Staff Picks

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

By Samin Nosrat

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4

Rated by Christin D.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking is probably as close as you will ever get to a kitchen apprenticeship with a professional chef in book form. The first part is a guide to the how and why of good cooking. You get clear explanations of what makes a pie crust or a cut of meat tender or tough, how and when to salt and season various ingredients; all the keys to making great meals. The second half is a collection of recipes that let you practice what you've learned.  

The Buddha in the Attic

By Julie Otsuka

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2

Rated by Sam S.

The Buddha in the Attic is a short novel depicting the lives and struggles of Japanese mail-order brides arriving in America in the years leading up to World War II. It is not one central story that follows a single character--or even a few. Instead, the author uses the first person plural narrative style (through the use of "we" and "our") to tell the stories of countless, mostly nameless women.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

By Stieg Larsson

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5

Rated by Amanda C.

Mikael Blomkvist is an investigative reporter and co-owner of a magazine, Millennium, in Stockholm, Sweden. A bygone behemoth of Swedish industry hires him to solve the 36-year-old mysterious disappearance of Harriet Vanger. Lisbeth Salander is the 24-year-old genius computer hacker (complete with tattoos, piercings, and black lipstick) who aids Mikael in his search for the answers. In uncovering what happened to Harriet, they discover a much bigger secret in Sweden.

We Love to Sew--bedrooms

By Annabel Wrigley

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3

Rated by Terri B.

We Love to Sew Bedrooms by Annabel Wrigley is a helpful book for kids who want to learn to sew with the help of an adult.

The Couple Next Door

By Shari Lapeña

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4

Rated by Roxanne B.

At first glance, Anne and Marco Conti live a charmed life. They have an adored baby girl, a comfortable home, friends next door, and the support of Anne’s wealthy parents. This illusion is peeled away piece by piece as the story unfolds. While Anne and Marco are at their neighbor’s dinner party, their daughter disappears from her crib. Who is responsible for the kidnapping? Why did they leave their baby alone? Is the couple next door involved?

Once minutos (Spanish Language)

By Paulo Coelho

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4

Rated by Amanda C.

Aunque no soy hispanohablante nativa, he aprendido bastante del idioma para hacer comentarios de este libro. Es un libro extraordinario de un autor maravilloso, Paulo Coelho. La protagonista, María, no tiene nada que hacer en su pueblito y desde temprana edad, está convencida que nunca experimentará lo que se llama "el amor verdadero". Ella sale de Brasil con su corazón roto y viaja a Suiza donde se volvió prostituta. Sigue viviendo allá durante muchos años hasta que tiene que tomar una decisión muy grave.

Stir

By Jessica Fechtor

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4

Rated by Hannah Jane C.

​I'll admit I wasn't sure about a memoir that alternated between recipes and recovery from an aneurysm​, but Stir must have won me over because I not only felt the unique disappointment that only happens when finishing a good book, I also can't stop talking about it. Jessica Fechtor's recovery from a brain aneurysm while running on a treadmill is memoir-worthy without the wonderful observations, recipes, and memories.

Assassin's Creed (DVD)

By Justin Kurzel

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2

Rated by Axel F.

Justin Kurzel’s newest film, Assassin’s Creed, has been called one of the best video game based movies made so far. Unfortunately, that isn’t much of a compliment. In this film Callum, played by Michael Fassbender, is captured by the Abstergo Corporation and placed into a machine, the Animus, in order to access and relive memories locked in his genetic code.