Fiction

From Page to Screen: Spring 2024

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This spring’s book to film adaptations are hitting the streaming services all season long! These limited run series take your favorite blockbuster books and turn them into six or seven episode arcs, building out the world of beloved characters from Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley to Liane Moriarty’s family of tennis pros.

If you want to compare and contrast or just love a good spoiler, pick up the book to read before you start watching! Click on the book title to request a print copy of the book, or check out Libby or Hoopla for eBook or eAudiobook offerings.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings. The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

Streaming on Peacock.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Coming to AppleTV+ on May 8.

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety.

Streaming on Hulu.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam. 

Streaming on Max.

Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey

In this “tour de force of crime reportage”, acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey takes us into the hidden world of the seven teenage girls–and boy–accused of a savage murder. As she follows the investigation and trials, Godfrey reveals the startling truth about the unlikely killers. 

Streaming on Hulu.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism–but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. 

Coming to Peacock on May 2.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley’s fascination with Dickie’s debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie’s ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game.

Streaming on Netflix.

-Happy reading!

Melinda

Earth Day Approaching!

LinneaLeave a comment

Let’s celebrate Earth Day early with some nature-focused books to get us in the spirit! Especially as we start experiencing warmer days, it’s a good time to reflect on all the wonders that our Earth provides. And with these books, you’ll be ready for Earth Day, on April 22. 

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy 

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson 

Two Old Women by Velma Wallis 

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson 

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil 

The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World’s Favorite Insect by Wendy Williams 

-Linnea 

National Library Week Reads

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Did you know that this week is National Library Week? We are closing out the week celebrating the books, people, and buildings that make the Library a place for everyone!

If you’re looking for a on theme read, look no further. Here are some library-related reads for the bibliophile in us all. Just click on the book title to place the book on hold!

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

What You Are Looking for is in the Library for Michiko Aoyama

Happy reading!

-Melinda

How To for the Fiction Lover

MelindaLeave a comment

Are you a chronic DIYer? One of the fiction trends I’ve noticed recently is an increase in books starting with two little words- “How to.” They might not be the classic guides you’re used to, but maybe some of the principles explored throughout the pages still apply. Read on for book recommendations that offer less helpful advice and more fictious fun.

For the amateur detective:

How to Solve Your Own Murder

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered.

Request it here.

For the engineer:

How to Build a Boat

Jamie O’Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of certain objects, books with dust jackets, rivers, cats, and Edgar Allan Poe. At age thirteen, there are two things he wants most in life: to build a Perpetual Motion Machine, and to connect with his mother, Noelle, who died when he was born.  In his mind, these things are intimately linked.

Request it here.

For the realtor:

How to Sell a Haunted House

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls.
 
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale.

Request it here.

For the aspiring royal:

How to Best a Marquess

Beth Howell needs to find her dowry, post haste. After her good-for-nothing first husband married her–and two other women, unbeknownst to them all–she’s left financially ruined and relegated to living with her brother, who cares more for his horses than he does his blood relatives. If Beth fails to acquire her funds, her brother will force her to marry someone fifty years her senior and missing half his teeth. She’d prefer to avoid that dreadful fate. 

Request it here.

For the fed-up:

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It

He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone.

I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made, I appeared to get away with it.

That’s where my addiction started…

I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

Request it here.

For the author:

How to Write a Novel

Aris is 12.5 years old and destined for greatness. Ever since her father’s death, however, she has to manage her mother’s floundering love life and dubious commitment to her job as an English professor. Not to mention co-parenting a little brother who hogs all the therapy money.  

Luckily, Aris has a plan. Following the advice laid out in Write a Novel in Thirty Days! she sets out to pen a bestseller using her charmingly dysfunctional family as material. 

Request it here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

Has Spring Sprung?

LinneaLeave a comment

We’re two days into spring but it doesn’t quite feel like it yet. Daffodils had started to peek up, then were promptly covered by a dusting of snow. Sun warmed our faces, but now we’re back to grey.  

If you’re eager for spring weather to come back and stick around, try some of these books to summon the season of renewal: 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 

Replay by Ken Grimwood 

Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 

The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eva Eger 

Cackle by Rachel Harrison 

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers 

-Linnea 

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

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When Lauren returns home after a night out in London, she is greeted by Michael. This man is a stranger claiming to be her husband. She was definitely not married when she left that evening, but now her own camera roll, the changes to her flat, and her friends all tell a different story. How could this be? When the shocking answer is revealed, it is truly unbelieve-he came from the attic. Lauren quickly discovers that her attic produces a seemingly infinite supply of husbands.

Lauren’s life changes with each new husband. And while the idea of endless possible lives sounds appealing, she eventually starts questioning what she truly wants out of love and life. How will she trust she’s found the right one when she knows she can easily swap him out?

The Husbands is a delightful debut brimming with quirky characters, magical realism, and thought-provoking situations. Lauren’s journey is an emotional rollercoaster for both her and the reader! The audio narration by Miranda Raison made the experience all the more enjoyable.

Fans of witty, romantic comedies, and Brit Lit will want to add The Husbands to their reading lists. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

Request a copy of The Husbands here.

Book Review: Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame

MelindaLeave a comment

Jenny Quinn has been baking her entire life. From treacle tarts to chocolate teacakes, her baked goods are always sampled by her husband of fifty-nine years, Bernard. The two enjoy a quiet life as pensioners, puttering about the garden and visiting their niece and her children. After almost a lifetime together, there aren’t too many secrets between them. But when her favorite tv show Britain Bakes puts out a casting call for the new season, Jenny impulsively decides to apply without telling Bernard.

After she’s invited to audition, she begins baking up a storm using her trusty old fashioned scale to precisely weigh her ingredients. As she prepares her family recipes for judging, she reflects on the other thing weighing on her…the secret she’s been keeping from Bernard for almost six decades. A secret from long ago, before she even met him.

