Book Bound

Cheryl, Jessica, and Mari talk CADL Best Books of 2025 (our staff voted picks) and their last reads for 2025.

Cheryl’s Books:    
Dead and Alive: Essays by Zadie Smith
Bread of Angels: A Memoir by Patti Smith
Whiskey Tender: A Memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa

Mentioned:
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Just Kids by Patti Smith
M. Train by Patti Smith

Jessica’s Books:   
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegal Spratford
Cinder House by Freya Marske
Christmas at the Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery

Mentioned: 
Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
Last Binding series by Freya Marske 

Mari’s Books:
The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri
Hunger’s Bite by Taylor Robin
How To Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares
Wind Watchers by Micha Archer

Mentioned:
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer

This month Cheryl, Mari and Jessica talk fiction and non-fiction picks touching on Native American Heritage, our relationships with food and the kitchen, writing featuring deep character studies, as well as a few unexplained mysteries.  

Cheryl’s Books:    
Girl Warrior: On Coming of Age by Joy Harjo
The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss, and Kitchen Objects by Bee Wilson
Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O’Farrell
Love Forms: A Novel by Claire Adam

Mentioned:
Nomadland (film)
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
2025 Booker Prize Longlist

Jessica’s Books:   
Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand by Jeff Chu
Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten
Wolf Bells by Leni Zumas
Midnight Timetable: A Novel in Ghost Stories by Bora Chung

Mentioned:
Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans, 
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

Mari’s Books:   
Why We Dance A Story Hope and Healing by Deidre Havrelock
Dead Ends! Flukes, Flops & Failures That Sparked Medical Marvels by Lindsey Fitzharris
Is it Real? The Loch Ness Monster by Candace Fleming
Nessie by Ilse De Keyzer

Mentioned:
Plague Busters! Medicine’s Battles with History’s Deadliest Diseases by Lindsey Fitzharris

Gaming, memoirs, and weathering storms with special guest Christine Martin-Resoko from CADL Mason.

Cheryl’s Books:  
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy 
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende 

Mentioned: 
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy 
The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus 
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende 
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco 

Jessica’s Books:  
Slayers of Old by Jim C. Hines 
The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound: A Memoir by Raymond Antrobus 
Ew, It’s Beautiful: A False Knees Comic Collection by Joshua Barkman 

Mentioned: 
The Peacekeeper by B. L. Blanchard 
Kitemaster by Jim C. Hines 
False Knees: An Illustrated Guide to Animal Behavior by Joshua Barkman 
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson 
Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay 

Mari’s Books:  
The Interpreter by Olivia Abtahi 
Island Storm by Brian Floca 
Thunderland by Maggie Edkins Willis 
Another by Paul Tremblay 

Christine’s Books: 
Nations & Cannons: A Revolutionary Campaign Setting for 5e 
Coyote & Crow: Core Rule Book by Connor Alexander et al.  
House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune 
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy 

Blue Spaces, Green Spaces, and the State of Publishing with special guest Elisha Miranda from the Lansing Libraries. 

Cheryl’s Books:     
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst 
Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams 

Mentioned: 
Barack Obama Releases Summer Reading List | Kirkus Reviews (link is in article) 
2025 Summer Reads - LSJ | Capital Area District Libraries 
The Owl Diaries (series) by Rebecca Elliott 

Jessica’s Books:    
Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being by Marc G. Berman  
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar 

Mentioned: 
One Grand Read Official Site 
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper (Ep. 5 and Ep.20, Cheryl's take in RR Ep. 82) 
Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles (Ep. 3) 
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy  (RR Ep. 74) 
Holes by Louis Sachar  
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar 

Mari’s Books:    
Tall Water by SJ Sindu 
Chapter Books: 
Willow’s Woods series by Suzanne Selfors
Hut! Hut! Hike! by Andrew Maraniss
Pet Sitter (Miles Lewis series) by Kelly Starling Lyons
Arco’s Little House by Jess Fogel (Actually closer to a picture book)
Shuri Takes Control (Marvel After-School Heroes) by Terrance Crawford 

Mentioned: 
Branches Chapter Books by Scholastic Inc.
Check out our 100 Books Under 100ish Pages list for new, independent readers 

Elisha’s Books: 
Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria L. Huang 
Bhai for Now by Maleeha Siddiqui 
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay (Mari’s take, Ep. 10) 

We talk One Grand Read, birding, murder mysteries, and stillness.

Cheryl’s Books:    
The Yield by Tara June Winch
The Place of Tides by James Rebanks
Braided Heritage:  Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris

Mentioned:
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Small Island film (available from MELCAT)
The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape and Pastoral Song: A Farmer’s Journey by James Rebanks
Tokyo Story film
Books by Jessica. B. Harris (including High on the Hog)

Jessica’s Books:   
A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant
Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard by Joan E. Strassman 
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

Mentioned:
Birding to Change the World by Trish O’Kane

Mari’s Books:   
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson
Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman
Hiding in Plain Sight: Kate Warne and the Race to Save Abraham Lincoln by Beth Anderson

One Grand Read Official Site 

Our Lists on the CADL catalog homepage  

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
Urban Owls: How Flaco and Friends Made the City Their Home by Christian Cooper
Library of Things Bird Watching Kit 
Birds Raising Readers Backpack
Birding for Babies (series) by Chloe Goodhart

A wide range of titles with special guest and CADL staff member, Mark Neese. 


