The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

- Anna Leave a comment

“It was no Mercury dime New York moon, but a harvest moon brought all the way from the wheat fields of North Dakota to shine with sweet benevolence down on the chosen and the beautiful.”

Among all of the works to enter the public domain this past year (due to having been published before 1925), one of the most well-known is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As a part of the public domain, this classic is now available for authors to use freely in retellings, which is exactly what Nghi Vo does in her latest work, The Chosen and the Beautiful. As someone who has always enjoyed reading the original, my interest was immediately piqued, and I am excited to share more about this title with all of you.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Fitzgerald’s original work, The Great Gatsby is set over the course of one summer during the Roaring Twenties on Long Island (New York) and primarily revolves around Jay Gatsby, a mysterious man of great wealth, and Daisy Buchanan, a beautiful socialite he falls in love with before going off to war. Taking place a few years after their initial meeting, this book picks up with Daisy having married a wealthy and unfaithful husband (Tom Buchanan) and Nick Carraway, Daisy’s distant cousin and narrator of the story, moving to Long Island from Minnesota to work in bonds. Little does either Nick or Daisy know that the former moves next door to the lavish and excessive mansion belonging to Gatsby and that, before long, Nick would play a key role in reuniting Daisy and Gatsby once again.

Another major character in this story is Jordan Baker, a renowned and opulent golfer who is also one of Daisy’s best childhood friends. In this retelling, Vo explores this story from Jordan’s perspective as a queer, Asian socialite who was adopted from Vietnam and brought to the United States at a very young age. Through her eyes, you are privy not only to more of Daisy’s backstory, but to a brand new literary voice experiencing the societal norms of the ’20s at a remove, as Jordan is often “othered” within their shared social circles as Daisy’s charming and exotic friend. In addition to this major change from the original narrative, this retelling also has magical elements incorporated into it, technically making it a science fiction novel set within the glittering excess of the Jazz Age.

All in all, I think this is a very interesting retelling that presents a powerful new literary voice, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Vo’s version of Jordan Baker. While I did find myself becoming lost in the magical components at times, as they seemed a bit random and scattered throughout, I think this was, in part, due to Vo’s diligence in adhering to Fitzgerald’s original account pretty closely. While the transformation of Jordan’s character and her insight were more than enough for a satisfying retelling for me, I think I would have enjoyed the science fiction aspects more if Vo had deviated further from the script and reimagined more of the story, as opposed to just retelling it.

In the end, I would still recommend this novel to both those who have or haven’t read the original, as this new perspective definitely adds to the timeless themes in Fitzgerald’s original, while simultaneously bringing the story up to speed in the 21st century. I also fully intend on reading any future retellings and reimaginings of Fitzgerald’s work, as I am sure there will be many more coming down the pike with this novel in the public domain!

This title is also available in the following formats:

Large Print

December’s Celebrity Book Club Picks

- Stephanie Leave a comment

It’s a new month which means that Jenna Bush Hager and Reese Witherspoon have picked new books for their book clubs! Reminder that if you join our Best Sellers Club, these titles will automatically be put on hold for you.

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Jenna Bush Hager has selected Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding.

Curious what Bright Burning Things is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

Sonya used to perform on stage. She attended glamorous parties, dated handsome men, rode in fast cars. But somewhere along the way, the stage lights Sonya lived for dimmed to black. In their absence, came darkness—blackouts, empty cupboards, hazy nights she could not remember.

Haunted by her failed career and lingering trauma from her childhood, Sonya fell deep into an alcoholic abyss. What kept her from losing herself completely was Tommy, her son. But her love for Tommy rivaled her love for the bottle. Addiction amplified her fear of losing her child; every maternal misstep compelled her to drink. Tommy’s precious life was in her shaky hands.

Eventually Sonya was forced to make a choice. Give up drinking or lose Tommy—forever.

Bright Burning Things is an emotional tour-de-force—a devastating and nuanced look at an addict’s journey towards rehabilitation and redemption.

