GPL Book Break

January Reading Roundup

Join GPL librarian Claire and librarian Rebecca as we talk about some of our recent reads.
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Read the eBook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  
Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature by Elizabeth Winkler (Rebecca)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Purchase a copy here.
Stalking Shakespeare: A Memoir of Madness, Murder, and My Search for the Poet Beneath the Paint by Lee Durkee (Rebecca)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Purchase a copy here.
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Claire) (book one –read before Ruthless Vows)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here. 
Monsters on the Couch: The Real Psychological Disorders Behind Your Favorite Horror Movies by Brian A. Sharpless (Rebecca)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here.  Purchase a copy here. 
What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here.  Purchase a copy here.
The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder by Douglas Preston (Rebecca)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Read the eBook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.  
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Books We Want to Read in 2024

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown – Feb. 13, 2024 (Claire)
A debut novel full of magic, adventure, and romance, The Book of Doors opens up a thrilling world of contemporary fantasy for readers of The Midnight Library, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, The Night Circus.  A young woman that works in a NYC bookstore has one of her favorite customers die right in front of her.  The last book he was reading was “The Book of Doors”
Magical allies, fantasy thriller, reluctant hero, cozy bookstores, and mysterious libraries – yes, please!
Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay (May 2024) (Steph)
bookish book. a librarian gets a job in Ireland, working with her favorite author. She has to deal with her grouchy son who runs her bookstore. Grumpy / sunshine trope.
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perrin (March, 2024) (Claire)
For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate.... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer. 
Debut – English setting
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay (June 2024) (Steph)
Cursed film. In 1993, a group of filmmakers made a movie called Horror Movie, but something happened and only 3 scenes were ever released. Now, 30 years later, there is talk of a Hollywood reboot. Only one cast member remains and he is determined to help get this film out. This author has become pretty popular recently. Cabin at the End of the World and others.
Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford  - January, 30, 2024 (Claire)
A woman’s decision to compete in a British Baking Show gives her a new found independence, makes her confront long held secrets and brings new fame.   A huge-hearted, redemptive coming-of-old-age tale, a love story, and an ode to good food
Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose (April 2024) (Steph)
Three estranged siblings reunite to settle their mother’s estate after she passes. They find old home videos and decide to watch them. One video shows their father, bloody, and a dead body, and a pact between their parents to get rid of it… then the video ends. Author of The Perfect Marriage.
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr by April 2  (Claire)
Clayton Stumper might be twenty-six years old, but he dresses like your grandpa and drinks sherry like your aunt. Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, he was raised by a group of eccentric enigmatologists and now finds himself among the last survivors of a fading institution.
When the esteemed crossword compiler and main maternal presence in Clayton's life, Pippa Allsbrook, passes away, she bestows her final puzzle on him: a promise to reveal the mystery of his parentage and prepare him for life beyond the walls of the commune. As Clay begins to unpick the clues, he uncovers something even the Fellowship have never been able to solve—and it's a secret that has the potential to change everything
Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda (April 2024) - Steph
 Debut author. A serial killer targeting women in Alaska. Lots of books taking place in Alaska lately and I am here for it! Recommended for fans of Harlan Coben, Lisa Gardener, and true crime junkies.
The Fox Wife by Yangzee Choo (Claire)
Feb 2024 - fantasy set in China in Manchuria, 1908 (read on Netgalley – loved this)
A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.
Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?   Dual storyline, magical realism, historical
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles (April 2024) Stephanie
Dual timeline, based on a true story about an American librarian named Jessie Carson. She takes a leave of absence in 1918 from her job at NYPL to rebuild in France. She establishes the first ever children’s libraries in France… and then disappears. The second timeline is in 1987. A librarian working at NYPL stumbles upon the story of Jessie and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. There is almost NO information that I could find about Jessie Carson online, so I need to read this and see if they ever discovered her fate. I am always fascinated by missing persons cases.
Sleeping Giants by Rene Denfeld March 2024 (Claire)
From the bestselling author of The Child Finder and The Enchanted, a compelling and poignant story of sibling bonds, foster children, monsters masquerading as caretakers, terrifying secrets, and the power of love to right even the most egregious wrongs.
Former “If All of Rochester Reads” author
Missing boy was swept away on an Oregon beach
Sister cares for a polar bear at the local zoo
 
