May Brown Bag Luncheon

Every quarter, I look forward to two Wednesdays, the days I do my brown bag luncheons. I do one for library patrons, and one for staff. It's my chance to share 15 books a quarter with people who enjoy talking about books. And, if you look at this list, there are some older titles on it, as well as new ones.

Here's the list of books I talked about this quarter, although next week, when I do it with the staff, some of the titles will be different. The patrons liked some of them well enough to check them out.


Cleland, Jane K. – Killer Keepsakes - When Josie Prescott’s assistant at her antiques business disappears, she realizes she doesn’t know anything about her.

Clement, Blaize – Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof - Cat sitter Dixie Hemingway thinks she’s found a kindred spirit in Laura Halston, until the woman is murdered, and Dixie discovers everything Laura told her was a lie.

Codel, Esmé Raji – Educating Esmé - The story of Esme Codell’s first year as a teacher in an inner-city Chicago school.

Dallas, Sandra – Prayers for Sale - Eighty-six year old Hennie Comfort tells the story of her life to a young wife in the mining town of Middle Swan, Colorado.

De Castrique, Mark – Blackman’s Coffin - An Iraq war vet finds himself investigating the murder of a fellow amputee, along with a mystery going back to 1919in Asheville, NC.

Delany, Vicki – In the Shadow of the Glacier - Trouble for Constable Molly Smith & Det. Sergeant John Winters in Trafalgar, British Columbia, when a bequest to build a garden for draft dodgers tears the town apart.

Deveraux, Jude – Lavender Morning - When Jocelyn Minton inherits an eighteenth century house she never knew existed, she discovers everything she knew about her benefactor was wrong.

Fairstein, Linda – Final Jeopardy - It comes as a shock when Assistant D.A. Alexandra Cooper finds her obituary splashed across the front page.

Fowler, Earlene – Love Mercy - Can a grandmother and granddaughter bridge the gap caused by years of estrangement, and bring family and friends together?

Gulley, Philip – I Love You, Miss Huddleston - Gulley’s stories of his years growing up in the 1970s in Danville, Indiana.

Lippman, Laura – Life Sentences - When a bestselling memoir writing tries to write a third book, she discovers her own story might be build on lies.

Osgood, Charles – A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the White House - Beginning with the election of 1948, Osgood covers the humor of the Presidential campaign trail.

Pintoff, Stefanie – In the Shadow of Gotham - In turn of the century New York, a detective consults with a criminologist following a brutal crime.

Ramsay, Frederick – Artscape - Ike Schwartz, the new sheriff in Picketsville, in the Shenandoah Valley, has to investigate the theft of art work from the local women’s college.

Reichl, Ruth – Not Becoming My Mother & Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way - The story of Reichl’s mother, a woman she told stories about in previous books, although she never knew the whole truth.