Recommended Reads: Book Sense Award Winners
"A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking." -Jerry Seinfeld
There was a time when local book stores, diners and coffee houses defined a business district. Large chain operations are quickly wiping independent bookstores from the landscape of our communities. It doesn't matter if the stores are located in boroughs, downtown districts or in suburbia, patronage of independent stores continues to decline as people flock to the national chain stores or go online to Amazon.com.
Book stores such as Food for Thought Bookstore-Amherst, Toad Hall Bookstore-Rockport, Newtonville Books and Porter Square Books in Cambridge support the local literary community. When you visit a local bookstore, you experience the knowledge of independent booksellers who share their love of books with their customers and their communities. You have access to news about local authors, store events, and informative staff recommendations -- and you can also find books that reflect the main stream materials available at the big book chains.
BookSense.com is a collaboration of independent-bookseller websites. It provides the means for independent booksellers to spread the word about the commitment, passion, knowledge, personality, and character of the independent bookstore.
The Book Sense Book of the Year Awards feature book titles voted on by 1,200 owners and staff of the American Booksellers Association member bookstores.
This listing contains books identified by the American Booksellers Association as Book Sense bestsellers for 2006 and the first half of 2007. Recorded cassette (RC), braille (BR), and large print (LT) copies of these books are available from the Perkins Braille & Talking Book Library.
Book Sense Book of the Year Awards 2006
Adult Fiction Winner:
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
LT 5078, RC 60713
Bestseller. 1972. A young American woman living with her father in Amsterdam discovers an ancient book and a cache of faded letters in his library. Pursuing family mysteries leads her to seek the truth behind the Dracula legend of Vlad the Impaler. Some violence.
Adult Fiction Honor Books:
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
RC059914
Bestseller. After teenager Kafka Tamura runs away, his father, a famous sculptor, is murdered. This crime links Kafka and an elderly illiterate man in inexplicable ways. Both journey separately to a private library where their destinies overlap. Some explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language.The March by E. L. Doctorow
LT 5493, RC 60676
This Civil War saga portrays the complex nature of General William Tecumseh Sherman as he leads Union troops through Georgia and the Carolinas. Describes the carnage and destruction that occur as well as the tender feelings that arise as the soldiers proceed.Saturday by Ian McEwan
LT 5008, RC 60075
Bestseller. London. Neurosurgeon Henry Perowne has a fender bender during an antiwar rally and publicly humiliates Baxter, the driver of the other car, by announcing that he has an incurable medical condition. Later Baxter and his crew show up at Perowne's family reunion to seek revenge. Strong language.Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
RC 60738
Bestseller. Nineteenth-century China. A matchmaker pairs young Lily and Snow Flower in a lifelong friendship. For years they communicate using a secret code written on a fan, sharing their joys and sorrows until a misunderstanding threatens to destroy their bond. Some explicit descriptions of sex and some violence.
Adult Nonfiction Winner:
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Stephen Dubner
BR 16126, RC 60337
Bestseller. Writer Stephen Dubner explains the offbeat issues that intrigue award-winning economist and coauthor Steven Levitt. Explores everyday riddles such as the link between legalized abortion and the crime rate, the effect of parents' income and ethnicity on naming babies, and the motivations of real estate agents. Strong language.
Adult Nonfiction Honor Books:
The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J. R. Moehringer
RC 61119
Bestseller. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist recalls finding male role models at the local bar in Manhasset, Long Island, where his uncle worked. Describes the education he received from the tavern patrons as he struggled to cope with abandonment by his father and life with his mother's dysfunctional family. Strong language.Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
BR 16584, LT 5431, RC 61561
Bestseller. A columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer reminisces about the untrainable Labrador retriever that he and his wife acquired as Florida newlyweds. Recalls Marley's hilarious escapades and his capacity for love as the Grogans become the parents of three kids.The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr
RC 62370
Professor and award-winning author recounts the search for Caravaggio's long-lost painting, The Taking of Christ. Follows graduate student Francesca Cappelletti as she tracked the painting across Europe to Ireland, where clues led to the home of a Jesuit priest. 2005.The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
RC 61540
Reporter for MSNBC.com looks back on her unsettled life. Describes growing up in a dysfunctional family, which was always on the move. She recalls her father's dream of building a "glass castle," and relates how she and her siblings escaped to make lives of their own. Strong language.
Book Sense Book of the Year Awards 2007
Adult Fiction Winner:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
LT 6418, RC 62718
Bestseller. 1931. Veterinary student Jacob Jankowski's world comes crashing down when his parents die in a car accident. Broke, Jacob joins the circus, falls for Marlena, a married circus star, and cares for animals like Rosie the elephant. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence.
