2007 Howard County Reads2007 Howard County Reads2007 Howard County Reads
nominated books
- Nominated Books
- Top 20 Books
- Top 5 Books
- Number 1 Book
Full list of Nominated Books for 2007
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • Alchemist, The by Paulo, Coelho
    Comment: Ranked with Borges and Marquez, Coelho is one of South America's most influential authors. This is a deceptively simple fable about a Spanish shepherd who, prompted by a recurring dream, leaves everything he has ever known and journeys to Egypt in order to realize his personal destiny.
  • Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
    Comment: Growing up dirt poor in Ireland.
  • Big Sleep, The by Raymond Chandler
    Comment: A classic 1930's hardboiled detective novel.
  • Black by Ted Dekker
    Comment: This is a story that has a parallel world. This is one of my favorite books.
  • Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
    Comment: From the author of Chocolat, an intoxicating fairy tale of alchemy and love where wine is the magic elixir.
  • Bonesetter's Daughter, The by Amy Tan
    Comment:A Chinese mother and her American-born daughter share interwoven stories. When Lu Ling begins to lose her memory to Alzheimer's, she secret journals the story of her early life in China, and Ruth discovers her mother is a woman she never knew.
  • Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The by John Boyne
  • Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
  • Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
    Comment: A modern classic-- (Wikipedia info) The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) tells the story of several unrelated people who happen to be on a bridge in Peru when it collapses, killing them. Philosophically, the book explores the problem of evil, or the question, of why unfortunate events occur to people who seem "innocent" or "undeserving". It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and in 1998 it was selected by the editorial board of the American Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the twentieth century.
  • Chasing Destiny by Eric Jerome Dickey
    Comment: I absolutely love this book. It's a page turner--very interesting. It's a great book for teenagers and adults.
  • City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
    Comment: From Publishers Weekly It's taken Berendt 10 years follow up his long-running bestseller, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In lieu of Savannah, he offers us Venice, another port city full of eccentric citizens and with a long, colorful history.
  • Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
    Comment: The book is quiet and subtle, yet still profoundly deep. Each character has been affected by the weather, the soil, the isolation, the sea or the struggles of living on the Maine seacoast at the turn of the century. The reader becomes immersed in the beautiful, peaceful world that Miss Jewett describes.
  • Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
    Comment: A teenage autistic savant narrates his search for the killer of his neighbor's dog, which leads to discoveries about his own life.
  • Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
    Comment: Dandelion Wine takes us into the summer of 1928, and to all the wondrous and magical events in the life of a 12-year-old Midwestern boy named Douglas Spaulding. This tender, openly affectionate story of a young man's voyage of discovery is certainly more mainstream than exotic.
    Comment:Peaceful and moving, unpolitical and magical.
  • Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede
    Comment: good, very interesting
  • Divide, The by Nicholas Evans
    Comment: Touching, well written, interesting on audio
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
    Comment: A coming of age story with a fascinating concept. A teenage girl dies in an accident and goes to Elsewhere, the place where everyone goes when they die. In Elsewhere, you age backward until you are reborn on earth.
  • Endurance : Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
    Comment: Book about a real event involving outstanding leadership, human ability to endure adversity, hope and survival.
  • Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
    Comment: With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man -- also named Jonathan Safran Foer -- sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Wollstonecraft
  • Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
  • Front Porch Tales by Philip Gulley
    Comment: Warm and inspirational tales about individuals living in a fictional Indiana town.
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
    Comment: In mid-career, the renowned 17th century Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer painted "Girl with a Pearl Earring," which has been called the Dutch Mona Lisa. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story behind the advent of this famous painting, all the while depicting life in 17th century Delft, a small Dutch city with a burgeoning art community.
  • Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
    Comment: Before I read this, I didn't understand what it meant to be homeless or that homelessness is sometimes a choice. Excellent, but does include sexual assault
  • Great Gatsby, the by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Handmaid's Tale, The by Margaret Atwood
    Comment: The tale of a woman who loses her life when a theocracy takes over the government.
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
  • Hobbit, The by J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley
    Comment: A slice of Indiana's small towns, with characters like people you know.
  • How we love by Milan & Kay Yerkovich
    Comment: This book, and its accompanying workbook, are tremendous resource for understanding why we behave the way we do in relationships. Though it is written to married couples, the book offers life-changing insights into parent/child and other relationships.
  • I Don't Know How She Does It: the life of Kate Reddy, working mother by Allison Pearson
    Comment: Kate Reddy is a mother of two small children, an architect's wife, a hedge-fund manager for a prestigious international company headquartered in London, and a "priority-juggler. With a delightful sense of humor she struggles to juggle her family and her career. A story all modern mothers can relate to.
  • Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
    Comment: One of the best vampire stories ever written.
  • Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
  • Junie B. Jones by Barbara Parks
    Comment: cause I like it
  • Killer Angels, The by Michael Shaara
  • Left for Dead: A young man's search for justice for the USS Indianapolis by Hunter Scott
  • Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, The by Bill Bryson
  • Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson
    Comment: English magical realism.
  • Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
    Comment: Great book!
  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    Comment: It's such a great book of autobiography!
  • Marley & Me by John Grogan
    Comment: This title has been on the NYT best seller list for over a year. The Grogan family is blessed with the always optimistic and always destructive Marley, a dog who teaches them much about love, faithfulness and fearlessness! Evansville did this book and the author visited them!
  • Maus: a survivor's tale by Art Spiegelman
  • Mayflower: a story of courage, community and war by Nathaniel Philbrick
    Comment: Recommended by Book Discussion participants-- From Publishers Weekly In this remarkable effort, National Book Award–winner Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) examines the history of Plymouth Colony. In economical, well-paced prose, Philbrick masterfully recounts the desperate circumstances of both the settlers and their would-be hosts, and how the Wampanoags saved the colony from certain destruction. Impeccably researched and expertly rendered, Philbrick's account brings the Plymouth Colony and its leaders, including William Bradford, Benjamin Church and the bellicose, dwarfish Miles Standish, vividly to life.
  • Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
    Comment: Nine-year-old Chiyo is sold with her sister into slavery by their father after their mother's death and becomes Sayuri, the beautiful geisha accomplished in the art of entertaining men. This is the story of her life, loss, and love.
  • Mitford years series by Jan Karon
    Comment: --non-offensive content; these books were inspirational w/o being preachy.
  • Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder
    Comment: Kidder draws an inspiring portrait of an American physician and medical educator who dedicated his life to serving the poor in Haiti and Peru and challenged world-health policies.
  • Mozart's Sister by Nancy Moser
    Comment: Young Nannerl Mozart's life seems to be the stuff of fairy tales--traveling far and wide, performing with little brother Wolfgang before kings and queens. But behind the glamour lurk hardships, illness, and constant financial worries. Their father, Leopold, is driven to bring his son's genius to the attention of the world. But what of Nannerl's talent and aspirations in a world where a woman’s place was at home?
  • My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
    Comment: Anna was conceived to be a donor match for her older sister Kate. For all of her 13 years Anna has undergone numerous medical procedures to save her sister, finally she had had enough. When her parents want her to donate a kidney for Kate, Anna decides to petition the court for medical emancipation. This story is told from multiple points of view--no one character is favored, and allows the reader to see all the perspectives of this intriguing story. It has a lot to discuss, and would be a very modern choice.
  • Namesake, The by Lahiri, Jhumpa
    Comment: Generation gap and misunderstanding involving an US imigration family.
    Comment:New Movie just out. The book has been highly recommended. The book poignantly reveals the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the tangled ties between generations.
  • Night by Elie Wiesel
  • Norwegian Woods, The by Haruki Murakami
    Comment: Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before.
  • Orlando by Virginia Woolf
  • Other Boleyn Girl, The by Philippa Gregory
    Comment:Sisterly rivalry is the basis of this fresh, wonderfully vivid retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn.
  • Other Boleyn Girl, The by Philippa Gregory
    Comment: Before Anne Boleyn married Henry VIII, her older sister, Mary "the other Boleyn girl," was his mistress.
  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
  • Peter & the Starcatchers by Dave Barry
    Comment: It is a great adventure book!
  • Plot against America by Philip Roth
    Comment: In a chilling alternate history set in 1940s America, hero and anti-Semite Charles Lindbergh wins the presidency over FDR, and a Jewish family endures life in a new society.
  • Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
    Comment: For a thousand years men have denied her existence--Pope Joan, the woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to rule Christianity for two years. Now this compelling novel animates the legend with a portrait of an unforgettable woman who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept.
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
    Comment:A memoir written by a former literature professor at the Univerisity of Tehran who witnesses the radical Islamist revolution first hand.
  • Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
    Comment: When the dashing Max de Winter finds a new wife while vacationing in Italy, he feels happy for the first time since Rebecca, his first wife, died. However, de Winter's grim housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, is obsessively devoted to the first Mrs. de Winter and won't let the newlyweds forget Rebecca. As the tension escalates, Mrs. Danvers grows more desperate — and more deadly.
  • Red Heart, The by James Alexander Thom
    Comment:1. It is local 2. It is a very good book 3. Author lives near Nashville, IN & maybe could come & speak
    Comment:Historical fiction about a true account of Manauquah of Miami County.
  • Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
    Comment: It is a great historical fiction book, set during the gold rush era of California.
  • Ringworld by Larry Niven
    Comment: It is a good book and more people should read it.
  • River Rising by Athol Dickson
    Comment: Set in Louisiana in 1927, this story is about the racial prejudices and ongoing slavery in the South.
