Melissa's Staff Picks

I'm a librarian at Southeast Regional Library, and these are some of my favorite reads! Feel free to email me at melissa.schultz@wakegov.com if you enjoyed one of these books!
 

Showing 1 - 16 of 16  There are a total of 208 valid entries on the list.

1. At home: a short history of private life

Book cover for "At home"
Star rating for At home
Author:
Bryson, Bill
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Bryson (A Short History of Nearly Everything) takes readers on a tour of his house, a rural English parsonage, showing how each room has figured in the evolution of private life. Bryson takes readers on a tour of his house, a rural English parsonage, showing how each room has figured in changes in private life.

2. Between the world and me

Book cover for "Between the world and me"
Star rating for Between the world and me
Author:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF OPRAH’S “BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH” • NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT
Hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading,” a bold and personal literary...

3. Born a crime: stories from a South African childhood

Book cover for "Born a crime"
Star rating for Born a crime
Author:
Noah, Trevor, 1984-
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • More than one million copies sold! A “brilliant” (Lupita Nyong’o, Time), “poignant” (Entertainment Weekly), “soul-nourishing” (USA Today) memoir about coming of age during the twilight of apartheid
 
“Noah’s childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes...

4. Catch and kill: lies, spies, and a conspiracy to protect predators

Book cover for "Catch and kill"
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Author:
Farrow, Ronan, 1987-
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Now an HBO documentary series streaming on HBO Max. 
One of the Best Books of the Year  Time * NPR * Washington Post * Bloomberg News * Chicago Tribune * Chicago Public Library * Fortune * Los Angeles Times * E! News * The Telegraph * Apple * Library Journal  In...

5. Dead wake: the last crossing of the Lusitania

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Author:
Larson, Erik, 1954-
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania
“Both terrifying and enthralling.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Thrilling, dramatic and powerful.”—NPR
“Thoroughly engrossing.”—George R.R. Martin
On May 1, 1915, with...

6. Educated: a memoir

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Author:
Westover, Tara
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"An unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University"--Amazon.com.

7. The glass castle: a memoir

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Author:
Walls, Jeannette
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
The child of an alcoholic father and an eccentric artist mother discusses her family's nomadic upbringing, during which she and her siblings fended for themselves while their parents outmaneuvered bill collectors and the authorities. In the tradition of Mary Karr's "The Liars' Club" and Rick Bragg's "All Over But the Shouting," Jeannette Walls has written a stunning and life-affirming memoir about surviving a willfully impoverished, eccentric and...

8. Grit: the power of passion and perseverance

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Author:
Duckworth, Angela
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"In this must-read book for anyone striving to succeed, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows parents, educators, athletes, students, and business people--both seasoned and new--that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called "grit." Why do some people succeed and others fail? Sharing new insights from her landmark research on grit, MacArthur "genius" Angela Duckworth explains why talent is hardly...

9. I am Malala: the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban

Book cover for "I am Malala"
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Author:
Yousafzai, Malala, 1997-
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the...

10. The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks

Book cover for "The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks"
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Author:
Skloot, Rebecca, 1972-
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping.

11. Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI

Book cover for "Killers of the Flower Moon"
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Author:
Grann, David
Average Rating:
4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE
“A shocking whodunit…What...

12. The library book

Book cover for "The library book"
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Author:
Orlean, Susan
Average Rating:
3.7 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eBook
Description:
A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

A WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018

"A constant pleasure to read...Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book." —The Washington Post

"CAPTIVATING...DELIGHTFUL." —Christian Science Monitor...

13. The stranger in the woods: the extraordinary story of the last true hermit

Book cover for "The stranger in the woods"
Star rating for The stranger in the woods
Author:
Finkel, Michael
Average Rating:
4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"In 1986, twenty-year-old Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even in winter, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store food and water to avoid freezing to death ... Based on extensive interviews with Knight...

14. Talking to strangers: what we should know about the people we don't know

Book cover for "Talking to strangers"
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Author:
Gladwell, Malcolm, 1963-
Average Rating:
4 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
The popular podcast host and author explores how people interact with strangers and why these exchanges often go wrong, offering strategic tips for more accurate and productive interactions.

15. This is the story of a happy marriage

Book cover for "This is the story of a happy marriage"
Star rating for This is the story of a happy marriage
Author:
Patchett, Ann
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eAudiobook
Description:

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

"I had been so engaged by Ann Patchett's multifaceted story, so lured in by her confiding voice, that I forgot I was on the job. [...] As the best personal essays often do, Patchett's is a two-way mirror, reflecting both the author and her readers." — New York Times Book Review

Blending literature and memoir, New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett,

...

16. Yes please

Book cover for "Yes please"
Star rating for Yes please
Author:
Poehler, Amy, 1971-
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
The actress best known for her work on "Parks and Recreation" and "Saturday Night Live" reveals personal stories and offers her humorous take on such topics as love, friendship, parenthood, and her relationship with Tina Fey.