Baby, It's Cold Outside!

When the wind is howling and the snow is falling, there is nothing better than cuddling in a comfy sofa with a warm blanket and a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a book in another. Take a sneak peak at what the LFHS library staff is reading over Winter Break:

The Road to Perdition by Max Allan Collins

Rock Island, Illinois -- 1929. Michael O'Sullivan is a good father and a family man...and also the chief enforcer for John Looney, the town's Irish Godfather of crime. As Looney's "Angel of Death," O'Sullivan has done the bidding of Chicago gangsters Al Capone and Frank Nitti as well -- but when a gangland execution spells tragedy for the O'Sullivan family, a grieving father and his adolescent son find themselves on a winding road fo treachery, revenge, and revelation.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.


My Dark Places by James Ellroy

In 1958, when James Ellroy was 10 years old, his mother's body was found in a run-down town near Los Angeles. The murderer was never found; the case remains unsolved. This remarkable book--part unflinching autobiography, part vivid reportage--tells an extraordinarily gripping story about the failed murder investigation, uncovering Ellroy's daring, revelatory journey into and through his most forbidding memories.


Necessary Noise: Stories About Our Families as They Really Are
Ed. by Michael Cart

A girl is terrified of her older sister's dual personality. A boy adjusts to his life with two mothers. A father visits his son on death row. These are stories of today's families as they really are. Noted anthologist Michael Cart has asked celebrated young adult authors the question "What does 'family' mean today?" The ten resulting stories provide illuminating -- and surprising -- answers. Here family is defined by the connections between all kinds of people -- and the necessary noise they make.

What are you reading during the winter break?