The Best of It

A collection of poetry by the 16thUnited States Poet Laureate and California native, Kay Ryan, includes both new and previously published poems.

The Best of It
by Kay Ryan
Find it in the library at call number PS3568 .Y38B47 2010

Flight

This 2007 novel by Native American author Sherman Alexie follows a time traveling teenager that's in search of his identity. Listen to an interview of the author discussing the book on National Public Radio back when the book came out.

Flight
by Sherman Alexie
Find it on the shelves at call number PS3551 .L35F57 2007

The Land of Green Plums

Nobel Laureate Hurta Muller's novel about life in Ceausescu's Romania known for its striking portrayal of the terror/ennui paradox.

The Land of Green Plums
by Hurta Muller
Find it in the Library at call number PT2673 .U29234 H4713 1998

Shane

This classic Western novel gained widespread acclaim for its simplicity and strong characters. Like the movie that followed, its been a genre standard for decades.

Shane
by Jack Schaefer
Find it in the Library at call number PS3537 .C223 S5 1984

Gloryland

A novel following the life of Elijah Yancy, an African-American born in South Carolina on Emancipation Day who ends up stationed in Yosemite National Park while serving in the army.

Gloryland
by Shelton Johnson
Find it in the Library at call number PS3610 .O383 G56 2009

The Good Earth

The 1937 adaptation of Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel won Luise Rainer (as O-lan) a repeat Best Actress Oscar.

The Good Earth
directed by Sidney Franklin
Find it in our Video Collection at call number PN1995.9 .D7G659 1937

Find Pearl S. Bucks original book at call number PS3503 .U198 G66 1949

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Acclaimed Native American author Sherman Alexie made a splash with this, his first young adult novel, which won a National Book Award in 2007.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Find it in the Library at call number PS3551 .L35774A27 2007

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

The celebrated author of 'Everything is Illuminated' is back with a novel about 9-year-old detective and inventor Oskar as he scours New York for the right lock for his dead father's key.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran Foer
Find it in the Library at call number PS3606 .O38E97 2006

Also check out Everything is Illuminated at call number PS3606 .O38E84 2005 and the movie of the same title in our Video collection at call number PN1995.9 .D7E93 2005.

Tin House

An up-and-coming literary magazine published quarterly, Tin House includes a generous collection of 'Essays & Features' and a venue for budding authors in its 'New Voice' section.

Tin House Magazine
The current issue of Tin House is available in the Reading Area of the Library. Back issues to all of our magazines are in alphabetical order along the back wall of the Library.

The Book Thief

A novel about a young girl in Nazi Germany who gets hooked on stealing books after snatching a few from book burnings.

The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Find it in the Library at call number PR9619.3 .Z872 B66 2006

Banned Books

This week the American Library Association observes Banned Books Week, an event designed to draw attention to the frighteningly common practice of banning books. Below are three titles in our collection that were some of the most commonly banned books in the past year. Exercise your freedom to read – pick up a banned book today!

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is often banned for homosexuality, sexual explicitness and offensive language.
Find it in the Library at call number PS3573.A425C6 1982

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is frequently banned for being sexually explicit.
Find it in the Library at call number PS3551.N464Z466 1969

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is regularly banned for racism.
Find it in the Library at call number PS1305.A2B531 1988

Lists of frequently banned and challenged books are available on the ALA's Challenged Books page.

Audiobooks

We recently added a number of acclaimed audiobooks of classic works to our collection. Titles include the Edgar Allan Poe collection performed by Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone; full cast recordings of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and The Crucible; and Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time read by Michael Jackson (but not the Michael Jackson).

Find these audiobooks and more in the Library's Audio Collection.

The Arthur Miller Audio Collection
by Arthur Miller, performed a full-cast
PN 1861 .D43A78 2002

The Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection
by Edgar Allan Poe, performed by Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone
Find it in our Audio Collection at call number PS509 .P6E5 2000

A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking, performed by Michael Jackson
QB981 .H377 2005

David Foster Wallace

Obvious literary genius along with his trademark disjointed style and eclectic taste have garnered him a cult following and widespread acclaim. His masterpiece, Infinite Jest, is consistently mentioned of as a great contemporary novel, while a 2004 article, Consider the Lobster, for Gourmet magazine has some calling it one of the best New England themed articles of all time. Along the way he picked up a MacArthur Fellowship ('genius grant') in 1997.

David Foster Wallace died of an apparent suicide last Friday at age 46.


Infinite Jest
by David Foster Wallace
Find it in the Library at call number PS 3573 .A426I54 2006

Everything and More
by David Foster Wallace
Find it in the Library at call number QA9 .W335 2003

The Collected Prose of Robert Frost

A worthy complement to the great poet's more famous material in verse. Take a look, if for no other reason than sometimes the road less traveled by sometimes makes all the difference.

Prose of Robert Frost
edited by Mark Richardson
PS3511 .R94 A6 2007

Atonement

A masterful literary work that develops out of a single day’s events in pre-WWII England.

Atonement is the first title that the Columbia College Book Group is reading this year. Pick up a free copy in the Library and/or join our discussion on Friday, Oct. 10 at 4:30 in the Library. The complete 2008/2009 Book Group lineup is available on our Events Calendar.

Atonement
By Ian McEwan
Find it in the Library at call number PR6063 .C4 A88 2007

The Road

The post-apocalyptic novel from the famed author of the Border Trilogy left me haunted and slightly nauseous; just what you'd hope for in a book like this.

The Road
Cormac McCarthy
Find it in the Library at call number PS3563.C337 R63 2006

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

Curious about Newfoundland? Then this is your book. Combining the history and rugged beauty of the island province to create an immensely likable epic novel that's ideal for summer reading.

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
by Wayne Johnston
Find it in the Library at call number PR9199.3 .J599 C65 2000

Angle of Repose

This Pulitzer Prize winning novel brings the West alive through a retired historian as he researches the remarkable lives of his grandparents.

Angle of Repose
Wallace Stegner
PS3537.T316 A8 2000

A Fabricated Mexican

A wonderful, wickedly funny and poignant tale that tests a Californian boy and his Mexican family.

A Fabricated Mexican
by Rick Rivera
Find it on our shelves at call number: PS3568 .I8314 F3 1995

Ender's Game

A fascinating look at leadership and strategy as Ender, a child prodigy, is recruited to save the world. Modeled in part on the Civil War, this book is a great way to interrupt your homework.

Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
Find it in the Library at call number: PS3553 .A655 E5 1991