Lakes Appreciation Month: Celebrating Our Freshwater Resources and Lake Life

July is National Lakes Appreciation Month! There are 117 MILLION lakes on Earth. You work and play on them, boat in the them, swim in them. You fish in them and drink from them. You can even hunt for fossils in dry lake beds. Libraries love lakes--check out our July Lakes Appreciation Month displays on the first (romance), second (near career computers), or third (pillar bookcase) floors, and dive into these freshwater resources and stories about living the lake life.

In Worcester, you can find over twenty lakes and ponds where you can enjoy a variety of recreational activities, including bird watching, swimming, fishing and boating.  Locations include Bell Pond (Belmont Street), Coes Pond Parks (Coes Street), Indian Lake Beach (Sherburne Ave), and Lake Quinsigamond (N. Lake Ave). Many of these locations are accessible for free by bus! Check the Worcester Regional Transit Authority website for bus schedules. 

Make sure to check out WPL's Reader's Corner for more book suggestions!

Nonfiction

Find additional titles at https://worcester.cwmars.org/MyAccount/MyList/32560

Beyond The Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands by David Lowell Strayer
This work brings to life the wonders of our inland waters and the vibrant species that live there.

Beyond Walden: The Hidden History of America's Kettle Lakes and Ponds by Robert M. Thorson
Chronicles the history of kettle lakes in the United States, including how they form, the different ways that Americans have used them throughout history, and threats that affect their future.

The Founding Fish by John McPhee
McPhee weaves together strands of personal, natural, and national history in this absorbing study of the (freshwater) shad fish.

The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon
On November 10, 1975, as a storm threw 100 mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald - the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes - found itself at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century. Bacon presents the definitive account of the disaster, drawing on interviews with the families, friends, and former crewmates of those lost.

Lakes: Their Birth, Life, and Death by John Richard Saylor
In this eye-opening tour of the most fascinating lakes around the world, including Lake Vostok beneath the surface of Antarctica and Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, we learn all the many forms lakes take and what we stand to lose if they vanish.

Lake of the Ozarks: My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing America by William Geist
A "CBS Sunday Morning" correspondent reflects on his coming of age in the American heartland at a Lake of the Ozarks resort owned by his uncle, and traces his evolution as a man and a writer.

Ponds and Small Lakes by Brian Moss
Ponds and small lakes support an extremely rich biodiversity of fascinating organisms. The book not only explores the fascinating world of the (microscopic) creatures within ponds and their interactions, but also explains the many ways in which ponds are important in human affairs. Ponds are being lost around the world, but they are a key part of a system that maintains our climate. In the face of climate change, it has never been more important to understand the ecology of ponds.

Our Ancient Lakes: A Natural History by Jeffrey McKinnon
An introduction to the biodiversity of ancient lakes, explaining the surprising, often controversial findings ancient lake research is yielding about the formation and persistence of species.

Still Waters: The Secret World of Lakes by Curt Stager
An exploration of the world's most remarkable lakes and our ancient connection to them draws on firsthand investigations to examine the significance of humanity's impact on iconic inland waters, sharing their stories and how they represent history, culture and the importance of conservation.

Water, Ice and Stone: Science and Memory on the Antarctic Lakes by Bill Green
A personal account of a study on the Antarctic Dry Valley lakes reveals what they can tell scientists about the evolutionary process and the life that exists in their frozen vicinity.

Memoirs/Biographies

Memoirs of living and working on a lake

Deckhand: Life On Freighters of the Great Lakes by Nelson Haydamacker
Long before popular television shows such as Dirty Jobs and The Deadliest Catch, everyday men and women-the unsung heroes of the job world-toiled in important but mostly anonymous jobs. One of those jobs was deckhand on the ore boats. With numerous photographs and engaging stories, Deckhand offers an insider's view of both the mundane and the intriguing duties performed by deckhands on these gritty cargo vessels.

The House By The Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History by Thomas Harding
Tells the story of Germany through the inhabitants of one small wooden building: a nobleman farmer, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, a widow and her children, a Stasi informant.

