Book Bound

Jessica, Mari, and Cheryl talk about reading during complicated times, ALA book award season, and book purchasing.  

Cheryl’s Books:   
American Primitive: Poems by Mary Oliver
They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us:  Essays by Hanif Abdurraqib

Mentioned:
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2024 edited by Bill McKibben
A Rose, A Bridge and a Wild Black Horse by Charlotte Zolotow

Mentioned:
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
Books by Bill McKibben
Books by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Hope and Joy book list

Jessica’s Books:  
Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery
Waiting For the Long Night Moon: Stories by Amanda Peters
Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin

Mentioned:
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction: https://www.ala.org/carnegie-medals/2025-winners

Mari’s Books:   
Will’s Race for Home: A Western by Jewell Parker Rhodes
2025 Mildred L. Batchelder Award: John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan
For a complete list of ALA’s 2025 Youth Media Awards visit: https://tinyurl.com/37ncj3c9
Tangleroot by Kalela Williams

Holiday reading round up, series picks, and more.

Cheryl’s Books:   
Sustainable Wardrobe: Advice and Projects for Eco-Friendly Fashion by Sophie Benson
Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future by Oliver Franklin-Wallis
A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter
Tove and the Island with No Address by Lauren Soloy
The Summer Book and other books by Tove Jansson

Jessica’s Books:  
I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel J. Levitin
The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill
Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman by Callum Robinson
Mentioned:
Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks—Marcia Bjornerud
Eve Dallas series by JD Robb, first book: Naked in Death
Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh, first book: Angel’s Blood
Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire, first book: Every Heart a Doorway, latest Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear

Mari’s Books:   
Ode to Grapefruit: How James Earl Jones Found His Voice by Kari Lavelle
These Deadly Prophecies by Andrea Tang
The Judgment of Yoyo Gold by Isaac Blum
Mentioned:
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Wings of Fire by Tui Sutherland 
Dragon Girls by Maddy Mara
Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott
Magic Tree House Original Series by Mary Pope Osborne

Series Mentioned:  
Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files
Louise Penny’s Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries (Three Pines Mysteries)
Diana Gabaldon Outlander Novels
Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe Series

Looking for more books to read?  Here is the first selection of titles suggested by CADL Staff members at our annual in-service:

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
True Gretch: What I've learned Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between by Gretchen Whitmer

Year end, Best ofs, and ultimately… read what you want! 

Cheryl’s Books:  
Vanishing Creatures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Still Life with Remorse: Family Stories by Maira Kalman
James by Percival Everett
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón and illustrated by Peter Sís

Mentioned:   
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 

And books by:
Katherine Rundell
Maira Kalman
Percival Everett
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Ada Limón  

Jessica’s Books:  
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap 
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar 
Exactly as Planned by Tao Nyeu 
Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! by TJ Klune 

Mentioned:
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Mari’s Books:
The Bard and the Book: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion by Anne Bausum 
Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Gold Rush: The Untold Story of the First Nations Woman Who Started the Klondike Gold Rush by Flora Delargy 

CADL Staff Best Books of 2024 Lists: Catalog Home | Capital Area District Libraries 

A selection of titles from CADL Facebook page followers about their favorite books of 2024 (that aren’t included already in the lists above): 

The Wedding People by Allison Espach
Burn by Peter Heller
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk
Annihilation by Michel Houllebecq
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
First Frost and Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson
Zhou Enlai: A Life by Chen Jian
Selling the Dream: The Billion Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans by Jane Marie
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
All Fours by Miranda July
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

A cornucopia of wide-ranging titles celebrating discovery, family and food.

Cheryl’s Books:  
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Keep It Zesty:  A Celebration of Lebanese Flavors and Culture from Edy’s Grocer by Edy Massih
Baking in the American South:  200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Anne Byrn 
A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit: The Vision of Mary McLeod Bethune by Noliwe Rooks

Mentioned:
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn (available through MelCat catalog)

Jessica’s Books:  
The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha  taqwšeblu LaPointe
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sarah Raasch

Mentioned:
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqwšeblu LaPointe
Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love and Molly on the Range by Molly Yeh
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Longlists: https://www.ala.org/carnegie-medals/2025-winners 

Mari’s Books:  
Listening to Trees: George Nakashima, Woodworker by Holly Thompson
Find Her by Ginger Reno
If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie
Next Level: A Hymn in Gratitude for Our Neurodiversity by Samara Cole Doyon

Mentioned: 
The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker’s Reflections by George Nakashima (available through the MelCat catalog)
Wind River (2017)

Rissa’s Book:
Let’s Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart & Home by Dan Pelosi

Mentioned:
CADL Local History Obsoleat Zine
CADL Local History Mailing List

A selection of titles from October’s Facebook question about cookbooks: 

Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today by Betty Crocker
More Betty Crocker Cookbooks 
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer
The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen
America’s Test Kitchen Cookbooks
Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by Jenji Lopez-Alt
Baking Yesteryear:  The Best Recipes from the 1900s to the 1980s by B. Dylan Hollis
Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets by Pati Jinich
Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette (available through the MelCat catalog) 

Mari, Jessica, and Cheryl discuss books on travel, messy times, and a few scary reads as autumn begins.
 
Cheryl’s Books: 
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd
The Waters:  A Novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell
The Waters book trailer
Catalina:  A Novel by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop

Mentioned:
The Book of Pintxos: Discover the Legendary Small Bites of Basque Country by Marti Buckley

Jessica’s Books: 
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle by Clare Hunter

Mentioned: 
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
All She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
Black Homesteaders—Stories and history collected by the National Park Service.

