My LINKcat AccountEven though we are only at the end of the first week of August, we have passed many of the major markers of the summer season at the library. Our final Concert on Market Street has passed. The annual Harry Potter Birthday party has come and gone. There is only one week left in the Summer Reading Program. The good news is that even though all the signs that summer is beginning to wrap things up -- cicadas whirring, crickets chirping, birds beginning to flock up, butterflies flitting, back-to-school sales appearing everywhere-- the beach reads and “summer” book continue to arrive in large numbers. Many of those titles are listed below. I encourage you to read, record them as part of your summer reading account on Beanstack, earn dragon dollars, and, most of all, enjoy!
FYI: After the Harry Potter Birthday Party, a large lift came to the library to take down the four dragons on the corners of our peaked roof. These four dragons have guarded the library and its treasures (that is the job of dragons after all) since the library was built 23 years ago. Those dragons have been on guard in rain and sleet, in hail and blazing sun. They have been blasted by gale-force winds (the South dragon was hit by flying debris during one storm and lost part of its flame/ tongue) and crows and other birds have perched on them (and we all know what happens to things that birds perch on). After all those years of weathering, the dragons are going off to be refreshed. We hope to have them back in the not-too-distant future.. Their guardian spirit has kept the library safe for the past 23 years and we look forward to their return
New Non-Fiction
“Clint: The Man and the Movies” by Shawn Lew. This sweeping portrait of Clint Eastwood's life and career captures his evolution from iconic on-screen tough guy to masterful director while revealing how his persona and choices reflect the shifting tides of American culture and identity.
New Fiction
“Finding Grace” by Loretta Rothschild. Grace has made her London wine shop a second home for people like her—those running from their own past—and she soon finds herself curious about Tom, who becomes a fixture at the shop.
“Notes on Infinity” by Austin Taylor. Zoe and Jack are Harvard students who find themselves propelled into the intoxicating biotech startup world when they announce they’ve discovered the cure for aging.
“Total Dreamboat” by Katelyn Doyle. From the beloved author of Just Some Stupid Love Story comes a rom-com about what happens when a cruise ship romance goes … overboard.
“The Peculiar Gift of July” by Ashley Ream. When 14-year-old July arrives in the isolated island town of Ebey’s End, her uncanny ability to sense what people need begins quietly transforming the community, forcing its residents—and herself—to confront unexpected truths about their lives.
“The View From Lake Como” by Adriana Trigiani. After a painful divorce and family upheaval in working-class Lake Como, New Jersey, draftswoman Jess Capodimonte Baratta flees to Carrara, Italy, where artistic ambition, and new relationships reshape her understanding of love, loyalty, and personal fulfillment.
“Our Last Vineyard Summer” by Brooke Lea Foster. After her father’s death, Betsy hopes to spend the summer with her boyfriend, but her mother calls Betsy and her sisters to Martha’s Vineyard, announcing that they must sell their summer house to pay their father’s debts, and the women must decide if the home they love is worth saving.
“Blonde Dust” by Candace Parker. Chronicles a reimagined friendship between Marilyn Monroe and a young maid whose life will be changed forever
“The Unraveling of Julia” by Lisa Scottoline. After the shocking death of her husband, a troubled young widow inherits a Tuscan estate from a mysterious benefactor and finds herself thrust into the crosshairs of a dangerous conspiracy.
“An Inside Job” by Daniel Silva. The #1 New York Times bestselling author returns with a gripping international thriller filled with high-stakes intrigue, masterful storytelling and a globally spanning plot featuring the beloved spy in a suspenseful adventure.
“Typewriter Beach” by Meg Waite Clayton. Aspiring star Isabella Giori and blacklisted writer Léon Chazan forge a bond on California’s foggy coast in 1957, while in 2018, Léon’s granddaughter Gemma uncovers long-buried secrets about identity, authorship, and hidden history in the ruins of Hollywood’s golden age.
“Tea With Jam and Dread, No.6 (Tea by the Sea Mysteries)” by Vicki Delany. When Cape Cod tearoom owner Lily Roberts travels with her mother to a Yorkshire castle for a centenarian aristocrat’s birthday, a missing heirloom sapphire and a deadly allergic reaction pull her into a tangled mystery amid high-society tensions and suspicious guests.
“An Enemy in the Village, No. 18 (Bruno, Chief of Police)” by Martin Walker. When a local businesswoman is found dead with a suicide note, Chief Bruno suspects foul play, but as village gossip threatens his job and reputation, he must uncover the truth in the latest addition to the long-running series.
“The First Gentleman” by James Patterson & Bill Clinton. America has a powerful new president ... and her husband's on trial for murder.