Lake of the Ozarks: My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing America by William Geist
A "CBS Sunday Morning" correspondent reflects on his coming of age in the American heartland at a Lake of the Ozarks resort owned by his uncle, and traces his evolution as a man and a writer.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Penwern: A Summer Estate by Mark Hertzberg
The life story of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed summer cottage Penwern--a stunning estate on Delavan Lake in southern Wisconsin, commissioned by Chicago capitalist Fred B. Jones around 1900. The book features beautiful color photographs of Penwern, plus vintage black and white pictures and original Wright drawings, this book transports readers back to the glory days of gracious living and entertaining on the lake.

The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como by Roland Merullo
The author traces his 2007 summer near the shore of Italy's Lake Como, where he played on several northern-region courses of distinction, shared lavish meals with his family, and interacted with a host of eccentric locals.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau
In 1845 Thoreau built a shanty in the woods by Walden Pond, where he lived from 1845-1847, interrupted only by a day's imprisonment for refusal to pay a poll tax to a government that supported the Mexican War. This action was in accord with his belief in passive resistance, a means of protest he explained in his essay "Civil Disobedience" (1849). Walden is a treatise on the subjects of self-sufficiency, individualism, relationship with nature, and rejection of material ambition.

Fiction

Find additional titles at https://worcester.cwmars.org/MyAccount/MyList/32561

Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
At thirty-three, Maren Laughlin's just turned down her boyfriend's proposal, walked away from her position as a park ranger, and returned to her childhood playground in Northern Wisconsin. She’s ready to start making her own moves, even if everyone else thinks she’s making the wrong ones. Local resort owner Josiah Cole has also made some missteps in his life, but he's proud of what he has: two awesome kids and the keys to the kind of getaway spot that has families coming back every summer. Things between Maren and Joe are easy. So easy, they're fully immersed in the middle before they even decide to begin. Are things too easy, or is this just how real love works?

The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer
When her fiancé Mike is left paralyzed following a tragic accident, Carrie Bell begins to question her familiar world, from her everyday life in Wisconsin to her relationships, as she sets out to rediscover her own identity.

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Persephone, a magazine writer, returns to her lake hometown for a funeral and lands straight in to the orbit of her ex- best friend and lover, Sam, and must reconcile the choices she made since their breakup.

Funny Story by Emily Henry 🌶️🌶️🌶️
After being dumped for her boyfriend's lifelong best friend, Petra, Daphne agrees to room with Petra's freshly heartbroken ex until she can figure things out

Into The Woods by Jenny Holiday 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Summer camp heats up for a grumpy rockstar and a cynical dance instructor in this funny and heartwarming enemies-to-lovers romance.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a traveling nurse slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea... and it just might work.

The Lake Club by Lina Patton
Danika Crawley has it all - beauty, money, a successful husband, and two perfect children. Augie Elling has lost it all, reeling from a post-grad scandal in New York to her hometown of Aldon Lakes. They have one thing in common: both a little obsessed with Chat, the male nanny Danika hired for the summer. But, unbeknownst to either woman, Chat's appearance in town sets off a chain reaction that threatens the town's carefully maintained ecosystem. As the heat rises between the three of them, the truth behind a long-buried scandal comes to light, and everyone at the club must reckon with the consequences.

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein 🌶️🌶️
This love letter to lake life is "the Parent Trap for adults," the story of two half-sisters who meet for the first time at their father's cabin in Maine after his unexpected death.

Meet Me At The Lake by Carley Fortune 🌶️🌶️🌶️
In desperate need of a lifeline, 32-year-old Fern Brookbanks finds it in the form of Will Baxter, who rescued her nine years ago, and, believing he is hiding something, but knowing he’s the only one who understands what she’s going through, wonders if she can do the same for him.

The Night Swimmers by Peter Rock
Twenty years after a young widow's disappearance, a man who went for mysterious but cathartic night swims with her on the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin in the 1990s revisits his memories of that summer and uncovers clues to her fate.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Good things happen at the lake. That's what Alice's grandmother says, and it's true....Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she's most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she's been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry's Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.

The Suite Spot by Trish Doller 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Moving across the country to an island on Lake Erie for a manager position at a brewery, single mother Rachel instead finds a handsome, moody man who offers her the chance to help build a hotel -- and rebuild her own life -- from the ground up.

