This 2011 CNY Reads selection opens with a tragedy that sees acclaimed writer Jack Cardinal dead, his wife in a coma and their daughter and son forced to move to the southwestern Virginia farm of their aged great-grandmother, Louisa. This is a tale of hope and wonder and “something of a miracle” just itching to happen.

This entertaining presentation of local history includes over 100 true tales of Skaneateles, its waters and shores, sons and daughters, heroes and villains. The stories include wayward husbands, spotless summer society, a lad skating the length of the lake, a Prussian baron, stars of the silent screen at Krebs’, a Dickensian cemetery owner moving bodies at night, and many, many more.

In May 1943, the Army Air Forces B-24 carrying 26-year-old former Olympic runner Louis Zamperini crashed into the Pacific. After 47 days adrift at sea, Zamperini and one companion survivor were captured by the Japanese. The bestselling author of Seabiscuit tells a page-turning story ranging from the 1936 Olympics, to the most brutal World War II POW camps, and ending with the August 1945 liberation and Zamperini’s return home.

Gathering thoughts from parents, teachers, researchers, environmentalists and other concerned parties, Louv argues for a return to an awareness of and appreciation for the natural world. Not only can nature teach kids science and nurture their creativity, he says nature needs its children: where else will its future stewards come from?

To his readers Ernie Pyle was a master at telling the story of the little guy and of describing the fears and daily strife of soldiers fighting during World War II. This book presents the best of these newspaper columns, which captured the scenes and humanized the war for his readers. Speaker Sean Kirst will also discuss Ernie Pyle’s writing style and relate it to his own writings and experience. Great for both Ernie Pyle/WWll enthusiasts and persons who are interested in the mechanics of a particular style of prose.

This debut novel follows the meandering, intertwining stories of three young people who go missing. A suspenseful novel about the power of running and the desire for reinvention, it explores the terror and transcendence of our most central experiences and the ability to find one’s place in a careless world.

In this memoir, the humorist and “Ask Amy” syndicated advice columnist describes her experiences with divorce, career uncertainty, traveling across the country and resettling in her hometown near Ithaca, New York, where the women of her family, the so-called “Mighty Queens,” provide love, support and common sense as they help her to raise her daughter. 

This compelling story and new examination of the purported insanity of one of America’s most tragic first ladies is based on previously lost letters and unpublished materials. The author charts Mary Lincoln’s mental illness throughout her life and describes how a predisposition to psychiatric illness and a life of mental and emotional trauma led to her commitment to the asylum.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.