Christina's Miscellaneous Favorites
Click on any title or cover to find the item in the SWAN Online Catalog.
Mystery & Suspsense
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown

The murder of a world-famous physicist raises fear that the Illuminati are operating again after centuries of silence, and religion professor Robert Langdon is called in to assist with the case. By the author of Digital Fortress.
Gone Girl : a novel
by Gillian Flynn

When a beautiful woman goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her marriage and a mysterious illness; while her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred. By the best-selling author of Dark Places. Includes readers guide.
In the Woods
by Tana French

Twenty years after witnessing the violent disappearances of two companions from their small Dublin suburb, detective Rob Ryan investigates a chillingly similar murder that takes place in the same wooded area, a case that forces him to piece together his traumatic memories.
The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins

Obsessively watching a breakfasting couple every day to escape the pain of her losses, Rachel witnesses a shocking event that inextricably entangles her in the lives of strangers.
Mystic River
by Dennis Lehane

Sean Devine must confront the world of violence and pain he tried to forget when his childhood friend's daughter is murdered, and the investigation brings him face-to-face with a vigilante killer and a man with a dangerous secret.
Women's Literature
The Language of Flowers : a novel
by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Discovering the symbolic meanings of flowers while languishing in the foster-care system, 18-year-old Victoria is hired by a florist when her talent for helping others is discovered, a situation that leads to a romantic prospect and the confrontation of a painful secret from her past.
Bridget Jones's Diary : a novel
by Helen Fielding

This witty national bestseller is now available in paperback, allowing readers to enjoy all over again the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of a single woman determined to outlast her single status.
Eat, Pray, Love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert

Traces the author's decision to quit her job and travel the world for a year after suffering a midlife crisis and divorce, an endeavor that took her to three places in her quest to explore her own nature, experience fulfillment, and learn the art of spiritual balance.
The Nanny Diaries : a novel
by Emma McLaughlin

Drawn from real-life experiences, a bittersweet satire provides an insider's glimpse into Manhattan's upper class by following Nanny, a struggling NYU student who takes a position caring for the son of the rich and glamorous X family, as she soon learns how to juggle a vast array of tasks so that a Park Avenue wife never has to lift a well-manicured finger.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood : a novel
by Rebecca Wells

SiddaLee has escaped her Louisiana hometown to become a theatrical director, but as she gathers mementos from the Ya-Ya Sisterhood to assist in writing a play about women's friendships, she yearns to revisit her childhood.
Magical Realism
The Supernatural Enhancements : a novel
by Edgar Cantero

Inheriting an eerie estate in the Virginia woods, a skeptical man wonders about his family member's suicide and realizes that the house harbors both ghosts and terrible secrets, in a story told through journal entries, scrawled notes, security footage, audio recordings and advertisements.
Life of Pi : a novel
by Yann Martel

Possessing encyclopedia-like intelligence, unusual zookeeper's son Pi Patel sets sail for America, but when the ship sinks, he escapes on a life boat and is lost at sea with a dwindling number of animals until only he and a hungry Bengal tiger remain.
1Q84
by Haruki Murakami

The internationally best-selling and award-winning author of such works as What I Talk About When I Talk About Running presents a psychologically charged tale that draws on Orwellian themes.
The Time Traveler's Wife : a novel
by Audrey Niffenegger

Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.
The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

A boy named Daniel selects a novel from a library of rare books, enjoying it so much that he searches for the rest of the author's works, only to discover that someone is destroying every book the author has ever written.
Narrative Nonfiction
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil : a Savannah story
by John Berendt

Re-released to coincide with the major motion picture version directed by Clint Eastwood, the best-selling account tells the true story of the murder of the local bad boy in the opulent mansion of a gay antiques dealer in charming Old South Savannah, Georgia.
Unbroken : a World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand

Tells the gripping true story of a U.S. airman who was the soul surviver when his bomber crashed into the sea during World War II and had to face thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. By the #1 best-selling author of Seabiscuit.
The Devil in the White City : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America
by Erik Larson

A compelling account of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 brings together the divergent stories of two very different men who played a key role in shaping the history of the event--visionary architect Daniel H. Burnham, who coordinated its construction, and Dr. Henry H. Holmes, an insatiable and charming serial killer who lured women to their deaths.
In the Garden of Beasts : love, terror, and an American family in Hitler's Berlin
by Erik Larson

The best-selling author of Devil in the White City documents the efforts of first American ambassador to Hitler's Germany William E. Dodd to acclimate to a residence in an increasingly violent city where he is forced to associate with the Nazis while his daughter pursues a relationship with Gestapo chief Rudolf Diels.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot

Documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization and gene mapping.
Elmwood Park Public Library
1 Conti Parkway
Elmwood Park, Illinois 60707
(708) 453-7645

www.elmwoodparklibrary.org