.png)
Debbie's Pick: "Musical Tables" by Billy Collins
Poetry distills ideas down to their essence. Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States and author of twelve books of...
- Nov 18
Maria's Pick: "Fellowship Point" by Alice Elliott Dark
Agnes Lee, now in her 80’s, is an author of children’s books and writes an adult fiction series under a pen name. She and her lifelong...
- Nov 13
Cheryl's Pick: "All Good People Here" by Ashley Flowers
After leaving Wakarusa, Indiana twenty years earlier, Margot reluctantly returns to her hometown to take care of her Uncle Luke who is in...
- Nov 5
Sami's Pick: "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen
In this retelling of the classic Billy Goats Gruff, readers will encounter a delightful, and at times, a bit dark, story of a troll and...
- Oct 28
Maria's Pick: "Our Missing Hearts" by Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s newest novel, Our Missing Hearts is set in a dystopian future where the US government, in an attempt to recover from a...
- Oct 22
Debbie's Pick: "The Bullet That Missed" by Richard Osman
The Thursday Murder Club has found a new case to investigate: the murder of Bethany Waites. Her car was pushed over Sherlock Falls, but...
- Oct 16
Maria's Pick: "Hester" by Laurie Lico Albanese
Set in the early 1800’s, Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is a reimagining of the back story to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne....
- Oct 8
Val's Pick: "Killers of a Certain Age" by Deanna Raybourn
Imagine you are enjoying a relaxing vacation on board a luxurious cruise ship. You look across the pool and notice four sixty-year-old...
- Oct 3
Dawn & Benji's Pick: "Small Town, Big Magic" by Hazel Beck
In anticipation of authors Megan Crane and Nicole Helm’s visit this week, I read their new book, the first in their Witchlore series,...
- Sep 24
Maria's Pick: "Lucy by the Sea" by Elizabeth Strout
Lucy by the Sea is the latest offering from one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Strout. It is the fourth novel in her Amgash series,...
- Sep 18
Cheryl's Pick: "Nothing More to Tell" by Karen M. McManus
Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus is a young adult novel about buried secrets that refuse to stay buried. Four years ago Brynn...
- Sep 10
Laurie's Pick: "Cabin Fever" by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin
When Holland America’s cruise ship Zaandam set sail from Buenos Aires, it was loaded with 1200 passengers and 600 crew members. Everyone...
- Sep 3
Maria's Pick: "The Many Daughters of Afong Moy" by Jamie Ford
I found this book fascinating as it addressed the topic of generational trauma, a concept that I have only heard about in the past few...
- Aug 28
Val's Pick: "Nora Goes Off Script" by Annabel Monaghan
Nora supports her family by writing Hallmark movie-like screenplays. After her husband leaves Nora with their two young children, Nora...
- Aug 20
Maria's Pick: "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A reimagining of H.G. Wells’, “The Island of Doctor Moreau”, this story, set in the mid-19th century, takes the viewpoint of the doctor’s...
- Aug 14
Laurie's Pick: "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Schwab
What value does life have if you can leave no mark? This is the question Addie LaRue faces after making a desperate deal to live forever....
- Aug 6
Mariah's Pick: "For Butter or Worse" by Erin La Rosa
Nina and Leo may work together on the set of a popular cooking competition show but their charm is decidedly OFF behind the scenes. When...
- Jul 27
Maria's Pick: "Horse" by Geraldine Brooks
I have always loved Geraldine Brooks' historical fiction so I was very excited to to grab her latest work, Horse. It was well worth the...
- Jul 22
Val's Pick: "Upgrade" by Blake Crouch
Ever since Blake Crouch’s book Dark Matter was published in 2016, he has been on my “authors to read” list. For some reason, I never got...
- Jul 15
Mariah's Pick: "The Dead Romantics"by Ashley Poston
Florence Day is a romance ghostwriter running from her past in New York City. When her father dies suddenly, Florence is forced to return...
- Jul 7
Teresa's Pick: "The It Girl" by Ruth Ware
Hannah Jones meets April Clarke-Cliveden during their freshman year at Oxford University. They have a group of close friends - Will,...
- Jul 1
Cheryl's Pick: "Nightcrawling" by Leila Mottley
Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are on their own. Their father is dead and their mother is living in a halfway house. After Marcus’s pipe...
- Jun 24
Maria's Pick: "The Dictionary of Lost Words" by Pip Williams
Until I read Pip William’s novel, “The Dictionary of Lost Words”, I hadn’t questioned how the first dictionaries were compiled. I...
- Jun 18
Laurie's Pick: "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus
Elizabeth Zott is an accomplished chemist working at the Hastings Institute during the 1960s. Her male colleagues do not respect her, and...
- Jun 10
Debbie's Pick: "River of the Gods" by Candice Millard
We often learn history along a timeline: the Battle of Hastings, 1066; the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1804; the first person on the...
