While You Wait VII: Ugly Love and Going Rogue

Posted on August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 by Anneliese

It’s a little odd this month! One of the most popular and requested books is… Ugly Love, which was published in 2014! So rather than choose one fiction and one non-fiction, I’m going to give you that book with a couple read-alikes, and then the most popular and requested book that’s actually new (which is, unsurprisingly, Janet Evanovich!) Plus, this way you get a choice between romance and mystery.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn’t think it’s love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

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Adult, Fiction, Historical, Horror, New & Upcoming, Romance, Science Fiction, Thrillers

Library Reads July 2022

Posted on July 1, 2022June 29, 2022 by Carol

Every month, librarians across the country pick the ten upcoming titles they’re most excited to read. This month’s picks include a deliciously creepy take on Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, the story of an 8 year old girl forced to attend Weight Watchers, and a pair of romance novels that grapple with the intersection of love and mental health.

Top Pick: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

A retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, Kingfisher’s latest adds the
creepiest of flesh to the bare-bones tale by Poe. Complete with a scary,
isolated mansion and eerie behaviors of the residents, this version not only
makes perfect sense within the original narrative, but adds a depth of
understanding that suddenly makes all the pieces fall into place. For fans of
Mexican Gothic, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Night Stranger. —Sheri Stanley, Gulfport Library

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Adult, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, New & Upcoming, Romance, Science Fiction, Thrillers

Library Reads: March 2022

Posted on March 11, 2022March 10, 2022 by Carol

What are librarians reading in March? This month’s picks include the story of a delivery boy thrown into an inter-dimensional Jurassic Park, a twisted horror tale set deep in the Mojave Desert, and a thriller about a family forced into Witness Protection.

Top Pick: Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Meddy Chan is getting married, and the wedding planners are perfect–until Meddy overhears the wedding photographer talking about murdering someone at the reception. Her aunties spring into action, setting into motion a series of madcap misadventures intended to save Meddy’s special day. A charming combo of close-knit family, humor, and light mystery. — LibraryReads review by Nanette Donohue, Champaign Public Library

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Adult, Award Winners, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Mystery, New & Upcoming, Romance, Thrillers

LibraryReads Picks: February 2022

Posted on February 11, 2022February 11, 2022 by Carol

Every month, librarians from across the country pick the 10 upcoming releases they’re most excited to read. This month’s picks include a thriller set in Paris, a story about “the other woman” in Agatha Christie’s marriage, two queer romances, and a mystery revolving around the theft of a Stradivarius violin.

Top Pick: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

Foley hits it out of the ballpark with this solid thriller set in a Paris apartment
building. Jess goes looking for her brother, but finds only the smell of bleach
and a broken St. Christopher medal lodged in the floorboards. Written in short
chapters with multiple points of view and delicious secrets dropped along
the way, this gripping, wild ride is impossible to put down. If you like
Liane Moriarty or Ruth Ware, pick this one up. —LibraryReads review by Douglas Beatty, Baltimore County Public Library

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Adult, Fiction, Mystery, New & Upcoming, Romance, Science Fiction

LibraryReads Picks: January 2022

Posted on January 14, 2022January 14, 2022 by Carol

Looking for a good book to tide you through the coldest months? Here are 10 books coming out this month that librarians are especially excited to pick up.

Top Pick: The Maid by Nita Prose

A socially awkward hotel maid finds herself at the center of a murder investigation when she discovers a wealthy hotel guest dead in his bed one day.

Molly loves her job, loved her recently deceased grandmother, and cherishes the way the rules of her work let her blend in with others. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly’s orderly life is turned on its head the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself very dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s odd demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect and she finds herself in a web of subtext and nuance she has no idea how to untangle.

What to read while you wait:
– The Lazarus Hotel: another locked room mystery set in an upscale hotel
– Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: about an isolated young woman and the friendships she develops after she and a coworker help save an elderly man who collapses
– Pretty as a Picture: a locked room mystery with a protagonist who also just wants to do her job

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Adult, Audience, Fiction, Romance

Love and Romance!

Posted on November 12, 2021November 10, 2021 by Anneliese

One of the book displays on the first floor of the library right now is on diverse romance novels, and it’s pretty amazing to see the variety of covers on there! Of course you have your books that are just some model’s shirtless torso – but romance novels are a lot wider than that, too! We see a lot of popular romance books here at the library with protagonists and love interests of different races, sizes, orientations, so I wanted to highlight some of them here!

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

This book is not Sonali Dev’s latest, but a little older (2016) – which is great, because it means that if you like it, you have a bunch more books by her just waiting for you!

Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her.

Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.

Heartfelt, witty, and thoroughly engaging, Sonali Dev’s novel is both a vivid exploration of modern India and a deeply honest story of love, in all its diversity.

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Adult, Historical, Romance, While You Wait

While You Wait for The Four Winds

Posted on July 16, 2021August 3, 2024 by Carol

With a whopping 200 holds on its various formats, The Four Winds has topped hundreds of people’s summer reading lists. Kristin Hannah’s tale of a woman’s struggle to keep her farm, family, and marriage alive through the Dust Bowl has hooked readers with deft writing and details of the gritty reality of 1930s rural life. But what to do if you’re still waiting for your copy to turn up?

Below are 5 titles to tide you over while you wait.

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Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Mystery, Nonfiction, Romance, Thrillers

6 Books Made to be Read in a Hammock

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Carol

The summer run of books are frequently called “beach reads,” but hammocks are really where it’s at. You don’t have to leave your backyard to enjoy a hammock; it’s typically shaded; and you never get sand in weird places. From real life secrets to a snarky send up of #girlboss wellness culture to a rom-com in a book, here are 6 titles perfect for reading while stretched out in a hammock with a cold drink in reach on a lazy summer day.

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward

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Adult, eBooks & eAudio, Fiction, Historical, Mystery, Romance, Thrillers

New Dual-Format Print/eBooks

Posted on June 26, 2020June 25, 2020 by Anneliese

The library is open again (with limited services, as you can see here); some people are comfortable coming in, while others still want to limit their time in public places. So I’ve put together a little list of some popular new books that are available either in print or as eBooks through Hoopla.

The advantage of Hoopla, of course, is that there’s no waitlist even on popular new titles like these (as long as you haven’t hit your borrowing limit for the month); on the other hand, some people think the feel of a physical book in your hand is worth waiting for.

Descriptions below are taken from either Hoopla or our catalog.

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If I Were You by Lynn Austin: Physical/eBook

From bestselling and eight-time Christy Award-winning author Lynn Austin comes a remarkable novel of sisterhood and self-discovery set against the backdrop of WWII.

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Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, New & Upcoming, Nonfiction, Romance, Science

8 Books to Watch For This Fall

Posted on September 3, 2019September 5, 2019 by Carol

Big names are dominating the fall book press: Margaret Atwood, Bill Bryson, Jon Krakauer and Stephen King are all releasing new titles this season. Here’s what to watch for (and reserve early).

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Over 30 years after the initial release of Atwood’s celebrated dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, she returns to the Republic of Gilead. Set 15 years after the van doors shut behind Offred, the sequel offers the “testaments” of three more women from Gilead.

Release date: September 10

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