Posts Categorized: Staff Picks

Falling in Love with Reading

Hi! My name is Jen and you will find me working the circulation desk here at the Topsham Public Library. I grew up in Topsham, and I used to frequent the library when Mrs. Coro sat behind the desk at the old house on Pleasant Street. I loved walking through the maze of little rooms… Read more »

Susan’s Top 4 of 2014

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to a baby girl. But in a culture that favors sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter’s life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her… Read more »

Cyndi’s Top 4 of 2014

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive — alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for… Read more »

Here’s Bernardo’s Top 4 of 2014!

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or… Read more »

Mariah’s Top 4 (plus one more) of 2014!

Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss Gives you a completely different perspective on processed food! The science that goes into the foods we take for granted is amazing – not only have these foods been carefully crafted to create a “bliss” point, they’ve also been engineered to be highly… Read more »

Emma’s Top 4 of 2014!

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty Most people want to avoid thinking about death, but Caitlin Doughty—a twenty-something with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre—took a job at a crematory, turning morbid curiosity into her life’s work. Thrown into a profession of… Read more »

Linda’s Top 4 of 2014!

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George Inspector Lynley plays the back up role as Detective Sargent Barbara Havers gets caught up in the kidnapping of her young friend, Hadiyyah, and the complications of that act. This volume moves back and forth between England and Italy. The small Italian town is a great setting. I… Read more »

Jen’s Top 4 of 2014

Lone Survivor (Movie) Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.   While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell I… Read more »

Lynne’s Top 4 of 2014!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt Richard Papen arrived at Hampden College in New England and was quickly seduced by an elite group of five students, all Greek scholars, all worldly, self-assured, and, at first glance, all highly unapproachable. As Richard is drawn into their inner circle, he learns a terrifying secret that binds them… Read more »