This book is also available in the following format:

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Reese Witherspoon has selected Lucky by Marissa Stapley.

Curious what Lucky is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

A compelling and thrilling road-trip novel about a talented grifter named Lucky whose past comes back to haunt her.

What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn’t cash it in?

Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She’s ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity—when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she’s learned the art of the scam.

When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means the police will arrest her for her crimes. She’ll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune.

As Lucky tries to avoid arrest and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved—whose complicated past is catching up to her, too.

This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, complicated character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest…before her luck runs out.

Join our Best Sellers Club to have Oprah, Jenna, and Reese’s adult selections automatically put on hold for you!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

- Callen Leave a comment

A tea monk and an intelligent robot search for meaning in this brief, optimistic read from the author of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Thoughtful and gently paced, it offers a sweet taste of what’s surely a longer journey to come in future books.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers imagines a world in which the type of life we know today has been relegated to the past, a quaint and quirky way of life now mercifully gone. Instead, humans have strictly confined their towns and cities, leaving half their planet as wilderness for nature to run free. Somewhere in that wilderness, however, are some originally man-made creatures: robots who long ago gained sentience and left humanity in order to live freely in nature. Their fate has been unknown, until now. Sibling Dex, a monk (who uses they/them pronouns) from the Meadow Den monastery in a bustling city, has begun craving wide-open spaces and cricket songs. So they leave the city to become a wandering tea monk. Eventually even small towns and villages become too much civilization, and Dex seeks out wilder places, only to come face to face with the robots’ emissary, Mosscap, sent to answer the question: What do humans need?

This may be the gentlest book I’ve ever read – tea wagons, herbs, lush forests, biking through the countryside, and much more combine to make a beautifully soothing backdrop for the story. The god Sibling Dex serves is even called the God of Small Comforts. Which is not to say that everything is happiness and sunshine: Dex struggles with feelings of dissatisfaction, and their customers at their tea wagon also have their share of hard problems to bear – issues which neither Dex nor new friend Mosscap can solve, only soothe with a carefully brewed cup of tea. But being soothed, by tea, by nature, or other small comforts, still helps even if the problem remains.

It’s part ecological thought experiment, part philosophical parable, and all-around-healing. If you’re in need of relief or retreat, try this beautiful, meditative book for a breath of fresh air. And then, if you’re like me, wait eagerly for the next installment.

Something New: Tales From a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley

- Mary Perez Leave a comment

Lucy Knisley gives an honest take on the wedding planning process with her graphic novel, Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride. As a bride to be myself, I was intrigued to see how Knisley described the year leading up to her wedding. Planning a wedding can feel stressful, exciting, nerve racking, and sometimes impossible to do. Knisley uses her graphic novel skills to lay it all out for all of those who may be entering the whirlwind of wedding planning.

Knisley begins her novel with some background of how she and her husband, John met and ended  up engaged. They met while Knisley was completing art school and as their relationship developed, they realized they wanted different things in life. After being apart for a few years with meeting each other in between, John randomly popped the question and Knisley said yes.

Throughout her memoir, Knisley goes into detail about her wedding planning process. She emphasizes to the reader that a traditional wedding isn’t for everybody (and if you like traditional, that’s okay!) For example, Knisley’s mother lives in a rural area and built a barn for their ceremony and reception. Knisley also created her own decorations and table settings to express her creative side. She did the traditional things like shopping for the perfect dress with her friends and family, arguing with her mother about the type of music for the reception, and staying up late to finish guest lists with her fiancé. Alongside Knisley illustrations, she added photographs from her year of wedding planning.

At the end of the day, Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride lets the reader into her own private world of wedding planning. It made me feel a little less anxious about my own planning endeavors.

This was my first graphic novel by Knisley. I enjoyed her honest and confessional writing style. Her other graphic novels follow this style as well. Here are a few we own at the library worth taking a look at: Relish, Kid Gloves, and Displacement.

