Patron Picks:
Western Springs Reads

We want to get you involved. Have you read a good book that you wish to recommend to other readers? Write a short review. It can be as little as a sentence or two or a paragraph. Email it to us at info@fordlibrary.org and we will consider it for this page.

Here are reviews written by Thomas Ford Library readers.

Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment, by James Gustav Speth (363.7 Spe) 4 stars Speth, dean of Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the World Resources Institute, describes major global environmental crises facing the world today (including climate change, biodiversity loss, deterioration of marine environments, deforestation, and freshwater shortages), and addresses why international efforts to date have largely failed to solve them. Speth believes these failures result largely from an emphasis on addressing the symptoms rather than on the underlying causes of environmental degradation. Speth then describes eight major transitions needed for global environmental protection and sustainability. This book is well written, insightful, and unusual in its scope and "big picture" outlook. Robert Sullivan, 2/8/08
Best Friends, by Martha Moody (Fiction) 0 stars The book was bad. I do not recommend this book. It took forever to read. The story was not believable. Soap operas are more realistic. BAD!!! Anonymous, 7/24/07
Saturday, by Ian McEwan (Fiction) 4 stars One of our best contemporary authors, McEwan shows us the subtle and not so subtle shifts in cultural and personal perspective since 9/11. The story follows one day in the life of a surgeon - the day begins ordinarily enough, but is marred, then defined, by a violent encounter over a minor traffic accident. --Susan H., 7/23/07
The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion (B/DIDION) 4 stars Chronicling a tragic year in Didion's life, the book should be depressing and sorrowful. But in her expert style, Didion creates a memoir affirming life and love, human connection and perseverance. --Susan H., 7/23/07
In Our Strange Gardens, by Michel Quint (Fiction) 3 stars A slim book, translated from the French, this story poignantly shows the very human factors in war. The focus is on French prisoners of WW II kept in a hole and their developing relationship with their German captors. --Susan H., 7/23/07
Bella Tuscany, by Frances Mayes (914.44/MAY) 3 stars A delightful account of Mayes' life in Tuscany. The book transports the reader to an exquisite area of the world, ripe with bounty and glorious food. --by Susan H., 7/23/07
Terrorist, by John Updike (Fiction) 4 stars The very prolific writer John Updike brings us a timely and thought-provoking novel. Ahmad is a devoted Muslim high school student of 18, who is disillusioned by the materialistic world around him, and somewhat repulsed by his Irish-American mother who has raised him after his Egyptian Father abandoned them. His growing fanaticism makes him the perfect target for exploitation by a terrorist group. Could hardly put this book down. . . A great read. --Gwen Quackenbush, 7/23/07
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Fiction) 4 stars A beautifully executed, poignant story of Stevens, a master butler who has spent his whole life (and his father before him) in service to others. The novel deals with his reflections on his life looking back over 30 years. In his obsession to be the perfect butler, Stevens has missed the opportunity to have a life of his own, perhaps with head housekeeper, Miss Kenton. He also missed the flaws in character of his master, Lord Marlington, through his unshakeable loyalty. A sad tale about an era which is all but gone. I loved it. --Gwen Quackenbush, 7/20/07
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini (Fiction) 4 stars A "splendid" book--not quite as good as Hosseini's Kite Runner--but a must-read! I sat on my porch today to finish the last fifty pages with tears running down my face. --Liz Burns, 7/12/07
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler (Fiction) 1 star This book is about two families who adopt babies from Korea--one family is American, the other Iranian. I expected it to be about the adoptees. Instead it's about the adults. It seemed soap-opera-like to me. It is not up to the quality of some of Tyler's others works. --Lillian Fahrner, 7/11/07
Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume (Fiction) 2 stars The book was OK. It was a little hard to get started, but it was a quick read. A good book for the beach or pool. Typical chick book. --Anonymous, 7/10/07
A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster (Fiction) 4 stars I consider this book timeless. Language and expressions may change but situations do not. With great humor, well-drawn characters, and lush settings, E.M. Forster creates an enchanting "back-and-forth" tale of a heroine caught between what she thinks she should do, and what her head and heart tell her she must do. --Gwen Quakenbush, 7/3/07
Ordinary Life, by Elizabeth Berg (Fiction) 3 stars In this collection of short stories, the author shows her usual "knack" for getting inside a woman's mind and soul, exploring, and then recording what she finds within. Ms. Berg's endings sometimes leave you "up in the air," deciding for yourself how the situation might or might not be resolved . . . but is this a bad thing? --Gwen Quakenbush, 6/28/07

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