  • Rocket Boys: a memoir by Homer Hickam
    Comment: From Publishers Weekly. On one level, it's the story of a teenage boy who learns about dedication, responsibility, thermodynamics and girls. On the other hand, it's about a dying way of life in a coal town where the days are determined by the rhythms of the mine and the company that controls everything and everybody.
  • Seabiscuit by Lauren Hillenbrand
    Comment: Not a short book, but fascinating reading. Much to say about the era, aside from the actual Seabiscuit story. The beginnings of the auto industry are described in a way that would interest those of us involved in Kokomo's heritage.
  • Sixteen and Dying by Lurlene McDaniel
    Comment: its great
  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
    Comment: From School Library Journal Adult/High School–Lily at 80 reflects on her life, beginning with her daughter days in 19th-century rural China. At the instigation of a matchmaker, Lily and Snow Flower, a girl from a larger town and supposedly from a well-connected, wealthy family, become laotong, bound together for life. Their friendship, and this tale, illustrates the most profound of human emotions: love and hate, self-absorption and devotion, pride and humility, to name just a few.
  • Snow in August by Pete Hamill
    Comment: From Library Journal In Brooklyn in 1947, Michael Devlin, an 11-year-old Irish kid who spends his days reading Captain Marvel and anticipating the arrival of Jackie Robinson, makes the acquaintance of a recently emigrated Orthodox rabbi. In exchange for lessons in English and baseball, Rabbi Hirsch teaches him Yiddish and tells him of Jewish life in old Prague and of the mysteries of the Kabbalah.
  • Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir
    Comment: A true accounting of beating incredible odds when a young girl is stolen from her family in the country of Morocco.
  • Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
    Comment: From Library Journal In 1939 Heinlein published his first sf short story and became one of the most prolific and influential authors in the genre. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) is an international best seller and a landmark in more ways than one: it opened the trade best sellers lists to sf writers, breaking down longstanding barriers that will never be seen again. At the same time Stranger became an emblem of the 1960s generation in its iconoclasm and free-love themes. Telling the story of an Earth baby raised by an existing, ancient Martian civilization, the novel often reads as if it were the "Playboy Philosophy" in dialog form. The man/ Martian comes to Earth and broadcasts his ideas by forming his own Church. Heinlein has been rightly criticized for presenting as facts his opinions, which state that organized religion is a sham, authority is generally stupid, young women are all the same, and the common individual is alternately an independent, Ayn Randian-producing genius and the dull-witted part of an ignorant and will-less mob. Yet the book is hard to put down; in its early pages it is a truly masterful sf story. Every library with a fiction collection should have it.
  • Sun Also Rises, The by Ernest Hemmingway
  • Things They Carried, The by Tim O'Brien
    Comment: A Vietnam classic, a brutally honest story centered around what each soldier carries with him -- guns, drugs, letters from home, an illustrated Bible, and not least the horrors of war.
    Comment:A Vietnam classic, the soldiers each carried items from home in their packs, and if they could make it home alive, then they will forever carry their memories of war.
  • Thr3e by Ted Dekker
  • Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks
    Comment: It's a book about family trials and triumphs and the bonds that should exist between family members.
  • Time Machine by H. G. Wells
  • Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
    Comment: From Publishers Weekly Niffenegger has written a soaring love story illuminated by dozens of finely observed details and scenes, and one that skates nimbly around a huge conundrum at the heart of the book: Henry De Tamble finds himself unavoidably whisked around in time. He disappears from a scene in, say, 1998 to find himself suddenly, usually without his clothes at an entirely different place 10 years earlier-or later. During one of these migrations, he drops in on Clare Abshire and a lifelong passion is born. The problem is that while Henry's age darts back and forth according to his location in time, Clare's moves forward in the normal manner, so the pair are often out of sync.
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    Comment: This has been in many other communities, with good reason. The characters are fascinating and timeless. The narrative includes serious themes with an often humorous touch. Much can be learned about honor and tolerance from Atticus Finch and his family.
  • Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A by Betty Smith
  • Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Beals
    Comment: The author tells her story as one of the Little Rock Nine who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, AK in 1957. This year will be the 50th anniversary of the integration.
  • Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
    Comment: This is a fantastic book, told in a crotchety old man's flashbacks, about a young man who drops out of veterinary school and joins a circus during the Depression Era. The characters in this book are beautifully developed.
  • Wedding, The by Nicholas Sparks
    Comment: Middle-aged man makes amends and re-energizes his 30-year marriage. The book has many interesting characters.
  • When Heaven Weeps by Ted Dekker
    Comment: This is a great story of love, unconditional love, and it mirrors the love of God.
  • Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
    Comment: Bad things come in threes for Toru Okada. He loses his job, his cat disappears, and then his wife fails to return from work. His search for his wife (and his cat) introduces him to a bizarre collection of characters, including two psychic sisters, a possibly unbalanced teenager, an old soldier who witnessed the massacres on the Chinese mainland at the beginning of the Second World War, and a very shady politician.
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