Friday, November 29, 2024

Open Throat by Henry Hoke

Title: Open Throat 
Author: Henry Hoke
Genre: Contemporary; Queer

Open Throat is an odd, bittersweet little novella told from the point of view of a mountain lion. The big cat lives in "ellay" not too far from the Hollywood sign actually. It routinely watches hikers, dog walkers, and keeps a protective eye on a homeless encampment. The cat, who goes unnamed for most of the novel struggles with human culture and it's own identity, and just exactly where it belongs (literally and figuratively). When tragedy strikes the homeless encampment, and the cat forms a friendship with a teenage girl it is able to put it's existence in perspective.

- Kate

Check out Open Throat by Henry Hoke @ the library!

Friday, November 22, 2024

Good Inside by Dr. Becky Kennedy

Title: Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be
Author: Rebecca Kennedy
Genre: Non-fiction

Parenting can feel impossible at times. It can be difficult to mold together what you’ve experienced from your own parents and the new strategies you’ve picked up along the way. Viral parenting expert and psychologist, Dr. Becky Kennedy, has written a guide to assist in those frustrating moments when you think nothing you do will change your child’s behavior. She explores how parenting starts with you and not your child. Some of the approaches Dr. Becky details may seem counterintuitive but have returned great results. She addresses situations like sibling rivalry, statements of hate, not listening, and refusal to follow directions, among many others. Good Inside will allow every parent at any stage of parenting to walk away with a clearer vision of how to reach their child.

- Tiffany

Check out Good Inside by Rebecca Kennedy @ the library!

Friday, November 15, 2024

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Title: The Wedding People
Author: Alison Espach
Genre: Fiction

Phoebe is having a rough time. Her husband left her for a colleague, and they all still teach at the same college. Then her cat dies. So she heads to a beautiful hotel on the Rhode Island coast determined to end it all. Instead, she meets a bride-to-be who ropes her into becoming one of the wedding party. And she meets a guy she has an instant connection with ... who turns out to be the groom. Funny and poignant, this story is one of my favorite reads of the year. If you like audiobooks, be sure to listen to this one!

- Sarah

Check out The Wedding People by Alison Espach @ the library!

Friday, November 8, 2024

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

Title: This Wretched Valley
Author: Jenny Kiefer
Genre: Horror; Thriller

The general plot is simple enough, a group of friends goes out to document and climb a previously un-mapped rock face in rural Kentucky. The author herself rock climbs as a hobby but the reader needs no climbing knowledge to enjoy. She never slows the story down explaining too much or looses focus on the action.

Things begin to go wrong for the group even before they set up camp. It's no spoiler that they don't make it out of the woods alive, the story is just how their bodies wound up in such strange conditions.

The woods and it's ghosts are hungry and Kiefer spares not a single vivid, gory, detail in her writing. It's both beautiful and completely disgusting. This novel is not at all for the weak of stomach.

Anything more would spoil the fun, there are plenty of surprises to keep horror fans on their toes.


- Kate

Check out This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer @ the library!

Friday, November 1, 2024

Neither Snow Nor Rain by Devin Leonard

Title: Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service
Author: Devin Leonard
Genre: Non-fiction

A fun, readable history of the long, sometimes wild history of the USPS. This is a story that really hammers home what a miracle the post office is, even if you find yourself frustrated by lost packages or stamp prices. What they manage to accomplish--and some of the unbelievable things they used to do to get the mail to people all over the US--will astonish you.

- Meagan

Check out Neither Rain Nor Snow by Devin Leonard @ the library!