Category: Audio Books

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“I feel special. Like maybe I deserve to be here.”
― Freida McFadden, The Housemaid

Is there an author you have seen everywhere that you have been reluctant to read? For me, this author is Freida McFadden. Her books are flying off the shelves at the library with her new ones having long holds lists. In an effort to figure out her popularity, I decided to listen to The Housemaid, the first book in her Housemaid series. Before I get into the book, let me share something: I love psychological thrillers and the twists, turns, and brutal endings they can have. Because of this, I am a bit picky about what psychological thrillers I read, but I still wanted to give Freida McFadden a try.

Here’s a brief synopsis: Millie is looking for a fresh start. She has been let go from her last job and is sleeping in her car, so when she scores an interview to be a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family, she is surprised. Given her previous work history and her past, Millie knows she probably won’t get the job, but surprise, she is offered the job! She is tasked with cleaning the house from top to bottom, picking up the Winchesters’ daughter from school, making their meals, and a myriad of other tasks. The lady of the house, Nina, at first seems like a dream, but soon turns into a nightmare. She rips up the house, making messes and blaming Millie. She repeatedly tells lies and gaslights Millie. The constant whiplash between nice and angry pushes Millie close to Nina’s husband, Andrew. Millie doesn’t see how the two could have ended up together. Andrew is extremely attractive, while Nina doesn’t take pride in her appearance and has let herself go. As Nina continues to deteriorate, Andrew grows more broken. Soon Millie believes that Andrew deserves better and that she appreciates him more than Nina does. When Andrew and Millie are given the opportunity to act out their desires, Millie feels like her dreams have come true. She doesn’t realize it’s a trap until it’s too late, but unfortunately for the Winchesters, they have underestimated Millie.

My thoughts: While I enjoyed the twists and the ending, there were other parts I found repetitive. Some scenes also felt tedious and at times I felt this book could have benefitted from another editing round. The Housemaid was a good thriller, but honestly I was hit with dejavu many times, like I had read this book or plot before. This was a solid three star read because of its predictability.

The Housemaid series

Online Reading Challenge – November

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Welcome Readers!

This month the Online Reading Challenge is focusing on detective/crime fiction. Our main title for November is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice or, On the Segregation of the Queen by Laurie R. King. Here’s a quick summary from the publisher:

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes’s past. Full of brilliant deduction, disguises, and danger, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, the first book of the Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is “remarkably beguiling” (The Boston Globe). (Picador)

Looking for some other detective/crime fiction titles? Try any of the following.

As always, check each of our locations for displays with lots more titles to choose from!

Online Reading Challenge – October Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

How did your reading go this month? Did you read a fantasy title for October? Share in the comments!

I read our main title: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan. I honestly had no idea what I was expecting, but this was a pleasant read.

Growing up in a famine-stricken village in 1345 China, a girl and a boy are dealt two vastly different fates. The boy is destined for greatness, while the girl, nothingness. Under harsh Mongol rule, starving peasants dream of greatness through stories passed down through generations. When the boy is told that he is destined for greatness, those around him wonder how that will ever be true, but the girl’s fate of nothingness is to be expected in a time of great famine when girls are considered wasteful. The girl refuses to be nothing. When bandits attack her family leaving the boy and their father dead, the girl steps into her brother’s identity and enters a monastery as a young male novice. While there, the girl learns her limits and what she is willing to do to stay hidden from the heavens and her own fate. When the monastery is destroyed, the girl must find the courage to claim her brother’s fate and reach for greatness.

She Who Became the Sun was a wild ride. I chose this book because it was billed as a reimagining of the ride to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor. It also won a wide variety of awards and was the finalist for even more. If I hadn’t chosen this book for the Online Reading Challenge, I don’t think I would have picked it up on my own, but I’m glad I decided to give it a try. This is the first in the duology with the second called He Who Drowned the World.

Next month, we will be reading detective or crime fiction!

In addition to following the Online Reading Challenge here on our Info Cafe blog, you can join our Online Reading Challenge group on Goodreads and discuss your reads!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“What’s wrong with me? … I might seem like the ideal student: homework always in early, every extra credit and extra curricular I can get my hands on, the good girl and the high achiever. But I realized something just now: it’s not ambition, not entirely. It’s fear. Because I don’t know who I am when I’m not working, when I’m not focused on or totally consumed by a task. Who am I between the projects and the assignments, when there’s nothing to do? I haven’t found her yet and it scares me. Maybe that’s why, for my senior capstone project this year, I decided to solve a murder.”
― Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Every community has a story that haunts the residents. The town of Fairview is not exception to this. Five years ago, popular high school senior Andie Bell went missing and her boyfriend, Sal Singh, was accused of her murder. Not long after Andie went missing, Sal killed himself, leaving the community bereft with questions and her family without a body. It was all anyone could talk about for years. Now five years later, senior Pippa Fitz-Amobi has decided to reopen the Andie Bell case as her senior capstone project. Pip believes that Sal was innocent and that the only way to find the real killer is to do her own investigation. This means digging for answers to a case that everyone else believes is closed. With the help of Sal’s younger brother, Pip reexamines this closed case. It doesn’t take long before Pip ruffles someone’s feathers enough that they start threatening her. This case takes a dangerous turn for all those involved.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the first book in the series of the same name by Holly Jackson. This series debut was intriguing from the start. Pip is smart and driven to solve this case, sometimes to the detriment of her own safety. Each character in this story is well-developed, while the plot wasn’t too predictable. The plot twists were unexpected. I also enjoyed that the author was able to weave in multiple storylines without it becoming too convoluted and confusing. All in all, a great read for both teens and adults.

Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series

  1. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2019)
  2. Good Girl, Bad Blood (2020)
  3. As Good as Dead (2021)

Interested in this book? A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the October See YA Book Club pick (it was also made into a series on Netflix!). We will be discussing this book on Wednesday, October 1st at 6:30pm at our Eastern Avenue branch. For more information about future See YA book picks, visit our website.

See YA Book Club

Join our adult book club with a teen book twist. See why so many teen books are being turned into movies and are taking over the best seller lists.

Registration is not required. Books are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Eastern Avenue library. We meet the first Wednesday of the month at Eastern at 6:30pm. Stop by the service desk for more information.

October 1 – A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

November 5 – Rez Ball by Byron Graves

December 3 – Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“Everyone drifts from their path once in a while. But your path is still there waiting. It’s a perfectly good one.”
― Tessa Bailey, Fangirl Down

Fangirl Down is the first book in the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey. Wells Whitaker used to be golf’s biggest, and hottest, rising star, but lately his game has been of and his attitude is trash. Instead of amassing wins, he’s gathering hangovers, a stash of broken clubs, and is left with one lonely supporter. His last fan is a gorgeous redhead who is positive no matter how badly Wells plays. The angrier he gets, the perkier and louder she cheers. Wells’ frustration hits its peak, leaving him to quit the game forever in a flurry of rage. He speaks angrily to his last fan and she finally leaves him. As soon as they are separated, Wells knows he has messed up and regrets his actions, but doesn’t know what to do.

Josephine Doyle has believed in Wells for as long as she can remembers. She can see the promise in this cantankerous golfer even when he doesn’t believe in himself. When he finally quits and treats her so poorly, Josephine is left to wonder if her belief was misguided. Making her way home, Josephine is left to work in her family’s shop, but when an act of nature destroys the shop, Josephine isn’t sure what she will find the money to rebuild her family’s dream and legacy. When Wells shows up at her door out of nowhere, Josephine is shocked. When he suggest a wild business proposal that will benefit both of them, her shock reaches new levels. Wells offers Josephine the position as his new caddy where she will help him improve his game and where she will leave with a big chunk of the prize money. Josephine takes him up on his offer and the two start traveling together.

This innocent business proposal quickly spirals out of control as sparks fly between the two. They become inseparable, fighting for each other in front of the press and in front of the other golfers and caddies. Wells starts winning again, Josephine starts to rebuild her family’s business, and the two grow closer and closer. Their professional relationship as boss and employee is tested as they start to explore the possibilities of a romantic relationship.

Fangirl Down was a spicy read with the romance and sexy scenes happening on the page for you to read. There is a reason why some readers call Tessa Bailey the queen of dirty talk. This sports romance has some intriguing tropes: grumpy x sunshine, insta love, he falls first, just to name a few. The banter between Wells and Josephine flies off the pages. The main characters have a palpable attraction, chemistry that ripples between the two, and a verbal wit that can’t be matched. Check out this book if you like your romance on the spicier side.

This title is also available in large print and Playaway audiobooks.

Big Shots series

  1. Fangirl Down (2024)
  2. The Au Pair Affair (2024)
  3. Dream Girl Drama (2025)
  4. Pitcher Perfect (2025)
  5. Catch Her If You Can (2026)

MORE EBOOKS! MORE DIGITAL AUDIOBOOKS! LIBRARY OF THINGS!

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Thank you to the THOUSANDS of Davenport residents who completed our recent community survey! We are excited to implement ideas you shared to ensure that the Davenport Public Library continues to connect a diverse community to resources that educate, enrich, and entertain.

You overwhelmingly asked for more ebooks and digital audiobooks, and we heard you loud and clear! In order to meet this need, Davenport Public Library is excited to announce that we have QUADRUPLED our collection of digital materials by joining the BRIDGES Consortium! Through collaboration with Iowa libraries via the BRIDGES Consortium, library patrons have access to over 72,000 ebooks, 24,000 digital audiobooks, and 5,400 digital magazines. You will be able to access these titles seamlessly through the Libby app. Access to BRIDGES titles started on July 1, 2025!

