Category: Staff Picks

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

- Stephanie Leave a comment

The cover of this book was what first caught my eye when I was looking for a new book to read. I listened to this as an audiobook and I will admit that it took me about thirty minutes to become fully invested. Once that happened though, I was hooked. This book became my favorite book  and the one that I recommend to all of my friends. (Pretty big hype talk for this book, huh? I promise you – no pressure). Let’s get into it.

In The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, a massive labyrinth of tunnels and rooms filled with stories exists far underneath the surface of the Earth. This area isn’t accessible to everyone and those who wish to see its wonder must find an entryway. These entryways aren’t your typical doors. They are hidden throughout the world in places where you might not expect to find them. They appear before those seeking a change or those who are worthy or those looking.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont. One day in the stacks at the library, he stumbles upon a hidden mysterious book that doesn’t look like it belongs. Drawn to it, Zachary begins flipping through and is shocked when he sees a story from his very own childhood written there. Confused, Zachary tries to figure out why and how his story came to be there and finds a series of clues that lead him to a masquerade party to a secret club to a doorway to an ancient hidden library. That ancient library is hidden far far below the surface and is beyond anything that Zachary Ezra Rawlins could ever imagine. He is quickly drawn into this mysterious realm and is introduced to those who are willing to sacrifice anything to protect it. Zachary teams up with travelers and they begin traversing the many, many different hidden places in this labyrinth. Everyone who travels to this library seems to be looking for their purpose in the real world, in the library, and in that mysterious book Zachary first found.

This book is also available in the following formats:

The Less People Know About Us by Axton Betz-Hamilton

- Stephanie Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but the amount of reading I have done recently has drastically decreased. I have been gravitating toward podcasts instead. Another librarian recommended The Less People Know About Us  by Axton Betz-Hamilton as a true crime memoir that I would like and she was right! This book may be nonfiction, but it reads like fiction: a riveting tale of family drama and one person’s journey to rebuild their life from bare bones.

The Less People Know About Us  by Axton Betz-Hamilton follows Axton from childhood to adulthood. Growing up in small-town Indiana in the early 1990s, Axton and her parents (and the occasional grandparent) found themselves struggling. Why? When she was 11, both of Axton’s parents had their identities stolen. Life changed forever for them after this happened: fights over money became more and more frequent and their credit ratings were tanked. Every time Axton mentioned going to the authorities or the banks to help, her mom said she would handle it, when in reality, there was nothing much they could do to help because identity theft was a somewhat new concept.

To hide from the identity thief, they moved to different addresses and changed all of their personal information. Going so far as to avoid answering the door and to try to live as quiet a life as possible, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world. Isolated from friends and family, Axton’s life became increasingly more lonely. She became more and more anxious and eventually developed an eating disorder, seemingly quarantined in her childhood home as the identity thief was always able to find them no matter where they moved.

Years later, Axton discovered that she also was a victim of identity theft. Unfortunately by the time she discovered this, she was already thousands of dollars in debt. Her credit was ruined. In order to dig herself out of this, Axton became an award-winning identity theft expert doing research into this topic and trying to figure out why people choose to steal the identities of others. It took her years to figure out who was responsible and that involved trying to untangle a massively intricate web of lies that formed before she was even born.

Virtual Book Club – July 8

- Stephanie Leave a comment

On Wednesday July 8th at 2pm, the Virtual Book Club will be discussing The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney. Information about how to join the book club is listed below! We are using GoTo Meeting which will allow patrons to video chat with the librarian about the book.

Want to know what The Perfect Wife is about before you read the book? Check out the following description provided by the publisher:

A missing woman receives a second chance at life, thanks to her billionaire husband–but the consequences are deadly in this gripping psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before. Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He’s an icon of the tech world, the founder of a lucrative robotics company. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago, and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss. She is a miracle of science. But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins questioning her husband’s motives–and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together forever? And what really happened to Abbie half a decade ago? 

This book is also available in the following formats:
Virtual Book Club
Wed, Jul 8, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (CDT)
 
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
 
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (571) 317-3122
 
Access Code: 522-793-053
 
New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:

Devolution by Max Brooks

- Allison Leave a comment

You might not think that horror would be a good genre to turn to during These Troubled Times ™, but it’s  been one of my favorites since the 9th grade (shout out to Mr. Healy for introducing me to Stephen King!) In fact, back in March, I re-read World War Z  by Max Brooks, just for fun (I‘m weird, I know.)

I was very excited to read Brooks’ latest novel Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. Much like World War Z, Devolution is told as a collection of first-person recollections, book excerpts, interviews, and journal entries. It is these journal entries, written by Kate Holland and discovered at the massacre site by her brother Frank that make up the bulk of the novel.

Kate and her husband, Dan, have joined a small “eco-community” in Washington state hoping to save their marriage. Built deep in the woods, Greenloop appears to be an idyllic escape from Silicon Valley, while still maintaining a connection to civilization through 24/7 internet connections and weekly drone deliveries.

That is until Mt. Rainier erupts.

Greenloop suddenly finds itself cut off from all communication and without enough supplies to survive for very long. The other members of the Greenloop community react to this crisis in varying and maddeningly frustrating ways. When nature –  with which some of the residents so desperately want to connect to – begins to turn on them, most remain in denial.

At least, until people begin to disappear and a troop of carnivorous Sasquatch is quite literally pounding down their doors. This assuredly is not a book for the squeamish, though it will teach you how to make an effective spear out of bamboo and kitchen knives.

With Brooks acting as narrator, he pulls testimonies and consultations together to present a story that feels incredibly plausible. And that is the mark of a great horror story – it makes you pause and examine that rustle in the bushes just a little more closely.