 

 

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

- Callen Leave a comment

Imagine a Swedish Miss Marple who commits murders instead of solving them, and you’ve got a good start on understanding Maud, the character in Helene Tursten’s collection of stories An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, and its sequel An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed.

Maud is 88, which leads many people to think she’s soft and vulnerable – but they’re very wrong. In fact she’s as sharp and fit as ever, although she has discovered the advantages of having a cane or wheeled walker handy. She spends most of her time traveling the world, making up for lost time after spending years working to support an ill sister. It’s a quiet and enjoyable life, until problems arise that require Maud’s unique solutions. From an artist trying to steal her spacious apartment to a noisy neighbor to a thieving antique dealer, all her would-be invaders and offenders meet a sudden and sticky end, leaving Maud with her peaceful lifestyle intact.

Like Maud, this book is small and quaint in appearance but hiding darkness within, and I absolutely loved the contrast and the dry humor with which Maud’s stories are told. It was also strangely enjoyable to imagine solving everyday annoyances and inconveniences in such an extreme way, maybe because it puts everyday squabbles into perspective. Whatever the case, the triumph of Maud over a society that continually underestimates her is enjoyable to read.

If you’re looking for an escapist romp that shows how getting older can mean getting craftier – and getting even – try these books.

Best Sellers Club December Authors: Elin Hilderbrand and Jayne Ann Krentz

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Want the hottest new release from your favorite author? Want to stay current with a celebrity book club? Love nonfiction? You should join the Best Sellers Club. Choose any author, celebrity pick, and/or nonfiction pick and the Davenport Public Library will put the latest title on hold for you automatically. Select as many as you want! If you still have questions, please check out our list of FAQs.

New month means new highlighted authors from the Best Sellers Club! December’s authors are Elin Hilderbrand for fiction and Jayne Ann Krentz for romance.

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Our December fiction author is Elin Hilderbrand. Hilderbrand is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University and the Iowa Writers Workshop. Her first novels were published by St. Martin’s Press and then she subsequently moved to Little, Brown, and Company.  All of her novel’s are set on or near to Nantucket Island, where she lives. She likes to draw inspiration from her local surroundings by drawing on what she knows. Hilderbrand’s novels focus on romance and friendships along the beaches of Nantucket.

Hilderbrand’s newest novel is Golden Girl, published on June 1, 2021.

Curious what this book is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher:

In this #1 bestselling page-turner a Nantucket novelist has one final summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on earth learn to live without their golden girl.

On a perfect June day, Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three nearly grown children, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. She ascends to the Beyond where she’s assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi also is granted three “nudges” to change the outcome of events on earth, and with her daughter Willa on her third miscarriage, Carson partying until all hours, and Leo currently “off again” with his high-maintenance girlfriend, she’ll have to think carefully where to use them.

From the Beyond, Vivi watches “The Chief” Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her own youth that could be disastrous for her reputation. But when hidden truths come to light, Vivi’s family will have to sort out their past and present mistakes—with or without a nudge of help from above—while Vivi finally lets them g row without her.

With all of Elin’s trademark beach scenes, mouth-watering meals, and picture-perfect homes, plus a heartfelt message—the people we lose never really leave us—Golden Girl is a beach book unlike any other.

This book is also available in the following formats:

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Our December romance author is Jayne Ann Krentz. Krentz is the author of fifty New Tork Times bestsellers. She writes under three different pen names, but only the books written under the name Jayne Ann Krentz are available through the Best Sellers club. Under her married name, Jayne Ann Krentz, she writes contemporary romantic suspense. Under the name Amanda Quick, she writes novels of historical romantic suspense. Her final name, Jayne Castle, is used for futuristic/paranormal romantic suspense. Before she began writing full time, Krentz worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Krentz’s latest book is Lightning in a Mirror, the third book in the Fogg Lake series. This book will be published on January 18th, 2022.

Curious what this book is about? Below is a description provided by the publisher.

