This month I’ll be enjoying some vacation, including some stay-cationing at home, as well as doing some out-of-state traveling for the first time in a long time. I have a relatively short flight ahead, but we have some long layovers, so I was sure to load up my Kindle with ebooks and my phone with audiobooks from OverDrive to keep me occupied. Nothing is worse than being book-less at the airport! Take a look below to see what I’m currently reading this month.
These are the books we are adding to our collection this week. Click on the maroon text to go to our catalog and place a hold today!
All in: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King – This autobiography from the tennis legend discusses not only her historic accomplishments on the court, but also her activism as a feminist and social justice fighter in the wake of her coming out as a gay at age 51.
Bloodless by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child – When completely exsanguinated bodies are found in Savannah, Georgia, FBI Agent Pendergast investigates amid growing panic and whispers of an infamous local vampire in the 20th novel in the series, following Crooked River.
Complications by Danielle Steel – After four years of renovations and the death of its beloved manager, a popular Paris boutique hotel reopens with new staff looking to make good impressions and guests seeking luxurious accommodations, but what they all find is unrelenting drama.
Another Kind of Eden by James Lee Burke – After hopping off a boxcar in early 1960s Denver, aspiring novelist Aaron Holland Broussard meets and instantly connects with Joanne McDuffy, a college student who is involved with a shady professor caught up in a drug-addled cult.
The Island by Ben Coes – When Iranian terrorists blow up the bridges and tunnels that connect Manhattan to the mainland during the President’s visit to the U.N., CIA agent Dewey Andreas, hopeless, outgunned and outmanned, must fight a seemingly impossible battle.
The Noise by James Patterson & J. D. Barker – After a mysterious explosion kills thousands in the Pacific Northwest, two survivors are left – 16-year-old Tennant and her 8-year-old sister, Sophie, in this new novel from the master of psychological suspense.
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – In 1970s Mexico City, Maite, a secretary with a penchant for romance novels, searches for her missing neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, which leads her to an eccentric gangster who longs to escape his own life, and together, they set out to discover the dangerous truth.
Viral by Rubin Cook – With his wife in a coma after contracting a rare and highly lethal mosquito-borne viral disease, Brian vows to seek justice against the hospital and insurance company that won’t cover the costs by exposing the dark side of a ruthless industry and bring down the executives preying on the sick.
A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton – Angels walk among us, but so do other unearthly beings in this brand new series by a #1 New York Times best-selling author.
The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable – This dual-narrative set at the famed Heywood Hill Bookshop in London follows a struggling American writer’s search for a lost manuscript written by Nancy Mitford – a bookseller, spy, author and aristocrat – during World War II and the surprising link she discovers between the past and present.
Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson – A San Francisco Chronicle reporter, drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and reams of public records, provides a first-hand account of California’s Camp Fire – the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century, investigating root causes and how to avert future tragedies as the climate crisis unfolds.
~Semanur
Ruthless lawyer Wallace wakes up at his own funeral and thinks he has to be dreaming. But when a stranger at the service turns out to be a reaper sent to collect his soul, he starts to believe. She takes him to a mysterious tea shop run by Hugo, a ferryman who helps souls in their transition to the afterlife. Afraid and angry, Wallace refuses to move on, effectively leaving him in limbo in the teashop. Gradually, with the help of Hugo, the reaper, and a couple of resident ghosts, Wallace begins to learn to be a better person and care about other people. Under the Whispering Door is T. J. Klune’s newest novel after The House on the Cerulean Sea, the sleeper hit and bestseller of last year.
Whispering Door is all at once a queer love story, a metaphysical treatise, and an introduction to philosophy. It also runs the gamut of emotions; at times funny, serious, and sad, with a main character whose personal growth is organic, if somewhat sped up. Though the subject matter can be heavy, Klune’s outlook on death and the afterlife is altogether positive, and the book’s tone remains upbeat even while discussing difficult topics. After his breakout hit, Klune has clearly found a formula that works, and he has perfected it further here. In fact, my only complaint is that this new novel is too similar to the plot of Cerulean Sea: a grumpy loner finds a new family and becomes a better person. The book is predictable, but that is part of its charm – it is chocolate chip cookie-style comfort food packaged in a story about grim reapers and the afterlife. Fans of the previous novel will love this book, and newcomers will enjoy the quirky and uplifting story.
Look for Under the Whispering Door on September 21, 2021.
Thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy!
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Belle Marion Greener’s father, Richard Greener, was the first black man to graduate from Harvard. He became a strong advocate for civil rights. After Belle’s parents separated, her mother, Genevieve, moved the children to New York City and there they became the Greene family. Belle became Belle da Costa Greene. Belle’s mother wanted the best for her children and being able to pass as white afforded the family more opportunities.
In 1906 Belle, who was working at Princeton University, was offered the opportunity to run the Pierpont Morgan Library. She was hired to curate J.P. Morgan’s manuscripts, books and artwork. Soon she was entrusted with finding and purchasing materials for the collections. Belle became a powerful force to be reckoned with in the male dominated art world. She lived with the secrecy of her black heritage her entire adult life passing as an olive-skinned white woman of Portuguese descent. She befriended art historian Bernard Berenson who also had a deep dark secret.
The novel does an excellent job of describing a little-known chapter in American history.