Adult Fiction Honor Books:
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
In Process
In a not-so-distant future, a deadly virus kills off every human on Earth, except for Laura Byrd, a wildlife specialist on an expedition to the South Pole. Readers quickly learn that the dead move on to another life in a fantastic city on another plane of existence; there, they live out a second life free from aging and disease until every person who knew them on Earth dies. The chapters alternate between Laura and those in the city of the dead, often showing how these individuals connect to her.The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
RC 64261
Booker Prize 2006. Himalayas, 1986. Retired judge Jemubhai Patel lives with his cook and sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Sai. An Indian-Nepalese insurgency makes Jemubhai confront his past and interrupts Sai's romance with her Nepali tutor. Meanwhile, the cook worries about his son in America. Strong language, some explicit descriptions of sex, and some violence.The Road by Cormac McCarthy
BR 17072, LT 6903, RC 63649
Bestseller 2006. A father and his young son journey south after the destruction of the civilized world. Their survival kit consists of a few blankets, a pistol, a cart of scavenged food, and their love for each other. Their values are tested by occasional encounters with other desperate survivors.Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
LT 6598, RC 62505
Bestseller 2006. When the Germans invade France in 1940, Parisians flee to the countryside amid chaos. The following year, the Nazis occupy a provincial village, where a woman - who is hiding another villager wanted for the murder of an enemy soldier - falls in love with a German officer. Published posthumously in 2006.
Adult Nonfiction Winner:
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
LT 7167, RC 63378
Bestseller 2006. In a series of humorous vignettes, author Nora Ephron obsesses about being a woman in her sixties. Discusses her expensive regimen to camouflage signs of aging, her purse and its contents, parenting, ex-husbands, and former presidents. In "Serial Monogamy: A Memoir," Ephron admits her infatuation with famous chefs.
Adult Nonfiction Honor Books:
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
BR 16929, LT 6393, RC 63131
Travel humorist and author of A Short History of Nearly Everything (RC 56241), reminisces about growing up in 1950s middle America. Recalls the simple pleasures of family life and teen culture under the shadow of the Cold War.Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
BR 16928, LT 5920, RC 62504
Bestseller. National Book Award-winner studies two generations of Pilgrims, from the original 102 passengers who arrived in 1620 to the handful of survivors of the 1675 King Philip's War. Describes the initial storm-tossed voyage, starvation and disease in the wilderness, and the help -- and duplicity -- of the natives. Some violence.Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
BR 16792, LT 7014, RC 63094
Bestseller. Edwardian England. Chronicles the 1910 manhunt for Dr. H.H. Crippen, who murdered his wife and fled in disguise by ocean liner to Canada with his lover. Describes how Guglielmo Marconi's 1895 invention of wireless communication enabled Scotland Yard to pursue the killer and enthrall the world.The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
BR 16831
National Book Award 2006. Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter recounts the experiences of homesteaders who remained on their land during the 1930s dust storms that ravaged the southern Great Plains. Examines both human and ecological aspects of the disaster and the effects on survivors' daily lives, health, and communities.
Children's Literature Winner:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
LT 6511, RC 62431
Death narrates the tale of nine-year-old Liesel from 1939 to 1943 in Nazi Germany. Liesel copes with a foster family, air raids, her friend Rudy, and a hidden Jew, sustained by the books she steals. Some strong language. For senior high and older readers.
Children's Literature Honor Books:
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson
RC 64106
National Book Award 2006. Eighteenth-century Boston. Sixteen-year-old slave Octavian, the son of an African princess, is educated as part of a scientific experiment researching the intelligence of African Americans. When the experiments change, Octavian escapes and joins the fight against the British. Some violence. For senior high and older readers.Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why Commas Really Do Make a Difference! by Lynne Truss
BR 15421, RC 58442
Bestseller. Despairing over the abysmal state of British usage, author/journalist Truss, a stickler for punctuation, dissects common language errors involving apostrophes, commas, dashes, and hyphens. She notes punctuation is not a class issue but a tool to clarify the written word.New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
RC 64367
Following Twilight (RC 62066), vampire Edward Cullen and his family leave Bella and her town to prevent themselves from devouring humans. Brokenhearted Bella turns to adventure-seeking Jacob and motorcycles. Meanwhile, a pack of werewolves tries to protect Bella from a vindictive vampire. For senior high readers. 2006.Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry
RC 63697
Molly and the other starcatchers are in danger when sinister Lord Ombra visits Mollusk Island and seems to control people through their shadows. Peter and Tinker Bell travel to England to help save the stardust. Sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers (RC 62169). For grades 4-7. 2006.
Children's Illustrated Winner:
Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff
BRM 1320, RC 62663
Describes how a baby hippopotamus, Owen, was stranded alone on the Kenyan coast after the tsunami in 2004. Discusses the rescue effort to deliver Owen to Haller Park, an animal sanctuary, where he met Mzee, a solitary, 130-year-old tortoise, who became a substitute mother. For grades K-3 and older readers.
Children's Illustrated Honor Books:
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
RC 63583
When a lion visits the library, Miss Merriweather's main concern is whether he is obeying the rules. All is well until an emergency arises, causing the lion to break the rule about silence. For grades K-3. 2006.