New Memoirs and Biographies

December 26, 2025December 23, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

As someone who has a hard time reading nonfiction, when I’m feeling the need to read nonfiction, I gravitate towards memoirs and biographies. I love the life tidbits and secrets that are dropped. It sometimes feels like a peak behind the curtain into someone’s life when I’m reading a biography.

Below is by no means a complete list of all the new memoirs and biographies at the Davenport Public Library. Let us know in the comments, give us a call, or visit the Library for more recommendations! As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. All descriptions are provided by the publishers.

100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke

On the eve of his 100th birthday, national treasure Dick Van Dyke brings us this autobiographical collection of stories, reflections, and life advice on how he’s maintained a zest for life.

Dick Van Dyke danced his way into our hearts with iconic roles in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Now, as he’s about to turn 100 years old, Dick is still dancing and approaching life with the twinkle in his eye that we’ve come to know and love. In 100 Rules for Living to 100, he reveals his secrets for maintaining your joie de vivre and making the most out of the life you’ve been given.

Through stories of his pivotal childhood, moments on film sets, his expansive family, and finding love late in life, Dick reflects on both the joyful times and the challenges that shaped him. His indefatigable spirit and positive attitude will surely inspire readers to count the blessings in their own lives, persevere through the hard times, and appreciate the beauty and complexity of being human. – Grand Central Publishing

Eternally Electric: The Message in My Music by Debbie Gibson

In her long-awaited debut, Debbie Gibson reflects on the lessons she learned in her years as a young pop pioneer and on her hard-earned journey to embrace her authentic self, allowing her to lead the healthy, engaged—and electric!—life she does today.

Debbie Gibson was just sixteen when she released her multi-platinum debut album Out of the Blue and recorded “Foolish Beat” in 1988, making her the youngest person to ever write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper.

A child actress who became the original pop princess, Debbie had full creative control over her music and, when that no longer aligned with a transitioning arts scene, she went on to star in Broadway’s Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and Cabaret, as well as in the London production of Grease. Yet, for all the accolades and achievements, her success came at a high price.

Anxiety, depression, financial struggles, illness—Debbie writes candidly about these and other challenges, and how she ultimately redesigned her life to overcome them. This is the story of her not only surviving, but thriving: returning to her musical roots, releasing new albums, going back out on tour, and living the best version of her authentic self to remain…Eternally Electric! – Gallery Books

Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox

A poignant, heartfelt, and funny memoir about how, in 1985, Michael J. Fox brought to life two iconic roles simultaneously—Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties and Marty McFly in Back to the Future. An amazing true story as only Michael J. Fox can tell it

In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger, but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom Family Ties, but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg—Back to the Future. Sitcom during the day, movie at night—day after day, for months.

Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex’s bravado, Marty’s flair, and Fox’s comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.

In Future Boy, Fox tells the remarkable story of playing two landmark roles at the same time—a slice of entertainment history that’s never been told. Using new interviews with the cast and crew of both projects, the result is a vividly drawn and eye-opening story of creative achievement by a beloved icon. – Flatiron Books

Heart Life Music by Kenny Chesney with Holly Gleason

Heart Life Music is a love letter to the journey: all the places I’ve gone and how we got here. This book takes you on the ride.

Knoxville. Moscow. Myrtle Beach. The Virgin Islands. Plentywood, Montana. Holmdel, New Jersey. Key West. New England. The Road. No Shoes Nation. Beyond.

We’ve had a lot of fun, a bunch of challenges, a few moments of wondering “what the hell?”—and more love than any artist deserves. You’re gonna meet so many people, some you’d never expect to see crossing my path, whether it’s the Wailers, Willie Nelson, John Madden, or Grace Potter. Maybe you won’t be surprised at all. I just know this: A whole lot has happened.

For anyone who’s found a piece of your life in any of my songs, this is for you. Open a cold drink, get out on your deck or your boat or wherever your happy space is, jump in, and live them along with me.

And if you’ve got dreams, whatever they are, know they don’t always come easy. But if you believe, do the hard work, and keep coming back, you’d be amazed at what can happen. I’m a pretty average guy, so look at this—know you might could do it, too.

It’s been a helluva trip around the sun. – William Morrow

Joyride: A Memoir by Susan Orlean

“The story of my life is the story of my stories,” writes Susan Orlean in this extraordinary, era-defining memoir from one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time. Joyride is a magic carpet ride through Orlean’s life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, her curiosity draws her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular ten-year-old boy for a legendary profile (“The American Man Age Ten”) to reporting on a woman who owns twenty-seven tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji.

Not only does Orlean’s account of a writing life offer a trove of indispensable gleanings for writers, it’s also an essential and practical guide to embracing any creative path. She takes us through her process of dreaming up ideas, managing deadlines, connecting with sources, chasing every possible lead, confronting writer’s block and self-doubt, and crafting the perfect lede—a Susan specialty.

While Orlean has always written her way into other people’s lives in order to understand the human experience, Joyride is her most personal book ever—a searching journey through finding her feet as a journalist, recovering from the excruciating collapse of her first marriage, falling head-over-heels in love again, becoming a mother while mourning the decline of her own mother, sojourning to Hollywood for films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush, and confronting mortality. Joyride is also a time machine to a bygone era of journalism, from Orlean’s bright start in the golden age of alt-weeklies to her career-making days working alongside icons such as Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Anna Wintour, Sonny Mehta, and Jonathan Karp—forces who shaped the media industry as we know it today.

Infused with Orlean’s signature warmth and wit, Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build, and sustain a creative life. Orlean inspires us to seek out daily inspiration and rediscover the marvels that surround us. – Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster

Last Rites by Ozzy Osbourne

“People say to me, if you could do it all again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything? I’m like, f*** no. If I’d been clean and sober, I wouldn’t be Ozzy. If I’d done normal, sensible things, I wouldn’t be Ozzy.”

Husband. Father. Grandfather. F*cking Icon.
1948 – 2025

In 2018, at the age of sixty-nine, Ozzy Osbourne was on a triumphant farewell tour, playing to sold-out arenas and rave reviews all around the world.

Then: disaster.

In a matter of just a few weeks, he went from being hospitalized with a finger infection to having to abandon his tour – and all public life – as he faced near-total paralysis from the neck down.

LAST RITES is the shocking, bitterly hilarious, never-before-told story of Ozzy’s descent into hell. Along the way, he reflects on his extraordinary life and career, including his marriage to wife Sharon, as well as his reflections on what it took for him to get back onstage for the triumphant Back to the Beginning concert, streamed around the world, where Ozzy reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmates for the final time.

Unflinching, brutally honest, but surprisingly life-affirming, Last Rites demonstrates once again why Ozzy has transcended his status as ‘The Godfather of Metal’ and ‘The Prince of Darkness’ to become a modern-day folk hero and national treasure. – Grand Central Publishing

The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir by Roy Wood Jr.

When Roy Wood Jr. held his baby boy for the first time, he was relieved that his son was happy and healthy, but he felt a strange mix of joy and apprehension. Roy’s own father, a voice of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama, had passed away when Roy was sixteen. There were gaps in the lessons passed down from father to son and, holding his own child, Roy wondered: Have I managed to fill in those blanks, to learn the lessons I will one day need to teach my boy?

So Roy looked back to figure out who had taught him lessons throughout his life and which he could pass down to his son. Some of his father figures were clear, like a colorful man from Philadelphia navigating life after prison, who taught Roy the value of having a vision for his life, or his fellow comedians, who showed him what it took to make it as a working stand-up performer. Others were less obvious, from the teenage friends who convinced him to race “leaf boats” carrying lit matches in the middle of a drought to a drug-addicted restaurant colleague who played hoops while Roy scoured dirty dishes to big names in Hollywood, like Trevor Noah and more.

