Nevermore: Demon Copperhead, Martha Odyssey, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 

Nevermore 10-7-25

Reported by Rita

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The teenage son of an Appalachian single mother who dies when he's eleven uses his good looks, wit, and instincts to survive foster care, child labor, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.

I didn't like it enough to finish it on my first try, but the second attempt was much better and had me enthralled. - NH 5 stars

The Martha Odyssey by Bonny Gable
The campus is full of ghosts, they say. But are Beatrice's demons from the past or the present? It's 1915 and young Beatrice Damron burns to become a professional classical pianist. She leaves behind her meager mountain home and enters Martha Washington College to study at its well-regarded music conservatory, unaware of what lies in wait for her there. Thrilled to exhibit her prowess with Beethoven and Brahms, she wows students and professors alike. Yet a menacing presence lurks that bedevils her. Beatrice seeks solace beyond the college halls and discovers a simpler world with Jonah, the town outcast. Captivated with this newfound joy, she begins to lead two separate lives. But when tragedy strikes, her two worlds collide with life-threatening consequences-and Jonah is at the center of it all. To avert further disaster, Beatrice must take dangerous risks that may cost her everything.

Incredible! I couldn't put it down. MH 5 stars

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

A very quick read filled with fascinating characters. I enjoyed it very much. GP 5 stars


Other Books Mentioned

The Association by Sharon Ann Ziegler
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr
Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants by Jane Goodall
Land of the Dead: How the West Changed Death in America by Terry Hamburg
Captivity of the Oatman Girls by Royal B. Stratton, Olive A. Oatman
The World Made Straight by Ron Rash
The Peculiar Gift of July by Ashley Ream
The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

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)

Our Favorite Books Read in 2023: Kristin

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley - a moving story about a man and his dog Lily who has a mysterious octopus attached to her head.

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - when a 1960s woman scientist is rejected by her male peers, she ends up on a television cooking show using her chemistry education.

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - a lovely story about family, human and octopus alike.

 

Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen - a laugh out loud island-based reality show, complete with a gorilla/bigfoot/creature.

 

With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson - my favorite author with a main character fiercely protecting her family from a stalker.

 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - a story of childhood best friends and the changes life throws their way.

 

Pageboy by Elliot Page - a memoir from a young actor and LGBTQ+ activist.

 

High School by Sara Quin and Tegan Quin - the early story of Tegan and Sara, Canadian twins and singer-songwriters, with an accompanying television production available on Freevee.

 

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan - a story of mothers and their teenagers, love, loss, and finding the strength to continue.

 

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki - violins, donuts, spaceships, and a deal with a devil, these things make up what is probably my favorite book this year.

 

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - this tale of time agents who plot their moves for centuries flows beautifully as Red and Blue become more than adversaries.

 

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis - another laugh out loud tale, this one featuring a bridesmaid who simply wants to save her best friend from herself, but ends up being abducted by a very needy alien.

 

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, set in Southwest Virginia, Demon is a young boy who experiences more than his share of losses.

 

Starter Villain by John Scalzi - one day Charlie has less than $100 to his name, the next he is heir to his long lost villain uncle's billions; fortunately he has his own brains and talking cats to help him navigate his new life.

Nevermore: Four Thousand Weeks, Bean Trees, A House Somewhere

 

Reported by Rita

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman is a philosophical guide to time and time management. Our reader said the book cites several studies so it wasn’t an easy lay-person’s read but was still very enjoyable. An important point is that it offers the perspective that it’s okay not to be busy all of the time. KM

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver follows a young woman from rural Kentucky traveling to Arizona in a rundown Volkswagen. When she unexpectedly becomes the caretaker of a three-year-old Native American girl, she finds herself examining her relationships and what it means to be a family. MS

A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad edited by Lonely Planet staff is a collection of short stories from several contemporary authors. The stories give a glimpse inside the writers’ homes and what it is like to leave a familiar place for something new. Our reader was especially fond of the chapter by Isabel Allende which shows her light and funny side. CD

 

Also Mentioned:

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

The Story of Becoming Piney Flats by Robert Sorrell

Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

New Books:

Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights by Gretchen Sorin

The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000 Mile Journey into the Old West by Will Grant

When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson edited by Ellen Datlow

Appalachian Witchcraft for Beginners: The History, Remedies, and Spells of a Rich Folk Magic Tradition by Auburn Lily

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z Guide of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic by John Mathews, Caitlin Matthews

Nevermore: Demon Copperhead, Lessons from the Edge, Lessons in Chemistry, Birdseye

 

Reported by Kristin

Our first Nevermore member picked up Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, noting that she was only on page 79 after hours and hours of reading. The young boy who is the titular character has such a dysfunctional family that our reader felt very protective of him, and wishes that she could have been his foster parent. Demon’s father has everyone snowed even though he’s a terrible person, and Demon grows up in a very difficult situation. Despite the rough going, our reader hopes to make it through the 600+ pages of the book from this Southwest Virginia author, especially since the characters are so well developed.

 

Lessons from the Edge by Marie Yovanovich intrigued another reader, as this memoir is by the former United States Ambassador to Ukraine. Yovanovich writes about the extreme corruption that ran rampant through the government. She does have optimism that Volodymyr Zelensky, the president since 2019, can strengthen the integrity of the country and improve worldwide relationships. Our reader states that Yovanovich writes very well on such important and timely topics.

Another “Lesson” title came in much lighter but also highly praised: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Touted as a feminist fairy tale, this popular novel features Elizabeth Zott, a female scientist in the 1960s who isn’t taken very seriously and ends up running a cooking show. Cooking is chemistry, after all. Our reader said that this was another bit of brain candy where the bad guys are bad, the heroine is good, and justice is served in the end, making this a fully satisfying read. 