Happily Never After by Lynn Painter (March 2024) (Steph)
 Sophie just found out her fiancé is cheating. She hires Max, a professional wedding objectors, to call off the wedding. Now a fellow love cynic, she wants in as a wedding objector. Can two love cynics fall in love with each other?! Wedding Crashers vibes.
Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon  (February 2024)  - Claire
A haunting and beautiful memoir from a Cambodian refugee who lost her country and her family during Pol Pot's genocide in the 1970s but who finds hope by reclaiming the recipes she tasted in her mother's kitchen. With over 20 Khmer recipes included, Slow Noodles will resonate with readers who loved the food and emotional truth of Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart, and it has the staying power of Loung Ung's First They Killed My Father.  Slow Noodles is a testament to the power of culinary heritage to spark the rebirth of a young woman’s hopes for a beautiful life. 
Everest Inc: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World by Will Cockrell (April 2024) (Steph)
One of my weird interests is Mount Everest. 90% of all climbs are now guided expeditions. This book delves into the Himalyan guiding industry. Interviews with climbers, Sherpas, etc. “Armchair Mounaineers.”
Heavy Hitters to Mention (Stephanie)
Knife by Salman Rushdie
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (April 2024): historical fantasy. Not my cup of tea, but she is very beloved. Any recommendations from fantasy readers for beginners?
The Fury by Alex Michaelides (January 2024): author of The Silent Patient. Thriller, group of famous friends whose island trip is upended by murder.
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworh (April 2024): Great thriller writer. I read The Soulmate. This ones involves bones being buried beneath a house.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood (February 2024): Popular romance author (The Love Hypothesis). Writes romcoms about women in STEM field. This is a total departure from her normal novels. Paranormal romance about a vampire and werewolf.
Claire’s Heavy Hitters: 
The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley May 2024 (sequel to the Guncle)
Kristin Hannah - the Women Feb 2024 Set in Vietnam War
Funny Story by Emily Henry Daphne moves to her fiance’s lakeside hometown, only for him to dump her for his childhood love.  With a dream job of “Children’s Librarian”, Daphne needs a roommate, and of course finds her fiance’s ex-fiance, and of course, love and hijinks ensure.   (Claire)
Love the humor in Emily Henry’s romances
The Main character is a librarian! What else do you need to know!
April, 2024 release
 
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson (heavy hitter)
the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War—a simmering crisis that finally tore a deeply divided nation in two.  Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.
April, 2024
Author of “The Devil in the White City”
 
The Hunter by Tana French (heavy hitter?)
It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.
Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He’s found it, more or less: he’s built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn’t want protecting. What she wants is revenge.
Continuation of Cal Hooper story from “The Searcher”
March, 2024
 

Our Favorite Books of 2023

Links for Book Break 12/13/2023
Join GPL librarian Claire and librarian Jenna as we talk about our favorite reads of 2023!
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
The River We Remember by William Kent Kruger (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
Happy Place by Emily Henry (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
In the Lives of Puppets by T. J. Klune (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here. 
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.  
Clytemnestra by Costanza Cosati (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Read the ebook on Hoopla here.  Purchase a copy here. 
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Bonus Books:
Maame by Jessica George (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
Counting the Cost by Jessica Duggar (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here. 
 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Mother and Daughter Reads!

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest Sarah (Claire’s Daughter) as we talk about our Mother-Daughter reads, and the BOMC. 
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford (Sarah)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch (Sarah)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Cosati (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Read the ebook on Hoopla here.  Purchase a copy here. 
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (Sarah)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Bonus Book:
Shark Heart:  A Love Story by Emily Habeck (Claire & Sarah)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Book Break: Non-Fiction November!

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest Mindy as we talk about our Non-Fiction November reads!   
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
Maid:  Hard Work, Low Pay, and A Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.  
Lancaster & York:  the Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir (Mindy)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy (Not available)
Lebron by Jeff Benedict (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here.
Elizabeth of York:  A Tudor Queen and her world by Alison Weir (Mindy)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here.  Purchase a copy here. 
The Lost King:  The Search for Richard III by Phillipa Langley (Mindy)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Purchase a copy here.
. 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Books with Fall Vibes!

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest Jenna as we talk about our cozy reads with Autumn vibes! 
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.  
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
The Caretaker by Ron Rash (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Purchase a copy here.
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audiobook on Libby here.  Purchase a copy here. 
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Posner (Jenna)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
. 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

A Conversation with Greece Reads authors: Angie Kim and Etaf Rum

Links for Book Break 10/04/2023
 
Join GPL librarian Claire and special guests:  Former Greece Reads  Authors Angie Kim and Etaf Rum!
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum.
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.  
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum
Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Find out about Angie Kim’s event schedule here. Reference Etaf Rum’s website here. 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

TikTok Made Us Read It!