When Jenny lands a spot on the show she immediately regrets applying, sure that this series will highlight failures galore as she enters the competition. What she finds instead is camaraderie in a fellow baker and a producer whose youth and zest for life remind her of her younger self, forcing her to reflect on what could have been.

This sweet read draws heavily from GBBO, and the descriptions of the baking are so detailed it practically puts you right in the competition tent. Jenny is a lovable grandmotherly type of character and the flashbacks to her young adulthood add layers of interest and a dash of intrigue to an otherwise cozy story. This is a great pick for anybody who enjoys a good bake and a light-hearted read.

Request a copy here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

Daylight Saving Time

LinneaLeave a comment

Time is a funny thing. This year was a Leap Year and in a couple days, our clocks will spring forward, ushering us into Daylight Saving Time. Those sunny mornings we’ve had? Gone. Instead, we get evenings (hopefully) filled with sunshine and each day warmer than the last.  

I love a good theme and this week here are a bunch of books on various topics, all with the word “time” in the title. Enjoy! 

The Tatami Time Machine Blues by Tomihiko Morimi 

Einstein in Time and Space: A Life in 99 Particles by Samuel Graydon 

Georgia O’Keeffe: To See Takes Time by Samantha Friedman 

Yiayia: Time-Perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers by Anastasia Miari 

The Time of Your Life by Sandra Kitt 

For the First Time, Again by Sylvain Neuvel 

On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory by Thomas Hertog 

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell 

Finding Time Again by Marcel Proust 

In the Time of Our History by Susanne Pari 

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister 

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson 

Happy reading and don’t forget to set your clocks an hour forward in the wee hours of Sunday morning! 

-Linnea 

Book Review: The Heiress

MelindaLeave a comment

Cam and Jules are just an average young couple. But Cam isn’t quite the everyday man he appears to be. As the son of North Carolina’s richest woman, he tries everything to escape both his inheritance and the home of the legendary McTavish family.

When a family death pulls the couple back to the stately Ashby House, Jules is awestruck at the opulent surroundings. And even more awe-inspiring is the life of the woman behind them- Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, Cam’s late adoptive mother.

Ruby’s storied past began when she was the victim of a famous childhood kidnapping. Her legend continued as she found love, and was widowed…four times over. Amidst the rumors of her husbands mysterious deaths, she earns the moniker “Ruby Killmore.'” Even in death, Ruby oversees Ashby House from a life size oil painting, reminding Cam that one can never run from family. As Cam and Jules unveil the family’s storied past, secrets come to light that threaten their relationship, the inheritance, and the future of the McTavish name.

This was a twisty read told through Ruby’s own letters and the alternating perspectives of Cam and Jules. Rachel Hawkins thrills again with a story of a old money, old secrets, and an even older house. Slightly reminiscent of a gothic novel, The Heiress is a book that will have you flipping pages to find out what happens next.

Put the print copy on hold here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

Readalikes for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

MelindaLeave a comment

One of the books currently flying off the library shelves is The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. When a skeleton is unearthed in the small, close-knit community of Chicken Hill, Pennsylvania, in 1972, an unforgettable cast of characters, living on the margins of white, Christian America closely guard a secret, especially when the truth is revealed about what happened and the part the town’s white establishment played in it.

If you’re still waiting to read this one, request the physical book here and the eBook here. But if you’re searching for a similar book, read on for some readalikes.

What’s a readalike? A readalike is a suggested book that has a similar style, plot, or genre to a book that you enjoyed reading. We love to suggest books for you, so stop by the Reference Desk anytime to get a recommendation.

Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks

It’s 1957, and after leaving the only home she has ever known, Alice Young steps off the bus into the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, where residents have largely rejected integration as the means for Black social advancement. Instead, they seek to maintain, and fortify, the community they cherish on their “side of the woods.” In this place, Alice falls in love with Raymond Campbell, whose clandestine organizing activities challenge New Jessup’s longstanding status quo and could lead to the young couple’s expulsion–or worse–from the home they both hold dear

Request it here.

The Evening Road by Laird Hunt

Two women, two secrets: one desperate and extraordinary day. In the high heat of an Indiana summer, news spreads fast. When Marvel, the local county seat, plans to lynch three young black men, word travels faster. It is August, 1930, the height of the Jim Crow era, and the prospect of the spectacle sends shockwaves rumbling through farm country as far as a day’s wagon-ride away.

Request it here.

Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

The Kindred sisters–Ezra and Cinthy–have grown up with an abundance of love. Love from their parents, who let them believe that the stories they tell on stars can come true. Love from their neighbors, the Junketts, the only other Black family in town, whose home is filled with spice-rubbed ribs and ground-shaking hugs. And love for their adopted hometown of Salt Point, a beautiful Maine village perched high up on coastal bluffs.

Request it here.

The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama

Daniel Abe, a young doctor in Chicago, is finally coming back to Hawai’i. He has his own reason for returning to his childhood home, but it is not to revisit the past, unlike his Uncle Koji. Koji lives with the memories of Daniel’s mother, Mariko, the love of his life, and the scars of a life hard-lived. He can’t wait to see Daniel, who he’s always thought of as a son, but he knows the time has come to tell him the truth about his mother, and his father.

Request it here.

Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

In the still-segregated town of West Mills, North Carolina, in 1976, Marian, Marva, and Lazarus Harmon-three enigmatic siblings-are found shot to death in their home. The people of West Mills- on both sides of the canal that serves as the town’s color line-are in a frenzy of finger-pointing, gossip, and wonder. The crime is the first reported murder in the area in decades, but the white authorities don’t seem to have any interest in solving the case.

Request it here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda