GPL Book Break

Links for Book Break 03/15/2023

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, Rebecca, as they discuss a round-up of books they have been reading recently.

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Purchase a copy here.  

Travels with Lizbeth: Three Years on the Road and on the Streets by Lars Eighner (Rebecca)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Purchase a copy here.

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Rebecca)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

All That is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison (Rebecca)

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, Jenna, as they discuss a round-up of Cozy Fantasy they have been reading recently.

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.  

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (Jenna)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune (Jenna)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling (Jenna)

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Links for Book Break 02/15/2023

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, Mindy, as they discuss a round-up of what they have been reading recently.  Today we feature Historical Fiction titles.

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

The Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh (Claire)

Purchase a copy here.  Not available in the Monroe County Library system at this time.

The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian (Mindy)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (Mindy)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Claire)

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese (Mindy)

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Links for Book Break 02/01/2023

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, Hannah, as they discuss a round-up of what they have been reading recently.

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Librarians Claire and Stephanie talk about some of the 2023 releases that they are excited to add to their “To Be Read” piles! 

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum:  Etaf Rum’s follow-up to her 2019 debut, A Woman Is No Man, is a complicated mother-daughter drama that looks at the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma and what it takes to break the cycle of abuse.  (Claire)

• 2022 Greece Reads author, Etaf Rum

Mothered by Zoje Stage:  From the USA Today bestselling author of the international sensation Baby Teeth comes a claustrophobic psychological thriller about one woman’s nightmarish spiral while quarantined with her mother. (Stephanie)

• Our first Greece Reads author, Zoje Stage

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See:  The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snowflower and the Secret Fan and The Island of Sea Women. (Claire)

• historical fiction based on a “real” person!

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita: debut from an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter. Takes place in a tiny town in Alaska. All 200 residents live in one high rise building. Town is only accessible via a tunnel and is isolated. Detective goes in to investigate a murder and then gets stranded when a blizzard closes off the tunnel.  (Stephanie)

• Debut novel

Happy Place by Emily Henry:  A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this fun  new novel. (Claire)

• Rom-Com fake romance trope

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix: Parents die, two adult siblings must sell their house, but the house has a creepy feeling to it. Filled with dolls and puppets. Saw it described as Annabelle and Child’s Play. It’s “hilarious and terrifying” as the blurb says. That’s a hard combination to get right, but it seems it has. (Stephanie)

• 12 rating on Goodreads

All That is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay: A mother vanished. A father presumed guilty. There is no proof. There are no witnesses. For the children, there is only doubt. From the New York Times bestselling author of Defending Jacob. (Claire)

• True Crime vibes

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher: described as “Southern gothic.” We both enjoy Southern. A woman goes home to visit her mother, and everything seems “off.” Her mother seems terrified, she’s painted all the walls white, and then she discovers a jar of teeth in the yard. (Stephanie)

• Creepy / horror movie vibes

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Crosby:  Southern noir specialist S.A. Cosby (Razorblade Tears) is back with his unique brand of high-octane crime fiction. Titus Crowne is a former FBI agent recently elected sheriff of a small town. When a school shooting shatters the community, Titus must endure the trials of being a Black man in a police uniform in the American South. (Claire)

• Love books about the South in a contemporary setting

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham: baby stolen out of his crib and the mother hasn’t slept in a year. Case is cold but she is desperate to find him.  (Stephanie)

• Love missing persons stories

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai:  From the internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing, a suspenseful and moving saga about family secrets, hidden trauma, and the overriding power of forgiveness, set during the war and in present-day Việt Nam. (Claire)

• Historical fiction in a different time period

Who We are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain: Four friends. Fifteen years. Graduated college in 2006, they think they will always be close, but entering adulthood changes things. Each of the next years is told from one of their points of view. Drift apart but a tragedy brings them back together. (Stephanie)

• Friendship, including a male… interesting perspective

Enchantment:  Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May:  From the New York Times-bestselling author of Wintering, an invitation to rediscover the feelings of awe and wonder available to us all. (Claire)

• Non-fiction pick – enjoyed “Wintering”

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye: a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. When Helene was young, she dreamed of the perfect man and wrote about him in journals. Grew up, moved on, went through a messy divorce. She decides to move to Alaska where she meets a man… who is the exact person she dreamed up. How? (Stephanie)

• Alaska again

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai:  A stirring investigation into collective memory and a deeply felt examination of one woman’s reckoning with her past, with a transfixing mystery at its heart.  A successful producer and pod caster returns to teach a class at the boarding school where her roommate was murdered during their senior year. (Claire)

• On many “most anticipated” lists – NPR, Time, Good Housekeeping, Today, etc.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Links for Book Break 01/04/2023

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, Ashley, as they discuss a round-up of what they have been reading recently.

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Purchase a copy here.

Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Join GPL librarians Claire and Kirstra as they discuss their favorite books published in 2022! 

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

Reserve a copy from the library here. Read a copy on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.

Where I Can’t Follow by Ashley Blooms

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Blood Sugar  by Sascha Rothchild

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Join GPL librarians Claire and Kirstra and special guest, Mindy, as they discuss a round-up of what they have been reading in November. Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org.

The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree

Reserve a copy from the library here. Purchase a copy here.

All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriott

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Have you read any of our choices? Have thoughts about our picks? Connect with us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Join GPL librarians Claire and Kirstra as they discuss some great nonfiction reads! There are so many different kinds of nonfiction out there, from memoirs to history to travel, and we're going to tackle them all. 

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: the Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery 

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here. 

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe 

Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  

Inheritance:  A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro 

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith 

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here. 

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy 

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  

We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year by Charles Wheelan 

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.  

Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at [email protected].  We love hearing from our listeners, and also getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!  

Join GPL librarians Claire and Kirstra - with special guest, Lydia! - as they discuss a round up of recent reads.

Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:

The Memory Police, by Yoko Ogawa

Reserve a copy from the library here. Read an ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Our Missing Hearts: A Novel, by Celeste Ng

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey

Reserve a copy from the library here. Purchase a copy here.

Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer, by William Knoedelseder

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.

Other Birds: A Novel, by Sarah Addison Allen

Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.

Stiff : the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach

Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.