Lightning in a Mirror is the final installment in the chilling Fogg Lake trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz.

Olivia LeClair’s experiment with speed dating is not going well. First there was the nasty encounter with the date from hell who tried to murder her and now the mysterious Harlan Rancourt—long believed dead—sits down at her table and tells her she’s the only one who can help him locate the legendary Vortex lab.

This is not what Olivia had in mind when she signed up for the Four Event Success Guaranteed package offered by the dating agency. She doesn’t have much choice, though, because her psychic investigation firm works for the mysterious Foundation and Victor Arganbright, the director, is adamant that she assist Harlan. There’s just one problem—no one knows Harlan’s real agenda. His father once ran the Foundation like a mob organization, and Harlan was destined to be his heir. There’s a real possibility Harlan has returned to claim his inheritance.

For now, however, it’s a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend because others are after the secrets of the long-lost lab. Unfortunately for Olivia, the one thing friend and foe have in common is that everyone is convinced she is the key. Her unique psychic talent is required to defuse the ticking time bomb that is Vortex.

Neither trusts the other but Olivia and Harlan soon realize they must work together to survive and unlock the Bluestone Project’s most dangerous secrets before more innocent people die.

This book is also available in the following format:

Fast Feast Repeat by Gin Stephens

- Callen Leave a comment

If you’ve heard of intermittent fasting and wondered what it’s all about, this book will help! It’s a good read for those curious about the science, those who just want a game plan, and everyone in between.

Gin Stephens has written two previous books about Intermittent Fasting: Delay, Don’t Deny and Feast without Fear. In Fast, Feast, Repeat she takes an in-depth, updated look at the science of intermittent fasting (the health plan with a side effect of weight loss) and how to customize it for any goal or body type. She covers the studies around metabolism, weight loss, nutrition, and fat burning, and she describes the many different ways of doing an Intermittent Fast. You can fast every day for 16 hours, and eat for 8, or you could narrow your “eating window” farther, and fast for more like 20 hours each day and eat for 4 – this is called Time Restricted Eating. There’s also Alternate Day Fasting, where a day of fasting (in some way) is followed by a day of eating normally. Stephens works hard to include many customizing options, alongside a number of testimonials from her fellow intermittent fasters.

The best thing about this book is Stephens’ honest self-description in the beginning of the book: she makes it clear she is not a scientist or dietitian, but a former teacher who’s used to taking scientific studies and translating them to a general audience, breaking down complicated science into digestible, understandable chunks. Throughout the text she encourages the reader to go and read the studies she references and draw their own conclusions. This gives her more credibility as she gives her recommendations and explanations – including her repeated reminders that intermittent fasting is a lifestyle, not a diet, which means “you have the rest of your life to get it right.” It also helps to counterbalance what would otherwise be a pretty aggressive sales pitch; Stephens clearly believes whole-heartedly in the power of the intermittent fast to vastly improve your health. She also understands that not everyone will read cover to cover, and regularly tells the reader which chapter to skip to to find the information they need, which is appreciated in a book packed with information of many types.

If you like to stay up to date on new nutritional discoveries and healthy lifestyles, or if you’re looking for a more achievable and less restrictive eating plan, I do recommend you try reading this book, if only for the encouragement, support, and enthusiasm Stephens offers to every reader striving to improve their health.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

- Stephanie Leave a comment

I’m not a spooky book person: hauntings, ghosts, unexplained mysteries keep me up all night. I decided to be brave and try The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James, even though the reviews I read described mysterious happenings throughout the book. It was worth it (and the many positive reviews didn’t let me down)!

The Sun Down Motel tells the story of secrets. A rundown roadside motel in Fell, New York has been the scene of many unexplained happenings. What’s even more chilling is that the city of Fell has a high number of young girls who have mysteriously disappeared without a trace. One of these missing girls is Viv Delaney.

