Snow Days

As a child, one of the things I loved were days off from school. Snow days were like gifts from the weather gods--I could stay home and read all day if I wanted to. I usually did want to read in my spare time!

Snow days can be a wonderful break from the routine, although they seem to have become the routine these past few weeks! Settling in with a good book and a cup of coffee is a great way to spend some time while the flakes are falling. Here are a few books that you might want to consider reading the next time you're cooped into the house!

Dracula, My Love by Syrie James is the famous vampire story told from Mina Harker's point of view. Read this and tell me it's impossible not to love Dracula! This book came out at about the same time that Karen Essex's Dracula In Love was released.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell tells the story of Father Emilio Sandoz, the only survivor of a secret Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat. Fr. Sandoz is bitter and broken when he returns and we learn about the mission and his breakdown as he tells his story while under inquisition from the Church. The characters and the plot make this story wonderful to read and the themes of first contact, the nature of god and of faith make this a thought provoking book as well.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern African American woman who was buried in an unmarked grave six decades ago. This woman and her story would have been lost to history if not for the story Ms. Skloot tells. Unknown to her or her family, her cells were harvested and became one of the most important medical research tools ever discovered. The author presents a tale both fascinating and horrifying as we ponder the ethics of medical research, the pervasiveness of racism and how a family tries to understand something they never knew occurred. Don't miss this one!

Stop by the Library for more great suggestions. We're always happy to talk books!