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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...
- Dec 5, 2021
Maria's Pick: "Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan
Dedicated to “ the women and children who suffered time in Ireland’s Magdalen laundries”, there is just so much packed into this...
- Nov 28, 2021
Maria's Pick: "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk
If you are perplexed by the way you or someone you know has responded to a traumatic experience or if you are just interested in the...
- Nov 9, 2021
Laurie's Pick: "The Taking of Jemima Boone" by Matthew Pearl
Growing up in Missouri, I had often heard tales of Daniel Boone as a hero and great frontiersman. “The Taking of Jemima Boone'' retells...
- Nov 6, 2021
Andy's Pick: "A Carnival of Snackery" by David Sedaris
David Sedaris pleases yet again in this wonderful collection of humorous observances (among other things). Sedaris’ latest book will...
- Oct 31, 2021
Val's Pick: "The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music" by Dave Grohl
In Dave Grohl’s aptly named memoir “The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music” readers are given a glimpse into the life of a rock and...
- Oct 20, 2021
Maria's Pick: "North" by Brad Kessler
The book “North” by Brad Kessler is a beautifully written novel about two invisible worlds colliding. Father Christopher is a cloistered...
- Oct 14, 2021
Laurie's Pick: "Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light: Essays" by Helen Ellis
When Helen Ellis and her friends get together nothing is sacred. As the title suggests, these women “unpack their baggage”, and nobody...
- Oct 9, 2021
Val's Pick: "Pony" by R.J. Palacio
When I heard that RJ Palacio, author of the best-seller Wonder, was writing a new book I was both nervous and excited. Wonder was such...
- Sep 23, 2021
Val's Pick: "If the Shoe Fits" by Julie Murphy
If the Shoe Fits is an adult novel by author Julie Murphy best known for writing the successful young adult book “Dumplin'' which was...
- Sep 14, 2021
Laurie's Pick: "The Lost Apothecary" by Sarah Penner
When Caroline finds a mysterious vial on the banks of the River Thames, it leads her on an investigation into eighteenth century London....
- Sep 1, 2021
Maria's Pick: "Once There Were Wolves" by Charlotte McConaghy
I loved Charlotte McConaghy’s beautifully written debut novel, “Migrations,” so when her second novel came out, it went to the top of my...
- Aug 25, 2021
Gabbi's Pick: "They'll Never Catch Us" by Jessica Goodman
Jessica Goodman never disappoints. In her new young adult novel “They’ll Never Catch Us,” she portrays the life of two cross country...
- Aug 18, 2021
Teresa's Pick: "The Clover Girls" by Viola Shipman
Emily is writing to her three childhood friends Veronica, Liz, and Rachel with some shocking news asking them to reunite at their...
- Aug 9, 2021
Debbie's Pick: "Whereabouts" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Whereabouts by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri is a small gem of a book. Set in an unnamed Italian town, Lahiri delves into...
- Aug 4, 2021
Sami's Pick: "Realm Breaker" by Victoria Aveyard
Victoria Aveyard is the author of the much loved Red Queen series and has done an incredible job of writing another exhilarating story in...
- Jul 27, 2021
Maria's Pick: “The Forest of Vanishing Stars” by Kristin Harmel
Many of us have read novels set during World War II, but this one stands apart from others because it is based on the history a little...