July’s Library Reads Selections
Archived Posts
4 Genealogy Quick-start Tips
Don’t Leave Home Without Us!
Planning a trip this summer? Don’t forget to stock up on e-books, e-audiobooks, digital music, video and more from AAPLD! Digital resources are easy to use, easy to access, and won’t clutter up the car or load down your luggage.
If you haven’t used our digital collections before, vacation time is the perfect opportunity to give them a try. You’ll find best-sellers, fascinating non-fiction, relaxing beach reads, plus materials for kids and teens. In addition to e-books, choose e-audiobooks for listening on the road or in flight, without having to keep track of CDs. We also offer collections of films, and digital music.
Our Digital Collections page has tutorials and links to your favorite app store. Download the correct app for your digital device, enter your AAPLD card number, and enjoy entertainment on-the-go.
Ebooks, eAudiobooks, and more
Libby/Overdrive– Download up to 15 items per month with your AAPLD library card. Libby offers ebooks, eaudiobooks, and magazines for adults, teens and kids. The extensive collection includes the latest fiction and non-fiction, classic literature, and graphic novels.
Hoopla– Download up to 15 items per month, with no holds, no waiting. Just click and borrow! Hoopla’s collection includes e-books, e-audiobooks, and more.
Axis 360– Download up to 5 items per month. Browse the Axis 360 collection for best-selling fiction, non-fiction, e-books and e-audiobooks, for adults and kids.
Indie Author Illinois– Discover up and coming independent authors writing adult and young adult fiction and non-fiction. There’s no waiting for a title, and books can be checked out for as long as you like. However, you must be in the state of Illinois to access this collection.
Digital Audio and Video
In addition to books, Hoopla also offers CDs, movies, and television series, including selections from AcornTV, home to many popular British and Australian series.
Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and world cinema. Check out up to 10 items per month. The Kanopy Kids collection offers unlimited streaming of TV classics like Sesame Street and animated storytimes from award winning books.
Freegal offers access to about 15 million songs, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists and over 40,000 music videos. In total, the collection is comprised of music from over 40,000 labels with music that originates in over 100 countries. There is no software to download, and there are no digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. You can enjoy unlimited streaming and download up to 5 songs per week.
Summer Reading Staff Picks
Looking for a great summer read? Ask an AAPLD staff member! We love books—reading them, talking about them, and recommending them! Since summer is prime reading season, members of the Adult Services staff would like to share some of our favorite recent reads, and audiobook listens.
If you haven't signed up for 2022 Summer Reading yet, learn more here, or stop by the Adult Services desk.
Mystery
I enjoyed The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James, It was an intriguing mix of psychological thriller and haunting mystery. The main character's interest in writing about true crime and cold cases leads her to a close, and uncomfortably chilling, involvement with a manipulative murder suspect. Recommended by Anne Kunzen, Information Services & Genealogy Librarian
Young Adult/Historical Fiction
The Silent Unseen by Amanda McCrina Poland, July 1944. Sixteen-year-old Maria is making her way home after years of forced labor in Nazi Germany, only to find her village destroyed and her parents killed in a war between the Polish Resistance and Ukrainian nationalists. To Maria’s shock, the local Resistance unit is commanded by her older brother, Tomek―who she thought was dead. He is now a “Silent Unseen,” a special-operations agent with an audacious plan to resist a new and even more dangerous enemy sweeping in from the East. When Tomek disappears, Maria is determined to find him, but the only person who might be able to help is a young Ukrainian prisoner and the last person Maria trusts―even as she feels a growing connection to him that she can’t resist. Recommended by Holly Eberle, Teen Librarian
Non-Fiction
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. With Gladwell, you can’t go wrong. This book is about the importance of both talking and listening, and how communication is a two way process, a really relevant lesson for our time. What’s more, the audiobook uses actual clips of the people being quoted, so you can hear why their words are so insightful. Recommended by Henry Sadowski, Adult Services Librarian
Horror
Beneath The Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett. In a small upstate New York town, teens dare one another to enter an abandoned house with a sinister history, hidden deep in the woods. In the summer of 1994, best friends Clare and Abby take the dare, and are never the same. Fawcett takes familiar horror elements--haunted houses, creepy dolls, dark basements-- and gives them a fresh twist, weaving a scary page-turner I couldn’t put down. Recommended by Elizabeth Harmon, Adult Services Library Associate
Literary Fiction
The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian Tanzania, 1964. When Katie Barstow, A-list actress, and her new husband, David Hill, decide to bring their Hollywood friends to the Serengeti for their honeymoon, they expect civilized adventure: Fresh ice from the kerosene-powered ice maker, dinners of cooked gazelle meat, and plenty of stories to tell over lunch back on Rodeo Drive.
