Staff Picks Adult

July 2024

Home is Where the Bodies Are

by Jeneva Rose

Jeneva Rose’s Home is Where the Bodies Are is a quick popcorn thriller that you could easily read in a couple of sittings. The story is centered around three estranged siblings, their missing dad, and their mother who recently passed away in Midwest suburbia. The siblings, in the process of grieving the loss of their mom, decide to start cleaning out her home when they stumble upon a box of old home movies on VHS tapes. They decide to watch one of them to reminisce and see their mother again only to find something horrifying! It looks like their parents were involved in a murder cover up! Like the siblings, I wanted answers and kept turning the pages to find out if what they saw on the VHS tape was true. I really enjoyed this book and all the little details about 90s pop culture that were sprinkled throughout. The skillful and complex character development of the three siblings made them relatable with their unique flaws, motivations, and fears. Fans of psychological suspense will find this book hard to put down, as it keeps you hooked until the very last page.

This book is available at the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Kristen Holding, Graphic Artist

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Dallergut Dream Department Store

by Miye Lee

Miye Lee’s The Dallergut Dream Department Store is the ultimate comfort read. If you are looking for a stress free, delightful escape from the ordinary, this book will be the perfect quick read for you. Mi-ye Lee’s enchanting storytelling blends fantasy and reality, creating memorable characters and dreamscapes that are fantastical yet familiar. We follow the protagonist Penny on her journey of self-discovery and hope as she tries to get a job at the Dallergut Dream Department store; a five story building that is located in a dream world that exists in our subconscious. Mi-ye Lee paints a vivid picture of the dream world and the quirky, endearing staff who populate the store. There are creatures who have to wrangle the visitors, there are dream creators who are like movie producers, there are banks with dream currency made of feelings, and much more. I enjoyed so much of this book; like the idea that we can choose our dreams and send dreams to others, the idea of precognitive dreams, and what would happen if we lived in a world where we could govern dreams. The story was thought provoking while being whimsical and heartwarming. I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it. The ending made me tear up, but I think that is a sign the characters and story were well written and relatable.

This book is available at the library and on Hoopla as an e audiobook.

Recommended by: Kristen Holding, Graphic Artist

Posted in: Adult Fiction

First Lie Wins

by Ashley Elston

The entire book is filled with jumps of timelines and flashbacks as well as the main character having different aliases. Once you get the hang of the flow of the writing and plot, it actually turned out be an exciting. I found listening to this book as an audiobook to be engaging, the twists were good. Also it didn’t feel thriller scary for the most part, more like drama suspenseful.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Secrets of Midwives

by Sally Hepworth

The Secret of Midwives is an easy read centered around three generations of midwives Neva, Grace and Floss, as they hide from their secrets, from each other and determine the right time to come clean with their mysteries to one another.

This book is available in the library and on Hoopla as an e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Funny Story

by Emily Henry

Daphne loved the way Peter told the story of how they met – complete with running into a trashcan and getting noodles in her hair. Unfortunately, it was just a prelude to Peter’s true love story, which ended with him leaving Daphne before their wedding to be with his lifelong best friend, Petra.

Daphne’s real story begins in Waning Bay, Michigan, alone but with a dream job as a dedicated children’s librarian. She proposes rooming with Petra’s heartbroken ex, Miles Nowak, until she can find a better job elsewhere. Scruffy and chaotic, Miles is the opposite of buttoned-up Daphne. They avoid each other until one night, while drowning their sorrows, they form a fragile friendship.

Miles decides to show Daphne why he loves Waning Bay and its residents, posting misleading photos of their adventures for a particular audience of two. As Daphne starts to fall for the town, she wonders what this summer means: just fun, an interlude to her own love story, or merely an anecdote for future dinner parties about the time she fell for her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex-boyfriend. Who’s to say?

This book is available at the library, on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and as an e audiobook.

Recommended by: Jackie Boyd, Communications Manager

Posted in: Adult Fiction

June 2024

“You Just Need to Lose Weight”: and 19 other myths about fat people

by Aubrey Gorgon

I enjoy listening to podcasts, and one of my favorites is Maintenance Phase, a podcast that debunks the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams, and nonsensical nutrition advice. When I saw that co-host Aubrey Gordon wrote a second book I was very interested to give it a read. “You Just Need to Lose Weight” is similar to her podcast as acts to debunk common anti-fat myths. But this book also equips readers with facts and figures to address discrimination ingrained in how we think about and treat fat people. I appreciated Aubrey’s intense research and her passion for information and I felt like this book tried to tackle a lot of difficult and important issues in a short amount of pages. It is a great introduction to the many other companion reads that she recommends on this topic at the end of the book.

Recommended by: Kristen Holding, Graphic Artist

Posted in: Adult Nonfiction

How to Keep House While Drowning: a gentle approach to cleaning and organizing

by KC Davis

I often feel so overwhelmed with daily life that household chores get pushed to the wayside. K.C. Davis, licensed professional counselor and creator of Strugglecare.com, popped up on my TikTok feed several months ago with simple “life hacks” to make care tasks more manageable. When I heard that she wrote a book, I was very excited to see what other life-changing and revolutionary ideas she had to share about home care. Written in 31 short easy-to-read chapters, she focuses on removing the moral obligations we feel towards care tasks that are counterproductive and suggests strategies for cleaning a messy space without becoming overwhelmed. I would recommend this book to anyone, even if you do not struggle keeping your space clean, as it has so many helpful ideas that are presented in a validating way.

Recommended by: Kristen Holding, Graphic Artist

Posted in: Adult Nonfiction

The Moonshiner’s Daughter

by Donna Everhart

Set in 1960’s North Carolina. Jessie Sasser’s family has a long legacy of making and running moonshine on Shine Mountain. Seeing her mother die a horrific death when she was very young has Jessie dead set against the family business. It leaves her with many questions about her mother and a eating disorder. Running shine isn’t easy, even with Sally Sue a rocket of a car. Mayhem, rivalry and the revenuers takes it’s toll on this family leaving Jessie with a choice to make about her family legacy.

This book is available in the library and on Hoopla an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Camino Ghosts

by John Grisham

An extraordinary blend of fact and fiction, Camino Island grabs you at the very first page and carries you until the end. Continuing with his Camino Island series, this third book by Grisham brings us back to bookseller Bruce Cable and tells the story of a small barrier island off the coast of Florida settled by slaves hundreds of years ago and the 300-year-old curse that surrounds it.

When a giant resort developer uses its deep pockets to try to claim ownership of the island, the last surviving inhabitant is the only thing that stands in their way. What the developer doesn’t realize is that the island has a long history and the locals believe it is cursed. The author also provides us a look back into the horrors of the slave trade. The battle that ensues for ownership makes for fascinating reading. I would highly recommend this one.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Denise Mitchel, Patron Services Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

May 2024

The Things We Cannot Say

by Kelly Rimmer

The Things We Cannot Say is a heartbreaking, heartwarming hopeful story that explores love, loss, hardship, sacrifice and the relationships that bond people together. This story was compelling and emotional by layering duel timelines and how they connected the story and the family. We see the historical side to the story and then a modern side to it. Each is strong, interesting stories with their conflicts and heartache that shape the people they are.

This book is available at the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and on Hoopla as an ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Informational Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

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