Greetings, 

Book of the Month

The Tiger's Wife by Te'a Obreht is a wonderful book about Natalia, a young doctor in a Balkan country that has been the scene of past wars and everyday brutalities. While she is traveling on a humanitarian mission to immunize children across the border, her beloved grandfather passes away in a strange town. As she searches the surrounding countryside for information, memories, and his past, she finds that the stories and folktales he told collide with what she learns. This is a beautifully written story of the past and present. (Random House, 2011. pap $15) ~Sue Wood

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 While Waiting For the Gardens to Come Back To Life ~ 

There are so many great things about this book! Founding Gardeners portrays the significant efforts of the first four US Presidents to understand the (at the time rapidly developing) new science of botany and apply basic principles to create healthy, productive and beautiful landscapes - while overcoming the deeper challenges of building a new country during the first 28 years of the US Constitution (1789-1817). Action packed, Founding Gardeners provides the reader a larger sense of man's relationship to nature and agriculture directly from the minds of our first leaders, wisdom that is timeless and acutely necessary in the present day. A joy for gardeners beginner to advanced, this book is also a reliable tool for converting non-gardeners to the faith. (Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. hdc $30) ~Erik Zehender, co-owner of Fountain Point Resort on Lake Leelanau. 

 New Favorites

When Ellie's mother dies suddenly, she is left questioning her happy life and relationship with her family and husband. Triggered by her ex-boyfriend's request to find out about her mother's hidden life during the civil rights marches in Atlanta, she feels compelled to go there to learn more about her mother. She connects with her mother's best friend at her welcoming seaside cottage which is conducive to exploration, relaxation and introspection. Love, marriage, motherhood, loss and longing are central themes in this interesting story, Coming Up for Air, by Patti Callahan Henry. (St Martin's Press, 2011. hdc $24.99) ~Barbara Siepker

Defending Jacob by William Landay is a suspense filled murder mystery portraying a family under siege with the arrest of their fourteen-year-old son, Jacob, for the murder of a classmate. The father, Andy Barber, a first rate prosecuting attorney, is firmly convinced of his son's innocence, Barber strives mightily to solve the case and thus save his son. Skillfully written with gripping court room scenes and family drama, the tension builds inexorably. Highly recommended for readers who love plot twists and intriguing clues that keep them in suspense right to the last page.

(Random House, 2012. hdc. $26) ~Celeste Crouch 

How could you not love a book containing such beautiful prose: "the smell of sarong cloth being unfolded and cut (a throat-catching odour), and mangosteens and rain-soaked paperbacks in a bookstall," Such is the language in Michael Ondaatje's new novel, The Cat's Table, a tale of a three-week sea voyage in 1954 from Sri Lanka to England as seen through the eyes of an observant eleven-year-old boy traveling on his own to join his divorced mother. Michael is seated at the "cat's table" - farthest from the Captain and the more privileged passengers - along with two other  adventuresome lads who roam the ship from stem to stern, discovering the presence of a mysterious prisoner, an extensive botanical garden deep in the hold, a troupe of jugglers, and a psychic.   With occasional glimpses into Michael's adult life in England, the novel tells of the way the sea voyage influenced his life through the years.

(Knopf, 2011. hdc $26) ~Jill Webb

Now in Paperback

It is 1903, and Erika von Kessler has struggled for years to become pregnant. Resigned to childlessness, Erika-a talented opera singer and the wife of a prominent Bostonian-secretly plans to move to Italy to pursue her musical career. When the charismatic Doctor Ravell takes Erika on as a patient, he is mesmerized by her. Impetuously, he takes a shocking risk that could ruin them both. Inspired by the author's family history, The Doctor and the Diva moves from snowy Boston to the gilded balconies of Florence in a stunning tale of opera, longing, and the indomitable power of romantic obsession. (Penguin,2011. pap $15.00)

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