afresh, with a kind of bitter song, as if it said:  'This is reality, whether you like it or not.  All those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath.  This is the truth.'  It was as if we were being punished for loving the loveliness of summer." 

And from Jim's irrepressible friend Lena:

 "Well, it's mainly because I don't want a husband.  Men are all right for friends, but as soon as you marry them they turn into cranky old fathers, even the wild ones.  They begin to tell you what's sensible and what's foolish, and want you to stick at home all the time.  I prefer to be foolish when I feel like it, and be accountable to nobody."

Yeah!

The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer (2010)

Never underestimate the power of a good blurb.  I picked up this zombie novel because it was blurbed on the front by Christopher Moore as "really kind of hot, in a very creepy way." Truly a modern novel, with really realistic dialogue and believable young characters. You have to love a zombie novel that starts out at a Trader Joe's.  Ooh, and here's an interesting slant:  the virus is spread through sex and kissing.  Which is the zombie world seems like a recipe for some pretty dodgy situations, but Beamer handles them all in very realistic and not at all exploitative ways.   Fun and original.

You Say More Than You Think by Janine Driver (2010)

Subtitled:  The 7-day Plan for Using the New Body Language to Get What you Want.  Fascinating book about the 'new' body language. Outlines a number of principles about how we express ourselves through body language and how to read other's body language. As a former ATF agent, her examples are from real life (not just the corporate world). Also, she points out the fact that not every body language signal necessarily means something. Amazingly useful book for anyone who is interested in human nature and professional and personal interactions with others.

Nancy's Theory of Style by Grace Coopersmith (2010)

This is the thing I love about reading. You pick up a book off the shelf, it looks like a hundred other books (this one is chick lit, so even more so) that turn out to be utter crap, and all of a sudden, you're pleasantly surprised by a great book.

Nancy is a party planner, living apart from her husband in San Francisco while they work out their marriage. As she's getting her company off the ground, her errant cousin swoops in and drops off her child for Nancy to look after. Nancy also hires a fabulous British gay assistant. The characterization in this book is amazing. Quirky but well written characters abound like the elderly neighbor who calls Nancy "Girl Carrington." Even the family members we don't meet are intriguing.  Not just charming, these characters are SO well drawn. Nancy has a penchant for fun wordplay and the charm of Auntie Mame. So very good, but it could never be turned into a movie--it would never translate. It's all in the writing.  Yay books!

Stuff by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee (2010)

Subtitled Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, this is a fascinating look not just at the world of compulsive hoarding, but at the basic attachments we have to our stuff. Explores the research into the roots of hoarding, including OCD and other obsession disorders. Includes case studies and the (sadly, often ineffective) treatments for hoarders. If you've ever watched television shows on hoarding with mouth agape, or looked with a critical eye at your storage shelves, this is the book for you.