LibraryReads For May

The LibraryReads list for May came out yesterday. This month the list has some titles that are my type of thing and some that aren't. Certainly though, the ones that aren't for me, must have been for somebody so....here they are.

The number one position is one that I do love. If you like Frederic Bachman, give this debut a try. Gail Honeyman has Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Eleanor is a totally socially inept woman who has a low paying office job during the week. During the weekend, she has frozen pizza and 2 bottles of vodka at home. No one taught her as a child how to have fun or how to interact. She is blunt - not knowing to soften some critical things she says. One day she and a new awkward IT guy are walking down the street when an older man collapses. They come to his aid and it changes everything.

The others in no particular order:

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore. This is a nonfiction work that critics have loved. During WWI, some 'lucky' women were able to obtain jobs painting clock and watch dials with a paint that contained radium. They were instructed to 'lip-point' their brushes. Often, they glowed from the radium dust. When they started suffering the results, the companies refused to take responsibility. This is the story of their struggle.

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane. This was actually the first book I mentioned last week. It follows Rachel Childs who had an on-air mental breakdown and lived as a shut-in until......What happens shatters whatever calm she had achieved.

The Leavers by Lisa Ko. 11 year old Deming Gou's mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, disappears after leaving for her job at a nail salon. Deming is eventually adopted by two professors who attempt to make him over as 'an Amercan boy'. Deming - now named Daniel, is confused and feels like he belongs no where. As soon as he is old enough, he goes looking for his mother. A novel that explores the life of an immigrant and also the meaning of family.

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig. Another debut novel, this one focuses on Ginny Moon, an autistic girl who had a horrid home life and eventually is adopted into a warm and loving home. Strangely, all she wants to do is to go back to her abusive mother. Why? To take care of her 'Baby Doll'. Is she really leaving safety and love for a doll? Reviewers say this is a really original voice and very emotional.

Saints For All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan. This is a sweeping family saga about 2 Irish sisters who come to the United States in the 1950's. Something ends up separating them and they become estranged. Fifty years later, they come together at a funeral and we learn about the life they have led. One, a mother of 4 adult children and the other, a cloistered nun. For those that like family sagas.

White Hot by Ilona Andrews This is the second in the Hidden Legacy series. Andrews writes paranormal romance so if you like Patricia Briggs, you might want to give her a try. Here the action takes place in a world of magic. The two main characters (Nevada and Rogan) have a past and apparently, they have a future too. They are up against some heavy duty magic users here.

Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor. A newly divorced woman moves to a small Arizona town. Out walking one day, she discovers human remains in the wall of a dry ravine. Residents seem to think that it is probably Jess Winters, a teenage girl who disappeared 18 years ago. Many town residents go over the stories and rumors surrounding Jess. This patchwork seems to reveal the truth.

Astrophysics For People In A Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.  Tyson's writing style is very regular person friendly. It is clear and concise and if you want to understand the universe in which we live - this is the book for you.

Lastly, The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn.Time travel and Jane Austen - how could those things possibly mix. They do here. Two people from the future use time travel to go back to Jane Austen's time, try to infiltrate her close friends, and find out if she does in fact have an unpublished novel "The Watsons". They are to steal it and bring it back to their time. Things get complicated - as these things always do. Read it to find out how.

OK - there you have the ten titles being published in May that library employees around the world voted as the best. See if there is one here that interests you.