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The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is a humorous story of a man finding love. Don Tillman is a professor of genetics at an Australian university. He is extremely intelligent, quirky and probably has Asperger Syndrome. His only friends are Gene, also a professor and a philanderer, and Gene’s wife Claudia, a clinical psychologist. Don decides he wants a wife and gets advice from Gene and Claudia. He makes a questionnaire to weed out smokers and those who are chronically late. Then Rosie comes into his life. She smokes and is chronically late.

Right now we are celebrating Fond du Lac Reads with the book Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson. Mr. Hingson is a blind man who was in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and survived with the help of his guide dog Roselle. Dogs do not have to be service dogs or therapy dogs to have a big effect on our lives. If you are a dog lover, you know what I mean. Books that highlight the dog/human bond are on display at the Library in conjunction with Fond du Lac Reads.

If you knew you were dying, what would you do? What would you see? Who would you spend your last year with? Susan Spencer-Wendel faced these decisions at forty-four years old when she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - Lou Gehrig's disease - an irreversible condition that systematically destroys the nerves that power the muscles. She shares her story in Until I Say Goodbye: My Year of Living With Joy.

Set in rural Manitowoc County mainly during 1994-1995, Mourning Hours tells the story of what happened after teenager Stacy Lemke disappeared in an early March snowstorm. Although in the end the mystery is solved, the story is more about how her disappearance affected the Hammarstrom family and the community. The tone of the book is tense as the strain on the family causes their lives together to come apart. Paula Treick DeBoard’s details of life in rural Wisconsin ring true, and her characters are realistic and believable.