Additionally, many of you requested an expansion to our current TechKnow Library collection of devices and other nontraditional items you can check out to try at home instead of making expensive purchases. Thanks to a successful fundraising campaign from the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library, we are expanding this collection to create a brand-new Library of Things! You’ll be able to check out cake pans, outdoor games, crafting supplies, tools, and much more when the Library of Things officially launches on October 1st!

In order to allocate funding and space for these new materials, and in alignment with our Collection Development Policy, starting on June 30th Davenport Public Library will no longer purchase physical audiobooks for our collection. This was a difficult decision to make and was arrived at due to the following factors:

  • Usage of our physical audiobooks has steadily decreased in recent years – in the last five years alone, the number of checkouts has plummeted by 56%. This is in stark contrast to our digital audiobook usage, where circulation trends upward every year with increases as high as 36%.
  • Availability of physical audiobooks has also decreased over the years, as most BOCD publishers are no longer even in business and others do not make titles available for libraries to purchase.
  • Cost of physical audiobooks has increased over time and provides less access than digital titles; for instance, the $25,113.76 fee for participation in BRIDGES would allow access to over 102,000 titles, significantly more than we could purchase in physical format. That is a very good return on investment for taxpayers!

We understand that the removal of physical audiobooks may pose challenges, especially for those without access to personal devices. Many alternative options remain available, including digital audiobooks through the Libby app, Tumble Book Library featuring interactive storybooks, and our newest collection of digibooks including Vox and Wonder Books—physical print books with a built-in audiobook similar to Playaways. If you have a low vision, a vision disability, a physical disability, or a reading disability, you may be eligible to receive books and other materials from the Iowa Department for the Blind. They offer a variety of ways to listen to books. Contact the Iowa Department for the Blind at 1-800-362-2587, option 2 to learn more about their services.

Thank you for your patience as we navigate changes to our spaces to accommodate these exciting changes!

Online Reading Challenge – August Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Hello Fellow Challenge Readers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you read a classic? Share in the comments!

I read our main title: Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Published in 1956, Giovanni’s Room is the story of David, a young man living in Paris in the 1950s. Waiting for his fiancée Hella to return from a trip to Spain, David starts an affair with an Italian bartender named Giovanni. Said affair spans several months. Giovanni is passionate and clever, but something seems off. Soon the two find themselves living together in Giovanni’s small room. David begins to feel stifled, while Giovanni repeatedly says that he won’t survive if David leaves him. During this time, David reflects on a homosexual affair he had in his adolescence and the impulses he has been struggling to repress for years. David is caught in a conflict between heterosexual and homosexual love, between desire and conventional morality. When Hella returns, David again struggles with the life he envisions for himself (and Hella) and with his homosexuality. The three impacted parties (Giovanni, David, and Hella) are humans with flaws whose decisions end up altering their lives forever.

I chose to listen to the audiobook narrated by Matt Bomer with an introduction by Kevin Young, but I highly recommend you read this book in any format that you can get your hands on. The writing style and imagery are gorgeous. The prose was laden with love, highlighting a depth of emotion portrayed beautifully throughout the book. Although I enjoyed the book, the main character was decidedly not my favorite and was hard to love. David was incredibly selfish, only worried about himself, and unlikable. The relationships he was in were toxic, but I had hopes throughout that David would grow by the end. Sadly, he did not. I had a rough time getting through this book, but I’m glad I did as it hooked me in completely with about 45 minutes left in the story. If this is on your to-read list, give it a go and let me know what you think.

Next month, we will be reading young adult literature!

In addition to following the Online Reading Challenge here on our Info Cafe blog, you can join our Online Reading Challenge group on Goodreads and discuss your reads!

Better Living Through Birding by Chrisitan Cooper

- Beth Leave a comment

In Better Living Through Birding, Christian Cooper uses his platform from the infamous “Central Park birdwatching incident” to shift focus on the joys of living life outside of stereotypes. 

In May 2020, Christian Cooper recorded a confrontation between himself and a white woman in New York’s Central Park where he asked her to leash her dog and she made a false police report saying he threatened her. The video went viral, partly because it happened around the same time George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. “The Incident” became part of a larger conversation about institutional racism. Details are covered in one chapter of this memoir. Cooper acknowledges a handful of times that “The Incident” is probably the reason you are reading the book, but Cooper uses the notoriety of “The Incident” to invite you into a much larger and more fulfilling part of his life: birdwatching.