In The Man of Many Fathers, Roy shares what he’s learned with humor and heart, delivering the most memorable lessons, such as how to channel anger through a more successful outlet (hint: never ever try to outfox a single mom), how not to get caught snitching (hint: never snitch), and how to become a good man—and a good dad (hint: listen to your fathers). – Crown

Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much by Cynthia Erivo

In this vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, globally renowned performer Cynthia Erivo draws from her singular experience to show us how to embrace being “too much” and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves.

It is never too late to build the life you’re seeking.

Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing those same lyrics would change her life. Now she has performed those songs on the world stage, showing us there is always time to keep discovering ourselves. And to illustrate that it’s often the parts of ourselves we are told to bury that make us shine.

In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she’s learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think.

We all have hopes and dreams that we want to bring across the finish line. We all falter and take missteps. In this book, Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go. – Flatiron Books

Sister Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Finding Freedom by Christine Brown Woolley

From TLC’s Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley, a groundbreaking and heartfelt memoir about living in a family like no other and finding the strength to leave Mormonism—and the only life she’s known—behind.

Christine Brown Woolley had always dreamed of having a picture-perfect family—beautiful children, an adoring husband, and of course, a sisterhood of wives to share him with. Raised in Utah by practicing polygamists, Christine knew her life was less than normal, but that didn’t stop her from loving the full house of her childhood any less.

Becoming Kody Brown’s third wife in 1994, Christine finally found the big, happy family she had hoped for. When TLC’s hit show Sister Wives premiered in 2010, Christine knew it was her chance to shine a light on the brighter side of polygamy—the helping hands, the lively discussions, and their unmatched devotion to each other. But the cameras also revealed a much darker truth.

Now, in this candid tell-all, Christine shares for the first time the journey that led her away from polygamy and the bold path she is carving to live apart from all she has ever known. Moving, genuine, and insightful, this is a uniquely powerful tour de force of Christine’s journey toward and beyond her time in the spotlight as a sister wife. – Gallery Books

Softly, as I Leave You: Life After Elvis by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley with Mary Jane Ross

The long-awaited memoir by Priscilla Presley chronicling her difficult, inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland and behind the elegant image the world sees.

Priscilla Presley’s divorce from Elvis left his fans incredulous. How could she leave the man every woman wanted? From the outside, life in Elvis’s mansion looked glamorous and enviable, and in many respects, it was. But inside the mansion, her husband was constantly surrounded by a male entourage while at the gates, lines of beautiful women waited hopefully for an audience with the King. From the time she was seventeen years-old, that life was all Priscilla had known. During her ten years with Elvis, it became painfully apparent that she had no idea who she was outside Elvis’s world. The only way to find herself was to leave that world and seek a new life of her own, because leaving was the only way to survive, for herself and for her daughter.

Softly, As I Leave You, is the deeply personal story of what Priscilla lost and what she found when she walked away from the man she loved. Despite the legal separation, their love for one another transformed into a touching and tender dynamic that endured until Elvis’s untimely death four years later. Shattered by Elvis’s passing, she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother of a talented, often headstrong daughter who never really recovered from her father’s death. Priscilla’s dedication to motherhood was enriched by the birth of her second child, and she gradually found her footing as a businesswoman, actress, designer, and legislative advocate. She transformed Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises. But the unexpected, shattering loss of three immediate family members years later brought Priscilla to her knees. She shares her journey with a quiet dignity that will comfort and reassure anyone who has suffered – and survived – seemingly unbearable loss.

A passionate, compassionate, and inspiring story of finding your place in the world, Softly, As I Leave You, is a sweet Southern melody that will take the reader with Priscilla on her long road home. – Grand Central Publishing

This title is also available in large print.

Star of the Show: My Life on Stage by Dolly Parton with Tom Roland

A stunning celebration of Dolly Parton’s iconic career as a performer, featuring entertaining personal stories alongside more than 500 full-color photographs, including exclusive images and ephemera from her archive, and an eight-page gatefold listing her lifetime of performances.

In Star of the Show, the culminating book in Dolly Parton’s photographic trilogy—following Songteller (lyrics) and Behind the Seams (fashion)—the global superstar finally shares a definitive look at her career as one of the world’s most dazzling and beloved performers.

Featuring engaging stories and memories from Parton’s dynamic life behind the microphone, this book spotlights her signature performances and star-making moments, from singing in front of her family to premiering on the Grand Ole Opry stage and beyond. Her formative years performing with country legend Porter Wagoner are chronicled as she learns hard lessons from life on the road. Breaking out on her own at state fairs and critically acclaimed venues, she toured the world performing for millions of fans in arenas, stadiums, and at festivals. From making her onscreen debut in the blockbuster feature film 9 to 5 to playing the Dallas Cowboys’ 2023 Thanksgiving halftime show to 42 million viewers, this global superstar knows no limits. Along the way, Dolly shares the stage with Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and others, while offering insight on touring big, singing strong, and staying on top for seven decades.

Brimming with Parton’s trademark wit and heartfelt sincerity, Star of the Show: My Life on Stage is not only an homage to one of history’s most cherished artists, but also a must-have collector’s item for—and love letter to—any fan of the one and only Dolly Parton. – Ten Speed Press

Still Bobbi: A Master Class in Resilience and Reinvention by Bobbi Brown

Bobbi Brown has never written her life story…until now.

In Still Bobbi, she reveals how a young girl from suburban Chicago who was bored at school but had a budding entrepreneurial spirit that she inherited from her Papa Sam, grew up to become a makeup artist to the stars and a beauty industry icon who built two juggernaut brands. The development of Bobbi’s revolutionary, yet simple no makeup makeup philosophy was informed early by two powerful, yet diametrically different women in her life: her loving and very glamorous mother who struggled with mental health issues and her equally-loving, but very practical, non-nonsense, Aunt Alice. In Still Bobbi, Bobbi reveals how these two women, along with her own Midwestern work ethic and personal resilience, continue to inform her life and career to this day.

In the early ’90s, when makeup trends were about covering, contouring, and transforming, Bobbi blazed her own path, using makeup that accentuated a woman’s natural beauty. In the process, she revolutionized the makeup industry. At twenty-five, Bobbi moved to New York City to become a makeup artist and she hustled to break into the very gated fashion and beauty industry. Eight years, later, she got a Vogue cover. By age thirty-seven, she sold her namesake brand (and her name) to Estee Lauder for a life-changing sum. She spent the next twenty-two years building her brand into a one billion business until one day, she was called upstairs and unceremoniously told she was no longer in charge of the brand she built. At fifty-nine years old, she had to reinvent herself and begin all over again.

Bobbi’s vision, creativity, and resilience are fully visible in these pages. Through ups and downs, her North Star has remained consistent—embrace who you are, flaws, freckles, and wrinkles included. This is not just Bobbi’s beauty philosophy—it’s how she lives her life. Real is better than fake. Simple is better than complicated. Family comes first. And when real life throws you obstacles, pivot and just figure it out.

After all this time, after all, she’s Still Bobbi. – S&S / Marysue Rucci Books

That’s A Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers

Writer, comedian, and content creator Elyse Myers gets real about life’s awkward moments in her bold, funny, and unfiltered debut book

Elyse Myers is known to her twelve million followers as “The Internet’s Best Friend,” sharing her relatable stories and comedic sketches and serving as an advocate for topics such as neurodivergence, impostor syndrome, body image, and more. Whether she’s making people laugh with tales of disastrous dates or giving a voice to that awkward internal monologue many of us have, she has three simple goals behind everything she makes: To make people feel known, loved, and like they belong.

