Welcome to summer! Here we introduce memorable books that our staff have read recently. This year’s collection reflects the team’s curiosity and diverse interests. We hope these recommendations lead to a book you’ll remember long after the summer is over.
Each review is linked to a book through Bookshop.org, which connects readers with independent bookstores. Enjoy reading!
Lorna Scribner — “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
Potentially the ET of this generation, Project Hail Mary is a great read. I love all the science that Andy Weir (also the author of The Martian) puts into his books.
Even though it’s fiction, it feels like it’s real. While I now hope that our society is never pushed into a near-apocalyptic sunset event, this is an interesting look at how the modern world will overcome the unity needed to save humanity.
The amazing film adaptation of this story is the perfect way to escape reality twice, first by reading the book and then by watching the movie.
Sarah Howard — “Don’t Cry for Me” by Daniel Black
Written as a letter from a dying black father to his gay son, Daniel Black imagines what his father would have said to him before he died.
The two grew up in very different times, and very different experiences and societal expectations influenced their lives, their falling out, and how they found redemption.
Katherine McMahon — Time and the Turtles: Repairing the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Cy Montgomery
A gentle and meditative deep dive into the unique, often shocking biology of turtles, combined with the story of a man who dedicates his life to rescuing and protecting turtles. Author Cy Montgomery’s writing is particularly interesting for the way it strips away our common cultural ties to these seemingly familiar animals and reveals how little most of us know about the lives of the creatures that share our backyards.
A fascinating and ultimately hopeful summer read.
Megan McLaughlin — The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway Series) by Ellie Griffiths
My three perfect reads are a bit of mystery, a bit of history, and a long-running series that I can dig deep into.
The Ruth Galloway Mystery Series by Ellie Griffiths ticks all three boxes. Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist at Norfolk University who lives in an area called the Saltmarsh, the border between land and sea where Iron Age people lived and worshiped.
The first book in the series is called “The Crossing Places” and introduces readers to Dr. Galloway, Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, and other characters. The story centers on the search for a missing child and the discovery of bones that turn out to be 2000 years old. Throughout this book and other works in the series, Griffiths vividly depicts Norfolk’s wild landscape, making the setting as compelling as the mystery itself.
Matt Kayhoe — History of American Resistance (written by Tad Stormer)
From the 17th century to the Civil War, we explore conversations and debates about freedom in civil society that underlie much of what we’re doing today. The analysis is deep, but primarily based on the story.
Chapter titles such as “Beware of False Prophets” and “The Right to Refusal” lead to a summary called “American Ways of Resistance” and an appendix “Resistance History Toolkit.”
I found myself going back into history and reflecting on the current era throughout.
Jim Jarmond — Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver
I first read Barbara Kingsolver’s fiction novel Flight Behavior shortly after it was published in late 2012. I enjoyed reading it and almost forgot about it until a recent visit to the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary reignited my interest and inspired me to read it again. This time I listened to it, and as an added bonus, the audiobook comes with a narration by the author. Her Appalachian roots fit this story well.
Kingsolver’s talent for creating authentic, believable characters (warts and all) in his books is on full display in this novel, primarily in the character of Delarobia Turnbull. Dellarobia became pregnant, married at 17, and now 28 with two children, feeling trapped and frustrated in a marriage on the brink. Her life takes a strange turn when a colony of monarch butterflies, displaced by climate change, settles in a coniferous forest in the mountains behind her family’s Tennessee farm. This is a forest that Delolavia’s father-in-law, also known as “Bear,” plans to cut down.
An accomplished storyteller with degrees in biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology, Barbara Kingsolver is skilled at weaving environmental issues into her stories without sounding preachy. Bear, fearing the destruction of the timber trade, responds to the sudden appearance of the Myriad Lords in a manner befitting his character.
“Spray these and move on. I keep the DDT in the basement.”
Kate Malek — Open Season (Joe Pickett Series) by CJ Box
I like reading mysteries for escape, but I’m picky. I want good characters, worlds I can imagine in detail, and the satisfaction that good people get what they deserve in the end, even if the story gets difficult or complicated. Solutions exist and justice is possible.
The Joe Pickett series is set in Wyoming, where Joe works as a game warden. He is one of my favorite characters in fiction. Polite, stubborn, underpaid, and deeply committed to doing the right thing, even at personal cost.
The Wyoming landscape is vivid and specific, and the story is deep without getting lost. It had a cast of recurring characters that grew on me over time.
Read them in order, starting with the first in the series, Open Season.