Viv moved to Fell in 1982. She is desperate to move to New york City, but in order to help pay for it, she finds herself working as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel. She was only supposed to be passing through Fell – not staying to work. The more she works at the motel, the more Viv realizes that something isn’t quite right there. Something haunting and scary has taken over the Sun Down Motel. What’s even scarier: they are determined to get Viv’s attention no matter what.

Flash forward to Fell in 2017. Carly Kirk has been consumed by the story of her Aunt Viv, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances while working the night shift at the Sun Down. Viv disappeared before Carly was even born, yet her disappearance has cast a shadow over her life. Determined to finally find some answers, Carly decides to move to Fell and visit the motel where her aunt spent her last known moments. Once she steps foot at the Sun Down Motel, Carly quickly realizes that nothing has changed since 1982. The more she investigates what happened to her aunt, the more Carly realizes that both the town of Fell and the Sun Down Motel are ripe with secrets. Soon Carly finds herself wrapped up in the same haunting and scary mysteries that consumed her aunt back in 1982. Carly needs answers though and will stop at nothing to find out what really happened to Viv all those years ago.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Mary Kubica’s latest thriller Local Woman Missing ends with a twist I didn’t see coming. Women in a tight-knit community keep disappearing without a trace, leaving those they have left behind scrambling for any clue to their whereabouts.

Shelby Tebow was the first to go missing. Ten days after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter Delilah disappear just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen. No one knows what happened to these three. Since they disappeared in the middle of the neighborhood, people are noticeably fearful that a kidnapper and/or killer is at loose in the area. Since the incidents happened so close together, rumors swirl that the two may be connected. Searches are conducted all over town and instead of bringing answers, more questions are unearthed. The cases goes cold.

Flash forward eleven years. Delilah has returned. No one knows where she came from, who took her, or what happened to her while she was gone. The more the police question her, the more convoluted the whole situation becomes. Just when answers seem to be right at their fingertips, the case takes a turn that no one expects.

This novel is told through several people’s timelines, both in the past and present. Told from multiple points of views, readers are privy to their wide range of emotions. They are confused, hurt, scared, tired, resentful, and unreliable. The adults are flawed, the children need champions, and the mysterious cold cases only add to the terror. I’m glad the author chose to tell this story through multiple viewpoints and by bouncing between past and present. It left me wanting to know more about certain characters and what would happen to them in the future.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce

- Callen Leave a comment

To be honest, I’m not a big reader of historical fiction. Reading Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce, which is set in 1950, was a departure for me, but I was open to it after having read her previous – and in my opinion, profound – book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I was pleased to find the story of Miss Benson an entertaining voyage into friendship, scientific inquiry, grief, post-war trauma, and how far we go to follow our dreams.

Our heroine is Margery Benson, who in 1914 at ten years old fell in love with beetles to help her deal with a personal loss, and became particularly fascinated by the golden beetle of New Caledonia, whose existence has never been proven. However, somewhere along the way she lost hold of her dreams, until she finds herself 46 years old, standing in front of a classroom teaching cookery, confiscating a note that turns out to be a less than flattering caricature of herself. Forced to face the difference between the life she wanted and the life she has, Miss Benson takes a leap of faith and embarks on a self-funded expedition to New Caledonia, determined to find the golden beetle once and for all. But she can’t do it alone. She’ll need an assistant. Enter the perky, flashy, enigmatic, blond-dyed, pink-hat-wearing, deeply unsuitable Enid Pretty, a woman with her own dreams to chase, and who will completely upend Margery Benson’s sense of the world, and herself.

I remain in awe of writers like Joyce who can weave together humor with grief and hardship with friendship to give you an engaging and meaningful tapestry of everyday life. I found this book funny and heartfelt, covering tough topics but not so heavily as to be depressing or off-putting. Also, like in her earlier Harold Fry, Joyce does a good job creating a journey for her characters that is both physical and emotional, and which leaves them forever changed.

This book is recommended for those who like books about female friendship, international travel, and the empowerment of women throughout history.

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