In That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You, Elyse delivers a debut collection of deeply personal stories and hand-drawn illustrations, offering even more intimate reflections beyond what fans have seen on her social media, including:

Spending 7 Minutes in Heaven accidentally friend-zoning her crush
How Lucy, the Magic 8 Ball keychain, changed her life by accident
Moving from California to Australia to Texas to Nebraska to like (maybe even love!) herself
How to Fold Hospital Corners in 10 EASY STEPS!—a practical guide and a rumination about…everything
The “meat cute” when she met her smoke show of a husband at a butcher’s counter in Australia—and how she revealed herself to be an emotional runner

Plus, tales involving bad dates and is-this-a-dates; the tempting yet futile urge to reinvent yourself, panic attacks and escape hatches, and favorite pens and systems to use them, all while loving and letting yourself be loved, preferably at the same time. – William Morrow

Truly by Lionel Richie

The long-awaited memoir of the legendary Lionel Richie.

As a storyteller second to none, Lionel Richie is ready to tell it all. In this intimate, deeply candid memoir, Lionel revisits hilarious and harrowing events to inspire all who doubt themselves or feel their dreams don’t matter. Lionel chronicles lessons learned during his unlikely story of remarkable success—his dramatic transformation from painfully shy, “tragically” late bloomer to world-class entertainer and composer of love songs that have played as the soundtrack of our lives.

Funny, warm, and riveting, Lionel recalls his childhood in Tuskegee, Alabama, where he grew up on its university campus during the heyday of the Civil Rights movement, raucous adventures as a member of The Commodores, coming-of-age in late 1960s Harlem, culture shock playing gigs on the French Riviera, the big break of being signed to Motown, his meteoric solo career that included an Olympics performance witnessed by two billion around the globe, all the way through to writing and recording “We Are the World” and his current multi-generational fame as a judge on American Idol. Even with its turbulence, loss, and near-calamity, Lionel’s journey takes us on a thrill ride and delivers a memoir for the ages—reminding us of the power of love to elevate our own lives and our world. – HarperOne

Vagabond: A Memoir by Tim Curry

This memoir is a celebration of Tim Curry’s life’s work, and a testament to his profound impact on the entertainment industry as we know it today.

There are few stars in Hollywood today that can boast the kind of resume Tony award-nominated actor Tim Curry has built over the past five decades. From his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to his iconic depiction as the sadistic clown Pennywise in It to his critically acclaimed role as the original King Arthur in both the Broadway and West End versions of Spamalot, Curry redefined what it meant to be a “character actor,” portraying heroes and villains alike with complexity, nuance, and a genuine understanding of human darkness.

Now, in his memoir, Curry takes readers behind-the-scenes of his rise to fame from his early beginnings as a military brat to his formative years in boarding school and university, to the moment when he hit the stage for the first time. He goes in-depth about what it was like to work on some of the most emblematic works of the 20th century, constantly switching between a camera and a live audience. He also explores the voicework that defined his later career and provided him with a chance to pivot after surviving a catastrophic stroke in 2012 that nearly took his life.

With the upcoming 50th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the 40th anniversary of Clue, there’s never been a better time for Tim to share his story with the world. – Grand Central Publishing

We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir by Anthony Hopkins

Academy Award–winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins delves into his illustrious film and theater career, difficult childhood, and path to sobriety in his honest, moving, and long-awaited memoir.

Born and raised in Port Talbot—a small Welsh steelworks town—amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents, and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.

With candor and a voice that is both arresting and vulnerable, Sir Anthony recounts his various career milestones and provides a once-in-a-lifetime look into the brilliance behind some of his most iconic roles. His performance as Iago gets him admitted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and places him under the wing of Laurence Olivier. He meets Richard Burton by chance as a young boy in his art teacher’s apartment, and later, backstage before a performance of Equus as an established actor meeting his hero. His iconic portrayal of Hannibal Lecter was informed by the creepy performance of Bela Lugosi in Dracula and the razor-sharp precision of his acting teacher. He pulls raw emotion from the stoicism of his father and grandfather for an unforgettable performance in King Lear.

Sir Anthony also takes a deeply honest look at the low points in his personal life. His addiction cost him his first marriage, his relationship with his only child, and nearly his life—the latter ultimately propelling him toward sobriety, a commitment he has maintained for nearly half a century. He constantly battles against the desire to move through life alone and avoid connection for fear of getting hurt—much like the men in his family—and as the years go by, he deals with questions of mortality, getting ready to discover what his father called The Big Secret.

Featuring a special collection of personal photographs throughout, We Did OK, Kid is a raw and passionate memoir from a complex, iconic man who has inspired audiences with remarkable performances for over sixty years. – S&S / Summit Books

Winners of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards

December 25, 2025December 8, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

Goodreads has announced the winners of the 17th annual Goodreads Choice Awards! With more than 7.5 million votes cast, these winners represent readers’ favorite books of the year. This year there are 15 different categories with 300 nominated books over those categories. If you’re interested in checking out the winners, check the list below! Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

Readers’ Favorite Fiction: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art. – Atria Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction: Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars. – Ballantine Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller: Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

In seven days, Jet Mason will be dead.

Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old and back home, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.

Until Halloween night, when she is violently attacked by an unseen intruder, suffering a catastrophic head injury. Doctors are certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a fatal aneurysm. To her parents’ dismay, Jet rejects an extremely risky operation in order to guarantee herself at least a few more days.

Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now, in the one week she has left, she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.

As her condition deteriorates, she reconnects with her childhood friend Billy, the only one willing to help her. With Billy at her side, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:

Jet is going to solve her own murder. – Bantam

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Romance: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad . . . depending on who’s telling it. – Berkley

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Romantasy (AND Readers’ Favorite Audiobook narrated by Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton, Justis Bolding, and Jasmin Walker): Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty.

Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.

But a storm is coming…and not everyone can survive its wrath. – Entangled Publishing, LLC

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Fantasy: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—how it ends, and how it starts. – Tor Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Science Fiction: The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends. – Random House

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Horror: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

They were never girls, they were witches . . . .

They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, frightened, and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who plans to marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by the adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid . . . and it’s usually paid in blood. – Berkley

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Debut Novel: Alchemised by SenLinYu

“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”

Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own . . . secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost. – Del Rey

Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena. – Scholastic Press

Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Fiction: Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

Growing up, Dani couldn’t help but follow around the adorable son of her mom’s best friend. Funny, kind of nerdy, and a little soft, Alec was always down to hang with Dani when they were little. From play dates on the playground to sneaking into movie theaters, Dani and Alec were inseparable. Until Dani moved away. Alec promised they’d stay in touch—except, they didn’t.

Flash forward and Dani is back in Minnesota for her senior year, she and her mom living with her grandfather. Dealing with the fallout of her parents’ devastating divorce, Dani wouldn’t mind a nerd-out with the cozy and comforting Alec (and maybe a chance to confront him on his MIA status for all these years). But teenage Alec is nothing like the kid Dani remembers. He’s a hockey star in a town where hockey players are worshiped as gods. Dani’s place as his shadow has been taken up by drooling female fans…and he loves it.

Dani is resolved to ice out her former best friend until an unlikely series of events brings them together—and forces them to fake being a couple. Once forced together, the former childhood sweethearts begin to reconnect, unearth complicated family secrets, and face their true feelings towards each other…including the real reason Alec has been pushing Dani away all these years. – Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Readers’ Favorite Nonfiction: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection by John Green

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis. – Crash Course Books

This title is also available in large print.

Readers’ Favorite Memoir: The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke

From eldest daughter Shari Franke, the shocking true story behind the viral 8 Passengers family vlog—now the subject of a new Hulu docuseries—and the hidden abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and how, in the face of unimaginable pain, she found freedom and healing.

