This Month's Staff Picks
Eileen
Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand has announced that Swan Song, her 2024 book, is her last. In honor of her Nantucket novels, I recommend Silver Girl. Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing — because her husband Freddy cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars. Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plagued by new and old troubles alike.
Platforms: audio CD, Libby audio
Erica
North woods : a novel by Daniel Mason.
“A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries—a daring, moving tale of memory and fate…Traversing cycles of history, nature, and even literature, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment and to one another, across time, language and space. Written along with the seasons and divided into the twelve months of the year, it is an unforgettable novel about secrets and fates that asks the timeless how do we live on, even after we’re gone?”- Goodreads.
I loved this book. It is unique and special and poetic while remaining frank and relatable. A New England story.
Platforms: book, Libby ebook, audio
Kelly
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Stephen Jay Schneider
This is a great way for movie buffs to dive deep into the list of movies made from 1902 to 1916. Each movie listed includes a photo and a description. This is a wonderful way to find movies that you may have missed watching years ago and to be reminded of your favorites. I regularly look through this book and even sometimes borrow the movies I'd like to see again or see for the first time. If we don't have a copy of a movie here in the library it is almost a sure bet we can borrow it via our Inter-Library Loan system
The movies are listed chronologically from the very first movie listed, "A Trip To The Moon" (1902) to the last, "Moonlight" (2016). In addition, in the front of the book there is an alphabetical listing for those of us who may not remember exactly what year our favorite was released. In the back of the book is also a Genre Index along with a Director Index. A great resource for movie fans, it is just one of the fantastic resource book in our non-fiction section of the library.
Platforms: book
Linda
Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen
Setting: Post World War II, Vermont Maple Bishop is ahead of her time. She is unconventional in many ways. She is college educated and holds a law degree. She speaks her mind and is an independent thinker. To escape the hustle and bustle of city living Maple and her husband Bill, a physician, move to a small town in Vermont. Bill was an excellent doctor but he was not a businessman. He dies unexpectedly and Maple learns she is financially destitute.
Unable to secure work as a lawyer, she decides to sell the miniature houses she has been making. Her work is popular and within hours of setting-up shop, she has her first customer! Late one afternoon Maple arrives at the customer’s home only to find his lifeless body hanging from the barn rafters.
Maple is detail-oriented and trained to look for the “devil in the details.” Her observations of the scene raise questions. The local sheriff isn’t interested in what Maple has to say (her delivery is part of her problem). A young officer of the law is sympathetic to Maple and Maple and Kenny form a partnership to investigate the supposed suicide.
No spoiler alert here!
This debut novel is a combination of historic fiction with a touch of Who Done It. The author was inspired to write this book after listening to an interview on NPR about Frances Glessner Lee, the mother of forensic science. Lee created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death --20 true crime scene dioramas used for training homicide investigators. At the time of her death, Frances Glessner Lee was a resident of Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Platforms: book, Libby (ebook)
Platforms: book, Libby (ebook)
Rebecca
Secretly Yours: A Vine Mess #1 byTessa Bailey
“I can’t be expected to make promises, under the influence of pasta and wine!” Hallie Welch is the bubbly gardener that is hired to revamp the Vos Estate gardens. Julian Vos is the prodigal son who has returned while on sabbatical from his ivy league job, planning to pen a novel. Their polar opposite personalities class spectacularly in this spicy rom-com.
Rating: 5/5 stars.
Platforms: book, Libby ebook
Samantha
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
The first part of a sequel trilogy to the classic fantasy novel The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring features the young hobbit Frodo Baggins as he discovers and ultimately begins an epic quest to destroy a magic ring in order to prevent evil from consuming Middle Earth. I would definitely recommend The Fellowship of the Ring for its classic themes of adventure, perseverance in the face of hardship, and companionship. Another fantasy classic every bit as enchanting as The Hobbit, readers will soon find themselves immersed in the wide world of Middle Earth along with the tales and journeys that happen in it.
Platforms: book, Libby (eboook/audio)
Past Staff Picks
Staff picks July 2024
Staff picks June 2024
Staff Picks May 2024
Staff Picks April 2024
Staff Picks March 2024
Staff Picks February 2024