What the Library Staff Read in 2008

I just went around and asked the BHPL staff to tell me what was their favorite book read in 2008. Almost everyone blanked out at that question at least momentarily, but here are the answers off the top of their heads without looking at their book lists if they keep one.

Reference librarian and co-blogger Ellen liked all the 44 Scotland Street books by Alexander McCall Smith. She listened to the whole series in 2008 on audiobooks.

Our Director liked and recommended to many patrons The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Reference Assistant Linda liked Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson.

Administrative Assistant Susan liked the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Our book mender and Circulation Assistant, Linda, liked Cleo Coyle's first Coffeehouse Mystery, On What Grounds and recommends the whole series.

Our other Technical Services/Circulation Assistant, Elaine, liked Mary Higgins Clark's latest book Where Are You Now? and has put herself of the holds list for Clark's 2009 title, Just Take My Heart.

Children's Librarian Laura liked all of Bill Bryson's books, especially the Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid which made her think back on the good old days of the 1950's.

Head of Circulation, Magdalen, liked 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper.

Circulation Student Assistant, Danny, liked Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns and he was the fastest to answer the question without hemming and hawing and changing his mind.

2008 was the year of rediscovering Agatha Christie for me. I like her earlier mysteries best.

As I type this, Ellen keeps adding more books she liked from the BHPL book groups. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson, Gilead by Marilyne Robinspm. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell.

A book I enjoyed and which falls into the I never would have read this unless I was in a book group, is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. It might also be in the weirdest book I've read for a long time category.

The book which our book groupers unanimously found annoying and not-her-best was Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - which is my favorite Austen title. So that goes in the no accountin' for tastes category.

The everyone loves it except for me and it was too long anyway category goes to Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett which I had recommended to my online book group and which ultimately killed the group. So lesson for 2009: very long books may pose problems for books groups.