Looking for something new to read? Why not see what our staff has been reading? We have five succulent suggestions for your reading enjoyment! From Administration to Circulation, Adult Services to Youth Services, we have a little bit of everything, for every reader. Looking for more? You can check out our whole archive of previous staff picks here.
Natalie (Adult Services) recommends: Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose by Nikki Giovanni
Category: Adult Non-Fiction
Nikki Giovanni is one of the most celebrated poets in America. In this powerful and thought-provoking collection, she challenges the reader with difficult questions, personal experiences, and a deep vulnerability. Giovanni explores what it means to be black and to be a woman in an injust world, embracing readers as she shares her own hurts and personal experiences. But, this is not a sad book. Rather, just as Giovanni calls out injustice, she also celebrates herself, her family, and her identity, blending together a collection of poetry that is moving, painful, and uplifting and beautiful, all at once.
Guy (Administration) recommends: Get Capone: The Secret Plot that Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster by Johnathan Eig
Category: Adult Non-Fiction
Jonathan Eig’s thrilling true crime account of the capture of Al Capone is richly researched from government documents, wiretap transcripts, and even some of Capone’s handwritten personal letters, for a dramatic tale that is hard to put down.
Guy says: I first read Jonathan Eig when Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig was published in 2005. Despite not being a big sports fan, I gave him a try because Gehrig became a NYC parole officer after he left baseball. Eig also wrote a true crime book Get Capone, which was even better.
Frances (Adult Services) recommends: Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth
Category: Adult Fiction
When two auditors for the U.S. egg industry go rogue and conceive a plot to steal a million chickens in the middle of the night, a series of catastrophes ensues. The novel is a unique blending of comedy, politics, and drama, with a memorable cast of characters. This is an incredibly quirky heist novel like nothing else you’ve read before, perfect for those interested in environmentalism and climate change, and will leave you thinking long and hard about what you’re having for breakfast.
Rebecca (Youth Services) recommends: The Mercies by Karen Millwood Hargrave
Category: Adult Fiction
When a storm wipes out most of the men in a small, Arctic fishing village, the remaining women are left to fend for themselves. When witch-hunter Absalom Cornet arrives three years later, he sees the independant women as corrupt and godless…and then the witch hunt begins.
Rebecca says: I enjoyed this a lot considering it is a slow burn of a witch hunt. You could feel the pain and despair festering from the moment the storm claimed 40 lives (of which there weren’t that many to begin with). A small seaside town left with only women and a priest to fend for themselves, and it turns out that’s at least one recipe for witches. It’s always an interesting thing to see how a single moment can make or break your moral character and while I don’t find it particularly forgiving it brings an interesting question of all: would you do it? Would you raise your finger and point witch too? Would you do it if it saved you?
Ann (Circulation) recommends: Setting Free the Kites by Alex George
Category: Adult Fiction
Robert Carter’s life in costal Maine is comfortably predictable. But, everything changes in eighth grade when he meets the confident, fearless, flight-obsessed Nathan Tilly. The boys will find their friendship tested by family tragedy and loss, while they work summer jobs at the local amusement park. As Nathan’s boundless optimism seems to overwhelm them both, the friends are forced to learn some heart-breaking lessons in family, desire, and revenge.