~Emma
With another school year just around the corner, and many of us returning to spending more time in the office, you might be in need of some help in the kitchen! Fear not- all the titles below are cookbooks perfect for crafting delicious meals that work for those short on time.
These are the books we are adding to our collection this week. Click on the green text to go to our catalog and place a hold today!
The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye – After his Broadway theater baron father dies mysteriously, Ben Dane, his best friend Horatio and his artist ex-fiancé Lia, on one explosive night, are drawn into otherworldly events where the only outcome is death.
Yours Cheerfully by A. J. Pearce – A young wartime advice columnist, Emmeline Lake must tackle a life-changing dilemma between doing her duty and standing by her friends when the Ministry of Information calls on her to help recruit desperately needed female workers to the war effort.
Ice and Stone by Marcia Muller – Hired by Crimes Against Indigenous Sisters, private investigator Sharon McCone goes undercover in Eiwok county on the Oregon border to determine who killed two women in the latest addition to the New York Times best-selling series.
Cul-de-sac by Joy Fielding – Five families on a quiet, suburban cul-de-sac deal with the shooting of one of their own and the secrets they each harbor, including newlyweds whose marriage is already on the rocks and a family who fled to Florida from California.
Vortex by Catherine Coulter – While FBI agent Sherlock helps an investigative journalist piece together the past to bring a killer to justice in the present, FBI agent Savich becomes a target as he protects a CIA operative who was betrayed on a compromised mission in Iran.
Mrs. March by Virginia Feito – When someone suggests that the protagonist in her husband’s latest book is based on her, Mrs. March questions everything she believes about her husband as she embarks on a harrowing journey that builds to near psychosis – one that may uncover a killer and the long-buried secrets of her past.
In the Country of Others by Leila Slimani – After marrying a handsome Moroccan soldier during World War II, a young Frenchwoman is torn as tensions mount between the locals and the French colonists in the new novel by the internationally best-selling author of The Perfect Nanny.
Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen – Chicago Detective Annalisa Vega investigates when a new tally is added to the body count of the Lovelorn Killer, a notorious, local serial killer who has evaded the police and been dormant for 20 years.
Ramadan Ramsey by Louise Edwards – When Ramadan Ramsey, the son of a ninth generation New Orleans African American and a Syrian refugee, turns 17, he sets off to find the father he has never known – an adventure-filled journey filled that takes him from NOLA to Egypt, Istanbul and finally Syria.
This Will All Be over Soon: A Memoir by Cecily Strong – In this raw, unflinching memoir about loss, love, laughter and hope, a Saturday Night Live cast member tries to make sense of her beloved cousin’s death and embrace the life-affirming lessons he taught her in an upended world struck by the coronavirus pandemic.
Everything I Have Is Yours: A Marriage by Eleanor Henderson – A bestselling author looks back on her twenty-year marriage to a man who unraveled in front of her due to a mysterious chronic illness that led to his decreasing descent into mental illness.
The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey – Once obsessed with pre-Raphaelite paintings along with her four friends, which led to tragedy, Ruth returns home where her childhood friend Stuart quietly insinuates himself into their lives and gives Ruth’s 16-year-old daughter the attention she longs for.
~Semanur
Each month a staff member will share a glimpse into their reading shelf in hopes that you will discover that next great read.
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
by Kelli Estes
A debut novel written in 2015, Inara Erickson inherits her Aunt Dahlia’s
estate (Rothesay) on Orcas Island. (Orcas is the largest of the San Juan
Islands of the Pacific Northwest.) The estate is in poor condition but Inara
wants to remodel it. She wants to create a boutique hotel. Her father just
wants the property sold but is willing to give his daughter a chance and will
finance the improvements. He does reserve the right to call in the loan at any
time. Inara uncovers an embroidered silk sleeve in a hidden spot under the
stairs. She is determined to learn the meaning behind the sleeve which appears
to tell a story.
Inara contacts David Chin, a local professor of Asian history, to help
determine the history behind the silk sleeve. In the late 1800’s, the people of
Seattle wanted to get rid of its Chinese community and forcibly removed most of
them. Mei Lin is the embroiderer who was a survivor. Life was not easy for Mei
Lin and Jacob, her American husband. The sleeve and the rest of the robe tell
the story of Mei Lin’s family. With David’s assistance and stories from Inara’s
father, it’s discovered that there are generations old connections between Mei
Lin and Inara and David Chin. Some of the history is horrific to imagine.
Part mystery and part romance, the novel looks at an often-forgotten period
of Pacific Northwest history. In particular the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
which suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrant’s
ineligible for naturalization.
~Emma
One of the best things about working in a public library is being exposed to so many different books! I know I can be guilty of sticking to my reading comfort zone, but thanks to the eclectic readership we have on staff, I’m always hearing personal recommendations and reviews from my amazing colleagues, including a wide variety of genres.
This month Adult Services staff shared some current favorites, including a discussion worthy nonfiction title, an updated classic with a fantasy twist, and a stand-out autobiography. Take a look below for our five staff picks!
Hop on over to our digital library to snag one of these titles now! Ilhan Omar narrates the audiobook version of This is What America Looks Like, which was highly recommended by our staff, so if you are an audiobook fan don’t miss out on this great title.
Read it or Weep 