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The Gentleman Recommends: William Brewer

Posted on Friday, August 26, 2022 by Chris

For people who like reading and books, books about books are a boon. Not only are you reading a book (an activity that you like), but you’re reading a book about books (things that you like). While I’d like to explain this further, due to space constraints, I’ll move on to typing about the particular book I’d like to recommend.

You can tell William Brewer is a poet in part because he has written an award-winning book of poetry called “I Know Your Kind,” and in part, because the language in his novel “The Red Arrow” is clearly crafted with care, or, if crafted haphazardly, then with a poet’s gifts and instincts. You’ll savor these sentences.

Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: William Brewer”

Reader Review: The Wife Upstairs

Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 by patron reviewer

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins book coverI came across “The Wife Upstairs” as a suggestion from Overdrive on a Friday evening, and although I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards a thriller, I also cannot resist anything “Jane Eyre” related, so I decided to give it a chance. Fast forward to Sunday evening, and I had devoured it — definitely one of my fastest finishing-a-book times in the past few years, as a mom of young children. But with all the plot twists and turns, I just could not bear to put it down!

It is by no means a perfect book or an enduring classic, but that’s okay — I think it does what it intends to do: entertains in its own right while hearkening back to the original. My favorite bits were the well-known quotes from the classic novel, modified and spiced up with modern curse words — absolutely delightful! I also enjoyed the self-referential bits, as when Jane finds herself “creeping around the upstairs like I’m in a gothic novel or a bad horror movie.”

Three words that describe this book: twisty-turny, Southern gothic, classic-based

You might want to pick this book up if: You are looking for a quick summer read and enjoy thrillers and/or “Jane Eyre,” but don’t hold the classic up on such a pedestal that vulgarized quotes from it will upset you. Other retellings that you might enjoy (I know I did!) are “Jane Steele” by Lyndsay Faye and “Brightly Burning” by Alexa Donne.

-Erin

 

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2022. We will continue to share these throughout the year.

LibraryReads: August 2022

Posted on Monday, August 15, 2022 by Kat

LibraryReads logoIt’s really summertime now, so grab a new book and sit in the shade (or stay inside, I won’t judge you!). We have a great lineup of LibraryReads books for August, so read on to find a favorite to get lost in.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood book cover“Love on the Brain” by Ali Hazelwood

“Bee’s worked hard to get her big break leading a NASA project. However, she learns that she’ll be working with Levi, an old acquaintance who detests her. Or does he? Hazelwood’s done it again with another fantastic romance filled with the real-world struggles of being a woman in STEM. For fans of Helen Hoang and Christina Lauren.”
—Brenna Timm, High Plains Library District, Greeley, CO

Husband Material (London Calling) by Hall, Alexis book cover“Husband Material” by Alexis Hall

“Luc has grown up and feels the pressure to get married. Oliver is still a devoted boyfriend, but his problems are now acknowledged. It’s great to see character development even in minor characters, and how they’ve progressed in the two years since ‘Boyfriend Material.’”
—Claire Sherman, Clearwater Countryside Library, Clearwater, FL

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: R.F. Kuang book cover“Babel” by R.F. Kuang

“What power do words really have? Kuang explores this question in a unique standalone fantasy where a magical system drawn from translation and silverwork fuels colonialism. With beautiful writing and welldeveloped characters, this is a fabulous book. For readers of Katherine Addison, Zen Cho and N.K. Jemisin.”
—Danielle Deaver, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Bethesda, MD

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney book cover“Daisy Darker” by Alice Feeney

“Darker isn’t just Daisy’s surname: it’s the mood of this closed-room mystery as Daisy’s family members die one by one at a remote island home. Deftly told, this nod to Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” mixes suspense and secrets with heartbreaking and poignant observations about family and childhood.”
—Jennifer Ohzourk, West Des Moines Public Library, West Des Moines, IA

Other new releases to check out:

 

One Read’s “The Big Door Prize” and Human Fulfillment

Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2022 by Seth

Big Door Prize by M.O. Walsh book cover“I could have been a contender.”

“The Big Door Prize” by M.O. Walsh is described in a nutshell by Marlon Brando’s famous line from the movie “On the Waterfront.” The book faces, head on, a major exigency of the human condition: finding the meaning in your life and meeting your potential. Lost dreams are given new reality for the characters in the book simply by putting money into a machine. With a sprinkle of your DNA the DNAMIX machine creates shiny new possibilities. The DNAMIX can, likewise, magnify a person’s decided lack of potential in glaring and humiliating ways. “The Big Door Prize” also deals with family, loss and the unique experience of growing up and living in a small town. Underlying this conventional fiction wrapper, however, is a sleepy thread of science fiction or fantasy. Continue reading “One Read’s “The Big Door Prize” and Human Fulfillment”

Reader Review: Chasing Science at Sea

Posted on Friday, August 5, 2022 by patron reviewer

Chasing Science at Sea by Ellen Prager book coverThe book “Chasing Science at Sea” is filled with the experiences of many, many scientists and researchers whose work brings them to the coast, the shorelines, the open seas, and underwater to coral reefs, ocean trenches and other fascinating places. In lay language, Prager helps to illuminate what these scientists are doing, and why science at sea matters to so many different fields within science. Their true stories are as gripping as any sea novel or movie. Some of the stories are funny, some are alarming, and they opened my eyes to how challenging it must be to work in these environments.

