Mandel Public Library Of West Palm Beach: September Library Staff Picks

West Palm Beach FL

24 September, 2021

10:48 AM

Description

Press release from Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach: 09/23/2021 12:47 PM Happy fall, dear readers! We hope you're finding lots of great books to cozy up with this season. If you need some suggestions, here are our staff's recent favorites! Natalia's Pick: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's account of his service in the POUM militia during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. This book provides great insight as to Orwell's inspiration for writing classics like 1984 and Animal Farm. Leah's Pick: 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King 'Salem's Lot is Stephen King doing what Stephen King does best – scaring the living daylights out of you! Small-town Maine, creepy houses, dark forces...this would be an excellent book right around Halloween, which is coming up faster than you realize…..boo! Kathy's Pick: Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold If you have an early reader who likes to laugh and doesn't mind if things get a little gross, meet Fly Guy! Some kids have dogs, cats, or fish for pets, but not Buzz, who has a pet fly. Join these two friends on all sorts of funny adventures. My son gives the series two thumbs up! Jin's Pick: Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny Want to chuckle without too much drama? Want to feel humanity? Want to read a book but enjoy a story that's like chatting with a friend? This book is perfect for that. A second-grade teacher moves to a small town and falls in love with a widower who has made his way around with the women in the area. The charming story is told in sections across 17 years. Coffee and chocolate chip cookies will be best to pair with this book. Sophie's Pick: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan With lovely, searing language and a plot that joins Mulan and The Song of Achilles, this book is a must-read for lovers of character-driven plots, high stakes, and historical fiction. Theresa's Pick: Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford This memoir by Ashley Ford is an honest and compelling story of growing up poor with a father in prison an abusive mother and having to deal with racism. Certainly, her memoir will not give you the "warm fuzzies" but instead will show how resilient a woman can be when faced with many hardships. Lisa's Pick: Ghosted by Rosie Walsh A quick and suspenseful love story with lots of twists and turns. It starts with Sarah meeting Eddie while visiting him back home. They spend seven days straight together, and then he leaves for vacation. Then she never hears from him again. Sarah knows something has happened and is looking for an explanation. She eventually understands his absence, and it's all about what they didn't share while together for those long seven days and nights. Faith's Pick: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik This was a fantastic book reminiscent of old faerie tales. Three stories about three different women in a fantastical medieval Russia who use their wits, honesty, and love of family to survive the Winter Staryk and an evil Tsar. Sandra's Pick: The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris Two young Black women, Nella and Hazel, meet in a New York City book publishing company where before now, Nella was the only Black person. While working together at Wagner Books, they've only just started swapping natural hair-care tips when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to office darling and pushes Nella to the sideline. This is Harris's first book, and I see a movie in the making! Lena's Pick: Still Alice by Lisa Genova This book is not happy reading, but it is eye-opening in many ways. It is a realistic portrayal of an intelligent, independent woman facing early-onset Alzheimer's disease. It is painful to read through frightening incidents of Alice's forgetting things and events, from her denial to gradual acceptance of the diagnosis. During the disease's rapid progression, she becomes more and more dependent on her husband and three grown children to guide her through each day. It is a very moving story and a lesson in sympathy, understanding, and humanity. Emily's Pick: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee Monty, the son of an English Lord, embarks on his grand tour of Europe hoping to satisfy his cravings for gambling, drinking, and sex. But his disapproving father assigns him an overbearing chaperon, and on top of that, he is madly in love with his best friend and traveling companion, Percy, and doesn't know how to tell him. The tour soon takes a turn from boring lectures to an all-out death-defying adventure across Europe. Charming, hilarious, and heart-pumping, this is the first book in a trilogy that can be described as Downton Abbey meets Pirates of the Caribbean. I highly recommend the audiobook versions for full British accent effects. The third book will be out this November! Antoinette's Pick: The Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare I was looking for a fantasy/fey book, and my search sent me to this series. I read the original series, The Mortal Instruments, a long time ago, and I love seeing the growth of the characters in this sequel series. I learned more about the mundanes, Underworlders, and more. The weaving of this fantasy draws me to learn more about the world. Kimi's Pick: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater This felt like a cuter (and so much shorter) version of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell with dashes of regency England rom-com thrown in. Half a Soul is about a woman who is trying to blend into society after being was cursed by a faerie, losing half her soul. This is the first in a series with the final book coming out next month. So, this is a great time to check it out! This press release was produced by Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.