One of the Best Books I Read in 2015: The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo

The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo may not have been the most well written book I've read in 2015, but its one that I really enjoyed.

Mattie is the kind of girl that when given two choices will always make the wrong one.  She is smart and mostly likable but has a lot of baggage in her life that she just can't seem to lose. She never knew her father and her mother drowned her own disappointments in alcohol before she died.

The story opens with a pregnant Mattie breaking up with her loser boyfriend and packing all of her belongings (six garbage bags full) into her beat-up car and heading out to her mother's home town in Oklahoma.  She has just found out that her grandmother has left her an inheritance so she is hoping this will be the answer to a new start for her.  Upon arriving in Gandy, OK, Mattie discovers that she will not be inheriting as much as she had hoped for.  Like a true survivor she manages to lie and manipulate the people of the town who knew her mother and grandmother into helping her, or at least tolerating her.

Mattie soon discovers that her mother was much more than the person she became.  There is a mystery in town about why this golden girl suddenly packed up and left town over 30 years ago.  The deeper Mattie digs, the less clear things become.  Along the way you meet an interesting cast of characters who all have problems of their own and know more than they are willing to share.

There are some very poignant moments in this book and some laugh out loud moments too.  Mattie is very self-deprecating and funny and very aware of her lack of good judgement.  With every failure to do the right thing comes another promise to herself that she's going to get her life figured out.  I found myself caring about and cheering on this messed up young woman, waiting for her to ultimately grow up.

~Michelle, Circulation

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One of the Best Books I Read in 2015: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven came out in 2014 and was on many a Best Book of the Year 2014 list. It sounded interesting, but I didn't read it until April of 2015. And oh, how angry I was at myself for not reading it sooner! This is one of my favorite books EVER.

The novel starts a few hours before a flu spreads across the globe, decimating the population and then moves back and forth between life before the outbreak and fifteen years into the future. Mandel uses her characters to discuss the importance of art and culture and to question the value of remembering the past. It's ambitious, amazing, and awe-inspiring.

~Aisha, Adult Services

One of the Best Books I Read in 2015: Lists of Note: An Eclectic Collection Deserving of a Wider Audience by Shaun Usher

Lists of Note: An Eclectic Collection Deserving of a Wider Audience by Shaun Usher is an enjoyable and engaging book of 125 lists (pros and cons, wish lists, to-do lists, and others) that starts off with what I think is one of the most famous lists in pop culture: a list of “Things to Do Today” by Johnny Cash which includes “not eat too much”, “go see Mama”, and of course, “kiss June” and “not kiss anyone else”. It’s filled with fun lists like “The Fifty Dwarves” which shows the names Disney writers considered for the Seven Dwarves before choosing Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. Some names that didn’t make it are Chesty, Flabby, Jaunty, and Sappy. It also includes serious lists like “How My Life Has Changed” by Hilary North, a woman who should have been on the 103rd floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 except she stopped to vote and was late to work. It’s a moving list of things she will never be able to with her coworkers who perished on that day, including things like “I can no longer smile at Paul”, “I can no longer confide in Lisa”, and “I can no longer take my life for granted".

One of the appeals of the book is that some of the lists are photocopies of the originals so you get to see the handwriting of people like Thelonious Monk, David Foster Wallace, and Thomas Edison. There's even a list, possibly a shopping list or recollection of past meals, by Michelangelo with illustrations of food. Even if some of the lists don't interest you, there are so many to choose from, you're sure to find one that makes you smile or inspires you to make one of your own. It's a fascinating look at something we all do and shows how a list can show a small part of your personality.

~Aisha, Adult Services

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Staff Review: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

Published in 1987, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner somehow escaped my notice all these years until it was recommended by author Will Schwalbe in The End of Your Life Book Club. It is strange that this book eluded me both because it has become a modern classic and also because the story is set in part at my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

This is a lovely, heartwarming, and heartbreaking story of two young couples whose lives become intertwined in 1937 and remain so for decades. When Larry and Sally Morgan and Sid and Charity Lang meet, the men are just beginning their careers as teachers and aspiring writers at the University of Wisconsin. The married couples are enthralled with each other, despite their different backgrounds, and they appear inseparable. Life inevitably intervenes, though, both with its joys and disappointments. It is moving to watch the marriages and friendships wax and wane as time marches on.

Crossing to Safety drew me in from the start with its nostalgic tone and beautiful prose. It would appeal to readers who love smart writing and enjoy following characters and relationships throughout a lifetime. Those looking for rich geographic and historical settings will also not be disappointed, as Stegner brings to life Depression-era Madison, Wisconsin, and rural Vermont, where the couples’ lives play out.

~Abbey, Technical Services