Until Next Summer by Ali Brady 🌶️🌶️🌶️
When she learns that Camp Chickawah will be sold, director Jessie plans one last hurrah, inviting past campers - including her former best friend Hilary - to a nostalgic “adult summer camp.” The two rebuild their friendship as they relive the best time of their lives. Straitlaced Hillary agrees to a "no strings attached" summer fling with the camp chef, while outgoing Jessie is drawn to a moody, reclusive writer who's rented a cabin to work on his novel. The friends soon realize this doesn't have to be the last summer. They'll team up and work together, just like the old days. But if they can't save their beloved camp, will they be able to take the happiness of this summer away with them?

Note: For romance novels, the chili peppers denote the steaminess, or spice level, of a book's romantic/intimate elements; visit https://www.romance.io/steamrating for the key.

Annotations from Novelist - find your next great read with NovelistPlus!

New Releases - July 2026 Edition

Check out these highly anticipated new releases featuring fiction and nonfiction titles. Click on the title to request a copy or get your name on the waitlist. Don’t forget to watch for more featured releases next month, and check out WPL's Reader's Corner for more book suggestions!

NONFICTION

Aging Out: An Exploration of Caregiving, Community, and How Americans Grow Old by Lucy Schiller 
Schiller, a nonfiction writing professor at Texas Tech, debuts with a moving examination of the complex reality of growing old in the U.S. After her grandmother died of Covid-19, Schiller's grief was complicated by others' assumptions that the loss was somehow less significant because of her grandmother's age. Schiller set out to learn about myriad facets of aging, including the increase in for-profit nursing homes and assisted living facilities (with a median annual cost of $110,000), the rising costs of healthcare (one retired couple she interviewed said they spend about $1,055 per month for Medicare, gap coverage, and supplemental prescription plans), and attempts to address social isolation, including a company that advertises the services of college students as "grandkids on-demand." What emerges is a series of intersecting crises that disproportionately impact the most marginalized elders. While activist groups have worked to improve the conditions that led to "the political and social carving out of old age as separate," which has "allowed for its commodification," Schiller writes, significant challenges remain. Weaving broad social analysis with personal insights, Schiller unpacks a complicated subject with curiosity and empathy. It's a deeply human portrayal of what it means to get older in a society unprepared to care for its most vulnerable. Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly

How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words by Sophia Smith Galer 
The number of languages that have ever existed is placed at between 31,000 and 140,000, but at most only 4,000 will remain by the 22nd century, about half of the current total. Moreover, many of them will not have died natural deaths but been killed off, according to this erudite exploration of "systemic... linguicide." As journalist Smith Galer (Losing It) explains, the loss is more profound than many realize: "Languages aren't dictionaries, but encyclopedias, containing entire worlds of often irreplaceable information." She cites the fascinating case of prostratin, an enzyme derived from the bark of the mamala tree in Samoa that helps treat HIV; prostratin only reached the wider world because of the work of an ethnobotanist who learned about it from conversing in Samoan. As for how and why languages are intentionally destroyed, it comes down to conquest and exploitation: "Just as history is written by the winners, languages often tend to be spoken by them, too." Smith Galer weaves together heart-wrenching accounts of those who have suffered linguicide--such as 19th-century Irish schoolchildren who were "forced to wear tally sticks around their necks, notched for every time they spoke their native Celtic languages"--and interviews with people around the world attempting to reclaim and protect local dialects and languages today. It makes for a spirited reconsideration of language as a natural resource that must be protected. Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly

Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild by Heather Hansman
Journalist Hansman (Powder Days) makes a convincing case that three largely forgotten women did more to shape America's love of the outdoors than history has recognized. The three women shared a fierce, uncompromising commitment to nature, even when it cost them credibility, comfort, and companionship. Georgie White, drawn to the Grand Canyon in the 1940s after her daughter's death, began recreationally swimming and floating down rapids, more or less creating river-rafting tourism in the process. Anne LaBastille, raised in the 1930s and '40s in a New Jersey suburb where she was pressured to "pursue polite indoor activities," became one of the Adirondacks' most passionate and controversial conservationists, driven by an ache for solitude. Dolores LaChapelle, one of the first female backcountry skiers, survived an avalanche in 1963 and was inspired to ask what it means to give oneself over entirely to a landscape. Hansman draws on psychotherapist Maureen Murdock's concept of the heroine's journey to reveal that these women's stories follow a different arc than the classic male hero's--one marked less by conquest than by spiritual communion with the natural world. She is at her best when exploring her subjects' complexity, acknowledging, for example, that LaBastille clung to her unique status as a female wilderness expert and often minimized other women. It's a nuanced and vivid portrait of pioneering outdoorswomen. Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly

 

FICTION

An Infinite Love Story by Chanel Cleeton 

Cleeton (The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes) delivers a heartrending yet hopeful story of an astronaut's wife holding on to her husband's memory in the wake of a mission gone wrong. In 1968 Cape Kennedy, Fla., Vivian Mitchell faces her worst fear: her husband Joe's Moon-bound shuttle has lost contact with mission control. As Vivian struggles to come to grips with NASA's report that he and the rest of the crew are lost in space, she seeks to counter suggestions that Joe, the mission's commander, is responsible for its failure. To that end, she agrees to an on-air interview with TV news anchor Graham Carlson, whom she once dated when she was a budding journalist in Washington, D.C., and explains that she hopes to prevent future mishaps by holding NASA accountable. Meanwhile, Vivian begins finding mysterious handwritten messages that seem to be from Joe. One of them reads, "Wait for me," prompting her to seek answers from a scientist who has written about wormholes and time travel. Cleeton drives the narrative forward with her well-crafted time travel conceit and touching depictions of Joe and Vivian's once in a lifetime love. Readers won't want to miss this.-- Kevan Lyon. Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly.

The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders

Award-winning short-story author Sanders (Company, 2023) returns with a debut novel that is part family saga, part historical fiction, part ghost story, and entirely captivating. We meet Aubrey Lamb on the night her boyfriend of four years ends things and just a year after losing her father. As she struggles to cope and navigate multiple jobs to afford her life in Washington, DC, the inheritance of a family farm in Tennessee offers not only a distraction from her heartbreak, but also an opportunity to connect with her extended family. As Aubrey contemplates the future of her family's land, the complicated and fraught origins of her heritage are told through the story of her great-grandfather. Throughout the novel, the ghosts of her ancestors observe the daily lives of their descendants and the story unfolds under their watchful eyes. Sanders expertly portrays familial relationships, imbuing her characters with pathos and humor as they grapple with the complexities of family legacy. Give to readers of The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois (2021), by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Copyright 2026 Booklist.

Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw
Clay Lockhart carries his wife's body to the cliffside to bury her in the midst of a ferocious storm. The power of the storm and his heartbreak combine to make his piece of land split off Scotland's coastline and be set adrift as an island. Decades later, 12-year-old Ellie Mills is sent to live with her grandmother in Nova Scotia. One stormy night, she spots a light at sea and rows out, expecting a stranded sailor. Instead, she finds the lost island and Clay, unchanged since the night his wife died. Ellie returns home hours later to discover an entire week has passed. Twenty years on, Ellie has nearly convinced herself the island was a delusion until a podcaster calls with photo and video evidence of its reappearance. When Ellie finally sees it again, she swims out and becomes stranded with Clay, who still has not aged. Adrift together on their small lost island, they watch the world shift around them. VERDICT Ernshaw (A History of Wild Places) crafts a haunting tale of love, time, and climate anxiety. Fans of Matt Haig's How To Stop Time and Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore will be entranced.--Kerri Copus. Copyright 2026 Library Journal.

WPL’s Book Club books are passkeys to other worlds. To ancient times, to foreign countries, to new knowledge, to alternate ways of thinking, and sometimes, literally, to galaxies far, far away. 

And what could be better than reading? Sharing your reactions with your fellow readers!

WPL currently hosts three book clubs: 

Librarian Olivia leads our Snacks and Suspects: True Crime Book Club, Librarian Dot leads our Best Sellers and Bites: Popular Fiction Book Club, and Librarian Melody leads our Science Fiction Book Club. 

I [Melody] interviewed Olivia and Dot about their experiences in their respective clubs, and added my own thoughts about the SF Book Club. 

