Monday, April 7, 2025

National Library Week Staff Picks: Candess, Michelle, Taylor, Tonia

 In honor of National Library Week, we asked Staff members to pick out some of their favorite books from the past couple of years.  We'll be posting picks every day this week.  As a bonus, library director Tonia Kestner will have a brief review each day. Enjoy!

Tonia



The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

 

I really enjoyed The Bog Wife, a haunting and beautifully written Appalachian tale set in the hills of West Virginia. The story has a dreamlike, fantastical quality that draws you in from the beginning, but what stuck with me most was how grounded it is in family—especially the complicated bond between siblings. The characters are so well-developed that I found myself deeply invested in each of them as they struggled to navigate the crumbling world around them.

The setting—a decaying family mansion near a mysterious bog—is rich with atmosphere, and the sense of desperation that builds as the expected “bog wife” fails to appear was both eerie and emotional. I loved how the book explored the tension between honoring a dark family legacy and trying to carve out your own path. It doesn’t offer easy answers, and by the end I had more questions than resolutions—but in a good way. It’s the kind of story that lingers and makes you think long after it’s over. I keep hoping there will be a sequel, but in the meantime, this is a great choice for book clubs. There’s so much to unpack and discuss, and it’s a story that really stays with you.



Candess

The Inmate by Freida McFadden 

The Burning by Linda Castillo 

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks 

Demon Copperhead  by Barbara Kingsolver

Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

    


 

Michelle

Sound of Glass by Karen White

Flight Patterns by Karen White

 


Taylor N.

 Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir by Walela Nehanda  (YA)


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