Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

"Renowned as Agatha Christie's most famous mystery, Murder on the Orient Express was inspired by two real-life crimes and by the author's own experience of being marooned on the fabled luxury train during Christmas of 1933"--Publisher

Starring the brillant Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot, the plot twists and turns will keep you entertained in this novel about the murder of a wealthy American on the Orient Express. Made into several movie versions throughout the years, the Adrian Public Library will be showing the 1974 version starring Albert Finney as Inspector Poirot on August 22nd at 2:00pm as part of our Wednesday Movie Matinee series. Read the original and then join us for the movie!

Find Murder on the Orient Express at the Adrian Public Library

Water for elephants by Sara Gruen

Jacob Jankowski is over 90 years old and living in a nursing home. Excitement is mounting as his fellow residents watch a circus setting up across the street. Jacob begins reminiscing about his life in the circus while in his early twenties. The story goes back and forth between his present day life in the nursing home and his time with the circus during the Great Depression. It is a wonderful true-to-life novel that immerses the reader in the nomadic life of a circus. The treatment of the circus animals and some of the circus workers is a little disconcerting, but overall the book was always interesting and I hated to put it down.
[This title was the July selection of the Bookies, the book club that meets at the Adrian Public Library on the second Thursday of each month. New members always welcome.]

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt's follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize winning Angela's Ashes and his later 'Tis starts as a lyrical tribute to his 30 year career teaching in public high schools in New York and ends as a tribute to teachers everywhere. We follow McCourt's career highs and lows as he details his struggles to hit his stride as a teacher and ultimately an author. As with any good teacher, we have a lesson to learn from McCourt: "Doggedness," he says, is "not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me throught the days and nights." Funny, honest and insightful, we can almost hear his Irish lilt.

Find Teacher Man at the Adrian Public Library.

Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans by Winston Groom

The front flyleaf of this book describes it as "a fast-paced, enthralling retelling of one of the greatest battles fought on the North American continent, and of the two men who--against all expectations and odds--joined forces to repel the British invasion of New Orleans in December 1814." Reading more like an adventure story than a history book, Winston Groom (author of Forrest Gump) brings an exciting battle in US history, as well as the personalities of Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte, to life.

Find Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans at the Adrian Public Library

It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh

Peter Walsh, host of TLC's popular show Clean Sweep takes you through the steps to putting your house and your life back in order. Part psychologist, part organizational guru, Walsh not only shows you how to tackle the clutter in your house, but how to tackle the underlying causes that keep you in clutter.

Find It's All Too Much at the Adrian Public Library.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

"New York Times bestselling author John Connolly's unique imagination takes readers through the end of innocence into adulthood and beyond in this dark and triumphantly creative novel of grief and loss, loyalty and love, and the redemptive power of stories"--Publisher.

Taking refuge in fairy tales after the loss of his mother, twelve-year-old David finds himself violently propelled into an imaginary land in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality are disturbingly melded. An imaginative fantasy, this book was number one on the American Library Association's list of ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.

Find The Book of Lost Things at Adrian Public Library.