BY Molly Congdon
Gazette Reporter
CLIFTON PARK & HALFMOON—
1.“The Art Forger” by B.A. Shapiro
Reasons they picked it:
It’s a suspenseful, mystery that’s a page turner
-It includes interesting facts about making art reproductions, including the brilliant mid-20th
century Dutch forger Han van Meegeren, who fooled art critics and dealers for years
with his faux Vermeers.
-It poses questions such as: What is Art? What makes Art valuable? How important is
authenticity? What makes an expert an expert? What would any of us be willing to do to secure our ambitions?
2.“The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown
Reasons they picked it:
-It’s not just about the Depression,sports or the Olympics in Berlin. It has universal themes and subjects that range in appeal and interest from history enthusiasts and rowers to story tellers and memoir keepers.
-More than anything, it is about families, struggles, friendship and grit. As a group they agreed the “Boys in the Boat” had something for everyone, especially in an upcoming Olympic year.
3.“Euphoria” by Lily King
Reasons they picked it:
-It’s a beautifully written story that’s informative, unusual, and thought-provoking.
-The unforgettable characters, based on Margaret Mead and other anthropologists of
the day, were fascinating as well as their study of primitive cultures.
-Combines anthropology, romance, and adventure set in the middle of the strange
and interesting culture of New Guinea.
4.“The Martian” by Andy Weir
Reasons they picked it:
-It’s a thrilling page-turner with a “pop” style, written with enjoyable alternate narration view-point chapters, and told from the perspective of flight staff on both the planet Earth and the Hermes space craft, and the abandoned astronaut on Mars.
-The movie will be released October 2015 starring Matt Damon!
-It contains important themes such as American ingenuity, survival, problem solving, space exploration, morality of our choices, and the need for our world to unite for a common cause.
5.“TransAtlantic” by Colum McCann
Reasons they picked it:
-The opening scenes depicting the first non-stop transatlantic flight will have you on the edge of my seat while reading.
-The book presents historical events of Ireland with intimate details.
-The historic events are connected by a clever structure – the stories of several
generations of strong women from a single family.
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