Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fiction, Historical, Nonfiction

While You Wait January 2024: The Women & Oath and Honor

Posted on January 19, 2024January 16, 2024 by Zachary

Winter has finally arrived for us here in Wisconsin. I can’t say that I have been loving the biting winds on my walk to work. But it’s perfect weather to curl up with a book and get some reading done. I’ve rounded up the top fiction and nonfiction books from our holds list. This month we have The Women by Kristin Hannah and Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney blazing up our lists here at Mead. But don’t despair! There are a couple other books you can check out while you wait for those two books. For all of the books in this week’s post, I’ve included the book’s description from our catalog. Stay warm, everyone!

The Women by Kristin Hannah (Large Print)

“When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.”

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Nonfiction

While You Wait November 2023: Mother-Daughter Murder Night and Counting the Cost

Posted on November 17, 2023November 13, 2023 by Anneliese

Two months in a row with a non-fiction book topping the most-requested items list – it certainly seems to be the season of the memoir this fall! And this time, it’s Britney Spears’ new book, The Woman in Me, that everyone wants a copy of. And on the fiction side, we have quite a few familiar names as the big authors release new books in time for holiday gift-giving. At the top of that list is Kristin Hannah’s The Women. Get on the waitlists ASAP, and while you wait, check out the similar titles we’ve picked out below!

The Women by Kristin Hannah

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nonfiction

While You Wait October 2023: Mother-Daughter Murder Night and Counting the Cost

Posted on October 6, 2023October 4, 2023 by Anneliese

This is a first for this series – the non-fiction book this month has more holds than any of the fiction books! Sometimes, to be honest, I have to scroll quite a ways down our list of most popular holds to find a non-fiction book. People just prefer fiction, I guess! But this month, Jill Duggar’s memoir has shot way up the library’s charts. And on the fiction side, we have a murder mystery that is also a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Get on the holds list, and check out some readalikes while you wait!

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of: her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does.

Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking near their bungalow. Jack quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power.

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, History, Nonfiction

Your Next 5 Books: History & Hollywood Glamour

Posted on September 29, 2023January 11, 2024 by Carol

Patron Lori T.* recently asked us to track her down some history and biography titles using our Your Next 5 Books service, and graciously allowed us to share her interests and answers. Lori was particularly interested in biographies of people in the entertainment industry, especially those from the mid-century era of glamour, as well as Wisconsin history, but wanted to stay away from World War II or true crime books.

My main interest is biographies. I especially enjoy biographies about famous people/stars in the 1940’s & 1950’s, including about places like the Catskill and French Riviera resorts during that time. I’d also like to find a biography of Lawrence O’Donnell and Rachael Maddow, and Desi Arnaz’s [of “I Love Lucy”] biography A Book.

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fiction, History, Nonfiction

While You Wait September 2023: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store and American Prometheus

Posted on September 8, 2023September 7, 2023 by Anneliese

We’ve got some heavy hitters in the popular books this month. First up is the winner of the National Book Award, James McBride’s new novel The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. In non-fiction, we have a much older book – it’s rare to see a book from 2006 with so many requests! But when you look at the book, it’s very clear why; American Prometheus was Christopher Nolan’s inspiration for the new movie Oppenheimer.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.

As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Nonfiction

While You Wait July 2023: Fourth Wing and The Book of Charlie

Posted on July 14, 2023July 11, 2023 by Anneliese

Another couple of unique picks this month – seems like people are branching out in the summer, or publishers are branching out in the summer! The top fiction book looks to be an action-packed fantasy complete with war, dragons, and political intrigue. Then, on the non-fiction side, we have a book about the life-lived wisdom of 109-year-old Charlie: both the stories of his life and what he’s learned from those experiences.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Contemporary, Fiction, History, Nonfiction, Romance

While You Wait XII: Someone Else’s Shoes and The Nazi Conspiracy

Posted on February 17, 2023February 13, 2023 by Anneliese

It’s amazing – this month we have neither a thriller nor a memoir! Instead, our very popular new fiction book is Jojo Moyes’ new novel Someone Else’s Shoes, which seems poised to be a popular book club pick in the future as well. And for non-fiction, The Nazi Conspiracy is topping our charts, filled with spies, assassins, and political intrigue. Get on the waitlists now, and check out our read-alikes while you wait!

Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes

Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?

Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope–she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag–she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nonfiction, Thrillers

While You Wait XI: The House in the Pines and The Light We Carry

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Anneliese

In December, the popular upcoming fiction book was a thriller, and the non-fiction book was a celebrity memoir. And in January… it looks like people are hankering for more of the same! Get on those waitlists now, and check out our readalikes in the meantime!

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin. . . .

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nonfiction, Thrillers

While You Wait X: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six and Spare

Posted on December 16, 2022December 15, 2022 by Anneliese

The books that everyone in Sheboygan is waiting for in December are a new thriller (always a popular genre to curl up with in winter) and, perhaps unsurprisingly, another celebrity memoir – this time from Prince Harry, coinciding with the new Netflix documentary. Both of these books have long waitlists, so get on them now – and, while you wait, check out some of our suggested read-alikes!

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

What could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s generous brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It’ll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R.

But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare.

A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep.

How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?

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Adult, Biography & Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nonfiction, Thrillers

While You Wait IX: Mad Honey and Live Wire

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Anneliese

We’re back to the regular format of one fiction book and one non-fiction book this month! This time, we have a new entry in a popular series: Colleen Hoover’s new book is due to come out next month. The non-fiction book is another memoir – it seems like people can’t get enough of reading about people overcoming their past difficulties, especially if it comes with some Hollywood/celebrity drama!

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father’s beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can trust him completely…

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

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