For Valentine's Day, Tana and I are happily talking about some of our favorite books with our favorite dogs, because the love of a dog is the purest love there is. We focus on modern books but pull from fiction, nonfiction, romance, memoirs, and children's books, and we will let you know if the dog dies. If ever in question and you need to know before committing to something, you can check www.doesthedogdie.com to find out if you'll need privacy, tissue and pet hugs or if it's safe to read while in public.

The Friend, by Sigrid Nunez (Dog: Apollo, may or may not die, ending ambiguous)

London's Number One Dog Walking Agency, by Kate MacDougall (Many dogs, one dies)

Love Story of Missy Carmichael, by Beth Morrey (Dog: Bob, dies)

Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow (Dog: 'Bad, does not die)

Lessons In Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus (Dog: 6:30, does not die)

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, Fredrik Backman (Dog: The Wurse, dies)

Once There Were Wolves, Charlotte McConaghy (Dog: wolf pack, some die)

Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune (Dog: Apollo, is a ghost)

Daily Coyote, by Sherve Stockton (Dog: Charlie the coyote, does not die)

Mongrel, by Steven Graham Jones (Dog: family of werewolves, do not die)

Stay, by Allie Larkin (Dog: Joe, does not die)

Fairy Tale, by Stephen King (Dog: Radar, doesn't die in the story, but does in the epilog)

Mountaintop School For Dogs, by Ellen Cooney (Dog: many, none die)

Ryder Creed series, by Alex Kava (Dog: many, none die in book 1)

Bernie and Chet series, by Spencer Quinn (Dog: Chet, does not die)

Andy Carpenter series, by David Rosenfelt (Dog: Tara, does not die)

Mrs. Murphy series, by Rita Mae Brown (Dog: many)

No Ordinary Dog, by Will Chesney (Dog: Cairo, dies)

War Dogs, by Rebecca Frankel (Dog: many, some die)

Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech (Dog: Sky, dies)

Before You Were Mine, Maribeth Boelts (Dog: two of them, one dies, one does not die)

With the end of the year, in every area of entertainment, you can find lists of the best, and between reading everyone else's lists, Tana and I compiled our own book lists and we're happy to share with the hopes you might also find something to love.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus

Cover Story, Susan Rigetti

Book of Goose, Yiyun Li

Signal Fires, Dani Shapiro

Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult

The Lioness, Chris Bohjalian

Swimmers, Julie Otsuka

Fresh Water for Flowers, Valérie Perrin

Honorable mention:

Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson

Last House on the Street, Diane Chamberlain

Nikki's List

The Winners, Fredrik Backman

Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus

The Golden Enclaves: #3 in Scholomance Series, Naomi Novik

Take My Hand, Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Nine Lives, Peter Swanson

Ink Black Heart, Robert Galbraith

Fever, Mary Beth Keane

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmer

Honorable mention:

Killers of a Certain Age, Deanna Raybourn

Woman in the Library, Sulari Gentill

The Hacienda, Isabel Cañas

The Book of Cold Cases, Simone St. James

Once There Were Wolves, Charlotte McConaghey

On a Quiet Street, Serafina Nova Glass

Thistlefoot, JennaRose Nethercott

At my library, Nick has an Adult Popular Fiction book discussion group and he joins me today to discuss the more recent books they've read. I'd like to apologize for some of the audio glitches that occurred while Nick spoke -- we had hours of technical difficulties and at the end, I accepted whatever I could get.

Discussed:

Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O'Nan

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Jacqueline in Paris, by Ann Mah

One Italian Summer, by Rebecca Serle

Briefly mentioned:

This Time Tomorrow, by Emma Straub

Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A lot of popular series have a new book that either just came out or is coming soon and Tana joins me to discuss our recent favorites.

Discussed:

The Mason Series: The Confession Club, by Elizabeth Berg

The Jaipur Trilogy: The Perfumist of Paris, by Alka Joshi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series: Before Your Memory Fades, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Finlay Donovan Series: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, by Elle Cosimano

Beartown Series: The Winners, by Fredrik Backman

Scholomance Series: The Golden Enclaves, by Naomi Novik

Thursday Murder Club Series: The Bullet That Missed, by Richard Osman

When I was thinking of an episode that I could do about scary material, I didn't want to repeat last year so I thought, what scares me most? And to that, it's always been human monsters, the ones who kill other humans. So for October, I have a list of shows, podcasts, and books for all of you interested in... MURDER!

