By Elizabeth Gilbert

Shares the author’s wisdom and thoughts on creativity, offering insight into inspiration and discussing the attitudes, approaches, and habits needed to live a creative life.

By Liz Murray
With Jackie Ranaldo, Head of Readers' Services

Monday, September 9, 2013.  7 PM.

"The author offers an emotional account of her amazing journey from a 15-year-old living on the streets and eating garbage to her acceptance into Harvard, a feat that prompted a Lifetime movie and a successful motivational-speaking career (From the Publisher)."

*A 2011 Alex Award Winner

By Jack Canfield

Gathers stories of true love, courtship, commitment, intimacy, family life, love at first sight, and enduring marriages.

By Shilpa Raj
Recommended By Neela Vass, Head of Acquisitions

When you are a female born into a poor Indian family, the odds are already stacked greatly against you. The human drama captured in this memoir is nothing short of amazing - a young woman's struggle between the two worlds of her existence. Saved by her grandmother from being killed at birth for being a female, and abandoned by her mother at a young age, Shilpa faces the formidable constraints placed on her by her family and the village elders. The values with which she is being brought up in a school for poor children started by a philanthropist come in conflict with those of her family, tearing each other apart. Just when all seems settled, an unforeseen death under mysterious circumstances shatters whatever stability remains in her life. Pulled in opposite directions, and torn between despair and dreams, Shilpa finally makes a choice for her escape. But is she strong enough to stand up to the people she loves, and pursue what she wants? At its heart The Elephant Chaser's Daughter is about hope, when all seems lost. Written with raw honesty and grit, this is a deeply moving memoir of a young woman confronting her 'untouchable' status in a caste-based society, and her aspirations for a good future.

By Gretchen Craft Rubin
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services, Sonia Grgas, Reference Librarian

"Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project (From the Publisher)."

By Mitch Albom
Recommended By Marie McLaughlin, Head of Circulation

“Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story (From the Publisher).”

By Elizabeth Bettina
Recommended By Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

Take a journey with the author as she discovers much to her surprise, that her grandparent's small village, nestled in the heart of southern Italy, housed an internment camp for Jews during the Holocaust, and that it was far from the only one.

By Randy Pausch
Recommended By Brenda Cherry, Reference Librarian

“Over the years, numerous professors have given talks entitled "The Last Lecture." For Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch, however, the topic was no mere formality... he already knew that he had metastatic pancreatic cancer (From Barnes and Noble).”

By David Kushner
Recommended By Amy B., Children's Librarian

“… Levittown is a story of hope and fear, invention and rebellion, and the power that comes when ordinary people take an extraordinary stand… (From the Publisher).”

By Gary Chapman
Recommended By Isabel Zinman, Readers' Services Librarian

“Christian marriage counselor Chapman has written this guide for anyone, regardless of religious or spiritual persuasion, who wants to become loving and compassionate. Chapman focuses on seven traits-kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty-as foundations for loving relationships, challenging readers to develop them as habits for everyday living (From Library Journal).”

By Brooke Ellison

A memoir focusing on the trials and tribulations of functioning in the world as a quadriplegic.

By Ellie Laks
Recommended By Sue Ann R., Head of Children's Services

“Traces the uplifting story of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit animal rescue that has saved hundreds of creatures from unsafe conditions, describing how the author and shelter volunteers rehabilitate their charges, many of whom become companions for at-risk inner-city and special-needs children (From the Publisher).”

By Larry Levin
Recommended By Sue Ann R., Head of Children's Services

“…Heartwarming and redemptive, OOGY is the story of the people who were determined to rescue this dog against all odds, and of the family who took him home, named him "Oogy" (an affectionate derivative of ugly), and made him one of their own (From the Publisher).”

By Tracy Kidder
Recommended By Audrey Honigman, Library Clerk, Jackie, Head of Readers' Services

“The “master of the non-fiction narrative” gives us the inspiring account of one man’s remarkable American journey and of the ordinary people who helped him — a brilliant testament to the power of will (From the Publisher).”

By Theresa Caputo

Blending together personal stories, compelling anecdotes, and client readings, the star of TLC's Long Island Medium shares her world and her gift of communicating with those who have crossed over to the other side.

By Greg Mortenson
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

Dangerously ill after his attempt to climb K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, Greg Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe. In return, he promised to build the impoverished town’s first school, as project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.

By Andy Andrews

At a low point in his life, David Ponder finds himself traveling back in time to meet with some of the wisest people in history in this modern day parable of choice, success, and the true meaning of life.

By Mitch Albom
Recommended By Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

A sportswriter conveys the wisdom of his late mentor, professor Morrie Schwartz, recounting their weekly conversations as Schwartz lay dying.

Became the movie: Tuesdays With Morrie.

By Dean Karnazes
Recommended By Megan Kass, Systems Manager

“Many would see running a marathon as the pinnacle of their athletic career; thrill-seeker Karnazes didn't just run a marathon, he ran the first marathon held at the South Pole (Publishers Weekly).”

By Lauren Hillenbrand
Recommended By Rosemarie Germaine, Senior Library Clerk, Jean Buchholtz, Library Clerk
With Ralph Guiteau, Readers' Services Librarian

Tuesday, October 16.  7:30 PM.

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashes into the Pacific and Lt. Louis Zamperini survives. Captured by the Japanese and driven to the limits of endurance, he would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor.