If you are from the Chattanooga area, you can vote on the book(s) the city
will read next. You may print this ballot and drop off your vote at any
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library branch; mail it to: “A
Tale for One City,” 1001
Broad Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402; or vote by e-mail at ataleforonecity@lib.chattanooga.gov.
Please choose one adult book from the following finalists:
_____ The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Told through the eyes of a 15-year old autistic boy, Christopher John Francis Boone, this novel explores the world from a point of view that is foreign to most people. While Boone attempts to solve the mystery of his neighbor's murdered dog, he reveals the many layers of his own history. Though this sounds terribly serious, it is not: while reading, it will often cause you to laugh out loud. This is a book of fiction but it gives you a hint of what a high-functioning autistic teen might experience in ordinary and extra-ordinary life.
_____ The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The main character is a woman, Precious Ramotswe, who opens a detective agency in her home country of Botswana, Africa. This book shows another side of Africa that is not pictured on the news: the everyday life of the people. It portrays a positive picture of modern Africa incorporating themes of African traditions and pride. Ramotswe is not the traditional mystery detective. Having lived through an abusive marriage and the death of her baby son, she uses her understanding of human nature and her common sense to help people in distress. This is not a violent, gory mystery; rather, it is a lighter, funnier look at regular people who happen to live in a different culture.
_____ Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This story will grab you immediately with the scene in the menagerie tent. But what you might love most about the novel is the narrator, Jacob Jankowski. You might want to read the book slowly so that you will not have to say goodbye to Jacob, too soon. Ms. Gruen did an amazing job not only portraying the life of this man and the interesting friends and enemies he made while being the vet for a traveling circus, but showing that the elderly have amazing stories to tell. We are reminded how dignity is in danger of being lost when elderly people are treated like children once they are of certain age. But it also shows how so many simple offerings can bring that dignity back.