Valerie Gross is the first to acknowledge that she spends some of her free time working, but she finds time to read. A short list of books the library director would recommend includes:
The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini.
Words that Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear, Frank Luntz.
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift, Elinor Lipman.
My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult.
"I have read Words that Work at least 10 times and would read anything by Lipman or Picoult," said Gross. "Howard County Library is mentioned all over the place in The Thriving Library by Marylaine Block, so, of course, I have read that book thoroughly, too."