Mari’s Books: 
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Ransome-Cline
Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay
No More Señora Mimí by Meg Medina

Mentioned: 
The Strangers by Jon Bilbao
Electrodomésticos: Stories by Moira McCavana
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Rissa’s Books:
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Highlights from our Facebook Question:
Back on Friday the 13th we asked about spooky stories and since Halloween is coming up we thought we’d share some of your picks.

The Shining, Black House (with Peter Straub)—Stephen King in general

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Fisherman by John Langan

Ghost Road Blues by Johnathan Mayberry

Learn more about the books discussed here.

Mari, Jessica, and Cheryl are back to discuss what they've been reading as summer comes to a close. School reading, nostalgia, slowing down and Hispanic Heritage Month with our producers Cassidy and Rissa.

Cheryl’s Books: 
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
The Volcano Daughters:  A Novel by Gina Maria Balibrera

Mentioned:
Francine Pascal
Christopher Pike
R.L. Stine
The Girls of Canby Hall (available from MELCAT)
Sweet Valley Twins Graphic Novels
National Hispanic Heritage Month 
Isabel Allende

Jessica’s Books: 
 Hampton Heights: One Harrowing Night in the Most Haunted Neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Dan Kois
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

Mentioned: 
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
What You Are Looking For is at the Library by Michiko Aoyama
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida 
The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin (10/22 release)

Mari’s Books: 
How It All Ends by Emma Hunsinger
Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi

Mentioned: The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi
Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Thermes

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

 Highlights from our Facebook Question: What was the best book you read in K-12?

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Judy Blume
Beverly Cleary 

Summary: Microhistory, finding self, and summer adventures.

Cheryl’s Books

Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley

Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora by Khushbu Shah

Welcome to Glorious Tuga: A Novel by Francesca Segal

Mentioned:

Gastropod podcastJessica’s Books

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher

My Black Country by Alice Randall

Mentioned:

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall

Cruzita and the Mariacheros by Ashley Granillo

Where Wolves Don’t Die by Anton Treuer

Mentioned

On the Trapline by Davidson A. Roberton

 Gardens, Life, Death, and... Food?

Cheryl’s Books

The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Laing

Garden Wonderland: Create Life-Changing Outdoor Spaces for Beauty, Harvest, Meaning, and Joy by Leslie Bennett and Julie Chai

Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging by Jessica J. Lee

A Garden Called Home by Jessica J. Lee & illustrated by Elaine Chen

The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness

Briefly Perfectly Human by Alua Arthur

The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong

Mentioned

The Deep Sea by Neal Agarwal

TED: Why Thinking About Death Helps You Live a Better Life by Alua Arthur

The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell

Dive!: The Story of Breathing Underwater by Chris Gall

Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments by Victoria Grace Elliott

Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America by Sam ThayerTitles mentioned in the segment about food in books:

Love and Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food and Love by Kim Fay

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

The Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

Delicious: A Novel by Ruth Reichl

Breakfast of Champions: Or, Goodbye Blue Monday by Kurt Vonnegut

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays by David Foster Wallace

Black Cake: A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson

Chocolat: A Novel by Joanne Harris

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant:  A Memoir by Curtis Chin

Crying in H Mart:  A Memoir by Michelle Zauner

A Spoonful of Promises: Stories and Recipes from a Well-Tempered Table by T. Susan Chang

Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All:  A New Zealand Story by Christina Thompson

Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Eat a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford

Cook In A Book Board Book Series by Lotta Nieminen

Boys Don’t Fry by Kimberly Lee

Celebrating summer reading and listening (It’s Audiobook Month!) with a range of titles.

Cheryl’s Books

Something About the Sky by Rachel Carson and Nikki McClure

Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson by Ann E. Burg and illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Corn Dance: Inspired First American Cuisine by Loretta Barrett Oden with Beth Dooley

The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

Mentioned: 

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

Palomino by Danielle Steele

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

Solitaire by Alice Oseman, origin of the Heartstopper Universe.

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs, start with Moon Called

Mentioned: 

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlanMari’s Books

The Truth About the Couch by Adam Rubin

Painting the Game by Patricia MacLachlan

Have You Seen This Girl by Nita Tyndall

Segment on Audio Books – Titles and Series Mentioned

The North Woods by Daniel Mason

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

We Loved it All:  A Memory of Life by Lydia Millett

Remember: Listening to audiobooks counts as reading!

This episode explores environmentalism, international history, and adventure.

Cheryl’s Books

Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories by Amitav Ghosh

Windrush Child: The Tale of a Caribbean Child Who Faced a New Horizon by John Agard and illustrated by Sophie Bass

Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush by Patrice Lawrence and illustrated by Camilla Sucre

Mentioned

The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh

Small Island by Andrea Levy

Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future by Mya-Rose Craig

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

Mentioned

The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus

The Circuit: The Graphic Novel by Andrew Rostan

The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie

Mentioned

I Was Their American Dream by Malaka GharibSegment on Re-Reading Books – Titles and Series Mentioned

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Earthsea Series by Ursula K. Le Guin

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Lord of the Rings Series J.R.R. Tolkien

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Beartown Series by Fredrick Backman

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Somebody’s Horse by Dorothy Nafus Morrison

Homesick:  My Own Story by Jean Fritz

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins