Virtual Book Club – Spooky Sci Fi and Fantasy Books

What better way to celebrate spooky season than reading some scary books? This time, instead of your standard haunted houses and paranormal happenings, we’re looking at mash-ups of horror with science fiction and fantasy. 

Click any of the book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. 

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer catalog link

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer 

The Southern Reach trilogy is the creepy love child of science fiction and metaphysical horror. A group of women explore Area X, a mysterious, ever-expanding, and reality-warping region, where previous explorers have disappeared without a trace. Follow up this short book with the sequels, Authority and Acceptance.

Annihilation Overdrive link

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling catalog link

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling 

Gyre Price lied her way to a caver position on a strange planet. As she plumbs the depths of the caves, she realizes that something is off. Her handler topside omits information as it suits her, supplies aren’t where they are supposed to be, and Gyre can’t shake the feeling that someone is following her in the dark.

The Luminous Dead Overdrive link

The Luminous Dead Hoopla link

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins catalog link

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Carolyn and a dozen other children being raised by “Father,” a cruel man with mysterious powers, begin to think he might be God, so when he dies, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which they believe holds the power to all Creation.*

The Library at Mount Char Overdrive link


The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan catalog link

The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan

After discovering an unfinished manuscript hidden in an old house, Sarah becomes obssessed with the subject of the work–an ancient oak on a desolate corner of the property– and risks both health and sanity to uncover its secret.*

The Red Tree Overdrive link


The Changeling by Victor LaValle  catalog link

The Changeling by Victor LaValle 

Resolving to commit to marriage and parenthood unlike the father who abandoned him, Apollo Kagwa, who suffers from bizarre dreams, is shocked when his wife commits an act of astounding violence before disappearing, compelling Apollo’s odyssey through a world he barely understands.*

The Changeling Overdrive link


*Plot summaries courtesy of Novelist.

Check back next week for another installment of the Virtual Book Club!

Virtual Book Club – Favorite Books with Dragons

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved dragons. Give me a book with a dragon in it, and I’ll devour it cover to cover. The Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey were probably my first introduction to dragons in ‘mature’ literature, and I instantly fell in love. If you, too, are a lover of all things draconic, or maybe even wished to have a pet dragon of your very own, check out some of my favorite fantasy novels featuring dragons! 

Click any of the book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. I’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. 

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik catalog link

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik – first book in the Temeraire series

Naomi Novik does not only pen fairy tales for adults – you may know her as the author of the witchy fairy tales Uprooted and Spinning Silver, but she got her start with an alternate universe history of the Napoleonic Wars. Her Temeraire series features an English Navy captain who accidentally bonds with a baby dragon and then must join the air force, where sentient dragons are employed as living airships.

His Majesty’s Dragon Overdrive link

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan catalog link

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan – first in the Memoirs of Lady Trent series

In Marie Brennan’s delightful Lady Trent series, a famous, distinguished scientist and lady of the peerage and pens her memoirs and recounts her humble beginnings as an ordinary young woman who discovers the long lost secrets and history of dragons. 

A Natural History of Dragons Overdrive link


Seraphina by Rachel Hartman catalog link

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman – first in the Seraphina series

In this inspired take on dragon lore, the dragons aren’t gigantic scaly fire-breathers – at least not all the time. They can transform into human-shape and are nearly indistinguishable from regular humans, which is why they are treated like second-class citizens by fearful humans. When a prince of the realm is murdered, seemingly by a dragon, our hero Seraphina must solve the mystery. This young adult series is a treat for teens and adults alike!

Seraphina Overdrive link

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker catalog link

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker – first in the Tide Child trilogy

In this grimly realist novel, two nations have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. They make sailing ships out of dragon bone, but their ships are disintegrating and no one has seen a dragon in hundreds of years. When a dragon is spotted far out to sea, the two nations must race to see who can capture the dragon and win the war. 

The Bone Ships Overdrive link

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede catalog link

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede – first in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles series

Yes, this one is a children’s book, but it’s so much fun! In this irreverent fairy tale, Princess Cimorene is bored with living in a castle and decides that she doesn’t want the traditional princess life of being pursued by the princes from surrounding kingdoms, so she runs away to live with a dragon.

Dealing with Dragons Overdrive link

Dealing with Dragons Hoopla link

If you’re a dragon lover like me, any of these books will scratch that dragon itch. Share your favorite dragon books in the comments below!

Make sure to join us next week for a very spooky installment of the virtual book club!

Readalikes for The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett catalog link

This week for the virtual book club, we’re looking at #1 New York Times bestseller The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett. Fans of Follett’s mega-popular ‘Pillars of the Earth’ series know that it is a multigenerational saga of medieval England that chronicles the political, religious, and social upheaval of the Middle Ages. 

While you wait for your copy, we’ve selected a few series (and some standalone novels) that should scratch that ‘multigenerational family saga’ itch for you. These stories span the globe and take place from the time of the Vikings to the 20th century, so there’s something for everyone. 

Click any of the readalike book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. You can find The Evening and the Morning on Overdrive here

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell catalog link

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell – first book in the ‘Saxon stories’ series

Captured and raised by Danes in the ninth century, dispossessed nobleman Uhtred witnesses the unexpected defeat of his adoptive Viking clan by Alfred of Wessex and longs to recover his father’s land. 

The Last Kingdom Overdrive link

The Last Kingdom Hoopla link

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson catalog link

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson – first novel in the Gilead series

As the Reverend John Ames approaches the hour of his own death, he writes a letter to his son chronicling three previous generations of his family, a story that stretches back to the Civil War and reveals uncomfortable family secrets. 

Gilead Overdrive link

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett catalog link

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past.

The Dutch House Overdrive link



The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver catalog link

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 

The family of a fierce evangelical Baptist missionary–Nathan Price, his wife, and his four daughters–begins to unravel after they embark on a 1959 mission to the Belgian Congo, where they find their lives forever transformed over the course of three decades by the political and social upheaval of Africa. 

The Poisonwood Bible Overdrive link

The Poisonwood Bible Hoopla link

North and South by John Jakes catalog link

North and South by John Jakes – first novel in the North and South trilogy

Chronicles two great American dynasties over three generations. Though brought together in a friendship that neither jealousy nor violence could shatter, the Hazards and the Mains are torn apart by the storm of event that has divided the nation. 

North and South Overdrive link

North and South Hoopla link

All plot summaries from Novelist, except The Dutch House, which is from Goodreads. 

Join us next week for a slightly different, high-flying installment of the Virtual Book Club! 

Readalikes for All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny catalog link

Fans of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache know that he is one in a million – kind, thoughtful, and the best detective in the Sûreté du Québec. Over time, Gamache and Penny have attracted more and more fans to the series, and now her 16th novel featuring Gamache, All the Devils are Here, is a #1 New York Times Bestseller. In this new novel, Inspector Gamache travels to Paris, where he must find the person who attacked his wealthy and elderly godfather.

However, along with the surging popularity of the series comes a very long holds list at the library, so your friendly librarians are here again with similar detective series that might remind you of Chief Inspector Gamache. 

Click any of the readalike book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. You can find All the Devils are Here on Overdrive here

Cover Her Face by P. D. James catalog link

Cover Her Face by P. D. James – first novel in the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series

When a sly and sensuous young woman who had used her body and her brains to climb the social ladder is murdered by someone who had clearly decided that the wages of sin should be death, it falls to Inspector Adam Dalgliesh to find out who the killer is. 

Cover Her Face Overdrive link

Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon catalog link

Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon – first novel in the Guido Brunetti mystery series

When renowned opera conductor Helmut Wellauer is found dead in his dressing room, the victim of cyanide poisoning, Guido Brunetti, the Vice Commissario of the Venice Police, must sift through several suspects. 

Death at La Fenice Overdrive link

Death at La Fenice Hoopla link

Murder at the Mendel by Gail Bowen catalog link

Murder at the Mendel by Gail Bowen – second novel in the Joanne Kilbourn mystery series (also known as Love and Murder)

Sally Love’s exhibition at the Mendel Gallery includes a mural depicting the private parts of her past lovers, and when protestors appear in droves, two dead bodies are found, and Sally’s childhood friend, Joanne Kilbourn, must investigate the crimes. 

Murder at the Mendel Overdrive link

A Test of Wills by Charles Todd catalog link

A Test of Wills by Charles Todd – first novel in the Ian Rutledge mystery series

Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after fighting in the war, still suffering from shell shock. His next case, with a war-ravaged ex-soldier as the witness, could spell disaster for him. 

A Test of Wills Overdrive link

A Test of Wills Hoopla link

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George catalog link

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George –  first novel in the Thomas Lynley mystery series

Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is getting a final chance for a promotion. Because of her abrasive personality, she’s been unable to work with any of the detectives at Scotland Yard. Assigned to work with Inspector Thomas Lynley, whom she despises because of his privileged upbringing, the two head to Yorkshire to investigate the murder of a man by his daughter. She was found sitting by her decapitated father and would only say “I did it. And I’m not sorry”, and she has refused to say another word. The townspeople believe she is innocent, and Lynley and Havers learn to work together as they solve the case.

A Great Deliverance Overdrive link

All plot summaries courtesy of Novelist.

Join us next week for another installment of the Virtual Book Club!

Readalikes for 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand catalog link

Just because the weather’s cooling down and turning to autumn doesn’t mean that we can’t still read beach reads! We know that a lot of you are still on the holds list for 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, so we thought we’d recommend some similar authors and titles for you while you wait. 

Elin Hilderbrand is the queen of the beach read, as her books are always set on the island of Nantucket, and her newest novel is no different. 28 Summers presents a tale inspired by the film, Same Time Next Year, that follows a man’s discovery of his mother’s long-term relationship with the husband of a Presidential frontrunner. 

Click any of the readalike book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. You can find 28 Summers on Overdrive here

Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs catalog link

Map of the Heart by Susan Wiggs

Accompanying her aging father on a trip to his native France, a widowed photographer is led by his memories of World War II to unexpected revelations about their family’s history at the same time she bonds with a handsome American historian. 

Map of the Heart Overdrive link

Map of the Heart Hoopla link

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky catalog link

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

Two childhood friends reunite at a summer retreat, each harboring a horrible secret that would test the bounds of their longtime relationship if revealed. 

Sweet Salt Air Overdrive link



Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer catalog link

Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer

Spending her days at the library and her nights stargazing and contemplating a new relationship, Darcy is unexpectedly drawn into the summertime dramas of three families including those of her recently married ex, a situation that compels Darcy to consider what she truly wants. 

Secrets in Summer Overdrive link

Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank catalog link

Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank

Reconnecting on one of Charleston’s most beautiful barrier islands, a pair of former sweethearts rediscover their feelings for one another while their jealous spouses pursue an unexpected attraction of their own over more than 20 years also marked by financial catastrophes, family tragedies and devastating heartbreaks. 

Same Beach, Next Year Overdrive link

Same Beach, Next Year Hoopla link

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin catalog link

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin  

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six-year-old television producer living her dream in New York City. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door…only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had locked away forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s meticulously constructed world will be shaken to its core, resurrecting memories of a passionate young love affair that threatens everything that has come to define her. 

Where We Belong Overdrive link

All plot summaries courtesy of Novelist. 

Join us next week for another installment of the Virtual Book Club! 

Readalikes for The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Guest List by Lucy Foley catalog link

It’s that time: another installment of the ‘Virtual Book Club: Really Long Holds List’ edition! This week we’re looking at books to read while you wait for The Guest List by Lucy Foley, which looks to be shaping up to be the new hot thriller for fall, as it is both a New York Times Bestseller and a pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club.

A locked room mystery set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, The Guest List is generating lots of buzz. An expertly planned celebrity wedding between a rising television star and an ambitious magazine publisher is thrown into turmoil by petty jealousies, a college drinking game, the bride’s ruined dress and an untimely murder. Sounds good, right? But of course, the holds list is long, so we’ve brought you readalikes to keep you busy while you wait.

Click any of the book covers below to be taken to our catalog, where you can request a copy of the book with your library card number and PIN. We’ve also included links to our e-media services Overdrive and Hoopla where available. You can find The Guest List on Overdrive here.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware catalog link

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

Reluctantly accepting an old friend’s invitation to spend a weekend on the English countryside, reclusive writer Leonora awakens in a hospital badly injured, unable to recall what happened and confronting a growing certainty that someone involved has died.

In a Dark, Dark Wood Overdrive link


And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie catalog link

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Ten houseguests, trapped on an isolated island, are the prey of a diabolical killer. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion: Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine–When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale?

And Then There Were None Overdrive link

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz catalog link

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

“From New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz comes Magpie Murders, a brilliant and strikingly original reimagining of the classic whodunit (a la Agatha Christie) with a contemporary mystery wrapped around it”–.

Magpie Murders Overdrive link


The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda catalog link

The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda

When her longtime best friend is found murdered, a woman combs through her idyllic Maine tourist community to uncover local secrets and clear her name of suspicion.

The Last House Guest Overdrive link


Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris catalog link

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

The friends of a seemingly perfect socialite couple begin to see cracks in the facade when they realize that the husband and wife are never apart and that there are bars on one of their upstairs windows.

Behind Closed Doors Overdrive link


All plot summaries courtesy of Novelist.

Join us every Sunday for new editions of the virtual book club!

Virtual Book Club – #OwnVoices Alternatives to American Dirt

While the book American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins has had its share of success – debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list, selected for Oprah’s book club – it has also had a quite large (and justified) share of controversy. It is a novel about the experiences of a Mexican migrant, written by a white American woman, praised by many review sites for being an ‘authentic’ novel about the border crisis.

What this novel actually does is steal the spotlight from books written by Latinx and Mexican authors. For more information on the controversy, click here. In light of this, as our patrons are starting to come back to the library and may want to read Cummins’ book, we thought we’d share some excellent alternatives that are written by members of the Latinx community.

For all of the books below, click on the cover to be taken to our catalog, where you can place the book on hold with your library card number and PIN. Links to our ebook services have been included where available.

Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

An award-winning poet chronicles his experiences of growing up undocumented in the United States, describing how his family and his attempt to establish an adult life were heartbreakingly complicated by racist policies. 

Overdrive link



Where We Come From by Oscar Casares

Where We Come From by Oscar Cásares 

Moving to his godmother’s volatile Texas border town after his mother’s sudden death, a 12-year-old Mexican-American boy discovers a young illegal immigrant taking shelter in his godmother’s home before their shared desire for independence puts all of them at risk. 



Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras 

Follows a sheltered girl and a teen maid, who forge an unlikely friendship that threatens to undo them both amid the violence of 1990s Columbia. 

Overdrive link



Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine  

A debut story collection about female relationships and the deep-rooted truths of our homelands features Latina protagonists of indigenous descent who cautiously navigate the violence and changes in a Denver, Colorado community. 

Overdrive link



With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Navigating the challenges of finishing high school while caring for a daughter, talented cook Emoni Santiago struggles with a lack of time and money that complicate her dream of working in a professional kitchen. 

Overdrive link


All plot summaries courtesy of Novelist.

Join us next Sunday for the next installment of the virtual book club!

Readalikes for Where the Crawdads Sing

Still trying to get a copy of 2018’s smash hit novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens? Us too! Don’t know what Crawdads is about? We’ve got you there too: viewed with suspicion in the aftermath of a tragedy, a beautiful hermit who has survived for years in a marsh becomes targeted by unthinkable forces. This book has topped the New York Times Bestseller list for over 30 weeks and was also selected for Reese Witherspoon’s book club.

While you wait, try one of the novels below! They are recommended by our librarians as being similar in feel to Crawdads. Click any book cover for a link to our library catalog, where you can put the book on hold with your library card number and PIN. And we know they’ll probably come in faster than Crawdads! Links to our ebook services have been included where available. 

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Her world upended by the death of a beloved artist uncle who was the only person who understood her, fourteen-year-old June is mailed a teapot by her uncle’s grieving friend, with whom June forges a poignant relationship. 

Overdrive link





My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

Enduring an isolated existence after the death of her mother, 14-year-old Turtle roams the rocky shores and tide pools of the California coast and refutes every outside attempt to engage her before an unexpected friendship with a newcomer helps her realize the vulnerabilities of her life with her charismatic father.

Overdrive link


Let's No One Get Hurt by Jon Pineda

Let’s No One Get Hurt by Jon Pineda

A teenage girl squatting in an abandoned boathouse with her disgraced college professor father in the swamps of the American South begins an unbalanced relationship with the rich, bratty son of a developer who has bought the property. 





A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash

Jess Hall, growing up deep in the heart of an unassuming mountain town that believes in protecting its own, is plunged into an adulthood for which he is not prepared when his autistic older brother, Stump, sneaks a look at something he isn’t supposed to, which has catastrophic repercussions. 

Overdrive link



Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen

Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen

Coming of age in a dwindling 1960s farming community in eastern Pennsylvania, Mimi struggles with profound family secrets and the pain of falling in love with the wrong person against a backdrop of dynamic historical periods.

Overdrive link





All book summaries courtesy of Novelist. Check back next Sunday for our next ‘Readalikes’ installment of the Virtual Book Club!