It was no accident that Cooper was in Central Park that day. This wasn’t a “I need to get out of the house” Covid walk. This day was one among a string a days that Cooper had spent enjoying peak bird migration through the area. Cooper is a dedicated birdwatcher who has traveled the world for his hobby but calls New York home. He has built a community of friends with others who can identify sparrows, warblers, and finches by their song.

There are some other things you should know about Cooper. He has been a nerd since childhood, with Star Trek and Marvel comics being two of his obsessions. He attended Harvard and in the book describes how he came out to his dormmates and then became a gay activist. Protesting and being arrested are part of his activist journey. His relationship with his parents, especially his father, is complicated. He worked for Marvel and wrote the first lesbian character.

Through it all, even in his childhood, has been birding. He wants the readers of his book to be just as excited about being outdoors as he is. In spaces where he has been an outsider, he invites you to be part of the community, to find joy in spotting a bird under the cover of foliage or being able to identify it by its call.

While I listened to this audiobook, and there were a few bird calls between chapters that were a nice touch, I don’t think the audiobook experience is a must. As of the publication of this blog post, Better Living Through Birding by Chrisitan Cooper is available in regular print, large print and eAudiobook on Bridges through the Libby app.

And if Christian Cooper’s memoir inspires you to take up birding, remember the Davenport Public Library has many resources to get you started, including field guides and birding backpacks with all the tools you need.

Online Reading Challenge – July

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Welcome Readers!

This month the Online Reading Challenge is focusing on domestic fiction, also known as domestic realism. This genre focuses on everyday lives of ordinary people, particularly the domestic sphere that focuses on families and communities. It strives to show a realistic portrayal of ordinary life in a straightforward way. Our main title for July is All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg. Here’s a quick summary from the publisher:

“If I know why they are the way they are, then maybe I can learn why I am the way I am,” says Alex Tuchman of her parents. Now that her father, Victor, is on his deathbed, Alex—a strong-headed lawyer, devoted mother, and loving sister—feels she can finally unearth the secrets of who Victor is and what he did over the course of his life and career. (A power-hungry real estate developer, he is, by all accounts, a bad man.) She travels to New Orleans to be with her family, but mostly to interrogate her tight-lipped mother, Barbra.

As Barbra fends off Alex’s unrelenting questions, she reflects on her tumultuous life with Victor. Meanwhile Gary, Alex’s brother, is incommunicado, trying to get his movie career off the ground in Los Angeles. And Gary’s wife, Twyla, is having a nervous breakdown, buying up all the lipstick in drugstores around New Orleans and bursting into crying fits. Dysfunction is at its peak. As family members grapple with Victor’s history, they must figure out a way to move forward—with one another, for themselves, and for the sake of their children.

All This Could Be Yours is a timely, piercing exploration of what it means to be caught in the web of a toxic man who abused his power; it shows how those webs can entangle a family for generations, and what it takes to—maybe, hopefully—break free. With her signature “sparkling prose” (Marie Claire) and incisive wit, Jami Attenberg deftly explores one of the most important subjects of our age. – Ecco

Looking for some other domestic fiction? Try any of the following.

As always, check each of our locations for displays with lots more titles to choose from!

Online Reading Challenge – June Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Hello Fellow Challenge Readers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you read queer fiction? Share in the comments!

I read our main title: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. This national bestseller has won many awards, was featured on many publication lists, and was longlisted for other prizes. With these high accolades, this was an easy queer fiction pick for June.

Here’s a short summary before I discuss my thoughts. Detransition, Baby is the story of Reese and Amy and what they each want out of life. Reese has created the life that she has always dreamed of: a gorgeous apartment in New York City, a job she enjoys, and a loving stable relationship with Amy. As a trans woman, this life is full of things that she never thought herself worthy of, but one thing has always been missing: a child. Just when Amy and Reese start the process to have a child, their relationship explodes. Amy detransitions and become Ames and the life they know is over. Flash forward and neither Ames nor Reese are happy. When Ames’ partner, his boss Katrina, announces that she’s pregnant, Ames realizes that this baby is the way to get Reese back into his life. Ames, Reese, and Katrina start an awkward dance to figure out if this unconventional family will work.

The exploration that the author makes into each characters’ life was eye-opening. Each character is forced to confront their thoughts about sex, motherhood, and gender, to examine the messy corners of what it truly means to be a woman. The author isn’t afraid to discuss the uncomfortable, which I enjoyed. When I started Detransition, Baby, the writing and pacing hooked me. I could tell that the author was sincere in their writing, that nothing was written without a lot of thought, although some sections were a bit wordy. While I loved certain characters, others were unlikeable, which is honestly true of most books. The book’s ending also caught me completely off guard. If you read this book, I would love to know your opinion! Please let me know in the comments.

Next month, we will be reading domestic fiction!

In addition to following the Online Reading Challenge here on our Info Cafe blog, you can join our Online Reading Challenge group on Goodreads and discuss your reads!