I am stuffed with candy and an afternoon sifting the recesses of my memory sounds like just the ticket. We have room for a few more teams on Saturday for trivia. Last time we did it we hosted over 75 people! It is a lot of fun. I’ve noticed that some of the regulars have not signed up… c’mon friends!
I have been in a bit of a reading-rut over the last months… it’s so difficult to read something you love and then you’re disappointed with everything afterward. My mom says the secret to a happy marriage is low expectations, maybe that’s the secret to great stories too. In September I read Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins. I would put her in an arena with Jennifer Weiner and Jane Green. They often write about smart, young women who came of age in the late 80s and early 90s – betcha can’t imagine why I’d be interested. It’s a sub-genre of chick lit. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with this one about three friends who grew up over weight. It delicately explored what that was like then and how it impacted them as adults. It really resonated with me.
After that I made it through Jane Doe. It’s a bit of a twist on the unreliable female narrator trend nowadays. Jane is damaged, maybe deranged, but not unreliable. I would like to do it in our book group some day as it brings up some interesting gender issues. It has not been flying off the shelf, but I do recommend it.
After that I hit a bit of a wall throughout October. I tried a few, but abandoned them. I’m listening to the Outlander series on audio in the car and it’s riveting, but somehow reading the books at the same time isn’t working for me. Maybe it’s because the reader is so terrific and I miss her voice. Last week one of you recommended The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson, which she had borrowed via ILL and returned so I snagged it. So far, it’s a winner – interesting enough to hold me until I really get invested in the story.
I did just place our November order – it will be a little light this month and next because I have spent out my budget on nearly all adult books. I’ll be only buying what we really need and the rest will go onto the wishlist. If any of you are feeling benevolent during the holidays and want to buy some prezzies for your friends and neighbors, we would be happy to recognize you with a book plate. I often can get a better price via my sources and you could just write a check for that amount – I’ll even put you first on the holds list!
- New in Fiction
- Heads you win by Jeffrey Archer. Having completed the Clifton Chronicles books, this is a new venture for Archer. Find it at F ARC.
- Storyteller’s secret by Sejal Badani. Boy the reviews on this were off the charts, yet it has been sitting on our shelf. Find it at F BAD.
- The girl from Berlin by Ronald H. Balson. Find it at F BAL.
- The fallen architect by Charles Belfoure. Find it at F BEL.
- Love is blind by William Boyd. Find it at F BOY.
- The little shop of found things by Paula Brackston. Find it at F BRA.
- Milkman by Anna Burns. Winner of the 2018 Man Booker award and gifted to us by a Jackson Family who tracks, buys, and labels all our award winners for the library. Isn’t that thoughtfully generous? Find it at F BUR.
- That month in Tuscany by Inglath Cooper. Came in a box of donations. It’s self published and has terrific reviews. I’m interested to hear what some Jackson folks feel about it. Find it at F COO.
- Gone so long by Andre Dubus. Find it at F DUB.
- Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. Find it at F ENG.
- Bitter orange by Claire Fuller. Find it at F FUL.
- The reckoning by John Grisham. Large print! Find it at F GRI.
- Jar of hearts by Jennifer Hillier. Find it at F HIL.
- The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang. Find it at F KAN.
- Elevation by Stephen King. Find it at F KIN.
- Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. Large print! I brought it for my mom to read while laid up as a treat. She loved it. Find it at F KIN.
- What I’ve Done by Melinda Leigh. Find it at F LEI.
- Bound for gold by William Martin. Find it at F MAR.
- The philosopher’s flight by Tom Miller. Find it at F MIL.
- The clockmaker’s daughter by Kate Morton. Find it at F MOR.
- A borrowing of bones by Paula Munier. Find it at F MUN.
- The rain watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay. Find it at F ROS.
- The collector’s apprentice by Barbara A. Shapiro. By the author of The Art Forger and The Muralist. Find it at F SHA.
- Miss Kopp’s midnight confessions by Amy Stewart. Find it at F STE.
- Under my skin by Lisa Unger. Find it at F UNG.
- Family trust by Kathy Wang. Find it at F WAN.
- The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib. Special preview edition – it’s not released until February but we get a sneak peek. Find it at F ZGH.
- New in NonFiction
- Shariah: What Everyone Needs to Know by John L. Esposito. Find it at 340.5 ESP.
- How to be a good creature: a memoir in thirteen animals by Sy Montgomery. Find it at 590 MON.
- The Murdoch method: observations on Rupert Murdoch’s management of a media empire by Irwin M. Stelzer. Find it at 658 STE.
- Backdoor revolution: the definitive guide to ADU development by Kol Peterson. Find it at 728.9 PET.
- Small fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs. Find it at 818 BRE.
- Becoming by Michelle Obama. Find it at 920 OBA.
- Eliza Hamilton: the extraordinary life and times of the wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Find it at 973.4 MAZ.
- Fritz Wetherbee by Fritz Wetherbee. Find it at NH 974.2 WET.
- New in YA
- The house of one thousand eyes by Michelle Barker. Find it at YA F BAR.
- Dry by Neal Shusterman. Find it at YA F SHU.
- Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. Find it at YA F ZUS.
- New in the Children’s Room
- I am a cat by Galia Bernstein. Find it at E BER.
- The king who rained by Fred. Gwynne. Find it at E GWY.
- The Princess and the pit stop by Tom Angleberger. Find it at ER ANG.
- I lost my tooth! by Mo Willems. Find it at ER WIL.
- The nameless city by Faith Erin Hicks. Find it at GN HIC.
- Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi. Find it at GN KIB Am.8.
- The last kids on earth and the cosmic beyond by Max Brallier. Find it at jF BRA.
- Ghoulia. by Barbara Cantini. Find it at jF CAN.
- Squirm by Carl Hiaasen. Find it at jF HIA.
- Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel Jose Older. Find it at jF OLD.
- Patina by Jason Reynolds. Find it at jF REY.
- Battle royale by Jerry Pallotta. Find it at ANIMALS j590 PAL.
- The sinking of the Vasa by Russell Freedman. Find it at MACHINES j359.3 FRE.
- Finn McCool and the great fish by Eve Bunting. Find it at TALES j398.2 BUN.
- Memphis, Martin, and the mountaintop by Alice Faye Duncan. Find it at USA j331.892 DUN.
- She persisted by Chelsea Clinton. Find it at USA j920.92 CLI.
- New Audiobooks
- We are all welcome here by Elizabeth. Berg. Find it at CD F BER.
- Promises to keep by Jane Green. Find it at CD F GRE.
- Revival by Stephen King. Find it at CD F KIN.
- New Movies
- The eugenics crusade /. Find it at DVD 363.92 EUG.
- Ocean’s 8 /. Find it at DVD OCE.
- Hotel Transylvania : All three movies!. Find it at jDVD HOT.
- Scooby-Doo! : Carnival Capers. Find it at jDVD SCO.
We are working on something big for Wednesday, November 21st – the day before Thanksgiving – stay tuned for that!
Lichen