"Do-able" Fiction Titles From JCPL

Unless you've been living on another planet entirely, you know that the past month has been a bad one for celebrities. Leaving behind the legacies of their talents and their star quality, all of these celebrities have, at one time or another in our lives, left an imprint. Michael Jackson gave us a different spin on music and dancing, moonwalking his was to stardom, Karl Malden, also a native of Indiana, was cast in many dramatic roles throughout his career, and Farrah Fawcett, as we all know, left us the legacy of great hair. Thinking of that, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and have a look at my high school yearbook. I was a child of the '70's...and as I paged through my past, it came to me that many of us who take this trip back in time must be asking ourselves, "What was I thinking?!" That was the day of the "unisex" hairstyle; the pre-Farrah style that had NO style, parted straight down the center and hanging limply around the curves of our faces, actually leaving very little face to see the light of day. You had to look closely at the photographs and read the names of the kids pictured, just to make out who was male and who was female, because the boys sported the same do's as the girls; do's that would, these days, be considered, "don'ts."

Thankfully, time marches on, and with that, we have found simpler, more fashionable ways of doing things. The Jasper County Public Library has kept up with the times, and here are a few fiction titles that you'll find "do-able."

In the aftermath of discovering that her husband had become a casualty of the Iraq War, Abby Fitzgerald is confronted with truths about her husband and the complex life that he led, leaving her shell-shocked in "One September Morning" by Rosalind Noonan.

Sixteen years old and diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, Will Heller boards an uptown B train in New York City. Convinced that the world is being changed by the climbing temperatures brought on by Greenhouse Gasses, Will believes that he can reverse the heating up of the planet by cooling down his own body. "Lowboy" by John Wray takes the reader on a journey through the tunnels of the city as Will searches for Emily Wallace in his own psychotically haunted attempt to save the planet.

Set in the coastal area of New England, "The Geometry of Sisters" by Luanne Rice introduces the reader to Maggie Shaw, a woman torn by the tragic disappearance of her husband and oldest daughter. Taking a teaching position at Newport Academy, Maggie, along with her fourteen year old daughter, Beck, struggle to adjust to their new lives, but the age old rift between her own sister and herself haunts Maggie, and similarly, Beck can't forget her own sister, Carrie.

The old Victorian house that Ivy and her husband, David, purchased is full of unwanted items that need to be cleaned out. When they decide to hold a yard sale for their unwanted items, a woman who turns out to be a classmate of David's appears, wanting to see the inside of their home. "Never Tell a Lie" by Hallie Ephron, Ph.D is a thriller that you won't be able to put down, full of secrets, betrayals, and lies that spin a fantastic web of deceit, making everyone who reads it ask the compelling question, "How well do you really know someone?"

The year is 1944, and Johnny Wrigley is a newly minted marine headed for overseas. Baseball is his true passion, and the dream of one day playing in the major leagues is what he holds onto while away. "Oh Johnny" by Jim Lehrer is a coming of age story about a talented athlete who never gives up on his dreams.

Everyone, at one time or another, has to ask themselves, "What was I thinking?" It's just a right of passage as we go through life. Checking out reading material that suits you does not have to fall into the "What was I thinking" category, however, and that is because the Jasper County Public Library offers such great choices that you can never go wrong!

Make a New Book From JCPL Your All Time Favorite!

My favorite book of all time is " The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough. This family saga, set in the Australian Outback, spans three generations of the Cleary family, their trials, tribulations, tragedies, loves and losses. The main focus of the story is the forbidden romance between Meggie Cleary and the family's parish priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart. When Meggie marries Luke' O'Neill out of desperation to get her mind off of Father Ralph, you suspect that things are going to go downhill for her in a hurry, but as an innocent bystander, and not the one who penned the story, you are powerless to stop the unfolding events.

"The Thorn Birds" is a classic story, and one that will live on as a favorite for many who pick it up. Read on for a list of new adult fiction that may become a favorite to you sometime in your near future.

"All the Colors of Darkness" by Peter Robinson features Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks and Detective Annie Cabbott as they investigate a double murder, unveiling nightmarish motives and one enormous surprise after another, unhinging the reader with shocking details and plot twists and turns that make for page-turning suspense.

With the planet on the verge of eco-disaster, a series of strange events begin to unfold when a mysterious sign appears everywhere that natural disasters, terrorist activities, or sites of conflict are occurring. Is this a sign of resolution in the world, or could it be a portent of catastrophic events to come? Only one man understands the mysterious meaning behind the symbol in the sky. Will he be able to save mankind with his knowledge, or could it all be a hoax? Find out in "The Sign" by Raymond Khoury.

The "Spellman Series" continues with side-splitting antics and hilarious character develpment in "Revenge of the Spellmans" by Lisa Lutz. In this latest installment, Private Investigator, Izzy Spellman, is on court-ordered therapy after getting too close to the previous subject of her investigation. Not quite mentally on board yet for another case, Izzy decides that tailing the wife of a suspicious husband should require no real mental muscle and takes on the case. The simple case becomes more and more complicated and vexing wtih each day of boring surveillance, and more questions than answers begin to pop up, bringing Izzy to the conclusion that her mental health must be taking a turn for the worse. Add to that her confused feelings for Detective Harry Stone, and the result is Spellmania at its best.

Committed to ridding the world of its depraved human members, Arlan is enlisted by another member of the Kahill clan's kill team to assist in uncovering the mastermind of the Buried Alive Killer case. Agreeing to meet with the key informant, Macy Smith, Arlan is taken by surprise when he becomes enamored with the blonde, petite, and beautiful lady who holds a deeper connection to the Buried Alive Killer than anyone could have imagined in "Undying" by V.K. Forrest.

Some stories are just more memorable than others. What is your favorite book of all time? If you don't have an answer, it's definitely time to visit your local branch of JCPL, where the most memorable title for you is just waiting to be checked out!