Looking for a new read for a sunny late spring afternoon? Here’s the top-10 picks from the Oak Bay library.
· A Midsummer’s Equation, by Keigo Higashino – Brilliant mystery writer Keigo Higashino is the most widely read author in Japan, with hundreds of millions of copies of his books sold worldwide, and nearly 20 films and television series based on his work. This is the latest exciting caper in the Detective Galileo series.
· Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfeld – A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice...Returning with her sister Jane to their Ohio hometown when their father falls ill, New York magazine editor Lizzy Bennett confronts challenges in the form of her younger sisters’ football fangirl antics, a creepy cousin’s unwanted attentions and the infuriating standoffish manners of a handsome neurosurgeon.
· Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity, by Andrew Solomon – In Far from the Tree, Solomon tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so.
· The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng – Set in Malaya in 1951, Yun Ling Teoh, the scarred lone survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, seeks solace among the jungle-fringed tea plantations of Cameron Highlands.
· Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t, by James C. Collins – A very interesting study of how good companies, mediocre companies and even bad companies can achieve enduring greatness.
· Islands in the Salish Sea: A Community Atlas, by Judi Stevenson and Sheila Harrington – Gorgeous, fascinating and unconventional, the Islands in the Salish Sea shows aspects of the Gulf Islands that are most beloved by the residents, from heritage orchards, fishing spots and patches of endangered wild orchids to ancient First Nations’ sites and bird colonies.
· Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward – In five years, Jesmyn Ward, winner of the 2011 National Book Award, lost five young men in her life – to drugs, accidents, suicide and the bad luck that can follow people who live in poverty, particularly black men. This memoir is a powerful and compelling story of struggle and loss.
· One Hundred Days of Rain, by Carellin Brooks – Carellin Brooks has won the Edmund White Award for debut fiction for her novel, One Hundred Days of Rain, published last year. Carellin is from Vancouver and sets the book there, capturing the long rainy winter days of that city.
· The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey – While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own confined place in the world.
· The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair, by Joel Dicker – This title, the author’s first novel, won three French literary prizes, including the Grand Prix du Roman from the Académie Française. It’s a page-turner, a chilling murder mystery about scorned love, and the darkness lurking within us all.
Sarah Isbister, from the Oak Bay Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library, writes twice each month offering her selections for youth and adult readers.