New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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Here some of the new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week!

Breathe by Joyce Carol Oates – After her husband comes down with a mysterious illness, Michaela contemplates widowhood at age 37 and refuses to surrender her love in the new novel from the best-selling and prize-winning author of The Falls.

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson – A mother and midwife inadvertently threatens the fortunes and livelihoods of her family and their neighbors after noticing an increase in local miscarriages and believes it’s caused by the pesticides used by the Sanderson Timber Company.

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange – Returning to the east coast to recover from a drunk driving accident she caused, 29-year-old Sunday Brennan must protect her family from a man from her past who brings her family’s pub business to the brink of financial ruin.

Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews – When a filmmaker takes footage of Macbeth, which her husband is producing, that reveals dark secrets about the major players, Meg Langslow, with the filmmaker’s electronic devices destroyed, must uncover the darkest secret of all to expose a killer.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton – A single author believes she’s met her dream match on a dating app until he ghosts her and forces her to deal with everything she’s trying to ignore, including her father’s dementia and her editor’s dislike of her new book.

Billy Summers by Stephen King – A former Iraq war vet working as an assassin-for-hire who only accepts jobs when the target is truly a bad guy seeks retirement in the new novel from the legendary best-selling author of over 60 novels.

Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown – A moonshiner in Prohibition-er Texas must deal with murder, lust, greed and other mayhem in the new novel from the New York Times best-selling author of Thick as Thieves and One Good Deed.

Class Act by Stuart Woods – Returning to New York from Maine, Stone Barrington helps out a former client who mistakenly thought an old feud would remain in the past in the latest addition to the long-running series following Double Jeopardy.

Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens – Beth Chevalier quits school, lies to her parents and becomes addicted to pills while dealing with the murder of her sister on the notorious Cold Creek Highway in the new thriller by the author of Still Missing.

Down Range by Taylor Moore – An elite, undercover DEA officer helps out a formerly-peaceful ranching community in Texas who are under assault by a group of criminals controlled by a rich, entitled businessmen with ties to law enforcement and local businesses.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones – While in Portugal for her brother-in-law’s wedding to Ali, who rubs everyone wrong way, Rachel discovers something about Ali that changes everything and threatens to unravel friendships and marriages in a place where jumping to conclusions becomes the difference between life and death.

The Turnout by Megan Abbott – When a suspicious accident occurs at their family-run ballet studio just at the onset of the annual performance of The Nutcracker, sisters Dara and Marie Durant find their delicate balance threatened by an interloper.

~Semanur

Discover@RRPL

EmmaLeave a comment
by Alan Brennet

in the 1890’s, 7-year-old Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy. She is forcibly removed from her home in Honolulu and moved to the quarantine settlement on the Kalaupapa peninsula on the north shore of Moloka’i. Rachel’s uncle Pono also contracts leprosy and is moved to the same leper colony. Fortunately, Sister Catherine befriends Rachel and she occasionally sees her father. Rachel grows up in the settlement and eventually marries Kenji Utagawa who is also suffering with leprosy. Soon they that have a daughter who is immediately taken away from the young couple to safeguard the baby’s health. Years later Kenji is killed trying to protect a young woman who is being beaten up by her boyfriend.

When a cure is found for Hansen’s disease, Rachel is finally allowed to leave Kalaupapa. Her goal is to find her daughter given up for adoption over 30 years ago.

Since 1866, more than 8000 people, mostly Hawaiians, have died at Kalaupapa. Kalaupapa is now a refuge for the few remaining residents who are cured, but were forced to live their lives in isolation. The site is now Kalaupapa National Historical Park. (Currently the Hawai’i Department of Health has restricted the entrance of tours to Kalaupapa and will not be approving entry permits at this time due to the Kalaupapa patients being a high-risk population to COVID-19.)

Published in 2003, this is not an easy read. There is much sadness, but Rachel is a determined survivor. She learns to cope with the devastating disease and the heartbreak.

~Emma

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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These are the books we are adding to our collection this week. Click on the pink text to go to our catalog and place a hold today!

Fierce Little Thing by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore – Five friends are blackmailed into returning to the cult where they were raised to face their shared monstrous secret.

Women’s March, The: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession by Jennifer Chiaverini – Inspired by actual events, this novel offers a fascinating account of a crucial but little-remembered moment in American history that follows three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote.

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas – A young window, Lady Merritt Sterling, tries to avoid London society scandals while running her late husband’s shipping business, but her sensible plans disappear when she meets a rugged Scotch whisky distiller who is running from danger.

The Forbidden by Heather Graham – When a real murder occurs on set, actress Avalon Morgan is led to the darkest corners of the internet where killers confess their crimes—a discovery that puts her in the path of a killer and in the arms of an FBI agent working the case.

Godspeed by Nickolas Butler – The principals of True Triangle Construction seem willing to do anything to get their promised payday from a mysteriously wealthy homeowner for a project in Jackson, Wyoming in the new novel from the best-selling and award-winning author of Shotgun Lovesongs.

Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron – After taking a thankless job as a temp at a law firm, Cassie Woodson begins reading the personal emails between a partner and his enchanting wife and becomes so obsessed with the pair, she plots to take her place.

