Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Christina, Laura

Here are two more staff members with lists of their favorite books read in 2023!

Christina:  A black hole is not a hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano (Juvenile audiobook from Libby)

Starter Villain by  John Scalzi (Libby audiobook)

Vera Wong’s unsolicited advice for murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Audiobook)

Losers club by Yvonne Vincent

No better friend by Robert Weintraub

When the corn is waist high by Jeremy Scott (audiobook) This one involves a serial killer and has an extremely unexpected twist.

Nala’s world by Dean Nicholson

The coworker by Freida McFadden

The bandit queens by Parini Shroff

Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is my favorite of the year. It is a very poignant and well written work of fiction (only a tiny bit unbelievable).

 

Laura:  I made a list of 10. Mostly, I like thrillers, but I love books that tell fabulous stories. Mitch Albom is my favorite author of all time and he did not disappoint with his new one!

 

1. The Little Liar by Mitch Albom (As always, broke my heart and then put it back together. Fabulous book!)

 

2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (I kept avoiding this one thinking it would be sad, but it was fabulous!)

 

3. Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden (Wonderful book, I'll have to own it!)

 

4. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult (Fascinating book and I learned so much about bees!)

 

5. This Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (YA book about a school shooting-very well done.)

 

6. Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena

7. You Look Beautiful Tonight by L. R. Jones

8. My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon (Creepy, but really good!)

9. Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich (I had about gotten over the Stephanie Plum series, (too repetitive), but this one made me laugh out loud!)

10. Episode Thirteen by Craig Dilouie (Another scary one. A little wild, but sure kept me interested).

New in October!

 

October 2023 New Books

It's October, so it must be time for the new Christmas books to come out-- or so it seems from the list.  It's certainly time to get into the spirit! (pun may have been intended....) Some big name authors also have non-seasonal titles coming out this month: you may want to put a reserve on some of the more popular ones. 

Andrews, Donna Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!

Cabot, Amanda  Against the Wind

Child, Lee  The Secret

Colgan, Jenny  Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop

DeMille, Nelson  Blood Lines

Evanovich, Janet Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum)

Grisham, John  The Exchange:  After the Firm

Hannah, Sophie  Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night

Herbert, Brian  Princess of Dune

Martin, Charles  The Last Exchange

McCall Smith, Alexander  From a Far and Lovely Country (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency)

McCloskey, David  Moscow X

McDermott, Alice  Absolution

McEntire, Reba  Not That Fancy:  Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots

McMahon, Jennifer  My Darling Girl

Miller, Linda Lael  Christmas in Painted Pony Creek

Morris, Heather Sisters Under the Rising Sun

Nesbo, Jo  The Night House

O’Connor, Carlene  Some of Us Are Looking

Parton, Dolly  Behind the Seams:  My Life in Rhinestones

Rosenfelt, David  ‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas

Sandford, John  Judgment Prey

Steel, Danielle  Second Act

Thayne, RaeAnne  Christmas at the Shelter Inn

Unger, Lisa  Christmas Presents

Ward, Jesmyn  Let Us Descend

Woods, Stuart & Brett Battles Obsession  (Teddy Fay)

Nevermore: Lost German Slave Girl, The Road, Gap Year, Her Last Flight, Miracle at At. Anna, Twisted Twenty Six

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore book club members read widely and love to share their findings with others, whether that be in person or more recently during our Zoom meetings. This week, one reader enjoyed The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey. In 1818, a group of Germans migrated to the United States intending to settle in Philadelphia. After spending months on ships, many of them dying, some of the survivors ended up at the Port of New Orleans where they were treated as indentured servants to pay their expenses. One young girl who lost most of her family is sold into slavery, and doesn’t learn of her heritage until 1843. Our reader found this true story to be really interesting in that New Orleans culture was so richly portrayed using court documents and first person accounts.

The next Nevermore reader was sadly disappointed in one of the books she read this week, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Even though this title is a national bestseller and won McCarthy the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished fiction by an American author, (and even though this reader usually enjoys books about walking,) she found this one to be a total waste of her time and she could not name one thing that she liked about it.

Fortunately, our disappointed reader also picked up a new book by a local author that included walking, and enjoyed it much more. Gap Year: Rambling Through Brambles in England and Scotland by Anna Hess is a retrospective of sketching nature twenty years ago, as the author looks back at her earlier travels during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a small book which uses distinctive art and hand lettering to share her memories. Two more volumes are expected, covering the author’s continued journey through Costa Rica and Australia.

