In Other Words: What do Librarians Read?

Sometimes the best ideas are the simpliest ones. I polled the library staff to find out what they are reading. In no particular order, here is what is on their bedside tables (or E-readers):

Bossypants by Tina Fey: From her days as a nerd to the tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to a nearly fatal honeymoon, comedian Tina Fey reveals all, and proves that you're no one until someone calls you bossy. Reader’s comment: "Parts of it were hilarious!"

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett: Pharmaceutical researcher Marina Singh goes to the Amazon to investigate a colleague’s death under strange circumstances. First she must locate Dr. Swenson, a gynecologist who has spent years unlocking the secrets of a tribe where women can conceive into their seventies. Swenson is being paid to find the key to this childbearing ability by the same company for which Dr. Singh works. That isn’t their only connection: both have an overlapping past that Dr. Singh has tried to forget. In finding her former mentor, Dr. Singh faces her own regrets, while dealing with the jungle’s unforgiving and strange nature. Reader’s comment: "I can’t forget this one—still thinking of the many issues the story generates."

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson:  In 1959, a 22-year-old Thompson began his first novel, one that he hoped would "in a twisted way ... do for San Juan what Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises did for Paris." But somewhere along the line, the '60s, the Hell's Angels, Las Vegas, and Dick Nixon got in the way. Now, Thompson's tale of jealousy, treachery, and violent alcoholic lust in the Caribbean boomtown that was San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the late 1950s, is … (...read more) available to his legions of fans. Reader’s comment: "Way better than the movie, even with Johnny Depp."

150 Best Jobs for Your Skills by Laurence Shatkin: How this book works: First take a self-assessment to discover your top three career skills. Then browse the best jobs list for your top skills. Finally, look at the job descriptions for details on earnings, growth, job tasks, education and training needed, and much more. Simple. Reader’s comment: "I’m at a crossroads with where I am in school, so….this seemed like a good choice."

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult: In the wild, when a wolf‘s time is over, it sometimes chooses to slip away, dying apart from its family. Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves, even living with them. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his family. His wife has left him and his son, Edward, 24, fled six years before. Edward, whose memories of his father still inflict pain, gets a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara. Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on, and he and Cara must decide their father’s fate together. What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke want? How can any family member make a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? Reader’s comment: "I learned a lot about wolf pack behavior, a bonus to another great Picoult book."