What Katie and her glittering entourage do not expect is this: A kidnapping gone wrong, their guides bleeding out in the dirt, and a team of Russian mercenaries herding them into Land Rovers, guns to their heads. As the powerful sun gives way to night, the gunmen shove them into abandoned huts and Katie Barstow, Hollywood royalty, prays for a simple thing: To see the sun rise one more time. A fast paced, well written literary thriller with interesting characters and a strong sense of place. Recommended by Meghan O'Keefe, Adult Services Librarian
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle - A perfect read for summer. Katy was supposed to go with her mom on a trip to spectacular Positano, Italy, where her mother lived as a young woman, but tragically, she passes away before they go. Katy decides to take the trip anyway, to heal and feel closer to her mom. While she is there enjoying the town -- Mom appears in the flesh as her 30 years old self, and the two become friends! The magical quality of this story is what I love the most -- the food, the view, and the ambiance of the coastal setting, all brought to life by the author's gorgeous writing. It sweeps you up and away to another world! Recommended by Wendy Theehs, Adult Services Library Associate
Romance
Glitterland by Alexis Hall. This British novel brings together two unlikely lovers; Ash, an upper class author, whose severe anxiety and depression have derailed his life and career, and Darian, a big-hearted male model from working-class Essex, England. Hall’s depictions of mental illness are gripping, and he wisely avoids an unrealistic “healed by love” trope. Yet the story is touching, funny and hopeful. Told with wit and tenderness, it’s a great read for Pride Month, or any month. Available in ebook on Hoopla. Recommended by Elizabeth Harmon, Adult Services Library Associate
Relationship Fiction
The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews This author is my go to summer read. Her books are set in a sunny locale and they usually have a touch of whimsy. This book was all that and more. The main plot was a mystery that really keeps you guessing. I liked its emphasis on the power of trusting people and letting love come in to your heart. Recommended by Karin Litwin, Adult Services Library Associate
The Guncle by Steven Rowley - This is a funny, heartwarming story about a gay uncle who takes care of his niece and nephew for the summer, after they lose their mom to a long illness, and their dad goes to rehab for painkiller addiction. I listened to this audiobook as well. The author was the narrator and did an excellent job. Recommended by Lisa Mayoras, Adult Services Library Associate
Read The Rainbow and Celebrate Pride Month
It's Pride Month, a time to recognize the history and contributions of lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and queer people (LGBTQ) in our community, and our nation.
We celebrate Pride Month during June to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, which took place on June 28, 1969 in New York City. After police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the city's Greenwich Village neighborhood, LGBTQ people in New York City and beyond protested for six days, making their voices heard and launching the modern gay rights movement.
The six-stripe rainbow flag has symbolized the movement, and its diversity, since 1979.
Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert - When two "big name fans" go head-to-head at a convention, love isn't the only thing at stake. Charming, charismatic, and effortlessly popular, Conrad Stewart seems to have it all…but in reality, he's scrambling to keep his life from tumbling out of control. Brilliant, guarded, and endlessly driven, Alden Roth may as well be the poster boy for perfection…but even he can't help but feel a little broken inside.
When these mortal enemies are stuck together on a cross-country road trip to the biggest fan convention of their lives, their infamous rivalry takes a backseat as an unexpected connection is forged. Yet each has a reason why they have to win the upcoming Odyssey gaming tournament and neither is willing to let emotion get in the way—even if it means giving up their one chance at something truly magical.
Outlawed by Anna North - A Western like no other. The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows.
She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all.
A Psalm for the Well-Built by Becky Chambers - Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.
Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
Welcome To The Pine Away Motel and Cabins by Katarina Bivald - A charming tale of the folks who reunite at a ramshackle roadside motel in Pine Creek, Oregon, after the unfortunate death of Henny, a local who worked at the cabins all her life, and who isn't going to let a tiny thing like death stop her from living fully — not when her friends and her little town need her the most.
June’s Library Reads Selections
The Case of the Traveling Mysteries and Other Library Adventures
The next time you visit the Adult Services Department at the Main Library on Harnish Drive, you might notice that things look a little bit different.
Our librarians and materials staff have been busy rearranging our fiction collections to make browsing easier, and to create room for some exciting new items we can’t wait to share!
Here's where you'll find...
Focus on Your Creativity
If you love taking photos, get acquainted with the Worth 1,000 Words Camera Club! The club meets the first Wednesday of each month, both in-person at AAPLD, and virtually. Photographers of all experience levels are welcome. Members use digital, film, and cellphone cameras.
“We have very expert members and raw beginners. Any style of photography, equipment, and any subject matters are covered by the membership, as well as in the meeting content,” said group leader Mike Circo.
Monthly programs include a short teaching session covering a photography technique, or style. Recent topics have included camera maintenance, motion photography, still life photography and Black and White photography. Members then share their work for discussion, positive critique and suggestions. Circo also issues a challenge for the upcoming month, to encourage members to expand their photography skills. “The challenges are generally the most enjoyed part of any meeting because they help us mentally get out of our ruts and impel us to get that camera out,” Circo said.
The group has also begun occasional photography outings. Circo said the field trips allow members to learn from one another while actively taking photos. In December, members photographed holiday decorations, learning about the technical issues of shooting in low light. Members have expressed interest in local landscapes, spring flowers and the McHenry Riverwalk.
Click to register for the Worth a 1,000 Words Camera Club’s next meeting, Wed. June 1, at 7:00 p.m.
Find your family using the 1950 Census!
Enjoy A Reader-Recommended Book!
The Spring Fling Reading Challenge invites participants to review a book they've read, and our patrons have responded!
If you're looking for an intriguing new read, why not give one of these "Favorite Flings" a try? Browse online, call the library to place a hold, or stop in and check out our Favorite Flings display in the Adult Services department.
If you've read something you loved, grab a Spring Fling review card from the Favorite Flings display, or at the Adult Services desk. You can also log into your Beanstack account, click Book Reviews, and tell us about your pick. You might see your new favorite on display soon!
Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson - From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller—a thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.
Every song tells a story. She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her. She’s also on the run. Find a future, lose a past. Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.
Fits Spring Fling challenge square: Read a book with flower in the title.
Patron Review: "I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was very thought-provoking as I wanted to continue reading for the next adventure she embarked on. It was heartwarming with her success at the end of the story. Loved the short chapters." -Anonymous
Go Tell The Bees I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon - The ninth installment in Gabaldon's beloved "Outlander" series! Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same. It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible. Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s teakettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long until the war is on his doorstep.
Spring Fling Reading Challenge squares: Try it as an audiobook!
Patron Review: "I loved this latest edition of the Outlander series. Roger, Brianna, and their kids are reunited with Claire and Jamie on the Ridge! But it wouldn't be outlander without some twists and turns (and tears)." - Outlander Fan
The Last Exiles by Ann Shin - Jin and Suja met and fell in love while studying at university in Pyongyang. She was a young journalist from a prominent family, while he was from a small village of little means. Outside the school, North Korea has fallen under great political upheaval, plunged into chaos and famine. When Jin returns home to find his family starving, their food rations all but gone, he makes a rash decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, miles away, Suja has begun to feel the tenuousness of her privilege when she learns that Jin has disappeared. Risking everything, and defying her family, Suja sets out to find him, embarking on a dangerous journey that leads her into a dark criminal underbelly and will test their love and will to survive.
Spring Fling Reading Challenge squares: Read a book with flowers on the cover, Debut Novel, Staff Pick
Patron Review: "This novel gives a look inside the secretive world of North Korea. A country filled with fear, distrust, and little control over one's life. Yet, the power of love and determination changes the fates of the brave characters in this book. An enjoyable and informative read." - Cecelia G.