Shari Franke’s childhood was a constant battle for survival. Her mother, Ruby Franke, enforced a severe moral code while maintaining a façade of a picture-perfect family for their wildly popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, which documented the day-to-day life of raising six children for a staggering 2.5 million subscribers. But a darker truth lurked beneath the surface—Ruby’s wholesome online persona masked a more tyrannical parenting style than anyone could have imagined.

As the family’s YouTube notoriety grew, so too did Ruby’s delusions of righteousness. Fueled by the sadistic influence of relationship coach Jodi Hildebrandt, together they implemented an inhumane and merciless disciplinary regime.

Ruby and Jodi were arrested in Utah in 2023 on multiple charges of aggravated child abuse. On that fateful day, Shari shared a photo online of a police car outside their home. Her caption had one word: “Finally.”

For the first time, Shari will reveal the disturbing truth behind 8 Passengers and her family’s devastating involvement with Jodi Hildebrandt’s cultish life coaching program, “ConneXions.” No stone is left unturned as Shari exposes the perils of influencer culture and shares for the first time her battle for truth and survival in the face of her mother’s cruelty. – Gallery Books

Readers’ Favorite History & Biography: How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi

Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and witches were the greatest enemy of all.

Scotland, 1563: Crops failed. People starved. And the Devil’s influence was stronger than ever—at least, that’s what everyone believed. If you were a woman living in Scotland during this turbulent time, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch.

During the chaos of the Reformation, violence against women was codified for the first time in the Witchcraft Act—a tool of theocratic control with one chilling goal: to root out witches and rid the land of evil. What followed was a dark and misogynistic chapter in history that fanned the flames of witch hunts across the globe, including in the United States and beyond.

In How to Kill a Witch, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, hosts of the popular Witches of Scotland podcast, unravel the grim yet absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying, and executing women as witches. With sharp wit and keen feminist insight, they reveal the inner workings of a patriarchal system designed to weaponize fear and oppress women.

This captivating (and often infuriating) account, which weaves a rich tapestry of trial transcripts, witness accounts, and the documents that set the legal grounds for the witch hunts, exposes how this violent period of history mirrors today’s struggles for justice and equality. How to Kill a Witch is a powerful, darkly humorous reminder of the dangers of superstition, bias, and ignorance, and a warning to never forget the past… while raising the question of whether it could ever happen again. – Sourcebooks

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures written and illustrated by ND Stevenson

December 24, 2025December 15, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

“The cells of your body are dying and growing again every day, and you are always in the process of becoming something new. You’re not sure yet who you will be, but you are ready to find out. You know some things a little better now, and your rabbit heart has grown steadier, and you are learning to be gentler to that soft girl with the bow in her hair who is still somewhere inside of you.”
― ND Stevenson, The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures

Author-illustrator ND Stevenson wrote and illustrated one of the first graphic novel series I ever read: Nimona. This series tells the story of a shapeshifter named Nimona and a villain named Lord Blackheart who wreak havoc on anyone and everyone. He also co-created Lumberjanes, which I absolutely adored. When I found his 2020 memoir, The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures, on the shelves at the library, I knew I needed to give it a read.

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures is a collection of personal mini-comics and essays spanning eight years that cover the highs and lows of his journey to becoming a creative in the world. Just when I thought I had figured out what direction this story was going to go in, ND switched it up and had me reeling with his honesty. I particularly enjoyed how he mixed the little moments in with the big, while also showcasing the positives with the negatives. If you’re a fan of this author’s work, I highly recommend you checkout The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures as he isn’t afraid to detail his mental health struggles along his rise to fame.

Readalikes for King Sorrow

December 23, 2025November 4, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

If you are waiting for Joe Hill’s latest release, King Sorrow, check out this list of readalikes we at Davenport Public Library have put together for you. Below you’ll find a mix of newer and older titles similar to King Sorrow, which was published on October 21st, 2025. As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. All descriptions are provided by the publishers.

Curious what King Sorrow is about? Check out the description below!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, a chilling tale of modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the unexpected consequences of revenge as six friends dabble in the occult and are tragically, horrifyingly successful… calling forth an evil entity that demands regular human sacrifice.

Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal. – William Morrow

Look below for readalikes similar to King Sorrow.

Below the Grand Hotel by Cat Scully

The Great Gatsby meets Hellraiser.

Mabel Rose Dixon will do anything to become a Ziegfeld girl–including picking the pockets of the wealthy NYC elite to fund her way to stardom. When she picks the wrong pocket, Mabel loses her soul to a hotel run by demons and tumbles into the world of The Grand Hotel, a place where any artist can make it big.

Mabel’s greatest wish to be famous is granted. Every night, she performs as the starring act to a crowded theater and finds she is never without patrons. But Mabel quickly learns that losing her soul to get everything she ever wanted comes at a much steeper cost than what she bargained for. She must steal her soul back before the Grand’s annual May’s Eve Ball or become a demon herself forever.

With stylish art deco design and beautiful illustrations by the author, this stunning debut novel by renowned New England artist Cat Scully is a crown jewel for the dark gothic horror lover’s collection. Welcome to The Grand Hotel. We hope you enjoy your stay. – Clash Books

Book of Night by Holly Black

Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make.

She’s spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie Hall.

Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but getting out isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that Charlie’s shadowless, and possibly soulless, boyfriend has been hiding things from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies.

Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world—all trying to steal a secret that will give them vast and terrible power. – Tor Books

Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton

When all hell breaks loose, you need a devil on your side

Sarita has been watched over by a guardian angel her entire life. She calls him Angelo, and keeps him a secret. But secrets can’t stay buried forever…

When Angelo murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what’s really been lurking in the shadows surrounding her. And she will have to embrace the evil within if she hopes to make it out alive.

Johnny Compton, critically acclaimed author of The Spite House and master of dread, takes you on a terrifying race of one woman against the hordes of hell. – Tor Nightfire

Fiend by Alma Katsu

Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own. – G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake

Good girls deserve a treat.

Every member of The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni, are beautiful, high-achieving, and universally respected.

After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being one of the chosen few accepted into The House is the first step in her path to the brightest possible future. Once she’s taken into their fold, the House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as easy prey.

Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley is struggling to return to work after accepting a demotion to support her partner’s new position at the cutthroat University. After 18 months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane’s clothes don’t fit right, her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is, and even the few hours a day she’s apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in the way the alumnae seem to have it all, achieving a level of collective perfection that Sloane so desperately craves.

As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power. – Tor Books

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home. – Del Rey

The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison

A twisty, nostalgic, emotionally thrilling novel about a group of estranged college friends who experiment with a secret substance that allows them to re-live their memories—and the fallout when they uncover startling truths about a dark event from their past

“How could you leave the past undisturbed when it was hiding parts of you from yourself?”

It’s been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they’re also bonded by something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all began.

As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and she’s provided them with an extraordinary method—a secret substance that helps them not only remember but relive the past.

But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.

The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped we’d be. – Graydon House

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

Connecticut, 1666: An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector. The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help.

Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan – one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake.

This terrifying tale of bewitchery features more than two dozen of Brom’s haunting full-color paintings and brilliant endpapers, fully immersing readers in this wild and unforgiving world. – Tor Nightfire

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

December 22, 2025December 15, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

“The funny thing about the internet is that it is basically a collective hallucination. If you don’t join in, it doesn’t exist.”
― Katherine Center, The Love Haters

Katherine Center writes about resilience and struggle. Her characters may go through hardship, but they learn how to enjoy moments of grace amongst the chaos. Her latest novel, The Love Haters, talks about the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love.

Katie Vaughn’s job is in danger. Her boss is on a firing binge and as one of the newest hires, Katie is looking for a way to prove her worth. When one of her coworkers, Cole, comes to her with the opportunity to go to Key West and film a profile of Tom ‘Hutch’ Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, as a recruitment video, Katie isn’t going to let the pesky fact that she doesn’t know how to swim stand in her way. Next thing she knows, she’s on her way to paradise to film Hutch and save her job.

When Katie first meets Hutch, she is shocked. He is absolutely gorgeous, but if what Cole says is true, Hutch is also a love hater. The more time Katie spends around Hutch, the harder time she has believing that Hutch is as negative as Cole says. He shows great feelings towards his rescue Great Dane and towards his aunt Rue. Katie has been burnt by love in the not-so-distant past though making her believe she may also be a love hater. With the help of her cousin, Katie details the parts of herself that she loves. As she spends more time with Hutch, the two develop a strong bond formed through swim lessons, impromptu conga lines, helicopter flights, filming sessions, and interviews. Katie is caught up from the very start in a series of lies started by Cole. Though she has multiple chances to tell the truth, she holds off, frightened by her past even though being in Key West has helped her become braver.

The Love Haters was an adorable read with some of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, and quirky side characters. What I loved about this book was that it wasn’t just a love story between characters, it was a story of acceptance between Katie and her body. Aunt Rue and her gal pals were some of my favorite characters, plus Hutch’s Great Dane! There is also a LOT of mentions of eating disorders and body image issues, so take that into account if you’re thinking of giving this a read.

This title is also available in large print, CD audiobook, Playaway Audiobook.

New Picture Books

December 19, 2025December 4, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

If you’re looking for books with gorgeous illustrations, I recommend you check out picture books! Below you will find a list of new children’s picture books that were published in 2025. As of this writing, all of these titles are available at the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

Cat Nap written and illustrated by Brian Lies

In the warm, late afternoon sunlight, a girl sits on the couch reading a book. Her kitten dozes nearby. But when Kitten notices a mouse and dives after it through a framed poster on the wall, an epic chase through time, art, and history ensues. Is it a dream? That’s up to the reader to decide, but for the kitten, every leap and bound is full of suspense and makes for a masterpiece.

Caldecott Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Brian Lies creates a truly unique picture book journey that invites young readers through the galleries of an art museum as well as through time, space, and history. As the cat and mouse leap from one page to the next, they are portrayed in the style of masterful artworks from history—an ancient Egyptian relief, an illuminated manuscript, a stained-glass window, a ceramic dog—each painstakingly and lovingly re-created in its original media by Brian Lies. When the sly mouse gets away, Kitten finds himself lost and alone. Will art help him find his way home?

This visual showstopper by an award-winning and bestselling picture book creator offers readers a page-turning cat and mouse chase, an introduction to famous works of art throughout history, an epic adventure story, and a homecoming. Backmatter includes information about how each of the illustrations in the book was created, notes on the original artworks featured in the book, and an afterword inviting young readers to make, create, and build things. – Greenwillow Books

CeeCee: Underground Railroad Cinderella written by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman

A Cinderella retelling with a young enslaved girl in the title role. On a Maryland plantation, CeeCee’s story doesn’t end with a prince, but a different type of rescue.

CeeCee is a young enslaved girl growing up alongside the two spoiled daughters she must work for on a plantation in Maryland. She takes care of them, catering to their every whim and suffering their casual cruelty. She learns to read by listening to their lessons and stories with the threat of punishment if caught.

CeeCee receives help from the caring cook, Binty, and hope comes in the form of a different kind of escape. CeeCee chances everything for the possibility of a new life.

While many are familiar with the traditional Cinderella story, this retelling is sure to empower and uplift a new generation of young readers. – Charlesbridge

Everyday Bean written and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Meet Bean, a very tiny hedgehog. She loves ghosts, swings and a stuffie called Clem.

Meet Bean’s grandma. She loves strawberries, sweaters and tiny Bean burritos.

And they both love stories.

In ten tiny stories we follow Bean and her grandmother through adventures of the everyday. Bean loses her bad mood in a meadow and Grandma thinks she sees a ghost (don’t worry it’s just Bean!) — and there’s even a story with giant strawberries.

This first volume in the Tiny Bean’s Big Adventures series by acclaimed author/illustrator and hedgehog friend/insider, Stephanie Graegin, is the perfect gift for little (and big) readers and hedgehog admirers everywhere. – Tundra Books

The House That Floated written and illustrated by Guojing

A stunningly beautiful picture book from a critically acclaimed artist that follows a family who lives in a house by the sea as water levels start to rise.

In this gorgeous, wordless story, a family makes their home on a cliff overlooking the sea. They live peacefully, spending their days exploring the ocean and filling their home with warmth and laughter. But as seasons pass, the waters rise, bringing the tides closer to the clifftop and the house. When a powerful storm rages and giant waves engulf the cliff, the family must leave—but not without their beloved home.

Inspired by true stories of communities relocating houses, award-winning artist Guojing evokes a family’s ingenuity and determination to save their home in a moving portrait of empathy, love and strength. Through dreamy ocean scenes and vibrant tones of red, pinks and blues, this striking narrative offers an adventure story with a dramatic and glorious ending. – Random House Studio

The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo

It’s time to join the party! Adventure awaits readers of all ages on Día de Muertos in this stunningly original and lushly illustrated tour de force about family, love, and overcoming grief.

Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party.
Everyone knew somebody on the guest list . . .
This was the day the dead returned.

There’s a party tonight, but Cala doesn’t want to go. While her family prepares for the celebration, Cala grieves her grandfather and tries to pretend she’s not afraid.

But when she is separated from her family at the cemetery, Cala encounters four mysterious riders who will show her she is actually quite brave after all.

Brimming with magic and humor, The Invisible Parade is the first picture-book collaboration between award-winner John Picacio and New York Times bestselling Leigh Bardugo. Set on the night of Día de Muertos, Cala’s story is one of love, loss, and the courage that can be found in unexpected places. – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Island Storm written by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith

Can you tell when a storm is coming? Can you feel the wind coming and growing? Do you hear the branches bouncing together, hear the whispers of the wind through the leaves?

Join in the journey as two siblings bear witness to the steady start, thrilling apex, and gentle end of this island storm. They’ll shelter soon, but first they want to feel it all.

Sydney Smith is the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children’s books, and his illustrations are fantastically textured and visually spectacular. Paired with Brian Floca’s eloquent, rhythmic text, Island Storm is a multi-sensory experience that will amaze and delight readers. Children who fear thunder can take comfort in seeing it captured in the pages, while those who relish watching the sky crack open can enjoy battling this storm from the comfort of their homes. – Neal Porter Books

The Monster in the Lake written and illustrated by Leo Timmers, translated by Bill Nagelkerke

Four ducks are tired of their small pond and set out for an adventure in the big lake. Walking at the back, Eric isn’t sure. He’s heard there’s a monster in the lake, but his friends don’t believe a word of that old story! Eric reluctantly tags along, only to make a startling discovery and find himself in a wonderful underwater adventure.

This large-format picture book features a detailed, fold-out, underwater world of mechanical marvels and sea creatures. The story of a nervous duck who finds courage and the overconfidence of groups will resonate with anyone who’s nervously dipped a toe in unknown waters. – Gecko Press

The Moon Moved In written by Sue Soltis, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

What would happen if the moon moved in next door? A funny and original story about an unexpected friendship, the essential role of the moon, and our power to connect, even from far away.

When the Moon moves into the long-empty house next door, all the rooms fill up with light—and Stella finally has a friend. But without the Moon in orbit, the world is going topsy-turvy. The tides stop, and the Earth has a new wobble. Stella worries, but the Moon just wants to stay and garden. Can Stella convince the Moon that life on Earth needs the Moon back in orbit? And what will become of her wish for a friend next door? – Chronicle Books

Popo the xolo written by Paloma Angelina Lopez, illustrated by Abraham Matias

We can always remember her.

