What We've Been Reading and Looking Forward

The Circulation staff is back to work and busy checking in your reads and fulfilling your requests. We are happy to be helping those of you who are placing your requests online or via phone. We definitely enjoy seeing your smiling faces visiting the browsing tent and the  Merry Room which we have recently moved to on the lower floor of the library for browsing and checking out books, dvds, music, and audiobooks. When you visit we are happy to retrieve items inside based on your requests. As always, we enjoy helping with reading recommendations.

 

I asked our staff  for some recent reading recommendations.  One said she "was brought right back into the Hunger Games" while reading the prequel to the series by Suzanne Collins' Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Another recommendation is Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, a contemporary science fantasy/mystery. It is the latest in the Dresden Files series. Foul is Fair is a new young adult novel by Hannah Capin. Want to read about a possible pandemic during a pandemic? One of our staff  enjoyed The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian. Bohjalian is one of her favorite authors and he didn't disappoint with this one.  One of the best audio books I listened to was The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks. His narration enhanced this lovely story of a brother and his sister coming of age after World War II and the decades following as they reconcile their past and the  memories that tie them to a marvelous old house in Philadelphia.

I've read so many good books over the last quarantine months. How To Walk Away by Katherine Center, The Water Keeper by Charles Martin,, and House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister stand out in my memory from the early summer reading. 

Do you ever dream about renovating an old house or have you had the opportunity? You will enjoy House Lessons, written by the author while she was renovating an old house in Puget Sound, Washington.  However, she did not complete it until she had retrospective of years later.  This book combines an interesting history of architecture, remodeling exploits, and also a wonderful lyrical perspective of raising a family through it all of the changes. It is one I've already purchased as a gift for two friends.

Looking for something uplifting? I recently listened to the audiobook Set My Heart to Five by Simon Stephenson. An unexpected joy that will make you laugh at the witty observations of a human-like bot named Jared and his tender story of exploring his unexpected feelings that a bot is not suppose to have. He sets out to change human's perspective on bots. Science fiction lite for anyone interested in something different, but will touch you like The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce and Harold's endearing observations of the world around his or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Reading the book will be just as good, but I recommend that you listen to a little of it on Hoopla to hear Jared's voice so it carries you through the read. 

Looking for more recommendations?  Check out the review section in this blog or please call us.

Happy reading and we look forward to seeing you soon.