Here is what we three wanted to share (lightly edited): 

Health and Fitness Resources at WPL

Whether your health and fitness goals are to move more, eat more nutrient-dense foods, or reduce stress, sugar, or alcohol, Worcester Public Library is here to help! We offer a variety of fitness and health related classes and workshops--on site and in-person--as well as online asynchronous fitness classes and online health resources available 24/7. Our Library of Things has outdoor games and health and fitness equipment for at-home use, and our circulating collections range from government publications on health topics to books, DVDS, and audiobooks on self-help topics, diseases and conditions, cookbooks to support a variety of diets, fitness resources, and sports and recreation titles.

In-Person Programs and Events

The Worcester Public Library offers a range of classes and workshops, from Zumba to probiotic pickling to aromatherapy for health and relaxation. Popular recurring programs follow; preview a complete list of health and wellness activities this summer, or visit our online calendar.

De-stress with Dogs with Tufts Paws for People! - Visit with a registered* therapy dog to bring a little rest and relaxation to your day. Therapy animals* are generally privately owned pets who are brought by their handlers to places to bring joy and smiles.

Nutrition Classes with Judy Palken, Registered Dietitian - This summer, Judy will be offering programs on diet and lifestyle changes you can make to control diabetes (and to prevent it); food choices to stabilize mood and increase feelings of well-being while  avoiding energy crashes and emotional distress; and a session on our history with alcohol and how to enjoy it responsibly. 

Zumba with Alina Khaspekov, certified Zumba instructor - Zumba  is a high energy, calorie-burning fitness class that uses pop and Latin music to create a dance-party atmosphere. Low-intensity and high-intensity moves are easy to follow for all level participants who can set their own pace.  It is an effective and fun cardio workout that melts fat, strengthens core, and improves flexibility.

Online Resources, available 24/7

Craft and Hobby's Fitness Classes
Not ready to Zumba with other people? Our Craft and Hobby database has a collection of short workout videos, from cardio to beginning ballet to yoga, all of which can be done in the privacy of your own space. Modules are short, instructors are professionals, and a variety of topics allows exploration of  contemporary dance, chair yoga, and ballroom dance. Access Craft & Hobby from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or in the library -- just keep your headphones on if you're dancing in our stacks!

Health Databases

Many health researchers start off with Dr. Google, but may not realize the first results are AI generated content or ads. How do you wade through the muck to find accurate, authoritative, vetted health information? Starting your search in a health database provides encyclopedic articles, multimedia resources, peer-reviewed research studies, and evidence-based news results--without AI, and ad-free! 

America's News Magazines has a variety of articles from selected publications - here are some health and fitness related highlights from within the database. You can read issues by date, or search across 20+ years of archives. Access from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or within the library directly.

BioPharm International integrates of science and business of biopharmaceutical development, and manufacturing. This collection provides practical, peer-reviewed technical articles to enable biopharmaceutical professionals to perform their jobs more effectively and make both sound business and technical decisions.

Children's Guide: Harvard Health provides expert, evidence-based guidance on child development, and family wellness in lay-person language for parents and caregivers.

Diagnostic Tests and Surgical Procedures: Harvard Health offers detailed explanations of common Diagnostic Tests and Medical Procedures: blood work, X-rays to advanced imaging, and biopsies, with expert advice on screenings for preventative care.

Harvard Health Newsletters provides overviews on everything from hair loss to gut health to natural remedies (palmetto for prostate health?) to cardiac care at home.

Harvard Medical School Guides provides information on all kinds of health-related topics for the general public, on all kinds of health-related topics: plant-based eating, total hip replacements, emotional intelligence, weight-loss medications, migraines.

Gale Databases are accessible in full-text from anywhere in the Commonwealth, with general interest magazines and professional academic articles.

Gale OneFile: Health & Medicine is a resource for the general public--search a full range of health-related issues, from current disease and disorder information to alternative medical practices. Browse by topic, search by keyword, or limit to a specific publication. Access from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or within the library directly.

Gale OneFile: Nursing and Allied Health is a resource for nursing students and nursing professionals working in the field with full-text academic articles to support specialized care, treatment, and patient management.  Access from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or within the library directly.