Nana is surrounded by family and takes joy in her many grandchildren. She’s also tired and feels pain. Soon she begins her transition from life into death, accompanied by her beloved Xolo dog, Popo.

Together they go on Nana’s journey, and by the end of the story, Nana’s family celebrates the many years of love they shared with her. A grandchild takes on caring for Popo in Nana’s memory.

Simultaneously published in English and Spanish, Popo the Xolo helps kids understand how loved ones live on in our memories. An unforgettable picture book that’s grounded in the importance of the 9 levels of Mictlān and the role Xolo dogs play in Indigenous cultural understandings of present-day Mexico. – Charlesbridge

Recess written by Lane Smith, design by Molly Leach

School is where you go to learn. It is fun.
But sometimes you need a little break from all the fun.
That is why there is recess.
But what if it’s not recess time?
No problem!

You can have a Now Recess, a Really-Need-a-Break Recess, a Wherever-You-Are Recess.
It doesn’t matter what you call it. Just make sure you shout it:
RECESS!

Featuring the distinctive humor and beloved art of bestselling Caldecott honoree Lane Smith, this irresistibly fun, interactive read aLOUD is the perfect stress reliever to send kids into fits of giggles and shaking out their wiggles. – Abrams Books

This Year, A Witch written and illustrated by Zoey Abbott

A little girl has been every adorable thing you can imagine for Halloween, and she is done with being cuddly, sweet, and precious. This year, she’s rebelling big-time and going for a totally different vibe: the spookiest thing out there. She’s going to be…a witch!

With only a little help from Dad, she works hard on her witchy locks, brew, spells and enchantments, and power to petrify. But what happens when what she sees in the mirror is so spooky, she scares even herself? Nothing that an understanding dad—and maybe a quick restorative nap—can’t handle. – Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Where the Deer Slip Through written by Katey Howes, illustrated by Beth Krommes

This is the hedge that grew and grew.
The wall of stone a bit askew.
This is the gap where the deer slip through,
when the sky is still more pink than blue…

Throughout the course of a beautiful summer day, from sunrise to moonrise, a host of animals find their way through a gap in the hedge, bringing the farm to life. – Beach Lane Books

You and Me, Anemone: A Story About Friendship and Personal Space by Rachel Vail, illustrated by Chris Raschka

Don’t want to be booped? No problem! A sea anemone in the ocean confidently sets itself some personal boundaries, encouraging young readers on land to do the same.
You and Me, Anemone is a nuanced, thoughtful, playful picture book for young children about the delicate challenge of boundaries—having them, maintaining them, and respecting them in others. The playful, rhythmic, interactive text by award-winning author Rachel Vail pairs the science of sea life with social-emotional learning for terrific classroom potential. Two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka’s illustrations—created by painting and stitching on burlap—are a visual and emotional showstopper with a ton of kid appeal. Back matter includes an author’s note and facts about the incredible sea anemone. – Greenwillow Books

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

December 18, 2025December 11, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

High school can be an incredibly emotional time, but add in missing your best friends and things get harder. This is what Winifred experiences in The Greatest Thing, a young adult graphic novel written by Sarah Winifred Searle.

Starting sophomore year of high school should be easy and fun, but Winifred only feels dread. Her two best friends have transferred to a private high school, leaving her alone. She isn’t sure how she will survive high school, but she soon meets April and Oscar. They quickly become friends, making zines, having sleepovers, shopping at thrift stores, and helping each other survive the school madness. Their friendships help Winifred cope with what’s she’s feeling, but her underlying problems are still there. At times of quiet or unease, she slips back into old habits. Winifred has been keeping a secret from her friends, her family, and even herself. If she doesn’t find a way to deal with it, it could destroy all of her relationships.

This young adult graphic novel tugged on my heart strings from the very first page. The author has clearly put a lot of thought and emotion into this story in order to deliver such an honest story of self-growth, self-acceptance, and love. Friendship is an overarching theme throughout, but what I appreciated was that not everything worked out perfectly at the end. It was clear that Winifred and her friends have a lot of things to work through, but also that many tools are available to help if they want them. Overall, this is a message of hope for anyone struggling.

(Content warnings for eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and self-harm)

10 Years of Hamilton

December 17, 2025October 28, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

The first performance of ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda debuted on Broadway in the summer of 2025. This musical is a smash hit, winning 11 Tony Awards in 2016, plus numerous other awards. ‘Hamilton’ is celebrating ten years of success, so I wanted to highlight items, both fiction and nonfiction, in our collection relating to the historical figures in the show. Below you will find a list of these titles (and this is not a complete list). As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions provided by the publishers.

Nonfiction

Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution by Molly Beer

A women-centric view of revolution through the life of Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton’s influential sister-in-law.

Few women of the American Revolution have come through 250 years of US history with such clarity and color as Angelica Schuyler Church. She was Alexander Hamilton’s “saucy” sister-in-law, and the heart of Thomas Jefferson’s “charming coterie” of artists and salonnières in Paris. Her transatlantic network of important friends spanned the political spectrum of her time and place, and her astute eye and brilliant letters kept them well informed.

A woman of great influence in a time of influential women (Catherine the Great and Marie-Antoinette were contemporaries), Angelica was at the red-hot center of American history at its birth: in Boston, when General Burgoyne surrendered to the revolutionaries; in Newport, receiving French troops under the command of her soon-to-be dear friend Marquis de Lafayette; in Yorktown, just after the decisive battle; in Paris and London, helping to determine the standing of the new nation on the world stage.

She was born as Engeltje, a Dutch-speaking, slave-owning colonial girl who witnessed the Stamp Act riots in the Royal British Province of New York. She came of age under English rule as Angelica, the eldest daughter of the most important family on the northern part of Hudson’s River, raised to be a domestic diplomat responsible for hosting indigenous chiefs and enemy British generals at dinner. She was Madame Church, wife of a privateer turned merchant banker, whose London house was a refuge for veterans of the American war fleeing the guillotine in France. Across nationalities, languages, and cultures, across the divides of war, grievance, and geography, Angelica wove a web of soft-power connections that spanned the War for Independence, the post-war years of tenuous peace, and the turbulent politics and rival ideologies that threatened to tear apart the nascent United States

In this enthralling and revealing woman’s-eye view of a revolutionary era, Molly Beer breathes vibrant new life into a period usually dominated by masculine themes and often dulled by familiarity. In telling Angelica’s story, she illuminates how American women have always plied influence and networks for political ends, including the making of a new nation. – W.W. Norton

Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton—Alexander Hamilton’s devoted wife—in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don’t know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides—and this fascinating biography brings her multi-faceted personality to vivid life.

This “expertly told story” (Publishers Weekly) follows Eliza through her early years in New York, into the ups and downs of her married life with Alexander, beyond the aftermath of his tragic murder, and finally to her involvement in many projects that cemented her legacy as one of the unsung heroes of our nation’s early days.

This captivating account of the woman behind the famous man is perfect for fans of the works of Ron Chernow, Lisa McCubbin, and Nathaniel Philbrick. – Gallery Books

Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and the Brawling Birth of American Politics by H.W. Brands

To the framers of the Constitution, political parties were a fatal threat to republican virtues. They had suffered the consequences of partisan politics in Britain before the American Revolution, and they wanted nothing similar for America. Yet parties emerged even before the Constitution was ratified, and they took firmer root in the following decade. In Founding Partisans, master historian H. W. Brands has crafted a fresh and lively narrative of the early years of the republic as the Founding Fathers fought one another with competing visions of what our nation would be.

