Staff Picks  Natalie's Picks
Use the links to the left to see another staff member's picks.

Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World by Samantha Power
A stunning homage to a man whose quest to restore dignity and compassin to our increasingly fractured world was cut tragically short in the UN headquarters bombing of 2003. Samantha Power masterfully draws a parallel between Vieira de Mello's long career and the plight of the United Nations itself.

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The Time it Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean
A stunning tribute to the generation that watched the promises of the Space Age disintegrate over Cape Canaveral in the Challenger disaster of 1986.

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Skinner's Drift by Lisa Fugard
A frank and heartbreaking novel set in aparthied-era South Africa, Skinner's Drift captures with authenticity the violence and tension of that dark time in recent history.

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Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo
The lives of aid workers, mercenaries, soldiers, and refugees intersect in this Pulitzer prize winning novel set in war-torn Sudan. Caputo does a brilliant job of depicting the ways that war can blend the roles and motivations of oppressor and oppressed, humanitarian and profiteer.

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Cotton by Christopher Wilson
A true outsider, the protagonist of this novel manages to be a member of nearly every oppressed group there is. Although told with humor, Cotton contains serious themes of racism, sexism, and homophobia. Christopher Wilson does a brilliant job pointing out all that is ridiculous in our society.

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A Changed Man by Francine Prose
Prose is a master of the art of creating real, complex characters. There are no heroes or villains-only flawed human beings whose good intentions often go sadly awry. Dark, funny and entertaining!

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The Attack by Yasmina Khadra
This novel captures with authenticity the ways fundamentalist extremism and political turmoil can forever alter the lives of ordinary citizens...

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The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff
This is a highly entertaining coming-of-age story about a young man forced to cope with his unconventional family. A cross between "Catcher in the Rye" and "Running With Scissors", this book will make you chuckle while you cringe.

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The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
Nigerian-born Buchi Emecheta offers a glimpse of a culture where a woman's worth is determined by the children she bears. Never veering into sentamentality, Emecheta paints a realistic portrait of a woman's role in 1940's Nigeria and the ways in which colonization, war, and poverty can contribute to the disintegration of family values.