Cheryl’s Books:    
The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife by Nancy Lawson (ebook)
A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest by Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla
For a Girl Becoming by Joy Harjo

Mentioned:
Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan by Lynn M. Steiner
Native Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees & Butterflies - Lower Midwest by Jaret C. Daniels
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Girl Warrior by Joy Harjo (October 2025 release – not in system for holds yet)
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival by Stephen Greenblatt
On Being with Krista Tippet podcast interview with Mary Oliver:  “I Got Saved by the Beauty of The World”  https://onbeing.org/programs/mary-oliver-i-got-saved-by-the-beauty-of-the-world/

Jessica’s Books:   
The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall
Change the Recipe: Because You Can't Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs by José Andrés 

Mentioned:
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungey
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Broadchurch (created by Chris Chibnall)
True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between by Gretchan Whitmer

Mari’s Books:   
The Burning Season by Caroline Starr Rose
Tyger by S. F. Said
The Crow Trilogy:  The Outlaw by Nancy Vo, The Ranger by Nancy Vo, The Runaway by Nancy Vo

Mentioned: 
Headstrong Hellie: The Story of Hallie Morse Daggett the First Female “Fire Guard” by Aimée Bissonette


Mark N.’s Books:   
Terror in the City of Champions: Murder, Baseball, and the Secret Society that Shocked Depression-era Detroit by Tom Stanton 
On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer by Rick Steves
The Name of This Band is REM: A Biography by Peter Ames Carlin 
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Mentioned: 
Books by Tom Stanton
Books by Peter Ames Carlin
On the Nature of Things by Lucretius (ebook)

Book Bound Episode 18:
Pride, audiobooks, and representation matters (read both ways).


Cheryl’s Books:    
On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters by Bonnnie Tsui
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shapland
It Began with a Page: How Gyo Fujikawa Drew the Way by Kyo Maclear

Mentioned:
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Books by or including information about Gyo Fujikawa
Books written and illustrated by Julie Morstad
Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear

Jessica’s Books:   
The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Process For an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad
The Café with No Name by Robert Seethaler
The Lilac People by Milo Todd

Mentioned:
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
The Einstein of Sex: Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Visionary of Weimar Berlin by Daniel Brook


Mari’s Books:   
At Last She Stood How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kelly
Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped by Kyle Lukoff
You and me, Anemone : a story about friendship and personal space by Rachel Vail 
Oasis by Guojing

Mentioned: 
I’m Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff
The House That Floated by Guojing (September 2025 Release) 

Our Producer, Rissa’s Books:   

Mentioned: 
The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt

Our hosts talk summer reading and books with Kate Newcombe - CADL's Youth Services Specialist.

Cheryl’s Books:    
My Friends: A Novel by Hisham Matar
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

Mentioned:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald


Jessica’s Books:   
Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson
How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

Mentioned: 
My Presentation Today is About the Anaconda by Bibi Dumon Tak


Mari’s Books:   
I’m Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff
The House on the Canal: The Story of the House that Hid Anne Frank by Thomas Harding
Chickenpox by Remy Lai

Mentioned: 
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding


Kate’s Books:   
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by Isabel F. Campoy
Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd
Chasing Vermeer series by Blue Balliett

Histories, memoir, historical fiction, Richard Scarry…. and serial killers?

Cheryl’s Books:   
Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange by Katie Goh
Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford

Mentioned:
Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh
The Digging-est Dog by Al Perkins (can be found in collection)
Summer Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty
Keeping Barney by Jessie Haas
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
2024 National Book Critics Circle Award Winners


Jessica’s Books:  
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson
Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green

Links: 
Michigan Notables: https://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/public/mnb
Foster Event: https://www.cadl.org/event/14379951

Mentioned:
Best Word Book Ever—Richard Scarry


Mari’s Books:   
The Pecan Sheller by Lupe Ruiz-Flores
Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson
Watch his award-winning short film: https://www.whaleeyes.org/watch
The Couch in the Yard by Kate Hoefler

Mentioned: 
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume


Our Producer, Rissa’s Books:   
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath
Big Kids by Michael DeForge

Mentioned: 
Skippyjon Jones books by Judith Schachner
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio


Some of books mentioned in response to CADL’s Facebook question “What story began your love of reading?”:

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin
Books by Madeleine L’Engle
The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
The Valley of the Dolls by Jacquelinn Susann (available through MELCAT)

Summary: Women’s history, women’s voices… and murder ballads?

Cheryl’s Books:   
A Flat Place: Moving Through Empty Landscapes, Naming Complex Trauma by Noreen Masud
How to Share an Egg: A True Story of Hunger, Love, and Plenty by Bonny Reichert
The New Yorker – Sisterhood:  The Nuns Trying to Save the Women on Texas’s Death Row by Lawrence Wright (Issue: February 17 & 24, 2025 – pg. 110)
Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood

Mentioned: 
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright 


Jessica’s Books:  
Without Children:  The Long History of Not Being a Mother by Peggy O'Donnell Heffington 
Lone Women by Victor LaValle 
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Mentioned:
“Live Oak” on Southeastern by Jason Isbell


Mari’s Books:   
Catwings series by Ursula K. Le Guin
My Presentation Today is About The Anaconda by Bibi Dumon Tak
Seeds of Discovery : How Barbara McClintock Used Corn and Curiosity to Solve a Science Mystery and Win a Nobel Prize by Lori Alexander