The first party, the Federalists, formed around Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and their efforts to overthrow the Articles of Confederation and make the federal government more robust. Their opponents organized as the Antifederalists, who feared the corruption and encroachments on liberty that a strong central government would surely bring. The Antifederalists lost but regrouped under the new Constitution as the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, whose bruising contest against Federalist John Adams marked the climax of this turbulent chapter of American political history.

The country’s first years unfolded in a contentious spiral of ugly elections and blatant violations of the Constitution. Still, peaceful transfers of power continued, and the nascent country made its way towards global dominance, against all odds. Founding Partisans is a powerful reminder that fierce partisanship is a problem as old as the republic. – Doubleday

This title is also available in large print.

The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III by Andrew Roberts

The last king of America, George III, has been ridiculed as a complete disaster who frittered away the colonies and went mad in his old age. The truth is much more nuanced and fascinating–and will completely change the way readers and historians view his reign and legacy.

Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon–a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff’s preening, spitting, and pompous take in Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway masterpiece. But this deeply unflattering characterization is rooted in the prejudiced and brilliantly persuasive opinions of eighteenth-century revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson, who needed to make the king appear evil in order to achieve their own political aims. After combing through hundreds of thousands of pages of never-before-published correspondence, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts has uncovered the truth: George III was in fact a wise, humane, and even enlightened monarch who was beset by talented enemies, debilitating mental illness, incompetent ministers, and disastrous luck.

In The Last King of America, Roberts paints a deft and nuanced portrait of the much-maligned monarch and outlines his accomplishments, which have been almost universally forgotten. Two hundred and forty-five years after the end of George III’s American rule, it is time for Americans to look back on their last king with greater understanding: to see him as he was and to come to terms with the last time they were ruled by a monarch. – Viking

A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers & Adventurers Who Created a new American Nation edited by David Head and Timothy C. Hemmis

The Founding Fathers are often revered as American saints; here are the stories of those Founders who were schemers and scoundrels, vying for their own interests ahead of the nation’s.

We now have a clear-eyed understanding of Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton; even so, they are often considered American saints, revered for their wisdom and self-sacrificing service to the nation. However, within the Founding Generation lurked many unscrupulous figures—men who violated the era’s expectation of public virtue and advanced their own interests at the expense of others.

They were turncoats and traitors, opportunists and con artists, spies, and foreign intriguers. Some of their names are well known: Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr. Others are less notorious now but were no less threatening. There was Charles Lee, the Continental Army general who offered to tell the British how to defeat the Americans, and James Wilkinson, who served fifteen years as a commanding general in the US Army, despite rumors that he spied for Spain and conspired with traitors.

The early years of the republic were full of self-interested individuals, sometimes succeeding in their plots, sometimes failing, but always shaping the young nation. A Republic of Scoundrels seeks to re-examine the Founding Generation and replace the hagiography of the Founding Fathers with something more realistic: a picture that embraces the many facets of our nation’s origins. – Pegasus Books

Fiction

The Girl from Greenwich Street: a novel of Hamilton, Burr, and America’s First Murder Trial by Lauren Willig

At the start of a new century, a shocking murder transfixes Manhattan, forcing bitter rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to work together to save a man from the gallows.

Just before Christmas 1799, Elma Sands slips out of her Quaker cousin’s boarding house—and doesn’t come home. Has she eloped? Run away? No one knows—until her body appears in the Manhattan Well.

Her family insists they know who killed her. Handbills circulate around the city accusing a carpenter named Levi Weeks of seducing and murdering Elma.

But privately, quietly, Levi’s wealthy brother calls in a special favor….

Aaron Burr’s legal practice can’t finance both his expensive tastes and his ambition to win the 1800 New York elections. To defend Levi Weeks is a double win: a hefty fee plus a chance to grab headlines.

Alexander Hamilton has his own political aspirations; he isn’t going to let Burr monopolize the public’s attention. If Burr is defending Levi Weeks, then Hamilton will too. As the trial and the election draw near, Burr and Hamilton race against time to save a man’s life—and destroy each other.

Part murder mystery, part thriller, part true crime, The Girl From Greenwich Street revisits a dark corner of history—with a surprising twist ending that reveals the true story of the woman at the center of the tale. – William Morrow

This title is also available in large print.

The Lace Widow by Mollie Ann Cox Bryan

Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York? As his widow, Eliza, pieces together the puzzle, she unearths a heartbreaking secret that threatens to tear her family apart.

New York, 1804. America’s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton’s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father’s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead.

Eliza searches for ways to clear her son’s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband’s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family—but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander’s innocence?

Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace—and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York’s high-society families. They know their dead husbands’ secrets—and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.

There’s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband’s and son’s names but keep herself out of the killer’s sights. – Crooked Lane Books

The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman

The more they know, the more danger they’re in.

When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.

The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever. – Crooked Lane Books

Love, Theodosia: A Novel of Theodosia Burr and Philip Hamilton by Lori Goldstein

A Romeo & Juliet tale for Hamilton! fans.

In post-American Revolution New York City, Theodosia Burr, a scholar with the skills of a socialite, is all about charming the right people on behalf of her father—Senator Aaron Burr, who is determined to win the office of president in the pivotal election of 1800. Meanwhile, Philip Hamilton, the rakish son of Alexander Hamilton, is all about being charming on behalf of his libido.
When the two first meet, it seems the ongoing feud between their politically opposed fathers may be hereditary. But soon, Theodosia and Philip must choose between love and family, desire and loyalty, and preserving the legacy their flawed fathers fought for or creating their own.

Love, Theodosia is a smart, funny, swoony take on a fiercely intelligent woman with feminist ideas ahead of her time who has long-deserved center stage. A refreshing spin on the Hamiltonian era and the characters we have grown to know and love. It’s also a heartbreaking romance of two star-crossed lovers, an achingly bittersweet “what if.” Despite their fathers’ bitter rivalry, Theodosia and Philip are drawn to each other and, in what unrolls like a Jane Austen novel of manners, we find ourselves entangled in the world of Hamilton and Burr once again as these heirs of famous enemies are driven together despite every reason not to be. – Arcade Publishing

My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

A general’s daughter…

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A founding father’s wife…

But the union they create—in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all—including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution…

When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle—to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her… – William Morrow

This title is also available in CD audiobook.

The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr by Susan Holloway Scott

Inspired by a woman and events forgotten by history, bestselling author Susan Holloway Scott weaves together carefully researched fact and fiction to tell the story of Mary Emmons, and the place she held in the life—and the heart—of the notorious Aaron Burr.

He was a hero of the Revolution, a brilliant politician, lawyer, and very nearly president; a skillful survivor in a raw new country filled with constantly shifting loyalties. Today Aaron Burr is remembered more for the fatal duel that killed rival Alexander Hamilton. But long before that single shot destroyed Burr’s political career, there were other dark whispers about him: that he was untrustworthy, a libertine, a man unafraid of claiming whatever he believed should be his.

Sold into slavery as a child in India, Mary Emmons was brought to an America torn by war. Toughened by the experiences of her young life, Mary is intelligent, resourceful, and strong. She quickly gains the trust of her new mistress, Theodosia Prevost, and becomes indispensable in a complicated household filled with intrigue—especially when the now-widowed Theodosia marries Colonel Aaron Burr. As Theodosia sickens with the fatal disease that will finally kill her, Mary and Burr are drawn together into a private world of power and passion, and a secret, tangled union that would have shocked the nation . . . – Kensington Books

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

December 16, 2025December 9, 2025 - Stephanie Leave a comment

“Well, preferring loneliness over rejection or disappointment won’t work forever. You’re hurting yourself under the guise of protection, but it makes no sense because all you’re doing is literally hurting yourself. It’s a pointless cycle. And you’re missing out on life,”
― Amy Daws, Nine Month Contract

All Wyatt has ever wanted is to be a father. Not wanting to go the traditional route, he reaches out to a surrogacy agency, but is disappointed in the candidates presented to him. When his brothers and niece get involved, he soon discovers a help-wanted ad spread all over his small mountain town advertising for a surrogate. This eventually leads the family to Trista. Trista wants to be a surrogate for her own personal reasons, but the surrogacy agency doesn’t believe she’s a viable candidate. When Wyatt’s family reaches out to her, she decides to meet and see if they are a good match. The banter between the two is off the charts from the very first meeting. When his brothers join in, it’s clear that his meddling family is going to be involved every step of this surrogacy journey.

