Ferndale Library Staff Recommends: Kelly's Highly Rated Reads

This story was written by Jeff Milo and Kelly Bennett.

This week, Ferndale Public Library's intrepid Circulation Director (and curator of our monthly live local music showcase) Kelly Bennett is clearing out her GoodReads.com queue for you.

Some of her most highly rated reads (and listens) from the past 6 months are included below. Get her take and come check out some of the titles next Tuesday, June 18, at 7 p.m. when Ms. Bennett welcomes Soul Explosion to perform in our Community Room as part of our Special Summer Concert Series.

The Shadow of the Windby
By Carlos Ruiz Zafon
FIC ZAFON
I listened to this one on audiobook, and despite the bizarre music under some of the dialogue, this book is a winner. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes ambience and a place that is as much a character as the people in it. When I read it, I didn't know it was the first book in the "Cemetery of Forgotten Books" but that's exciting news to me. Can't wait to immerse myself in Barcelona again.

Super-Cannesby
By J.G. Ballard
Available through The Library Network
From the author that brought us Crash (what the Cronenberg film was based on), comes yet another disturbing book about the horrors of suburbia. Set in a well-manicured business park where all residents' needs are seemingly taken care of, this book delves into the twisted parts of the psyche that emerge when life's day to day struggles are eliminated. A heavy read, but rewarding.

Transmetropolitan
By Warren Ellis
GRAPHIC ELLIS
Are you ready for your new favorite anti-hero? May I introduce you to Spider Jerusalem – journalist, easily identified, after a few pages, by the spider tattooed to his head will become someone you wish really existed. He fights evil in the world by being a ruthless journalist who tells the truth in a world filled with new drugs, new perversions and the same old corruption in places of power. I found myself glued to Transmet for days on end, reading until my eyes hurt, and NEEDING to know what happened to Spider.

White Teeth
By Zadie Smith
FIC SMITH
Smith's debut is a doozy. A multi-generational epic that looks at race, culture, sex, religion and more in the modern Britain. Zadie just writes so well! Her characters are so alive, they'll carry you through complicated text and world events. I found it more enjoyable when I just let the words wash over me, instead of trying to analyze.

Organizing from the Inside Out
By Julie Morgenstern
This book gave me the single best organizing tip I've ever gotten. Treat your space like a kindergarten room: Make a place for everything. I've spruced up my office in particular by using this principle. There's more detailed plans for tackling larger messes by analyzing what type of mess-maker you are that are also quite handy.