Daughter of Fortune (Isabel Allende)

An orphan raised in Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, young, vivacious Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849—a danger-filled quest that will become a momentous journey of transformation.

The Devil in the White City (Erik Larson)

A spellbinding bestseller that intertwines the true tale of two men—the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.

March (Geraldine Brooks)

As the North reels under a series of unexpected defeats during the dark first year of the Civil War, one man leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs.

Everyone's Reading Finding My Voice (Diane Rehm) and The Nick Adams Stories (Ernest Hemingway)

The first title is the Everyone's Reading selection for 2009, in which a leading radio personality describes her rise from an abusive childhood in an Arab-American household in Washington, D.C., to success in the field of radio and details her determined battle with spasmodic dysphonia, the rare neurological disorder that nearly destroyed her career.

To Keep the Waters Troubled: The Life of Ida B. Wells (Linda O. McMurry)

In the generation following Frederick Douglass, no African American was more prominent or outspoken than Ida B. Wells. Her fiery personality and uncompromising approach sometimes lost her friendships even as it won great victories.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)

Foot binding; nu shu, a 1000-year-old secret language used by women of Hunan Province, and laotong, the arranged friendship between little girls meant to last a lifetime, provide the framework for this look at a chapter in Chinese history.

The Wonder Spot (Melissa Banks): Struggling with ambivalent feelings toward the passions and identities that are important to other members of her Jewish Pennsylvania family, Sophie Applebaum makes observations about her family life over the course of 20 years. By the author of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing.

Best Friends (Martha Moody): From their first meeting at Oberlin College in 1973, the friendship of two very different women - one from a working-class, Protestant family in Ohio and the other from a wealthy, Jewish family in L.A. - spans two decades and endures family and career demands.

Jitterbug Perfume (Tom Robbins): This philosophical epic, with a large cast of characters, addresses the fervent desire of the human race to overcome the tyranny of aging and physical death.

Cannery Row (John Steinbeck): Vividly depicts the colorful, sometimes disreputable, inhabitants of a run-down area in Monterey, California.

A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hesseini): Two women born a generation apart witness the destruction of their home and family in war-torn Kabul, losses incurred over the course of thirty years that test the limits of their strength and courage. By the author of The Kite Runner.

Motor City blue by Loren D. Estleman — January 1988

The situation in Flushing by Edmund G. Love — February 1988

The prince of tides by Pat Conroy — March 1988

Rascal [sound recording] by Sterling North — April 1988