It was a treat to watch all the relationships grow and change over the course of almost a year. While initially I wasn’t sure what I thought of Nine Month Contract, this book did have some of my favorite romance tropes: forced proximity, small town romance, grumpy x sunshine, and found family. If you have listened to Checked In!: A Davenport Public Library Podcast, then you know that I do not like pregnancy tropes in romance. A pregnancy trope is when a character’s unexpected pregnancy drives the story, usually as a surprise or accidental or secret baby plot. Not my favorite, but when I saw Nine Month Contract and that deals with surrogacy, I was intrigued. Could I handle a pregnancy trope if both characters knew it was happening? After finishing this book, I can clearly say . . . ‘I have no idea’. It was decidedly different than anything else I have ever read, but I’m still undecided. Wyatt’s family kept the story moving, in my opinion. They were hilarious, unhinged, yet incredibly sweet. Wyatt and Trista were also clearly a grumpy x sunshine situation which I adored. The banter was top notch. All in all, Nine Month Contract was a small town romance full of family drama.

Mountain Men Matchmaker series

Nine Month Contract (2024)
Seven Year Itch (2025)
Honeymoon Phase (2025)
Bad Boy Era (2026)

The oldest brother Max’s story is told in Last on the List, the fifth book in the Wait With Me series by Amy Daws. Last on the List takes place several years before the Mountain Men Matchmaker series and leads you in to that series.

Book Publishing Resources

December 15, 2025November 26, 2025 - Paige Leave a comment

Having your book published can be a rewarding, but also complicated process no matter if you want to self-publish your book or go the major publisher route. Here are some books and online resources you can access through your Davenport Public Library Card that may help the process become a little easier! Book descriptions are provided by the publisher.

Self-Publishing For Dummies, 2nd Edition by Jason R. Rich

Self-Publishing For Dummies takes you through the entire process of publishing your own books, starting with the writing and editing process and moving through cover design, printing options, distribution channels, and marketing to a target audience. With the advice in this book, you can tackle self-publishing, no matter what genre you write in. You’ll learn how to retain full control over your work and keep the profits from the sales of your book. In this updated edition, you’ll discover the latest technologies in self-publishing, trends in the world of ebooks, and new marketing techniques you can use online and in the real world. Becoming a published author is easier than ever, thanks to this Dummies guide.

Understand every step in the self-publishing process
Discover how to write and sell your books in ebook and printed formats
Hire an editor, obtain an ISBN, and generate publicity for your book
Fine-tune your writing to improve your chances of success
Get your work out there—no agent or publisher needed

Self-Publishing For Dummies is the perfect choice for anyone with an interest in DIY publishing. — Wiley

Creative Self-Publishing by Orna Ross

It has never been easier to publish a book, but publishing a book is never easy.

Creative Self-Publishing is a comprehensive guide to every step in the publishing process, written by the director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and drawing on the experience of thousands of ALLi members.

The book’s focus is how to apply your creativity to publishing, as much as to writing. It takes an individual approach, beginning with you—your passion, mission and sense of purpose as a publisher and creative business owner—then guiding you through the seven processes of publishing, in ways that empower you to reach more readers and sell more books.

In an engaging, easy-to-read format, you’ll learn:

Which creative practices and business models the most successful authors are using today
Where you fit in the history of authorship and self-publishing
How to overcome publishing resistance and block by fostering creative flow.
Where to find your ideal readers and how to ensure they find your books
A proven planning method that marries your passion, mission and purpose as writer and publisher
Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, or poetry books, the principles and practices outlined in this book will work for you. You’ll make better books, find more readers, turn them into keener fans, and grow your income, impact and influence as a self-directed and empowered indie author–the creative way. — ALLi

Successful self-publishing: how to self-publish and market your book by Joanna Penn

Want to self-publish your book but don’t know where to start? Worried it’s too complex or you don’t have the right skills?

This updated and expanded Fourth edition of Successful Self-Publishing provides everything you need to successfully self-publish your book in ebook, print, and audio formats, plus proven marketing strategies to reach more readers.

Written by award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Joanna (J.F.) Penn, this practical guide shares the exact methods used to publish more than forty books and build a multi-six-figure author business.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover:

A quick-start roadmap for self-publishing your first book
Step-by-step instructions for publishing professional-quality ebooks, print books, and audiobooks
The sites and services to trust and how to avoid the scams
Marketing strategies that work for both fiction and non-fiction

— The Creative Penn

Just write the damn book: the entrepreneurs guide to writing & publishing your non-fiction book by Chloe Bisson

In this book, Chloë Bisson shares a comprehensive roadmap for entrepreneurs who genuinely want to share their expertise, inspire others and leave a lasting legacy through writing and publishing their own book.

If you’re reading this to learn how to publish your book fast so that you can get rich, make money while you sleep and get paid with “passive income” then this book isn’t for you.

If you’re looking for a book that will show you how to use the Amazon algorithm and become a “bestselling author” with a garage full of your own books, then this book isn’t for you.

But if you want a book that will show you the exact steps to write and publish your book so you can inspire others, share your knowledge and be known as the authority in your industry, then this book is for you. — JM Publishing

Pitch Craft: The Writer’s Guide to Getting Agented, Published, and Paid by Laura Goode

An award-winning author and Stanford writing instructor demystifies the business of writing with this practical, procedural guide to creating successful pitches, impressing editors and agents, negotiating compensation, and more.

Published multi-genre writer Laura Goode had an epiphany after finishing her MFA and building a freelancing career: Nobody is teaching writers how to wield their persuasive storytelling abilities to make money from their writing. So she decided to write the business-of-writing handbook she needed most.

Pitch Craft draws on Goode’s experience as a novelist, poet, essayist, filmmaker, and creator of a pitching and publishing course to uncover what nobody else will tell you about the business strategy that creates a writing career. With unapologetic honesty earned from years of navigating the publishing world, each chapter in this valuable insider’s guide close-reads a distinct element of putting your work out into the world, such as:

• Constructing effective author bios and websites
• Leveraging your social media platform
• Developing a reliable template for pitches and queries
• Cultivating relationships with publishing gatekeepers
• Strengthening your self-advocacy skills

Pitch Craft is for writers in all genres and of all experience levels, whether you’re just getting started, are considering applying to a graduate program, or have been in the trenches for decades. After reading and completing the assignments in Pitch Craft, you’ll hold a finished pitch in hand and the knowledge and skills to navigate your dream literary career. — Ten Speed Press

Online Resources:

We also have some courses that focus more on the traditional side of book publishing available on LinkedIn Learning and Kanopy accessible through logging in with your library card.

Sell Your Novel to a Major Publisher – LinkedIn Learning
How to Publish Your Book – Kanopy

Info Cafe

Davenport Public Library's Reference Blog

Category: Books

New Memoirs and Biographies

Winners of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures written and illustrated by ND Stevenson

Readalikes for King Sorrow

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

New Picture Books

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

10 Years of Hamilton

Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

Book Publishing Resources