Gale OneFile: Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine is a resource with academic articles on sports medicine, physical therapy and fitness. Access from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or within the library directly.

Gale OneFile: Psychology is a resource for professionals and consumers, with academic research in all fields of psychology: abnormal, biological, cognitive, comparative, developmental, personality, quantitative, social, and all areas of applied psychology.  Access from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or within the library directly.

Consumer Reports offers product reviews on health and wellness items like insect repellent, sunscreen, athletic shoes, and adhesive bandages, medical devices like hearing aids and rollators, and quality of life improvement items like bathroom scales and air filters. There is also a Health section on the database,  as well as expert articles on topics like yoga, supplements, vaccinations, and more Access from home, work, or school with your WPL card, or within the library directly.

Library of Things

The Worcester Public Library has a variety of toys, games, equipment and kits to allow consumers to try before they buy, or borrow items to improve their quality of life, from bike locks to wifi hotspots, to musical instruments. If our metal detector gets you out and walking the beach, it's a win-win! Preview the complete collection  at mywpl.libguides.com/WPLlibraryofthings, or select from the following categories:

• Wellness tools like a blood pressure cuff, a grip strength trainer, and a light therapy lamp; 
• Outdoor recreation equipment like a hammock for relaxing, binoculars for birding, and telescopes for stargazing; 
• Outdoor games like croquet, badminton, and bocce for light physical activity in your own backyard;
• Yard and gardening tools to create a space that feels healthy and happy. 

Collections

158 - Our self-help collection offers materials on psychology, positive affirmations, increasing self-esteem, transcendental meditation, and more.

300 - underlying social, political, and policy aspects of medical issues  and health care (poverty, racism).

610-618 - traditional and alternative therapies for a variety of topics, including body systems, specific diseases and disorders, nutrition, yoga, essential oils, sleep, and more.

641 - cookbooks for a variety of diets: let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food with cookbooks featuring low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar, gluten free, paleo, and other eating plans to potentially reduce disease, lower inflammation, and control symptoms.

790 - sports and recreation, including how to play/rules of the game for sportsball, and materials on swimming, fishing, and camping.

917 - travel guides to locations in New England to walk, hike, canoe and kayak.

While the library staff cannot give medical advice, we are here to help you find resources to improve your health and well-being, with your dignity preserved, privacy prioritized, and confidentiality guaranteed. Visit during open hours, or use our Ask a Librarian service to get answers to your pressing health questions. Be well!

Business Database Update and Two Timely New Books on Finance & Economics

With the stock market trading at an all-time high, you might be looking for books to help make sense of it all. Here are two noteworthy titles to put on your reading list.

The Making of a Permabear: The Perils of Long-term Investing in a Short-Term World by Jeremy Grantham with Edward Chancellor

Grantham has been around since the first mutual funds were marketed and is well known for his investor insights shared in his long-established newsletter. Grantham is known as a contrarian investor, so his timing is relevant to the current state of the financial markets. Besides his prominent career in finance, he is an avid supporter of environmental issues.

Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life by Alex Mayyasi and the Hosts of Plant Money

These reporters share their insights from years of covering the economy on their popular podcast. The book is entertaining and thought-provoking, filled with historical data, and stories that readers can identify with in their everyday experiences that make the economy tick.

The library has a variety of business research databases. For those familiar with Guidestar and the Foundation Directory Professional database, they are now rolled into one source - Candid.

Candid (Foundation Directory Online & GuideStar): Create a customized search to identify funders for nonprofit support. Formerly known as the Foundation Center Directory database, changes have recently been made where this source and GuideStar (profiles on nonprofits) have been combined into one database now known simply as Candid. Candid is available only at the Main Library. If you’d like to learn more about Candid searching, attend our Introduction to Finding Grants class held each month.

Gale OneFile Business – Delivers full text coverage of over 4,000 leading trade publication for finance, marketing, accounting and management.

Gale OneFile Entrepreneurship – Provides strategy insights, periodicals, and case studies for small business and startup enterprises.

Gale OneFile Economics and Theory – Focuses on academic and theoretical publications covering global economics.

