Category: Librarian’s Choice
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Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer
Review by Elizabeth, Public Services One dull morning as security consultant “Jane Smith” leaves the coffee shop in Jeff Vandermeer’s Hummingbird Salamander, a barista hands her an envelope. No one knows who left it for Jane the night before, but Jane takes it anyway, welcoming the turn away from her routines of work and husband…
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Librarian’s Choice: Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
Shortly before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I discovered one of those books you want to share from the rooftops. It captured me, engaged me, and made me really think about how we engage with other people. I was ready to review it – when you find those books you can’t put down, of…
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What If? Three Books About Big Decisions.
By Lisa Navidi, Davis Library Three women make life changing decisions. Was it worth it? The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab Addie LaRue, born in a village in France, was 23 years old in 1714 and was determined to live a free life. But her parents were more determined to marry her to…
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Between Dreams and Reality
The Heavens by Sandra Newman Reviewed by Elizabeth L., Public Services In the year 2000, life in Manhattan feels like a utopia: the UN is eradicating global poverty, carbon emissions are falling worldwide, and with President Chen in office, the United States is at peace. Sedate Ben is busy with his job and PhD studies,…
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Leonard and Hungry Paul, and More Books About People Finding Their Way
Review by Mark Santoro, Aspen Hill LibraryLeonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession is a gentle story about two thirty-something, single men who are somewhat lost and late in finding their way in the world. It’s a debut novel for Hession, a popular Irish musician. In an era of discord and increasing public bitterness, the story is a welcome dose of tenderness and hope as it studies the ordinary lives…
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Librarian’s Choice – Friendship in a Time of Tragedy
By Lisa Navidi, Davis Library Every year the Maryland Humanities Commission, through The One Maryland One Book program chooses a book that promotes discussion in the community and sponsors book discussions throughout Maryland. For 2020 they chose The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, one of the most memorable books I have read this…
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Family Fun Thanksgiving Books for Kids
Thanksgiving is the ultimate family holiday, and there’s no better time to share Thanksgiving books together with our closest people! This list of picture books and juvenile fiction titles with a family and fun theme are perfect for sharing with kids, siblings, caregivers–in person or over Zoom! And best of all, they’re all available at…
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Librarian’s Choice – The Last Human
The galaxy depicted in The Last Human, by Zack Jordan, is huge, home to countless trillions of beings and connected by an unimaginably complex communications and transportation network. Sarya, who’s considered just barely legally sentient, couldn’t possibly begin to understand the vastness of the galaxy, nor the network that binds it together. But despite her…
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Librarian’s Choice – Small Town Fiction
By Lisa Navidi, Davis Library Small town fiction has always appealed to me, maybe because I grew up in several small towns. I especially enjoy the characters and the way they interact with each other…or not. They say all politics is local. And whoever has lived in a small town knows that for sure. Experience…
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Librarian’s Choice – Lost But Not Forgotten
Review by Elizabeth Lang, Public Services I recently read the Wired.com article “Why Humans Totally Freak Out When They Get Lost” by Michael Bond. I learned that when we get disoriented, we panic, often leaving the area where anyone might expect to find us, and that we tend to do this even when we know…
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Librarian’s Choice – Let Sleeping Giants Lie
If a giant robot hand was found near your backyard, how would your national government react? Would it tell the world, seek other nations’ help to find the other parts, and use what they learned for the betterment of all? Nah, mine neither. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel begins when a girl falls into a…
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Librarian’s Choice – A Curious Beginning to a Curious Series
There is something to the phrase “never judge a book by its cover.” When I first saw the original cover of A Curious Beginning, my curiosity was piqued. The cover, pink and gilded, showed a woman in Victorian-ish dress running from something with her back to the reader. I wanted to read it. It took…