Staff Picks
We asked the staff at OPL to name their favorite book. Here are some of their responses.
- The Collected Works of John le Carre: The author has admirably documented, in fiction form, the major international trends and issues of the late 20th century: the Cold War, arms dealing, drug trafficking and superpower arrogance. (Le Carre is best known for his fictional spy, George Smiley who appears in "The Spy Who Came Into the Cold," and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." Le Carre's last novel, "The Constant Gardener," was recently made into a movie)
selected by John Hawkins - Wings of morning: the story of the last American bomber shot down over Germany in WW II by Thomas Childres:
a story of people under terrible stress by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
selected by Jack Oxton - When We Touch
by Shannon Drake:
A historical romance about a family that gets involved with spiritualists, seances and Jack the Ripper
selected by Darlene Terenchalk - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel:
Sensual, beautifully descriptive writng evokes the passionate but doomed love of a young woman in
turn of the century Mexico.
selected by Sally Dow - Jim The Boy by Tony Earley: the story of a boy growing up in North Carolina during the Depression, with his mother and three bachelor uncles. It is a wonderful coming-of-age novel that will appeal to adults and teens.
selected by Joyce Koyner