The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne

Mostly, this book is the personal memoir of a man who works hard every single day to manage a health problem. He's been incapacitated, given up on life, and damaged by something he has no control over. And yet he maintains a great sense of humor and perspective.

Hanagarne has the most extreme case of Tourette's that his doctors have seen. His tics cause him harm in a number of alarming ways: when medicine failed to help control it, he became ... a weightlifter? When he couldn't stop the noises, he studied to become ... a librarian? While this may seem counter-intuitive, Hanagarne perseveres as a big thinker who puzzles through problems by asking a million questions without worrying that many are unanswerable.

I really enjoyed this book because it's not a typical autobiography. Josh isn't always positive, and he's never certain he'll be successful. He loses faith, and his worst nightmare (passing Tourette's to his son) comes true. Yet he keeps putting one foot in front of the other.

This is also a book about libraries: the people who love them, the people that use them, and the philosophy behind the institution. Big-city libraries are a true melting pot, and Josh does a great job explaining what his day is like and describing the people he meets (I'm reminded to be grateful as a small-town librarian that I don't have the same characters and struggles).

Hanagarne is a Renaissance man - smart, bookish, inquisitive, and polite. But he's also a physical hulk with a hobby that includes throwing boulders for no good reason. The book is well-written, a great mix of trials and tribulations, funny library stories, and moments of faith and reflection. I'll recommend it -  and not just to librarians and fans of libraries - to anyone interested in personal stories.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

Meet 11-year-old Swan Lake - a girl who knows her own mind and doesn't often hold her tongue. As a narrator, she's brilliant: we see family tragedy filtered through a child's skewed perception and observe day-to-day life through the lens of a kid who sees more than she should.

Her mother's family, the Moses clan, are a proud people; they're known for honesty and integrity, and the family businesses hold a solid place in 1950s Arkansas society. But as this book begins, the Moses' are rocked by a series of events that shakes up their family dynamic and eventually force them to re-examine "Moses Honesty" versus "Plain Old Honesty."

The book's got great heart and a warmth I really enjoyed. It's literary but still fun, light enough for summer reading but welcomes further examination. Due for release in July, I've already devoured the advanced reader's copy of this book and will be recommending it for next year's book club rotation; themes of family, trust, faith, and childhood innocence could all be ripe topics for lively discussion.