Staff Favorites

• 
  • The House of Windjammer by V. A. Richardson
    Staff: Annie
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    In the fall of 1636, Adam, fourteen-year-old heir to the House of Windjammer, must find a way to keep his family afloat after his father dies and tulip fever sweeps Amsterdam. A gripping read about a little-known time and place.
• 
  • The Best of Gene Wolfe: by Gene Wolfe
    Staff: Duncan
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    I haven't read this collection specifically, but I have read several of Gene Wolfe's books and other collections of his short fiction and they were all superlative. I highly recommend this collection to anybody who likes short, science, or speculative fiction.
• 
  • Green by Jay Lake
    Staff: Yanni
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    An excellent book. The worlds he creates are both fantastic and yet believable at the same time. I don't know if I want more to see a sequel to this, or a book in an entirely new world of his devising. Either way, I'll be sure to pick up his next book.
• 
  • The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
    Staff: Shelley
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    What a wonderful book! Sad and at times disturbing, yet peaceful and uplifting as well. Great read!
• 
  • Magyk by Angie Sage
    Staff: Shelley
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    This is another Juvenile series that is worth a look. Along the lines of Harry Potter, it delves into the magical, mystical lives of a family of wizards. It is a very enjoyable, fast read.
• 
  • The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
    Staff: Annie
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    Fast-paced, funny, and all-around highly entertaining, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series has been a thrill-ride from beginning to end. Percy is a very likeable, very human hero who happens to have a god for a father. And boy, can that make life complicated! Follow Percy and his friends on their off-the-wall quests where anything can and probably will happen. You might just learn a bit about Greek mythology and what it takes to be a real hero along the way!
• 
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
    Staff: Yanni
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    As always Neil Gaiman delivers an excellent read, and even though this is ostensibly a children's book, it is still quite entertaining regardless of age. A little bit horror, a little bit fantasy, with a dash of mystery and humor. 2009 Newbery Medal Winner.
• 
  • Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
    Staff: Shelley Boardman
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    If you enjoyed any of Diana Gabaldons books, this is for you! It is an 18th centry love story set in the wilderness that is very well written and captivates you instantly. Loved it!
• 
  • A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
    Staff: Janet
    Branch: Meadowbrook Public Library, Shawsville
    Val McDermid is a master of psychological suspense. A Darker Domain is about a cold case unit investigating 2 cases from the past which become intertwined. The way the stories are woven together and the narrative switches from the present to the past and back again makes for a very exciting and suspenseful read.
• 
  • Watchmen by Moore, Alan
    Staff: Duncan
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    I'm not a huge comic book fan, but I couldn't put this one down. It is a great quasi-realistic alternate-history superhero story and I'd recommend it to pretty much anybody.
• 
  • Still Alice by Genova, Lisa
    Staff: Karen Martin
    Branch: Christiansburg Library
    This is a fictional look at Alzheimer's disease from the inside. A Harvard professor is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and the story follows her life, thoughts, decisions and decline from the disease. Intense and well-written, this is an intriguing look at a very frightening prospect.
• 
  • Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
    Staff: Tim S.
    Branch: Christiansburg Library
    This book was amazing. I'd never read Gladwell's other books,
• 
  • Crosscut by Meg Gardiner
    Staff: Janet Wren
    Branch: Meadowbrook Public Library, Shawsville
    This book was very good. Very suspenseful. Meg Gardiner is excellent at plot twists and keeps you hanging until the very end. I really enjoyed this book.
• 
  • Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh
    Staff: Yanni
    Branch: Blacksburg Library
    An action packed series, with believable characters, both human and alien. I'm eagerly awaiting book 10 (Conspirator) which is supposed to come out April 2009.
• 
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
    Staff: Tim S.
    Branch: Christiansburg Library
    Reasons to read this book: (1) The girl with the dragon tattoo is an engaging character (2) It's a sometimes chilling, always pageturning

[ Page 1, 2, 3 ]

This page requires CSS2 to display properly. If you are using IE6 or older the info box will not display when you MouseOver the books; a standards compliant browser (such as: Chrome, Firefox, IE7, Opera, or Safari) will display it properly.