Readers Corner

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Discover library services for readers, scroll through librarian recommended reads, and find links to a variety of book-related resources.

Library Services for Readers

Recommended Adult Titles

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The Once and Future Queen: Deluxe Limited Edition

Outlander-meets-The Princess Bride plus Camelot in a fresh, big-hearted, feminist, timeslip adventure reimagining the epic saga of King Arthur, as told from the perspective of his spunky and surprising queen, Vera – complete with time travel and good running shoes!

***DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with stenciled edges, a beautiful foil-stamped hardcover, exclusive interior design with full-color illustrated endpapers*** Only while supplies last.

Vera always knew she didn’t fit in. When she learns that she is meant to be in another time, she leaps at the chance to embrace a new life in a world of valor, intrigue, and unexpected magic in this bold and romantic retelling of Arthurian legend . . .

22-year-old Vera is at a crossroads: waiting tables, grieving her previous relationship, and jogging aimlessly each morning as if toward an uncertain future. Then an odd man shows up at her workplace, insisting that she was once the legendary Queen Guinevere of Camelot, and that her lost memories hold the key to changing both the past and the present. Somehow, it all feels like the direction she’s been looking for. But when she asks the mysterious man to tell her more about Lancelot, Arthur, and a faithless queen, he can only say that much of what she’s heard about Camelot is wrong. The truth, he claims, is something she must see for herself.

After jumping through a portal in Glastonbury’s historic center, Vera is not prepared for what she finds. Magic is everywhere, but a curse on the kingdom means it dwindles every day. She has no idea how to perform a queen’s duties. Her fast friendship with Lancelot sets gossip flowing, and the stranger she must call “husband” often refuses to meet her eye. Arthur is a puzzle: cold, forbidding, and, while angry to her face, keeps leaving secret tokens of tenderness in her chambers. Worst of all, Vera’s memories—and the answers locked within them—show no signs of returning. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her . . .

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Spasm

From the "master of the medical thriller" (The New York Times), Robin Cook, fan favorites Jack and Laurie return in another fast-paced spine chiller about a deadly bioweapon that could disrupt the world order as we know it.

“Masterful . . . Robin Cook is at the top of his game.” –#1 NYT bestselling author FREIDA MCFADDEN

When Laurie Montgomery temporarily steps down from her position as Chief Medical Examiner, she and Jack find themselves uncharacteristically free for a couple of weeks. And the timing couldn't be better when they receive a call from Jack's former medical school classmate, Robert Neilson, who is the sole family practitioner in Essex Falls, an idyllic town tucked away in New York State's Adirondack Mountains. Serving also as the Hamilton County coroner, Dr. Neilson is in over his head trying to explain the sudden death of a young, healthy pest control worker on top of an outbreak of rapidly progressive Alzheimer's-like cases, and he pleads with Jack and Laurie to come lend a professional hand. Unable to resist a good mystery and a vacation in one, Laurie and Jack agree to help and head upstate.

Essex Falls is beautiful enough and their accommodations are even better than they imagined. But they soon learn the town has suffered a major economic and social setback, which has shaken its residents to their cores. When the body of the pest control worker disappears without a trace just prior to an autopsy, Jack's penchant for solving forensic conundrums launches him into a full-scale investigation that uncovers the most frightening modus operandi of his career so far.

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Television



 

Bojack Horseman meets Joan Didion in this smart, sly, and irresistibly stylish debut novel about a jaded movie star and the two differently conflicted women in his orbit.

Some people you meet them and you imagine this movie together. The two of you make a kind of movie and then it's over. Other people, what you imagine isn't a movie, because it keeps going. It's television . . . If you can't see how romantic television is, you're blind.

An aging, A-list movie star lotteries off the entirety of his mega-million blockbuster salary to a member of the general viewing public before taking up with a much younger model. His non-famous best friend (and often lover) looks on impassively, while recollecting their twenty-odd years of unlikely connection. And an aspiring filmmaker, unknown to them both, labors over a script about best friends and lovers while longing for the financial freedom to make great art.

Told in their alternating, intricately linked perspectives, Television is a funny, philosophically astute novel about phenomenal luck, whether windfall or chance encounter. Like Joan Didion's classic Play It as It Lays, but speaking to a since irrevocably changed Hollywood, it portrays a culture in crisis and the disparities in wealth, beauty, talent, gender, and youth at the heart of contemporary American life. In this glittering but strange new world, lit up by social media and streaming services--what, if not love, can be counted in your favor

With plays in chronology, bright, nimble dialogue, and a profoundly modern style, Lauren Rothery's debut novel is an arresting feat of literary impressionism, and marks the arrival of a significant new talent to the landscape of American fiction.

Recommended YA Titles

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The House of Quiet

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide comes a dark fantasy about a girl who will risk everything—posing as a maid, confronting powerful enemies, and unraveling deadly secrets—all to save her missing sister from the enigmatic House of Quiet.

“A brilliant, imaginative fantasy.” —Allison Saft, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wings of Starlight

"A chilling, dystopic world enclosed in a locked-room mystery." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights 

To save her sister, she must enter the House.

In the middle of a deadly bog sits the House of Quiet. It’s a place for children whose Procedure triggered powers too terrible to be lived with—their last hope for treatment. No one knows how they’re healed or where they go afterward.

Birdie has begged, bargained, and blackmailed her way inside as a maid, determined to find her missing sister, Magpie. But what she discovers is more mysteries. Instead of the destitute children who undergo the Procedure in hopes of social advancement, the house brims with aristocratic teens wielding strange powers they never should have been burdened with.

Though Birdie wants to ignore them, she can’t help being drawn to stoic and silent Forest, charmed by clever River, and concerned for the youngest residents. And with fellow maid Minnow keeping tabs on everything Birdie does, danger is everywhere.

In her desperate search for Magpie, Birdie unearths terrifying threats and devastating truths, forcing her to confront just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save her own sister. Because in the House of Quiet, if you find what’s lurking beneath . . . you lose everything.

Unravel the mystery. Ignite the rebellion.

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A Spell to Wake the Dead

Two teen girls must uncover the dark, occult secrets lurking in their Cape Cod town to solve a series of murders—and save themselves from the same fate—in this twisty, witchy thriller.

“Steeped in uniquely New England coastal magic, A Spell to Wake the Dead kept me on the edge of my seat as the bodies and mysteries kept washing ashore. Lesperance weaves an enthralling, atmospheric thriller that pulls you in from the first page. Tense, twisty, and deliciously witchy, it was just about impossible to put down.” —Louangie Bou-Montes, author of Till the Last Beat of My Heart

When Mazzy and her best friend Nora sneak down to the beach one moonlit night to cast a spell, they don’t expect to find a dead body. But as the tide rolls in, it carries the remains of a woman who is missing her hands and teeth.

The girls know they should leave the investigation to the police, but they can’t shake the weird, supernatural connection they feel with the dead woman. Using spellwork and divination, they set out to find answers of their own. But after they uncover a rash of local disappearances stretching back years—and both girls start having occult visions and hearing ghostly, whispering voices—Mazzy worries that she and Nora are in danger.

Then, Nora finds a second body. And the whispering voice is telling her where to find more. With everything spiraling, Mazzy needs to figure out who to trust and how to sever this supernatural connection—or she and Nora might be the next bodies to wash up on the beach.

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The Book of Dust: The Rose Field (Book of Dust, Volume 3)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The breathtaking conclusion to Philip Pullman’s landmark new trilogy The Book of Dust! Return to the world of His Dark Materials and discover what fate has in store for Lyra, “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” (The New York Times Magazine).

“Pullman’s abilities as a storyteller are stupendous, and on full display.”—The Atlantic

“Tremendously entertaining.”—Slate

Lyra Silvertongue is alone in a city haunted by daemons, searching for her beloved Pan. Malcolm Polstead isn’t far behind, searching for Lyra. And they are both racing toward the desert of Karamakan, following the trail of roses said to hold the secret of Dust.

Their allies and enemies are converging on the mysterious red building at the heart of the desert: Marcel Delamare and the military might of the Magisterium; the radical Men from the Mountains; scientists, scholars, and spies; troops of witches and other people of the air. And awaiting them all is a previously unseen and chilling new threat that will change everything.

The intertwining odysseys of Malcolm and Lyra, their journeys both internal and external, will test their limits and challenge even their most dearly held beliefs.

As ever, Philip Pullman is using the language of fantasy to illuminate our world and to explore the deepest questions of what it means to be alive and awake to all the splendors and horrors around us. The extraordinary novels of The Book of Dust speak powerfully to today’s readers and will take their place alongside the forever-favorites of His Dark Materials.

