Our Favorite Books:

The best books always make you want to know more. American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee offers insight into the often diverging perspectives of biologists, environmentalists, ranchers, hunters, and politicians surrounding the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone. But the genius of this book starts with the narrative: this is a page-turner! The choice to tell this story as a kind of biography of the rise and reign of one wolf, an alpha-female known as O-Six, described as "the most famous wolf in the world" and a "once in a generation hunter" make this story come alive. (warning: this book made me want to know more about the debates surrounding public lands out West and started me on an entire "wolf phase."--be warned.    

Endling#1: The Last will have you rooting for Byx, Tobble, and Khara as the pages melt away. Byx is the youngest of a litter of dairnes:  a highly-intelligent and almost extinct dog-like species that can talk, walk upright, glide through the air like a flying squirrel , and recognize a lie.

On the same day Byx’s  pack is hunted down and killed,  Byx meets two other creatures: Tobble, a wobbyk (a cross between a rabbit and a fox?), and a human girl named Khara who is dressed like a boy. Together, Byx, Khara, and Tobble set out to find safe haven for Byx and discover whether the legend of hidden dairnes is true, or if in fact, Byx is the last of her kind—an endling.

Katherine Applegate’s writing here is so effortless. The pages are filled with action, adventure, and magic--and they fly. But there are also some really sophisticated and complex themes here to reward the reader. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!  

     Christopher Knight lived in a tent encampment in the Maine Woods for 27 years, never being seen or speaking to another human. He lived unlike anything you can imagine--breaking into homes for food, batteries, propane, books, even mattresses--waking up in the middle of the night so as not to freeze to death in the heart of the winter.

     Michael Finkel has written a compelling book about Knight being a true hermit. Trying to understand the reasons that would make one choose to live so utterly alone and the problems Knight faced when he was forced to live amongst people again--in a jail of all places--after being arrested for the things he stole.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce is filled with colorful characters.--literally-- a tattoo artist, a clerk who blankets the street with flyers, and most importantly the music shop owner, Frank. Frank helps customers and friends through tough times by choosing the right music to listen to: a a heartbroken Chopin listener gets Aretha Franklin. Frank's whole world changes when a mysterious customer in a green coat faints outside his shop. This novel even has a playlist on Spotify!