- Jun 4
Val's Pick: "Love & Saffron" by Kim Fay
If you’re looking for a novel that is short and sweet, please try Love & Saffron by Kim Fay. This book was published in February of 2022,...
- May 28
Maria's Pick: "The Foundling" by Ann Leary
This historical novel was inspired by the author’s grandmother, who had worked at an institution for mentally disabled women in the...
- May 23
Mariah's Pick: "Book Lovers"by Emily Henry
“Sometimes, even when you start with the last page and you think you know everything, a book finds a way to surprise you.” Nora Stephens...
- May 21
Debbie's Pick: "Underland: A Deep Time Journey" by Robert MacFarlane
In Underland: A Deep Time Journey, Robert MacFarlane takes the reader into the vast complexity of the worlds beneath our feet. These...
- May 14
Val's Pick: "The Summer Place" by Jennifer Weiner
There are a few authors whose books I will buy no matter what the book is about. Jennifer Weiner is one of those authors. I have been a...
- May 6
Laurie's Pick: "The House in the Cerulean Sea" by TJ Klune
Linus Baker is busy living his mundane life working as a caseworker overseeing the well being of children housed in government orphanages...
- May 1
Maria's Pick: "How the Word is Passed" by Clint Smith
“The history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it. It is not...
- Apr 24
Cheryl's Pick: "Verity" by Colleen Hoover
Verity was the first Colleen Hoover book I read and, I must say, I am a fan! It is one of the best books I have read in a while. Lowen is...
- Apr 18
Val's Pick: "Gallant" by V.E. Schwab
Merilance School for Girls has been Olivia Prior’s home since she was left there as a baby. The only information she has about her family...
- Apr 9
Maria's Pick: "French Braid" by Anne Tyler
This is Anne Tyler’s 24th novel and once again, she is able to capture the quirks and complexities of family life in a way that feels...
- Apr 2
Laurie's Pick: "The Shadow House" by Anna Downes
The Shadow House is a terrifying and suspenseful thrill ride that compares the experiences of two mothers. Alex is a mother fleeing an...
- Mar 26
Val's Pick: "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison
I didn’t know that Toni Morrison had written a short story (her only one) until I heard “Recitatif” mentioned on a podcast. The...
- Mar 19
Maria's Pick: "Olga Dies Dreaming" by Xochitl Gonzalez
I love a story that allows me to step into someone else’s life, especially someone whose circumstances are different from my own. Olga is...
- Mar 13
Sami's Pick: "Ugly Love" by Colleen Hoover
This was the first Colleen Hoover book I read, and I just…wow! If you are a fan of romance novels but are looking for a book that will...
- Mar 5
Cheryl's Pick: "Run Rose Run" by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
What a great book! I never would have thought to team up Dolly Parton and James Patterson, but it works! The main character is a...
- Feb 26
Laurie's Pick: "Girl in Ice" by Erica Ferencik
Valerie Chesterfield is a linguist struggling with the apparent suicide of her twin brother. As she wonders if foul play was involved,...
- Feb 20
Debbie's Pick: "A Line to Kill" by Anthony Horowitz
A locked-room mystery has been a staple of detective fiction since Agatha Christie penned And Then There Were None. In Anthony Horowitz’s...
- Feb 4
Debbie's Pick: "The Man Who Died Twice" by Richard Osman
In Richard Osman’s first mystery novel, The Thursday Murder Club, four residents of Cooper’s Chase, a retirement center for the...
- Jan 30
Maria's Pick: "Small World" by Jonathan Evinson
Jonathan Evinson’s epic novel, “Small World” is a collection of diverse stories set in the mid- nineteenth century and in the present day....
- Jan 22
Maria's Pick: "Violeta" by Isabel Allende
I have always been a fan of Chilean American author, Isabelle Allende, whose epic novels bring to life historical and political events of...
- Jan 16
Laurie's Pick: "The Maid" by Nita Prose
Molly Gray loves cleanliness and order. This is why her position as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel is ideal. Molly silently sweeps...
- Jan 9
Val's Pick: "Bluebird" by Sharon Cameron
Novels with the label of “young adult” (YA) are recommended for readers between the ages of 12 and 18. As a result, these novels are...
- Jan 3
Our Staff's Favorite Books of the Year
This week we are taking a break from our weekly book review to share our staff’s favorite books of the year. While the majority of the...
- Dec 17, 2021
Val's Pick: "Stuntboy, in the Meantime" by Jason Reynolds and Raul the Third
Jason Reynolds shows once again that it doesn’t matter what format he writes in - he can do it all. Stuntboy, In The Meantime combines...
- Dec 12, 2021
Cheryl's Pick: "Wish You Were Here" by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult decided to write this book during COVID. She had been at a wedding where two people at her table contracted the virus. She...