New Booktalk Booklist: Karrie's Year of Reading

Karrie's Year of Reading!

Bethany Branch, February 6, 2009

Karrie S.

Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster [Biography Lancaster]

When Jen submits a proposal to lose weight and write a memoir about it, she is reserved about the idea. But when the book deal goes through, she has to prove that she's serious.

Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg

Two sisters spend World War II writing letters to the boys they love, who are fighting across the sea. Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles

Bennie Ford is stuck in the Chicago airport. As his hopes of getting to his daughter's wedding get smaller and smaller he unleashes a 180-page complaint letter to the airline.

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

June Nealon loses her husband and young daughter to murderer Shay Bourne when she is pregnant with Claire. Now, Claire needs a heart transplant, and Shay is the one who wants to give it to her. Will June accept?

Waiter Raint: Thanks for the Tip -- Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica [647.98 Dub]

Day after day Steve Dublancia slaves away as a waiter at an upscale New York restaurant. He finds relief by blogging about his experiences and then turning them into a book.

Digging to America by Anne Tyler

Two families, who would otherwise never have come together, meet by chance at the Baltimore airport when they both receive their new Korean daughters.

Thin is the New Happy by Valerie Frankel [Biography Frankel]

The true story of one woman's quest to exorcise her bad-body image demons, to discover the truths behind what put them there, and to learn how to truly love herself.

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

After Mariah White goes through a difficult divorce, her daughter Faith begins talking to God. Mariah must fight to keep her daughter safe from the media and custody from her ex-husband.

You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls by [158.1 Gra]

Sixty ideas for people who aspire to learn and do more. Each chapter lists a "how-to", "pay-offs" and "beyond the badge" section.

Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian

Every summer Willow and Charlotte spend their summer vacation at their grandmother's country home. After an accident with a gun leaves Charlotte's dad paralyzed, the family is never the same again.

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

After surviving the Columbine shooting, Caelum and Maureen Quirk move out east to start a new life. However, Maureen's post-traumatic stress challenges their marriage.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays by Sloane Crosley [817 Cro]

Short stories about a single twenty-something's obligation to attend the wedding/baby showers of all her friends.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

On a cold wintry night a doctor's wife gives birth to twins. One is a beautiful healthy baby boy. The other is a little girl with Down Syndrome. Fearing the repercussions of this disorder, he has the nurse take the baby away and tell his wife she died. He spends his entire life regretting that decision.

Julie and Julia by Julie Powell [641.3 Pow]

Stuck in a dead-end job, and having trouble conceiving, Julie Powell decides she will embark on a year's journey to make every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Not Quite What I Was Planning by Rachel Fershleiser [808.88 Fer]

The six-word memoir.

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch

Sarah Walters does everything she can to remove herself from Charleston and the debutante lifestyle in which she is raised. But in the end she finds that where you come from always impacts where you end up.

Hick by Andrea Portes

This novel by a Lincoln native is a sad portrayal of one girl's life. When she decides to run away from her abusive family, she meets a whole new batch of people who don't care about her.

Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble

When Barbara finds out she is dying of cancer she decides to spend her last days writing letters and journals to her four daughters so they will know how to go on without her.

Also available on the BookGuide web site on our Booktalk Booklists page.