Zoo Story

Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French
Welcome to the savage and surprising world of Zoo Story, an unprecedented account of the secret life of a zoo. Based on six years of research, the book follows a handful of unforgettable characters at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo: an alpha chimp with a weakness for blondes, a ferocious tiger who revels in Obsession perfume, and a brilliant but tyrannical CEO known as El Diablo Blanco.

The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
Twesigye Jackson Kaguri defied many naysayers -- and his own nagging doubts -- as he and a small group of supporters followed a dream to build, stone by stone at times, a school for AIDS orphans in his village in Uganda.

Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Girl about Love by Justine van der Leun
A jaded young New Yorker is brought back to life by what she finds in Italy: not the food, not the fashion, not a Ferrari or a Fabio -- but a small, spotted, bird-obsessed hunting dog named Marcus.

Sophie Kinsella readalikes

Do you just absolutely love Sophie Kinsella's works such as Remember Me? Are you looking for other authors like her? Check out these suggested titles below! If you're a member of an OCLN library then just click on the link to place it on hold.

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
Ellen and Andy’s first year of marriage doesn’t just seem perfect, it is perfect. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo for the first time in eight years. Leo, the one who brought out the worst in her. Leo, the one who left her heartbroken with no explanation. Leo, the one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she’s living is the one she’s meant to live.

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
Chasing Harry Winston finds three glamorous Manhattan gal pals making a pact to positively refashion their lives--before hitting the big three-oh. Emmy, Leigh, and Adriana--who've been best friends for a decade--have some very personal issues. Just as Emmy is poised to receive the engagement righ she's longed for, her boyfriend drops her for his flirtatious, young personal trainer. Leigh, an up-and-coming publishing house star, is in danger of having her career derailed by the literary world's grandest snob. And as for Brazilian bombshell Adriana, she must come to terms with the inevitability of her beauty's eventual fading. It's time for all three girls to seriously reassess their futures.

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickheim
At the first of every month, when the office has reached its pinnacle of hysteria, Maggie, Roxanne, and Candice meet at London's swankiest bar for an evening of cocktails and gossip. Here, they chat about what's new at The Londoner, the glossy fashion magazine where they all work, and everything else that's going on in their lives. Or almost everything. Beneath the girl talk and the laughter, each of the three has a secret. And when a chance encounter at the cocktail bar sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events, each one will find their biggest secret revealed.

Want more readalikes on different authors? Send your requests/suggestions/comments to me at aboivin@ocln.org

Shoulder Bags and Shootings

Interested in any of these titles? Place them on hold with your library card if you're a member of any OCLN library!

Shoulder Bags and Shootings by Dorothy Howell
Fashionista and amateur sleuth Haley Randolph is in hot pursuit of the season's newest must-have handbag. But soon she's also in hot pursuit of a killer--when she discovers the corpse of none other than her designer purse party rival...

Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom by Kristin van Ogtrop
Kristin van Ogtrop has a nice career, a dependable husband, and three healthy kids who occasionally make their beds. You could say she is average, but lucky. You could also say that she is half-insane--but just try to name one working mom who isn't. Like all of us, van Ogtrop needs a bit of guidance from time to time. Yet when she searched the bookshelves for something to help put a little order into her average/lucky/chaotic life, she came up short. And so she had an idea.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the "high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island" that is the Japanese Empire's single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancee back in Holland.

New Playaways!

The library has new playaways! A playaway is an audiobook already downloaded onto a MP3 player that you can check out, plug your own earphones into and enjoy!

Newest to our collection are:

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke
It's the beginning of summer in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and the orders are piling up at The Cookie Jar. When Hannah is commissioned to bake 1,100 cookies for a three-day fundraiser, her partner Lisa suggests setting up an apple turnover stand for the charity event. As if she didn't have enough on her plate already, Hannah also agrees to appear in the charity talent contest. But she gets upstaged when she discovers the MC dead--with one of her apple turnovers in his hand!

Broken Jewel by David L. Robbins
For three years, American Remy Tuck and the mostly civilian prisoners at Los Banos have endured brutal conditions. In the face of such hardship, Remy's 19-year-old son Talbot has fallen in love with Carmen, a Filipina forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese soldiers. Now--as the Japanese become increasingly desperate, and a strike force prepares to liberate the camp--Remy must do everything in his power to keep Tal and Carmen safe.