The Power of Habit

In The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business investigative reporter Charles Duhigg details the discoveries that have explained why habits exist, and how the knowledge of habits impact individuals, businesses and organizations, and societies. Duhigg explains how Febreze became a bestselling product, how Target uses customer habits to predict which customers are pregnant (and sends coupons before you even know you need an item), how Tony Dungy turned terrible football teams into winners, how Rosa Parks sparked the bus boycott and much more. He also gives explanations for how the knowledge of habits can help us transform our lives.

Included on Amazon's list of the best books of the year so far and recipient of many positive reviews, The Power of Habit is an above-average, interesting read even if, like me, you don't intend to change any of your habits.

The Chaperone

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty begins in Wichita, Kansas in 1922. Louise Brooks, who becomes the most famous of the silent movie flappers, is just fifteen. Louise is traveling by train to New York City to study modern dance at a famous studio. Louise is already beautiful but arrogant and wild. Her father hires Cora Carlisle as a chaperone. Cora is a thirty-six year-old wife and mother of two. She is a traditional upper middle class housewife with secrets. While Louise is at the dance studio all day Cora is searching for information about her birth parents. She was once Cora X, left at a Manhattan orphanage as a very small girl. When she was seven or eight Cora was sent west on an orphan train. Luckily for her she was taken in by a childless couple who loved her like a daughter. Cora Carlisle is a likable, relatable character you can empathize with.

This novel about identity, decency and acceptance is one of the best I’ve read this year.

Leaving Paradise

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

After a horrible car accident, Maggie returns home from long stay at the hospital, nursing her injured leg. With unfortunate timing, Caleb also returns home from the prison stay he was given for driving the car that hit Maggie. Since this accident, both teenagers have been labeled “freaks” by those around them; Caleb for his criminal record and Maggie for her nagging limp. The two try their best to stay away from each other, most out of necessity for sanity than the court order. However, fate has another idea when Caleb gets a job working for an elderly woman named Mrs. Reynolds, the same woman who Maggie spends most of her summer helping.

Elkeles does a wonderful job describing both characters’ point of views. Both teens must learn how to deal with their actions and the consequences that follow, no matter how uncomfortable they might be. Check out the book’s sequel Return to Paradise, available now!

Mystery Book Club

The Ruth Culver Community Library’s Mystery Book Club will discuss needlework mysteries Thursday, July 12 at 6:45 p.m.  Books are available on display in the library. New members are always welcome! Contact June at 643-8318 with questions.

Authors to consider:
· Earlene Fowler
· Elizabeth Lynn Casey
· Monica Ferris

People of the Book

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks begins in Sarajevo in 1996. Hanna Heath, a thirty-year-old rare book expert from Australia is examining an illustrated Hebrew manuscript from 15th Century Spain. The book was first noticed in 1894. After passing through many hands, it was lost in 1992 when the siege of Sarajevo began.

The author alternates chapters set in 1996 and chapters going farther into the past. Hanna finds small clues in the book’s binding, wine stains, a white hair, and a fragment of insect wing. As the story progresses we get closer to the secret of who created the book. Each time is revealed through the action of characters circa 1940 Sarajevo, 1894 Vienna, 1609 Venice, 1492 Tarragon Spain, and 1480 Seville.

Inspired by a true story, People of the Book shows the book bringing together Jews, Christians, and Muslims trying to save the priceless manuscript.

Author Brooks was the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction winner for her novel, March.