TLC Staff Recommendations

Fall 2000

L.A. REQUIEM
By Robert Crais  AF

In the grand tradition of Raymond Chandler or Ross Macdonald this hard bitten detective story features a fast talking private eye named Elvis Cole who does his best to outwit both the corrupt Los Angeles police force and a sadistic serial killer.  Except for a few modern touches this noir like story could have been written in the nineteen forties, complete with a complex convoluted plot and a lot of tough talking dialogue.
- Ron Woods

THE ORCHID THIEF
By Susan Orlean     635.934409

Orchids have long inspired obsessive behavior since they were first discovered by western explorers in the 16th century.  That is still true today as orchid collectors, growers and even thieves try to acquire these rare and beautiful flowers.  We meet one such character and along the way learn about the history of greed as the author travels around Florida, a hot bed of orchid fanaticism.
- Ron Woods

HOME TOWN
By Tracy Kidder  974.423

They say you can never go home again, but author Kidder disproves that by spending a year in the home town of his youth Northampton Ma.  He rides the streets of Northampton with local police detective Tommy O’Conner, and along the way we not only learn its history, but meet a few of its more interesting citizens.  With a poet’s precision and a novelist’s eye for detail Kidder is able to take us all home again.
- Ron Woods

Galileo’s Daughter: a historical memoir of Science, Faith and Love
By Dava Sobel B Galilei

None of Galileo’s letters to his eldest daughter Suor Maria Celeste, a nun, survive today but the adoring ones she sent to him provide the basis for this intriguing account of his life, his invention of the telescope and the controversy surrounding his belief that the Earth revolved around the sun.  The book provides a fascinating picture of life in the Florence of the Medici’s and the Papal Court in Rome.  The story skillfully weaves his letters from his daughter and historical events of the time, to provide a satisfying read.
-Tom Joselyn

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Last Updated: July 28, 2007