Oprah Book Club Pick – June 2020

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Oprah has just announced her latest book club pick: Deacon King Kong by James McBride! Oprah is one of the celebrities featured on our Best Sellers Club. If you would like to make sure that you don’t miss a single one of Oprah’s book club picks, be sure to join our Best Sellers Club today!

Deacon King Kong by James McBride is her latest pick. A work of domestic psychological fiction set in 1969 in a housing project in South Brooklyn.

Need more information? Check out the information below provided by the publisher:

In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .45 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range. The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters–caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York–overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club – July 1st

- Stephanie Leave a comment

On Wednesday, July 1st at 2pm central time, the Virtual Book Club will be discussing Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. Information on how to join is available at the end of this blog post. We are using GoTo Meeting which will allow patrons to talk with the librarian about the book!

Want to know what the book is about? Check out the following blurb provided by the publisher:

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Taken in by the splendor of her surroundings Jules accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind. She is drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems, that the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her– and the next day she disappears. Can Jules discover the truth– and escape before her temporary status becomes permanent?

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club
Wed, Jul 1, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (CDT)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/406198773

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (669) 224-3412

Access Code: 406-198-773

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/406198773

Jenna Bush Hager JUNE Celebrity Book Club Pick

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Have you joined our Best Sellers Club yet? We have started a new club for Davenport Public Library patrons that allow you to have automatic holds put on new releases from your favorite authors, stay current with three different celebrity book clubs, or receive nonfiction picks chosen by our librarians four times a year.

One of the celebrities on our Best Sellers Club is Jenna Bush Hager. The Read With Jenna book club picks a new book every month to read.

A Burning by Megha Majumdar is Jenna Bush Hager’s June 2020 pick. Curious what the book is about? Check out the following blurb provided by the publisher:

After a fiery attack on a train leaves 104 people dead, the fates of three people become inextricably entangled. Jivan, a bright, striving woman from the slums looking for a way out of poverty, is wrongly accused of planning the attack because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir, a slippery gym teacher from Jivan’s former high school, has hitched his aspirations to a rising right wing party, and his own ascent becomes increasingly linked to Jivan’s fall. Lovely, a spirited, impoverished, relentlessly optimistic hjira, who harbors dreams of becoming a Bollywood star, can provide the alibi that would set Jivan free–but her appearance in court will have unexpected consequences that will change the course of all of their lives. A novel about fate, power, opportunity, and class; about innocence and guilt, betrayal and love, and the corrosive media cycle that manufactures falsehoods masquerading as truths–A Burning is a debut novel of exceptional power and urgency, haunting and beautiful, brutal, vibrant, impossible to forget.

This book is also available in the following format:

Wii’s Last Dance — Just Dance 2020

- Beth Leave a comment

On a rainy, mid-quarantine day, I dusted off my old Nintendo Wii. My goal was the play the the last game made for the Wii: Just Dance 2020.

It was the perfect pick-me-up for a day stuck indoors after days of not going anywhere. While I’m not a super-fan of any of the songs, the game is filled with upbeat tracks. I giggled at the throwback “Everybody” from Backstreet Boys. Not having kids of my own means that even “Baby Shark” was a refreshing change of pace. Other songs from around the world kept me challenged to follow along with the unfamiliar beats and rhythms. I threw enough energy at the game so that it counted as my workout for the day. I would recommend this game to fans of the Zumba workout. It was fun to unlock new avatars, compete for stars and rack up points.

Don’t worry if you’ve let your Nintendo Wii fall into disrepair after switching to a Switch or another platform. Just Dance 2020 is available from the Davenport Public Library in the Switch format as well as PlayStation 4 and XBox One.

Reese Witherspoon JUNE Celebrity Book Club Picks

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Every month Reese Witherspoon releases a new pick for the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club. June is an exception! She has announced TWO books for June and we are so excited to tell you about them.

If you want to make sure that you don’t miss any celebrity book club picks, join our Best Sellers Club and have those automatically put on hold for you.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley is her fiction pick for the month. This book is available in the following formats: OverDrive eAudiobook and OverDrive eBook.

Below is a description of this book provided by the publisher:

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Reese Witherspoon’s second book club pick for June is I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown. This book is also available as an OverDrive eBook.

The following is a description provided by the publisher:

The author’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when her parents told her they named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. She grew up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, and has spent her life navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, a speaker, and an expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion. While so many institutions claim to value diversity in their mission statements, many fall short of matching actions to words. Brown highlights how white middle-class evangelicalism has participated in the rise of racial hostility, and encourages the reader to confront apathy and recognize God’s ongoing work in the world.

Virtual Book Club – June 17th

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Have you joined our Virtual Book Club yet? Every Wednesday at 2pm central time, we discuss a new book! Using GoTo Meeting, patrons are able to practice social distancing while still participating in a book club through the library. On Wednesday, June 17th, we will be discussing Conviction by Denise Mina.

Conviction by Denise Mina is a 2019 piece of murder mystery detective fiction that was the December 2019 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. Curious what the book is about? Check out the following blurb from the publisher:

A true crime podcast sets a trophy wife’s present life on a collision course with her secret past in this “blazingly intense” Reese Witherspoon book club pick and New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year (A. J. Finn).
The day Anna McDonald’s quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone.
Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people’s problems are much better than one’s own — a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna’s problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she’s taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened.
Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened — and they’re in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, Anna goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide.
Conviction is “daredevil storytelling at its finest” (NPR’s Fresh Air), a breathtaking thriller from one of the most “superbly talented” writers of our time (Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of Trust Me).

This book is also available in the following formats:

To join the book club, follow the link below! We will be using GoTo Meeting for this program.

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/224067037

Access Code: 224-067-037

You can also dial in using your phone.

United States: +1 (646) 749-3112

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/224067037