Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky

Title: Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality
Author: Jacob Tomsky
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor

Jacob Tomsky lets you look through the peephole of the hotel industry from the point of view of an employee. He has worked in various positions: parking valet, head of housekeeping, and behind the front desk. He offers up salacious stories, travel tips, and life lessons. He also sprinkles in a little of his personal story and drops a few names to keep things interesting.

I never suspected how carefully orchestrated the hustles are, and I know the next time I find myself in a home away from home, I will have a whole new understanding and appreciation for all that goes into the hospitality business.

- Sarah R.

Check out Heads in Beds @ the library! 

The Book of Help by Megan Griswold

Title: The Book of Help: A Memoir in Remedies
Author: Megan Griswold
Genre: Memoir, Self-Help

The Book of Help is an interesting memoir, written by a woman who has tried nearly every alternative treatment available. Author Megan Griswold reflects on the self-help seminars she's been attending since she was a child, traveling to South America and finding love in the process, and experimenting with pretty much everything under the sun to find herself.

The book reminded me a bit of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, but it has a unique format. I wasn't sure what to expect wen I picked up this book, but Griswold's story is interesting and her tales are varied. She writes in short chapters that make it easy to start and stop the book as you wish. You'll learn a lot about different methods of treating pain (both physical and emotional), and watch Griswold's growth to adulthood.

- Jamie

Check out The Book of Help @ the library!

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Title: Three Women
Author: Lisa Taddeo

Genre: Non-Fiction

This book isn't going to be for everyone, and it's definitely not the feel-good book of the year. Lisa Taddeo follows the sex lives of three women (hence the title): one in a loveless marriage who turns to a high-school boyfriend; one who was groomed, courted, and dropped by her high school teacher; and one who participates in menage a trois to please her husband. These three tales of desperation, desire, and dissatisfaction are shared, but not glorified. It is an unvarnished and introspective look at fidelity, morals, and family/couple dynamics.

- Sarah R.

Check out Three Women @ the library.

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life by Brian Grazy and Charles Fishman

Title: A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
Author: Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Motivational

Movie producer Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, Splash, Backdraft, Apollo 13) talks about the many times that curiosity has propelled him along in both finding his career and furthering it. The names dropped, and there are many, are some of the tippy top of lists everywhere: Oprah, Jonas Salk, Isaac Asimov, and more. 

Grazer also talks about different types of curiosity, when to engage them, and when to turn it off. In this Golden Age of Curiosity, he feels that those who ask have a better-than-ever opportunity to find their answers. 

While I didn't end up in love with this book, I did find it a good reminder that simple curiosity can take you places that maybe you never anticipated going. 

- Sarah R.

Check out A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life @ the library.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Title: I Owe You One
Author: Sophie Kinsella

Genre: Women's Fiction

Fixie Farr can't help herself. As her nickname suggests, she can't let a task go undone or a project go untackled. However, there are some things that can't be corrected by her alone, like her posturing brother and her helpless sister who are supposed to help her run the family home goods store while their mom is taking a much-needed vacation. 

As if that weren't enough, Fixie's high school crush comes back to town. Plus, she's got to contend with a braggart uncle who is trading in a past favor for current freebies. When Fixie does an unexpected favor for a stranger in a coffee shop, her already chaotic life gets even more tangled. 

Can Fixie live up to her name and her dad's motto of "family first" or is it high time she changes that motto to "Fixie first"?

- Sarah R.

Check out I Owe You One @ the library.

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

Title: Pumpkinheads
Author: Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Contemporary

It's the last night of the season, and the last season before friends Josie and Deja head off to college after four falls of working together. The Pumpkin Patch is the perfect place to experience fall, with pumpkins, kettle corn, corn mazes, hayrides, and just about any pumpkin product you can think of. It’s also Josie’s last chance to talk to his crush, Marcy also known as "The Fudge Girl". His shyness is only matched by Deja’s enthusiasm to try all of the treats at the patch one last time.

Pumpkinheads is an all in one night epic story, told by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks. The pumpkin patch sets up a variety of obstacles for Josie, and of course the reader gets to experience the great pumpkin patch with the friends!  Josie is a nice guy who doesn’t quite know what he wants, while Deja is a bold girl who is the kind of friend everyone needs.

Readers will be cheering them on, and it's hard to not enjoy this literary equivalent of a pumpkin spiced latte.

- Katie

Check out Pumpkinheads @ the library!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography

Title: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography
Author: Eric Idle

Genre: Memoir

If you'd like a detailed recounting of a member of Monty Python's life, give a listen to Eric Idle's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography. While I did, of course, laugh-out-loud occasionally, there were also serious and sad bits so it's not all fun and games. There's also a ton of name-dropping so if that gets on your nerves, steer clear. Plus, as you might expect with one of this lot, there are expletives and inappropriate comments so if you're not a fan of their ribald humor, you, too, may want to give this a pass. Nudge nudge, know what I mean?

The audiobook is read by Eric Idle himself so if you enjoy an English accent and hearing words pronounced surprisingly, that'll be an added bonus for you.

- Sarah R.

Check out Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography @ the library.