Look for the entire trilogy of THE BOOK OF DUST:
La Belle Sauvage • The Secret Commonwealth • The Rose Field

And Lyra’s adventures begin in HIS DARK MATERIALS:
The Golden Compass • The Subtle Knife • The Amber Spyglass

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Sisters in the Wind

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick!

From the instant New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed comes a daring new mystery about a foster teen claiming her heritage on her own terms.

Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state”. But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe.

Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend”, a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her. They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings, a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved.

But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance at safety she had. Will the secrets she's hiding swallow her whole and take away any hope for the future she always dreamed of?

When the past comes for revenge, it’s fight or flight.

Angeline Boulley's award-winning canon of books puts compelling characters and fast-paced action at the center of narratives rich in historical context. Read Firekeeper's Daughter; Warrior Girl Unearthed; and the soon-to-be-released Sisters of the Wind in any order; but like the world itself, there are echoes within each for the other stories.

Pick this up if you love:
- quiet girls with dark pasts
- explosive opening scenes
- wolves in sheeps’ clothing

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TEST 1984

In George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four, the reader is plunged into a chilling totalitarian regime where surveillance, language manipulation, and psychological control dominate the human experience. Written in 1949, the novel employs a stark and unembellished prose style that mirrors the grim reality of its oppressive setting, with a narrative that intricately explores themes of individuality, truth, and resistance. Orwell's portrayal of the omnipresent Party, embodied in the chilling figure of Big Brother, serves as a profound commentary on the dangers of unchecked governmental power and the erosion of personal freedoms in the modern age. George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair in 1903, had firsthand experience with authoritarianism and social injustice, which deeply influenced his writing. His earlier works, including Animal Farm, reflect his commitment to political commentary and critique of totalitarian regimes. Orwell's experiences as a soldier in the Spanish Civil War and his observations of propaganda during World War II galvanized his vision for Nineteen Eighty-Four—a prescient warning of the deleterious effects of oppressive state control on the human spirit and democratic principles. Highly regarded for its moral urgency and intellectual depth, Nineteen Eighty-Four is an essential read for anyone interested in the interplay between power and individual freedom. This classic resonates today, urging contemporary readers to remain vigilant in the face of authoritarian tendencies and to cherish the fragile nature of truth and autonomy.

Recommended Chapter Books

Recommended Picture Books

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Soy Sauce!

A joyful picture book for kids and foodies of all ages (with real soy sauce as paint!) that celebrates the iconic kitchen staple and the magical way food connects family and friends across the world.

Salty, savory, rich, and even sweet, soy sauce is as fascinating to make as it is delicious to eat!

Luan makes a classic Chinese soy sauce. Haru uses his own recipe at his family's traditional Japanese brewery. And Yoo-mi's Korean soy sauce features special ingredients to make it spicy and sweet.

With unique ingredients that reflect different Asian cultures, and a brewing process that can take years, even decades, soy sauce holds deep meaning and flavorful history in every drop.
 

Praise for Soy Sauce!:
 

✭ "Lee's lively watercolor illustrations of the children gleefully celebrating each stage of the long process pair beautifully with the upbeat text for an informative, engaging story.... A joyful ode to soy sauce that's delicious to the last drop." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review



"Soy Sauce! is a charming celebration of one of our favorite condiments. Delicious!" --Grace Lin, author of Chinese Menu and A Big Mooncake for Little Star



"I can't wait for children and families to learn about the colorful history and process of soy sauce." --Kristina Cho, James Beard-winning author of Chinese Enough and Mooncakes and Milk Bread



"A loving ode to the ways we connect at the table through taste and tradition....A perfect read for your budding epicurean." --Cecily Wong, author of Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide

Online Library Reading Resources

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Beanstack

Join library reading challenges for all ages, including 1000 Books Before Kindergarten and seasonal challenges.

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Novelist Plus

Novelist contains information on over 260,000 fiction and readable nonfiction titles. Features lists of award-winning books, book discussion guides, Read-a-Like recommendations, and complete series information. 

Goodreads

Goodreads connects a community of readers and allows you to track the books you're reading, have read, and want to read.

Fantastic Fiction

Search and browse the complete works of over 50,000 bestselling fiction authors, with all the latest books and series listed in order.

StoryGraph

StoryGraph is the all-in-one platform for your bookish needs. StoryGraph will help you track your reading and choose your next book based on your mood and your favorite topics and themes.

New York Times Bestsellers List

The New York Times ranked lists of books sold in the United States, sorted by format and genre.