Three words that describe this book: Lively, surprising, humorous

You might want to pick this book up if: You are a Midwesterner (or anybody) wondering what it would be like to explore the oceans in real life.

-Lynn

 

This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog. 

Debut Author Spotlight: August 2022

Posted on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 by Katherine

Here are a few of the most notable adult fiction debuts for August. These titles have all received positive reviews in library journals. For a longer list, please visit our catalog.

Long Past Summer book cover“Long Past Summer” by

Mikaela Marchand is living the polished life she always planned for: a successful New York lawyer, with a promotion in her sights and a devoted boyfriend by her side. She’s come a long way from the meek teen she was growing up in small town Georgia, but the memory of her adolescence isn’t far — in fact, it’s splashed across a massive billboard in Times Square. An old photograph of Mikaela and her former best friend, Julie, has landed on the cover of a high-profile fashion magazine advertised all over the city. And when Julie files a lawsuit, Mikaela is caught in the middle as defense lawyer for the magazine.

Not only will she have to face Julie for the first time in years, Mikaela’s forced to work closely with the photographer in question: the former love of her life — and Julie’s ex-husband — Cameron Murphy. Mikaela needs to win the case to get her promotion — and as a junior partner, she has no margin for error. But unresolved feelings still exist between Cam and Mikaela, and jealousy always made Julie play dirty … Continue reading “Debut Author Spotlight: August 2022”

Nonfiction Roundup: August 2022

Posted on Monday, August 1, 2022 by Liz

Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in August. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s Overdrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.

Top Picks

Acceptance book cover“Acceptance: A Memoir” by Emi Nietfeld (Aug 2)
As a homeless teenager writing college essays in her ’92 Toyota Corolla, Emi Nietfeld was convinced that an elite school was the only path away from her dysfunctional childhood. But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative, proving that she was an “overcomer,” made stronger by all that she had endured. The truth was far murkier. Emi’s mom was a charming hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics, but believed in her daughter’s brilliance — unlike the Minnesotan foster family who banned her “pornographic” art history flashcards (of Michelangelo’s David). Emi’s other parent’s departure from her life was tied up in a gender transition that few in the mid-2000s understood. Her own past was filled with facts that she needed to hide: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. The obstacles Emi claimed she had transcended still defined her life; even though she would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn’t necessarily mean safety. Told with an incisive storyteller’s eye, this searing memoir exposes the cost of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future. Having experienced the American Dream firsthand, Emi speaks truth to the high cost of upward mobility, the hypocrisy of elite spaces, and the harsh standards set by societal ideals of grit and resilience. Candid and often harrowing, with a ribbon of dark humor, “Acceptance” is an electrifying read that challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome — and find contentment on your own terms. Continue reading “Nonfiction Roundup: August 2022”

Rage Reading

Posted on Friday, July 29, 2022 by Dana

You don’t have to be a woman to be angry with the current state of…*gestures vaguely at everything* So, for every human looking to burn some feminine rage, have I got some recommendations for you: Continue reading “Rage Reading”

The Gentleman Recommends: Sequoia Nagamatsu

Posted on Monday, July 25, 2022 by Chris

Many readers use fiction as an escape from reality, and with the dangerous heat and pandemic(s), perhaps now isn’t the best time to recommend a frequently very sad book largely about climate change and a pandemic, but rest assured “How High We Go in the Dark” is a frequently very sad book completely about people and their grief and hope (the people are massively impacted by climate change and a pandemic, however). There is an abundance of pain and sadness in this novel. You should read it!
Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Sequoia Nagamatsu”

Water, Water, Everywhere

Posted on Friday, July 22, 2022 by Eric

Water. It’s almost everywhere. Approximately 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Human adults are around 55 – 60% water (Baby humans — 78%!!!). Even beer is mostly water (90 – 95%, by most estimates — more than babies!!!). So, it should come as no surprise that water also permeates the written word in similar proportions.

Wave book coverWater as setting (“The Old Man and the Sea”). Water as antagonist (“Wave”). Water as plot (“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”). Water is even a key factor in books where there is little of it — water scarcity is an integral part of “Dune”. “Desert Solitaire’s” longest chapter is devoted to a river journey through Glen Canyon before a portion of it was turned into a lake. Water. Continue reading “Water, Water, Everywhere”