Links for Book Break 9/20/2023
Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, librarian Molly, as they discuss books that TikTok made me read!
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.  
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (Molly)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Molly)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
Babel:  or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R. F. Kuang (Molly)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Fall 2023 Preview: Titles We Are Excited to Read!

Librarians Claire and Stephanie talk about some of the 2023 releases that they are excited to add to their “To Be Read” piles this fall!
 
Among the Bros:  A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall.  Published Nov. 7, 2023 (Claire)
A true-crime story of status, money, drugs, and murder on a campus called “the most beautiful campus in America” by Travel + Leisure – the College of Charleston. 
Kill Show: A True Crime Novel - Daniel Sweren-Becke – October 3, 2023 (Stephanie)
A teenager goes missing – made into a TV docuseries – book takes place 10 years later, family and friends are “ready to talk” – fashioned like a true crime show with interviews – explores our obsession with the true crime industry
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll.  Published October 3, 2023 (Claire & Stephanie)
Extraordinary story inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by America’s first celebrity serial killer in his final murder spree.  Told from the women’s perspective. 
Enchanted to Meet You – Meg Cabot – Published September 5, 2023. (Stephanie) 
Wrote one of my favorite series, The Princess Diaries. A “witchy rom com” is description, and first in series. Plus size heroine – representation. Witches… great for Halloween / fall. Mysterious man comes and tells her she is the “chosen one” who must save her town.
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum  (Published September 5, 2023) (Claire)
Etaf Rum’s follow-up to her 2019 debut, A Woman Is No Man, is a complicated mother-daughter drama that looks at the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma and what it takes to break the cycle of abuse. 
A Haunting on the Hill – Elizabeth Hand.  Published October 3, 2023.  (Stephanie)
First novel authorized to use the setting of Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House (miniseries on Netflix – so good!). Playwright rents this house, along with actors, strange things happen.
Heirloom Rooms:  Soulful Stories of Home by Erin Napier.  Published October 3, 2023.  (Claire)
Essays that evoke her Southern home, lots of photos – from the host of the hit HGTV series, Hometown. 
The Woman in Me - Britney Spears – October 24 –If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos (Stephanie)
Growing up watched “Full House” and listened to Britney – want to hear the whole story from both!
Other “big” NF:  My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, Killing the Witches by Bill O’Reilly
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger.  Published September 5, 2023.  (Claire)
Stand along novel by the author of the Cork O’Connor mystery series.  Police procedural, small town Minnesota in the 1950’s. 
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong – September 12, 2023.  (Stephanie)
Horror! Halloween vibes. She’s a popular author, this is a standalone horror novel. Woman rents out her vacation home on an island. Horrified renters flee after finding blood, weird sights. She goes to investigate with several others, and they become trapped on the island. Love “trapped room” books.
Sure I’ll Join Your Cult:  A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere by Maria Bamford.  Published September 5, 2023 (Claire)
A brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems. 
Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey.  Published October 3, 2023.  (Stephanie)
Right after Halloween, Stephanie switches from the creepy to the cheesy Christmas books– two adult children of two former rock stars – trying to get the band (their mothers) to reunite for a Christmas Eve show – feud broke up the band years before – one is the son and one is the daughter of bandmates – had feelings for him back then, hasn’t seen him in years. 
 
Have thoughts about our picks?  What books are you looking forward to reading this fall?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!

Books About Animals

Join GPL librarian Claire and special guest, librarian Jennifer, as they discuss books about animals!
 
Here are the books we’re discussing, with links to find them in the library catalog or at Bookshop.Org:
Dog On It by Spencer Quinn. (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.  
A Light Beyond the Trenches by Alan Hlad (Jennifer)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott (Jennifer)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audiobook on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
The Invincible Miss Cust by Penny Haw (Claire)
Reserve a copy from the library here. Listen to the audio on Hoopla here. Purchase a copy here.
Funny Farm:  My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals by Laurie Zaleski (Jennifer)
Reserve a copy from the library here.  Read the ebook on Libby here. Purchase a copy here.
 
Have you read any of our choices?  Have thoughts about our picks?  Connect with us at greecepl.podcasts@gmail.com.  We love hearing from our listeners and getting your suggestions for our “To Be Read” pile!
We will return to our twice-per-month shows in September!