Tag: Brit Bennett

February 2025 Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast Wrap!

- Brittany Leave a comment

In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our February 2025 episode! If you have not listened to this episode yet, you can listen to Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast online or wherever you get your podcasts!

Romance Tropes!

It’s February and love is in the air! Our hosts shared some of their favorite romance tropes as well as least favorite and gave examples of some of their favorite reads! The books and tropes discussed in this segment are below!

One Bed Trope
– The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
– Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot
– The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Fake Relationship Trope
– A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña
– Funny Story by Emily Henry
– The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
– The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas
– The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
– The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Enemies to Lovers Trope
– Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello
– The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
– Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam (publishes in May – check back!)
Grumpy x Sunshine Trope
– Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
– The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
– It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
– My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
Forbidden Romance Trope
– The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
Arranged Marriages/Honorable Marriages/Political Marriages Trope
– Dark Olympus Series by Katee Robert
Forced Proximity Trope
– The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

 

 

The FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library

The FRIENDS of The Davenport Public Library! The mission of the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library is to raise funds and manage an endowment portfolio that will provide resources to support the literary and educational purposes of the Davenport Public Library. In addition to all of this, they also operate our bookstores! To learn more about the FRIENDS and how to get involved, visit friendsofdavenportlibrary.org.  

 

 

The Librarians Celebrate Spunky Old Broads Day

Spunky Old Broads Day is a day to celebrate older women for their wisdom, courage, and vivacity, and is celebrated on February 1, but you can celebrate all month long! Below are the titles showcased in this segment!

– My Name is Barbara by Barbara Streisand
– Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
– The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
– The Marlow Murder Club Series by Robert Thorogood
– The Thursday Murder Club Series by Richard Osman
– Mrs. Plansky Series by Spencer Quinn
– Agnes Sharp Murder Mysteries by Leonie Swann
– Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino
– The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich
– Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello

DavenportU Citizens Academy with Allie McWilliams

DavenportU Citizens Academy is a ten-session program aimed at connecting citizens to their local government. If you have ever been curious about how the City prioritizes projects or how heavy a firefighters turnout gear is – this academy could be for you!

“I look forward to meeting Davenport’s most engaged citizens in each year’s cohort,” said Davenport Mayor Mike Matson. “Even long-time residents of Davenport can learn something new at DavenportU.”

Each session of DavenportU takes citizens behind the scenes of City government with interactive experiences, tours, and presentations. From community and economic development to public safety and parks, DavenportU participants move around the City to learn about the inner workings of each department. DavenportU concludes with a graduation ceremony at the City Council Meeting on May 28, 2025.

Be sure to apply by February 21st here! 

Show Your Love for Our Library

Davenport Public Library is proud to be supported by our vibrant and diverse community! The resources on this page are intended to make it easy for you to share information about the value of The Library with your friends and family and to advocate with your elected officials and other community stakeholders.
Advocacy is critical for public libraries! By telling others about The Library, you are:
  • Showing how The Library positively impacts Davenport by connecting a diverse community to resources that educate, enrich, and entertain.
  • Spreading awareness of free services that many in our community may not otherwise know about or have access to.
  • Advocating for funding to meet our community’s needs through The Library’s resources.

To get more involved or to learn more about how to share your love, visit our Advocacy Page! 

Black History Month Reading Suggestions

February is Black History Month! Below are some titles that the hosts have enjoyed and hope that you will too!

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
James by Percival Everett
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Becoming by Michelle Obama
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

What Our Hosts Read In January

Beth’s Reads:
The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend by John E. Miller

Brittany’s Reads:
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond by Henry Winkler, narrated by Henry and Stacey Winkler
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, narrated by Megan Hilty
The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood, narrated by Sofia Oxenham
A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey, narrated by Leeanna Walsman
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Stephanie’s Reads:
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, narrated by Michael Crouch
Girl Forgotten by April Henry
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, narrated by Ocean Vuong
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont, narrated by Lucy Scott
Honey Mead Murder by Dahlia Donovan (Not Available in Rivershare)
Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala, narrated by Danice Cabanela
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, narrated by Jeanette Illidge & Tapiwa Mugweni
On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry

If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Family and relationships are a major deciding factor in how a person turns out. Our past influences our desires and the decisions we will make in the future. Brit Bennett discusses how we choose our own fate and how that fate may be different than the ones our families had previously thought we would take.

The Vanishing Half  by Brit Bennett tells the story of the Vignes twin sisters. Growing up, the two were inseparable and identical. People in the community found it hard to tell the two apart, but knew that wherever they saw one, the other was not far behind. Living in a small, southern black community with rigid ideals, the Vignes sisters run away at age sixteen to escape the less than perfect notions the community had about who they should be. Struggling to make out a new life for themselves, one twin makes the difficult decision to leave the other behind. Her decision sets the family on a rocky path that none of them could have predicted.

The Vignes sisters’ life decisions at the age of sixteen shape their daily lives for years. As adults, their lives couldn’t be more different. Their families, their racial identities, and their communities know them as separate individuals with vastly different pasts.

Fast forward many years and one of the sisters has come back to her hometown with her daughter. Separated by states, the other sister has been secretly passing as white for many years and her white husband doesn’t know anything about her past. Even though the twins are living vastly different lives, their fates are still intricately connected.

This novel follows the Vignes twin sisters from the 1950s to the 1990s, spanning many areas across the country from the Deep South to California. As the twins grow, many generations of the Vignes family come alive to tell their tales. Both the older generation and the younger generation work to create lives that they can be proud of with the sisters sandwiched in between. When the twins’ daughters grow up, their lives are bound to cross. The delicate life balance full of truth and lies the sisters have created is destined to come crashing down at some point. It’s only a matter of time.

This book is also available in the following formats:

Virtual Book Club – ‘The Mothers’ on September 2nd

- Stephanie Leave a comment

On Wednesday, September 2nd at 2pm, Virtual Book Club will be discussing The Mothers by Brit Bennett. Join in and talk about a popular book with one of our librarians. We are using GoTo Meeting which will allow patrons to video chat with the librarian about the book! Information about how to join is listed below.

Want to learn more about The Mothers? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother’s recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor’s son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it’s not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance–and the subsequent cover-up–will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from everyone, including Aubrey, her God-fearing best friend, the years move quickly. Soon, Nadia, Luke, and Aubrey are full-fledged adults and still living in debt to the choices they made that one seaside summer, caught in a love triangle they must carefully maneuver, and dogged by the constant, nagging question: What if they had chosen differently?

This book is also available in the following formats:

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

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/274890269

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (571) 317-3122

Access Code: 274-890-269

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/274890269