Discussed:

Streaming

Mindhunter (Netflix)

Unbelievable (Netflix)

Under the Benner of Heaven (on Hulu, not Prime as mentioned in the podcast)

Only Murders in the Building (on Hulu, not Prime as mentioned in the podcast)

Reacher (Prime)

True Detective (HBO)

The Killing (Hulu)

Top of the Lake (Hulu)

Luther (Hulu)

Broadchurch (PBS)

Very Scary People (Discovery+)

Podcasts

Casefile

Crime Junkie

Serial 

Sword and Scale

Man in the Window

Over My Dead Body: Fox Lake

Books

I'll Be Gone In the Dark, by Michelle McNamara

Furious Hours, by Casey Cep

Midnight Assassin, by Skip Hollandsworth

The phrase "of a certain age" is so emblematic of the vague way we describe women in midlife and beyond because they seem to become more and more invisible as they age, and as I'm venturing through this precarious stage in life, I'm looking for more female characters I can relate to, who are not tied to hearth and home as their identity. I've had a few in my head for this episode for a while, but I found a few more with some research, and I'd like to share those with everyone so you also can enjoy spunky, sharp women who are not just someone's mom or someone's grandmom. Enjoy!

Discussed:

Britt-Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman

State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett

Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver

Celine, by Peter Heller

Emily Maxwell series, by Stewart O'Nan

The Beach House series, by Mary Alice Monroe

Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osmon

The Woman with the Knife, by Gu Byeong-mo

The Marlow Murder Club, by Robert Thorogood

Brigid Quinn series, by Becky Masterman

The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth

The Elderly Lady series, by Helene Turston

Apples Never Fall, by Liane Moriarty

Also recommended:

Jody Picoult, Fannie Flagg, Anne Tyler, Terry McMillan, and Kristen Hannah.

Women in Translation

I don't know what it is about summer that makes me want to read only fun books but I know I'm not alone. Whether it's a good thriller, a visit to a French graveyard, a safari, or a humorous letter to a man's son about life, we have a bunch of books that you can devour in a warm afternoon by the pool or on a road trip while there's still time. Buckle up, we've got some doozies.

Discussed: 

The Lioness, by Chris Bohjalian

Fresh Water for Flowers, by Valérie Perrin

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

Music of Bees, by Eileen Garvin

The Winners, by Fredrik Backman

The Stranger, by Harlan Coben

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, Fredrik Backman

The Old Woman With the Knife, by Gu Byeong-mo

The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentill

What better time to talk about patriotism and what it's like to be an American than Independence Day? And no matter how you feel about events going on in the country right now, you know deep down you have love and a pride in the idea of America, what it is, and what it could be with some work. Here are books that epitomize American life throughout history, the good and the bad.

Discussed:

Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann

There, There - Tommy Orange

Round House and The Sentence - Louise Erdrich

Flight - Sherman Alexie

Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer

The Witches - Stacy Schiff

Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink

1776 - David McCullough

Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose

The Good Soldiers and Thank You For Your Service - David Finkel

War Dogs - Rebecca Frankel

Midnight Assassin - Skip Hollandsworth

The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule

Black Dahlia - James Ellroy

Devil in the White City - Erik Larson

I'll Be Gone In the Dark - Michelle McNamara

Missoula - Jon Krakauer

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle - Coleson Whitehead

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Hate You Give - Angie Thomas

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston

Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northup

I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter - Erika L. Sanchez

Ask a Mexican - Gustavo Arellano

The Devil's Highway - Luis Alberto Urrea

Operation Pedro Pan - Yvonne Conde

Hillbilly Elegy - JD Vance

Educated - Tara Westover

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

Malcom X, autobiography

Lost Continent and I'm a Stranger Here Myself and A Walk In the Woods - Bill Bryson

Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - Kim Michele Richardson

The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah

Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult

This Is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp

Alex & Eliza - Melissa de la Cruz

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chobsky

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

The Crucible - Arthur Miller

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Happy Pride Month! We have a number of Pride-related programs going on at our library this month and in addition, Tana and I have lots of books to recommend from authors who identify as LGBTQ+ or have main characters who do. We hope there is something for everyone on our list. 

Discussed:

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, by Mariko Tamaki

Check, Please! (series), by Ngozi Ukazu

The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang

Vence (series), by C.S Pacat

The Times I Knew I Was Gay, by Eleanor Crewes

One Last Stop, by Casey McQuiston

Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey

The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai

Outlawed, by Anna North

And the Band Played On, by Randy Shilts

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Guncle, by Steven Rowley

Aristotle & Dante (series), by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Burn It All Down, by Nicholas DiDomizio

In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado

Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo

Author T.J. Klune

Peaces, by Helen Oyeyemi

This Is How It Always Is, by Laurie Frankel

Author Sarah Waters

The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay

Mrs. Everything, by Jennifer Weiner

The Portrait of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

The Danish Girl, by David Ebershoff

Beartown (series), by Fredrik Backman

Naked Nutrition, by Daniel O'Shaughnessy

Nick, our commercial announcer, has a new book club at our library called Adult Popular Fiction, which meets the third Saturday of every month, and he has just finished the third book, so we thought we'd share the books he's had for the book discussion and what he thought of them.

Discussed:

The Tiger Mom's Tale, by Lyn Liao Butler

Women of Salt, by Gabriela Garcia