Reference Solutions and AtoZ Database

Both can be used to identify potential customers and competitors by zip code, city, metro area or state. Data on competitors includes income, expenses, locations, and employee data. Both sources provide a suite of databases.

Reference Solutions and AtoZ can be used to create sales contact lists for the purposes of B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to customer) targeted marketing for products and services.

For help with learning how to use library research databases, or to learn about upcoming business programs, email our business resources librarian, Jackie, at jdzugan@mywpl.org.

FIFA Fever! Soccer Books To Celebrate the World Cup

With FIFA's announcement that Massachusetts is a host location for seven games for this year's FIFA World Cup 2026, football fever is taking over! Matches begin June 11. A reminder--you can't walk to Gillette, aka Boston Stadium, from Boston--or Worcester! Check for information and updates on the official website.

Whether you're a new soccer fan caught up in the hype, a die-hard "football" fanatic who has been following FIFA for years, an armchair referee, or just enjoy playing EA SPORTS FC 26, check out this list of nonfiction titles about what we call soccer, in celebration of Boston's hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2026. For those of you with friends and family who will be obsessed with soccer from mid-June through July 9, there's some suggested soccer fiction to calmly read while everyone else ise jumping up and down screaming at the television.

Nonfiction

Information, History, and Biographies

A Beautiful Shame: One Team's Fight for Survival in a New Era of College Sports by Ryan Swanson
This book follows the University of New Mexico men's soccer team as they fight for survival in a new era of college athletics, providing a firsthand perspective on the impact of changes such as the transfer portal, conference realignments, and universities scrambling to stay compliant on athletes from smaller sports and institutions.

Big Fan: Two Friends, 81,589 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love by Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski
Mike Schur and Joe Posnanski travel the world in a hilarious and heartwarming celebration of fans and the things they love: baseball, basketball, chess, darts, football, futbol, Indigenous North American stickball, pickleball, WWE, Taylor Swift, Star Wars, and more.

The History of the World in 12 Soccer Matches by Stefano Bizzotto, translated by Will Schutt
An epic tale of war, revolution, economic crisis, and social transformation told through the story of twelve historic soccer games, with a gallery of unexpected heroes, thwarted tragedies, and stunning, world-changing results.

How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius: What Architects, Stuntwomen, Paleoanthropologists, and Computer Scientists Reveal about the World's Game by Nick Greene
A brilliant and entertaining deconstruction of the most popular sport in the world, just in time for the 2026 World Cup in North America, from the bestselling author of How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius.

The Long Game: U.S. Men's Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts by Leander Schaerlaeckens
The gripping account of the U.S. men's national soccer team's winding saga from obscurity to the global stage as they stand on the brink of a seminal World Cup in 2026

Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World's Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game by Grant Wahl
The forefront Sports Illustrated soccer journalist and best-selling author of The Beckham Experiment profiles master players in every key position to reveal how elite athletes and coaches strategize on and off the field and perform in high-pressure game situations.

The Messi Effect: How the Global Legend Changed the Future of American Soccer by Paul Tenorio
The soccer writer for The Atlantic draws on his numerous high-ranking sources inside Inter Miami, American soccer, and overseas to bring readers behind the scenes and chronicle the last act of Lionel Messi.

Relagated: One American's Pints-and-Pies Journey From the Top to the Bottom of English Football by Todd Smith
Looking for a change and a chance to write about something that really matters to him, Smith takes off for a multi-month, immersive expedition through the world and culture of English football. A heartwarming account featuring pints, meat pies, a rainbow of team scarves and banners, and some very colorful slang, Relegated is the story of a man looking to transform himself while discovering the true meaning of English football.

The Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant by Rick Burton & Norm O'Reilly
experienced sports business experts Rick Burton and Norm O'Reilly dig into the slow but sure growth of Major League Soccer in North America and the advent of major European teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and others attracting huge fan bases in the United States. For soccer enthusiasts, sports business professionals, and anyone curious about the future of American sports, this book is an essential read that captures MLS's journey to becoming a global powerhouse.

Soccer for Dummies by Tom Dunmore
Learn how soccer got to be the #1 most popular sport in the world. Get up to speed on the world's best leagues, teams, and players. Discover tips on playing and coaching, plus fun soccer facts and resources for learning more"

Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano
Presents observations and reflections on soccer showing both the tragedy and the triumph of the game throughout the years.

Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition): Why European Men and American Women Usually Win--And American Men Don't (Yet) by Simon Kuper & Stefan Syzmanski
Soccernomics is a revolutionary way of looking at soccer that has helped to change how some of the world's biggest clubs are run. Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology, and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, experts Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski reveal the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer.

World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments by Simon Kuper
After attending every game since 1990, World Cup Fever is Kuper's journey to find the heart of soccer, through the nine tournaments he's experienced first-hand--from watching matches in half-empty stands during Italia 1990 (a tournament that at times felt like a village fete) to witnessing the French triumph at home in 1998; South Africa's national dream in 2010; and the troubling legacy of Qatar in 2022. Told on the pitch, in the stands, in the pubs, and on the streets, this is the story of how soccer has changed the world.

Fiction

Historical, Contemporary & Romance

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Teaching human sexuality from a perspective that information and pleasure are top priorities, divorced mom Ruth Ramsey butts heads with the local soccer coach, a divorced former addict who became an evangelical Christian after hitting rock bottom.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Britt-Marie is 63 when she walks away from her loveless marriage and takes a job as a caretaker for a soon-to-be-demolished rec center in the tiny, depressing Swedish town of Borg, where among other things, she coaches a youth soccer team.

Death of the Soccer God by Dimitry Elias Léger
A global soccer star’s epic ride to the 1950 World Cup places him in shooting distance of his dreams and his own death.

Everything For You by Chloe Liese 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Oliver Bergman is a beloved rising soccer star, all sunshine smiles and the heart of his team's spirit. In short: he's genetically designed to get under misanthropic, miserable Gavin's aggravated skin. Sick of their hostility, Coach gives them an ultimatum: put an end to their enmity or say goodbye to being captains. Forced to finally to lower their guards, Gavin and Oliver realize that they also have chemistry off the field, and it's fueled by something much more powerful than competition--an explosive attraction.

Godwin by Joseph O'Neill
Mark Wolfe, a technical writer at a Pittsburgh cooperative, heads to England to help his struggling soccer scout half-brother locate a young African phenom known only as Godwin. Back in the states, the co-op's steady cofounder, Lakesha, deals with major work problems.

If Only You by Chloe Liese 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ziggy Bergman is tired of being underestimated. Sure, she's the youngest player on the National Soccer team and the baby of the family, but that doesn't mean she still deserves to be treated like a kid. It's time for her angelic image to get a makeover. What better way to do that than hanging out with trouble incarnate and her brother's best friend, Sebastian Gauthier?

The Long Game by Elena Armas 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
A disgraced soccer executive reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children's team.

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev 🌶️🌶️🌶️
In this adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, a chef partners with her celebrity soccer star--her first love--during a reality-show competition she hopes will save her restaurant.

Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ted Lasso meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in this steamy sports romance about an infamous star soccer player who is forced to fake date a Hollywood starlet, only to develop real feelings for her-just as she learns he was pretending and vows to get even.

The Striker by Ana Huang 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
When legendary footballer Asher Donovan must be trained by former ballerina Scarlett DeBois, the sparks begin to fly.

Two Left Feet by Kallie Emblidge 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ordinarily the star of the Camden Roses is calm, cool, and collected, keeping his club relevant with his prowess in the midfield and his mighty left foot. But this season, the threats abound: First a midseason injury sidelines him when his team needs him most. When a recruit is called up to fill in, Oliver fears he'll be replaced. Oliver immediately finds confident, eager Leonardo irritating, but eventually begins to see him as a friend--and then, to his mounting horror, as something more. As the season heats up, a lot more than football hangs in the balance.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
The wizards of Unseen University in the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork must win a football match, without using magic, so they're in the mood for trying everything else. As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed forever.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Working with curvy, cheery, cute ghostwriter Mabel Willicker on his memoir, grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding, when their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, convinces her to be in a fake relationship for the public, but their undeniable chemistry between them leads to something real.

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Note: The chili peppers denote the steaminess, or spice level, of a book's romantic/intimate elements; visit https://www.romance.io/steamrating for the key.