Claire picks:The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

If you have 4 wives, 28 children, build whorehouses, and are a pillar of your church community, your mid-life crisis may look different than other people's. But it also might look very much the same. Expected by so many to be the leader and head of household that they need, Golden Richards finds himself, once again, coming up short. He's having trouble making decisions, his dog is wearing underpants, he doesn't know why there's gum in his pubic hair, he's in love with his boss's wife, and battles are being waged amongst his wives and children. Through it all, Golden manages to feel helpless and very much alone.

The Lonely Polygamist provides an interesting look inside polygamy but it really tells the universal story of looking for a place to belong. Without any of the sensationalism that often surrounds polygamy this is an honest look at family dynamics and people who are seeking love in the only ways they know how. It also happens to be quite funny and thoroughly entertaining. There are wonderful characters in this book who will stay with me for a long time, namely Son #5 Rusty, aka The Family Terrorist, Wife #4 Trish, Cooter the dog and of course, Golden himself, the lonely polygamist you can't help rooting for.

Chris picks:Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life by Steve Almond

"Styx has become the mullet of bands." For those of us who grew up in the seventies and eighties, convinced we had both musical talent and taste, this statement crystallizes our secret shame. We loved Styx and Toto--until we were told we weren't supposed to by an older sibling- and have spent the rest of our lives coming to terms with it. From extended 7th grade listening sessions of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" to hanging out with Dave Grohl at his estate, Almond's wonderfully satisfying book chronicles his evolution as a "Drooling Fanatic" of popular (and not-so-popular) contemporary music. If you have ever fancied yourself a music critic-- especially if you have recently hit middle age--this book provides a necessary antidote to the problem of taking life and art too seriously.

Suzanne picks: The Spare Room by Helen Garner

I decided to read The Spare Room after I read James Wood's review of the book in his Book Bench blog. The author, Helen Garner, is an Australian writer, film maker and journalist. She recounts in this novella, set in present day Melbourne, the care the protagonist Helen gives her good friend Nicola, who is dying of cancer. She describes the raw emotional sensations from trying to accept Nicola's alternative healing treatments to her own physical exhaustion as caregiver. Ultimately this leads to Helen's realization that her friend's needs matter most.
Garner writes without pretentiousness. Even though her writing is sparse it is precise. She takes all the emotional upheaval of the characters' current friendship and spits it out as validation for both of them. As James Woods wrote the "novella is..utterly unsentimental, facing death without shyness." Her book brought me closer to understanding friendship and frank honesty as well.

Pat L-s picks: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

TUESDAY, MAY 4 at 7PM
BILL MCKIBBEN / EAARTH

In his new book, the best-selling author of Deep Economy shows that we're living in a fundamentally altered planet-thus the spelling of earth. Our old, familiar globe is suddenly melting, drying, acidifying, flooding and burning in ways we have never seen before. McKibben doesn't stop with the bad news, he offers ways to help preserve nature's greatest treasures.

TUESDAY, MAY 11 at 7PM
TIM BROOKES

Often hilarious, ultimately profound, Thirty Percent Chance of Enlightenment begins when Tim Brookes receives a phone call from his editor at National Geographic asking if he'd like to write an article on weather forecasting-an assignment that doesn't go as forecast. He embarks on an adventure that starts in a hurricane on an icy mountaintop in New Hampshire and takes him to India to watch the monsoon come ashore and write about the elaborate, almost mystical art of monsoon forecasting. When the rain begins, however, a series of misunderstandings finds him banned from every single office of the India Meteorological Department.

TUESDAY, MAY 25 at 7PM
THE EARTH'S BEST STORY: A BITTERSWEET STORY OF TWIN BROTHERS WHO SPARKED AN ORGANIC REVOLUTION

Ron Koss and his brother Arnie founded Earth's Best Baby Food in 1985. This book tells the story of how they succeeded in creating the first nationally distributed organics food company to sit next to its mainstream competition on a supermarket shelf. Theirs is a tale of idealism, naivete and possibility- a tale that reflects their quest to find a place in this world by somehow changing it for the better. Ron Koss lives in Montpelier. We are fortunate to have both Arnie and Ross at this event.

Cyber War by Richard Clarke

Richard A. Clarke warned America once before about the havoc terrorism would wreak on our national security - and he was right. Now he warns us of another threat, silent but equally dangerous. Cyber War is a powerful book about technology, government, and military strategy; about criminals, spies, soldiers, and hackers.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson's internationally best-selling trilogy.

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
(See Pat L-S review under Staff Picks)

Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick

From the author of the "New York Times" bestseller In the Heart of the Sea and the award-winning Sea of Glory comes this chronicle of the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Mom by Dave Isay

StoryCorp's founder Dave Isay presents a celebration of American mothers featuring StoryCorp's most revelatory stories on the subject.

Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd

From the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair comes a memoir written with her daughter chronicling their travels together.

Birdology by Sy Montgomery

Not your typical Mother's Day gift and YET--Sy Montgomery takes a book about birds and turns it into a compassionate, witty, charming, captivating and very accessible account of some of the most fascinating creatures on earth, especially for those of us who have fallen in love with a hen or two...