Another reader was fascinated by Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man by Mark Kurlansky, the first biography of Clarence Birdseye, known as the “father of frozen food”. Birdseye invented a process for freezing food on a large scale, which could then be distributed and sold to households all over the country. According to our reader, Birdseye was a highly inventive man and once he registered a patent for an invention, he sold it and happily moved on to his next project. Our reader “loved it!”

Also mentioned:

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Whale Day: And Other Poems by Billy Collins

Dogfight by Calvin Trillin

Last Things by C.P. Snow

My Dream of You by Nuala O’Faolain

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

The Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

3 books in Maisy Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

Night Shift by Robin Cook

Booked: A Traveler's Guide to Literary Locations Around the World by Richard Kreitner

Wonders in the Sky: Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times by Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck

Spare by Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber

Nevermore: Cleopatra, Girl in Duluth, Best American Science and Nature Writing, Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven

 

Reported by Garry

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff is the biography of one of the most famous women in history. Cunning, ambitious and utterly cutthroat in her pursuit of power (she waged a civil war against one brother, poisoned another and had her sister killed), she was one of the most powerful women in the Middle East, forging ties with the Roman Empire that still echo today. Schiff utilizes classical sources to reconstruct the life (and death at age 40) of this fascinating icon of history.  SH

The Girl in Duluth by Sigrid Brown tells the harrowing story of June Bergeron – an 18 year old whose mother has disappeared. Fearing the worst, June investigates the disappearance and is pulled into the dark, violent underbelly of northern Minnesota, and her own family’s dark secrets. This tight-paced thriller really captivated our reader who stated that the characters are particularly well-written and relatable.  MS

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2021 edited by Ed Young. “Excellent. Absolutely excellent.” was the review by our reader. In this compilation of the best science and nature articles written in the US in 2020, editor Ed Young has curated a collection that spans three broad topics: Contagion, Connection, and Consequences. Our reader has been a fan of this series of compilations for quite some time and states that this collection of articles ranks up there with the best.  CD

The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven are a duology by Barbara Kingsolver that follow the story of Missy, a spirited young lady from poor, rural Kentucky, who decides to get away and change her life. Changing her name to Taylor is the first step. Driving to Tucson, Arizona is the second. Life has other plans for her, though, as within hours of arriving in Tucson, she is handed a 3-year-old Cherokee girl named Turtle. Taylor adopts the young girl and settles in Tucson, setting roots where she did not intend. When a lawyer for the Cherokee nation starts to investigate the (highly unorthodox) adoption of Turtle, Taylor and Turtle’s new life begins to crumble.  MH

Also mentioned:

Just Came for the Donuts – NH    (   :D   )

Valley of the Amazons by Noretta Koertge

Why Nations Fail:  The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by Darren Acemoglu and James Robinson

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier

Out of Istanbul:  A Journey of Discovery along the Silk Road by Bernard Ollivier

Picking Cherries

Surviving the White Gaze: A Memoir by Rebecca Caroll

Switchboard Soldiers by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

The Regulators by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

The Sweet Remnants of Summer by Alexander McCall Smith

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Trashlands by Alison Stine

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins

The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman

Nevermore: Peach Keeper, Florence of Arabia, Overstory, At the Edge of the Orchard, Hand to Mouth, Poisonwood Bible

Reported by Kristin

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen provided a much-needed light, summery read for one of our Nevermore readers this week. Willa Jackson and Paxton Osgood have known each other for years, having grown up in the same small town although not necessarily running in the same social circles. When Paxton buys and restores the old Jackson family home in order to open an inn, history rises to the present in the form of a skeleton found beneath a peach tree. Allen weaves stories together from generation to generation, creating a captivating atmosphere of friendship.

Following with more fiction, another reader thoroughly enjoyed Florence of Arabia by Christopher Buckley. Clearly satire, this novel approaches Arab-American relations with a level of irreverence sure to enchant and/or offend its readers. In the country of “Wasabia,” a junior diplomat decides to try to fix the injustices of the Middle East by granting full citizenship and rights to women. Our reader found some references to other countries very obvious and some rather subtle, and altogether funny.

In somewhat more serious fiction, our next reader described The Overstory by Richard Powers, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, as an awesome book. Beautifully written, this novel examines the natural world through a series of connected stories. As nine different characters are moving through their separate lives, they each discover a connection to trees. Our reader was enthralled by the relationships between the people and trees, and how the manner in which trees live, grow, and even communicate with each other mirrors the interdependency necessary for human survival.

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier is a frontier story, with James and Sadie Goodenough settling in Ohio in 1838. Their son Robert escapes his difficult family by moving westward with the California Gold Rush. Trees popped up here again (as you might guess from the title,) as the characters were involved in shipping saplings and seedlings from the West Coast to England. Our reader said that it was a very enjoyable book about starting anew.

The discussion then turned to non-fiction with Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado. This is a real working poor memoir by a woman who details her struggles of maintaining multiple jobs while struggling to keep her family above water. Our reader felt that this was a perspective not usually seen, and that the author had done a good job of raising her children to learn for themselves and to be curious in life. Much discussion ensued, with various readers weighing in with their opinions on how the author had included a running commentary on how important cigarettes were to help her get through another long walk to work or to steal even a moment of

relaxation.

Lastly, another reader admitted that she was still in the middle of but still enjoying The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. This epic tale is spun from the perspective of a Baptist missionary’s wife. Nathan Price is dispatched to the Belgian Congo in 1959 along with his wife and their four daughters. Our reader’s main comment thus far was the fact that the wife sees how terribly her husband treats his family, but she still believes in his mission.