by Samantha Totman, Senior Circulation Librarian
We librarians have been busy reading all summer, and we’re ready to share some of our favorites (so far)! Check out the titles we’ve recently loved below.
And don’t forget that it’s not too late to join our Summer Reading program! Log the books you read (or listen to) this summer for a chance to win raffle prizes. Learn more on our Summer Reading page.
Abby, Director
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Book | eBook | eAudiobook
This was such a sweet, kind, and comforting read! Mika is an adult, orphaned witch and not allowed to gather with other witches in case someone notices their power. When she is asked to teach three young orphaned witches to handle their magic, she gets caught up in a found family she never expected and isn’t sure what to do when that family is threatened with exposure. There’s a cute romance, as well, but this book was really about loneliness and belonging and a very lovable cast of characters.
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May
Book | Large Print
Lately, I’ve found it harder to focus in my downtime, so I was excited to find this book that is all about rediscovering a sense of awe in nature and our immediate surroundings. May writes with humor, empathy, thoughtfulness, and a lot of candor, which made this book very easy to get into. She’s not at all preachy or judgmental. Instead, the book spends time simply describing her own process of getting back to swimming, berry picking, and stargazing in a way that feels welcoming and exciting again.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Book | eBook | eAudiobook
Very different from my first two picks! The narrator in this book could not be more annoyed, sarcastic, or vulgar. Gideon is an orphan and an incredible swordfighter who has been treated terribly the Ninth House until they ask her to be the swordswoman for Harrow the Necromancer. This book is a dark fantasy crossed with a locked-door mystery, two of my favorite genres in one! Very macabre, very funny, and I spent the whole time trying to guess who was behind everything. This book was delightful.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Book | eBook | eAudiobook
I’m usually not a big fan of fairy books, but I loved this! Emily Wilde, a grumpy, introverted scholar travels to the remote village of Hrafnsvik to meet the “HIdden Ones”, the only faeries she has not yet cataloged for her encyclopaedia. She is having a hard time getting the locals to warm up to her, when her frustrating (and handsome) academic rival arrives, charming everyone and taking over Emily’s research. Filled with adventure and danger at every turn, I flew through this in under two days. It was so compelling and a lot of fun.
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon
Book
A very enjoyable, spooky cozy mystery! Gethsemane Brown, an extremely talented classical musician, is offered a dream job in Ireland only to find out upon arrival it has been given to the conductor’s girlfriend. Left with few options, she takes a job turning a group of high school boys in a rural village into an award-winning orchestra. It even comes with a cottage previously owned by a deceased, world-renowned musician. Except that he is still there, haunting the place after being accused of his wife’s murder. And he wants Gethsemane to clear his name. I can’t wait for the next book to come in for me.
Barbara, Reference
The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende, translated by Francis Riddle
Book | Large Print | eBook | CD Audiobook | eAudiobook | Playaway
I listened to the audiobook of this novel read by Edoardo Ballerini and Maria Liatis. The past and present are interwoven as the novel traces the impact of war on a young boy in Europe during 1938 and a young girl in the United States in 2019. Samuel Adler’s life is gravely impacted during Kristallnacht in 1938, forcing his family to send him to safety in England. Eight decades later Anita Diaz flees danger in El Salvador. An interesting novel depicting the sacrifices made by parents and the strength of the children to survive on their own.
The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
Book | Large Print | eBook | CD Audiobook | eAudiobook
Having enjoyed The Personal Librarian written by these authors, I was eager to read this title. Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt meet at a luncheon in the Roosevelt home. As their relationship grows and strengthens, they help to develop and move forward the civil rights movement in this country, while challenging the beliefs each woman held throughout their lives.
The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel
Book | eBook | eAudiobook
Katy Hessel is a British historian whose focus is women artists and educating the public about the history of art from the perspective of the role of women artists. The title of the book is a reference to one of the most well known books about art history, The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich, published in 1978, the focus of which is male artists, those taught in many courses on art history (Gombrich’s title is included in the Lynnfield Library collection). Hessel’s book refocuses the canon of art history between the Renaissance to the present.
Joan, Youth Services
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
Book | Large Print | eAudiobook
This series is based in Charleston and revolves around a psychic real estate agent who hates admitting she can see ghosts. It has humor, romance, mystery, danger, and friendship – total package. There are seven books in the series.
Kathe, Reference
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Book | Large Print | eBook | CD Audiobook | eAudiobook
A novel that tells the many facets of Indian culture through an engaging story.
Katherine, Head of Circulation
The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
Book | eBook
Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis & Barbara Ross
Book | Large Print | eBook
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Book | | eBook | eAudiobook
Marita, Assistant Director
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Book
An apparently light hearted, silly book at first, this quickly becomes a very dystopian novel. The plot doesn’t so much twist as it spirals ever downward towards darkness. Fans of Fforde’s book The Eyre Affair will probably enjoy this. It’s got the same bonkers imaginativeness. The sequel, Red Side Story, comes out in February, and I will definitely be on the hold list for it.
From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
Book | Large Print | CD Audiobook
Caitlin Doughty is a mortician who is a proponent of natural burial, and she has written a delightfully macabre book. She wants everyone to know that death doesn’t have to be weird or creepy, and that death rituals don’t have to be done in just one way. This book is her travelogue of all of the places she’s traveled to learn about rituals surrounding death, and the endless ways that humans celebrate the end of life.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Book | eBook | CD Audiobook | eAudiobook | Playaway
This is a book I’ve probably read half a dozen times. It’s the tale of Simon Snow, the greatest magician who ever lived. If you’ve ever wondered why all of those heroic orphaned children in fantasy novels don’t have the kind of problems real kids would in that situation, this is the book for you. Simon needs to defeat the Insidious Humdrum, and win the war with the Old Families. But his girlfriend just broke up with him, his best friend is in a fight with her mom, and his roommate who might be evil is missing. Or plotting. Probably both. And anyway, what’s he supposed to do with his life once he finishes high school, ages out of foster care, and is no longer a child-hero?
Rachel, Reference
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak
Book
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Book | eBook | CD Audiobook | eAudiobook
Samantha, Circulation
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
Book | eAudiobook
I didn’t expect to love the format of this book but the oral history style really suited the story. I was pulled in instantly.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Book | eBook | CD Audiobook | eAudiobook
Far beyond a typical “romance.” Very well plotted and emotional.
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Book | Large Print | eBook | eAudiobook | Playaway
Completely engrossing.
Spencer, Head of Technical Services
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Nintendo Switch Game
I’ve been a lifelong Legend of Zelda fan, and every installment released improves upon the last. Tears of the Kingdom is an improvement on its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, which was incredible in its own right. With a compelling story, complex puzzles to solve, stylish outfits and armor, and incredible abilities, Tears of the Kingdom is immersive and downright fun. I can’t put it down!
Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style by Paul Rudnick
Book | eBook | eAudiobook
This book drew me in right away and helped me escape a reading rut I’ve been in for a few months. The novel begins in the 1970s and follows Nate, a closeted, shy Jewish suburbanite as he starts his first year at Yale. He quickly meets and immediately falls for Farrell Covington, the heir to an ultra-wealthy business empire. The novel follows their relationship over the course of the next several decades. It’s hilarious, heartbreaking, purposely over-the-top, and stylishly compelling.