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena – When their parents are brutally murdered the night after Easter dinner, three siblings, who stand to inherit millions, are devastated but also wonder if one of them is capable of murder or if a stranger was responsible for tearing this not-so-happy family apart.

Robert Ludlum’s the Bourne Treachery by Brian Freeman – A lone operative working in the shadows for Treadstone, Jason Bourne engages in a cat-and-mouse game with Lennon across the British countryside in an attempt to prevent another assassination—a mission that calls into question everything he thought he knew about the past.

A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones – The sheriff of a small-town police force in the New Mexico mountains tackles a crazy bar fight and her teenager hunting a serial killer in the second novel of the series following A Bad Day for Sunshine.

Unthinkable by Brad Parks – Kidnapped by the head of a powerful secret society who believes he can stop millions of people from dying, Nate Lovejoy, a self-proclaimed nobody and stay-at-home dad, must do the unthinkable to save the world.

A Song Everlasting by Ha Jin – Yao Tan, a popular singer, is placed on a government blacklist and can never return to China after performing at a private gig sponsored by a supporter of Taiwan’s secession, in the new novel from the award-winning author of Waiting.

Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb – Estranged sisters Clara and Madeleine Sommers reunite to honor their grandmother’s dying wish—to travel across Europe together and deliver three farewell letters, a journey during which they are constantly at odds with each other until a shocking family secret brings them closer than ever before.

~Semanur

Introducing Sara Dykman!

DoriLeave a comment

We are so very excited to have Sara Dykman come to speak with us on Monday, August 2. By now, you’ve read all about Sara’s book Bicycling with Butterflies, and her trip on Butterbike, where she travelled with the monarchs on their journeys North and South, visiting schools and nature centers on her quest to educate children and adults about the plights of these orange and black beauties.

But did you know that this is Sara’s fourth adventure journey? Sara belongs to a group called Beyond A Book, a group that describe themselves, as “…an adventure-linked education project that connects real-time adventures to classrooms creating opportunities for real-life learning inspires students to push their limits and explore the planet.”

I’m looking forward to asking Sara about how she got started on these adventures, what inspired her as a child to seek out opportunities to not only push herself physically, but help the planet at the same time? I’d also like to know more about her art (see the watercolor above). What a talented person!

I’ll leave you with this recommendation for the book from naturalist Jane Goodall. She describes the book as, “An extraordinary story in which Dykman seamlessly weaves together science, a real love of nature and the adventure and hazards of biking with butterflies from Mexico to Canada and back.”

Can’t wait to see you on August 2!

~Dori

Let Your Dreams Take Flight

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I don’t know about you, but I thought I was pretty brave until I read Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman, our One Book, One City book choice this year. Ms. Dykman’s idea for her over 10,000-mile bike ride following the migratory trek of the monarch butterfly sounded daunting, and seemed impossible to this reader. Nevertheless, the author set her goal, planned for it, and then went out there and accomplished it. Talk about realizing your dreams!

I’m inspired -not to embark upon quite such a bike ride- but to instead appreciate that we humans can really get things done when we set out to do so. Like Ms. Dykman, we are bound to make some ‘wrong turns’ along the way, but if we persevere, we can and will succeed.

I’m eager to hear more about her ride among the beautiful Monarchs and will be lucky enough to do so when the author will be available at our virtual Q&A on Monday, August 2 at 6pm. Aren’t you? Register here and I sure hope to ‘see’ you there!

One Book, One City: Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman

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Buddy Read – Week Four!

This is our last week to read Bicycling with Butterflies together before the author answers our extra questions about monarchs and give us the dirt on what it’s like to bicycle from Mexico to Canada and back!

Don’t forget, if you want to read a book inspired by Bicycling with Butterflies, check out the digital collection or call the library 440.333.7610 x5501 for suggestions!

And check out what’s happening on the Children’s Department blog, RRPL Kid’s Depot, where you’ll find even more fun things to try out this Summer!!

Rocky River, are you ready to read together? Us too! Let’s get into it and turn that page

Week Four

Chapters 23-31

1. Are you looking at all the creatures in your garden and in the woods a little differently now? Have you been inspired to do some of your own research on any caterpillars or beetles you’ve seen?

2. At this point, the author has moved many creatures out of harm’s way. Have you ever stopped to help a skunk, a turtle, or a caterpillar find a safer path than the one they were on, or would you consider it now?

3. Did you feel the tension growing when the author gave the potential risks and rewards for where eggs are laid during the pre-migration phases of the monarch’s journey? Based on everything you’ve read; do you have a guess at which approach might increase the rate of survival?

4. The author writes, “The more we know, the more we know just how much we don’t know.” With so many new ideas introduced in this book, are you feeling more empowered to make small changes or large ones? Has one of the topics discussed caught your attention, intriguing you enough to dig deeper into what you can find?

Programs happening soon:

One Book, One City Live Q & A with Sara Dykman 

Monday, August 2  

6:00 -7:30 pm  

All ages are invited to hear more about what the author experienced while following the migratory path of monarch butterflies. Questions for the author can be submitted in advance to communityservices@rrpl.org or asked during this live event. Register here to reserve your space!