In historical fiction, Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams recounts the tale of Janey Everett, a photographer and war correspondent intent upon researching aviator Sam Mallory. In 1947, Janey is looking back over the last decade of early flight, and seeks answers, that may or may not lie in a remote area of Hawaii. Our reader enjoyed the book and recommended it to others.

Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride was yet another piece of historical fiction, this one also very much enjoyed by our next reader. Four black American soldiers in the Second World War, aka “Buffalo Soldiers,” found a different culture as they served in Italy. A heartwarming story, the black soldiers discovered a community without prejudice based on the color of their skin. Our reader claimed that she could not put it down.

Lastly, another book club member read Twisted Twenty-Six, the latest in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Grandma Mazur is up to her usual high jinks, but this time she makes it all the way to the altar with gangster Jimmy Rosolli. Fortunately, Stephanie doesn’t have to hear about the wedding night, because the groom expires from a heart attack within his first hour of marital bliss. Our reader called this a very silly, light read, and a great escape.

Nevermore: Man & Horse, Cry of the Kalahari, Lee Smith, Nicholas Sparks, Evanovich, Kristin Hannah, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Take It Away, Tommy!

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore has evolved temporarily to meet the demands of social distancing, meeting online via Zoom. Our first member smiled widely onscreen as she discussed Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America by John Egenes. In 1974, the author mounted his horse Gizmo and set out to cross the nation from Ventura, California to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Writing the book decades later, Egenes reflects upon the United States of that era, and how he discovered his own self-worth on his horseback journey.

Another reader picked up Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens, another story of exploration, this time in the wilds of an African desert. Mark and Delia were American PhD students in wildlife zoology who lived in the wilderness for seven years while researching and writing their dissertations. An international bestseller, their tales of lions, jackals, giraffes and more comes highly recommended from our Nevermore member who picked the book up after reading Delia’s fiction debut, the wildly popular Where the Crawdads Sing.

Turning to a regional novel, another reader absolutely loved Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. This first person narrative is filled with the letters of Ivy Rowe, born in the Virginia mountains a century ago. Following Ivy’s life from childhood through her next seven decades, the story is wonderfully rich. Our reader enthusiastically recommended this story and Smith’s beautiful writing.

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks also has connections to our region, being set in Boone Creek, North Carolina. A sequel to True Believer, this is the story of  Lexie and Jeremy, a young couple with a secret to keep, at least until the wedding, that is. Our reader enjoyed the continuing saga, and noted that Sparks is a very prolific author selling millions of books worldwide.

Our next reader had a very strong recommendation, but it was to NOT read the two books she had just finished. She found Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg’s Fox and O’Hare series quite boring, although she valiantly worked her way through the first two books—The Heist and The Chase. Featuring FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare and con man Nicolas Fox (who Kate is naturally forced to pair up with, even as she finds him infuriating,) this slapstick series just couldn’t hold our reader’s interest.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert was much more enjoyable. Henry Whittaker was a poverty stricken Englishman who took to the high seas in the early 1800s, eventually making his fortune and settling in Philadelphia with his accumulated wealth. Our reader was especially impressed with Henry’s daughter, Alma, as she studies moss and explores evolutionary botany before “evolution” has become a household word. This novel comes highly recommended, as do many of Gilbert’s other works.

Kristin Hannah knows how to write about female friendships, and does so very well in Firefly Lane. Forming a connection in middle school, Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart seem to be opposites, but begin a decades long friendship despite their differences. Tully wants to be a television reporter, and pulls Kate along in her wake. Kate really just wants to fall in love and have a family. Hannah writes with humor, and explores how the bonds between women can transcend families and careers.

Finally, Take it Away, Tommy! by Georgia Dunn, was brought to the virtual table by one of our cat and comic loving readers. This collection of comic strips tells the tail, (oops, I mean tale!) of Lupin, Elvis, and Puck, three cats who take on the personas of news reporters to describe the goings-on in their home. Vacuum cleaners, fuzzy blankets, and the case of the missing breakfast are all spotlighted as Dunn imaginatively goes inside the brains of her feline companions. Our reader found it sweet and delightful, and noted that it is especially funny if you know cats.