WPL Books It! Adult Winter Reading Challenge

 

WPL Books It! Adult Reading Challenge. Don't forget to grab your registration grab bag full of your favorite ‘90s swag! For this '90s themed challenge we're offering readers the opportunity to be entered to win three different prizes. 

Prize 1: Your Favorite ‘90s CDs and a state of the art CD player alarm clock with a $50 gift card to Joe’s Albums

Prize 2: The Beanie Babies collection of your dreams with a $50 gift card to That’s Entertainment

Prize 3: A VCR and a starter collection of all the best VHS movies from the ‘90s with a $50 gift card to the Elm Draught House Cinema

Prizes sponsored by the Worcester Public Library Foundation

Click here for more information and to log into your Beanstack account to start logging your minutes, activities, and reviews. If you don't have an account, you can create one today!

Read these patron book reviews submitted by your fellow readers to get an idea of what to read next! And don't forget to log what you read, WPL events you attend, and your book reviews!

Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin

Amazing feat of journalism in piecing together the occurrences on a cruise ship that set sail in March of 2020. The pandemic had already been identified and been spreading, but the government orders had not been given to stop cruises from setting sail. Trouble is, after the first two ports coming north from South America, countries stopped allowing them to dock. Then people on board started getting sick, supplies started running out, and inevitably people died. A harrowing situation told through individual stories, crew accounts, corporate records, and extended family interviews. I recall reading about this situation in the newspaper at the time it was happening, but the details are so sad and scary that we can only hope we've learned from history and the next time this situation happens the decision is made to stop cruises for the sake of lives instead of profits before it's too late.

-Linda J.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

This might be my favorite concept for a book ever. The idea that she lived a long time ago and now her story is used to oppress the current population is incredible. I really enjoyed this book, the only thing is I wish it were longer. There were certain parts that I think would have been improved with more writing.

-Rory C.

My Murder by Katie Williams                                              

Lou is a victim of a serial killer, brought back by cloning. Her memory has gaps and she has a serious case of imposter syndrome. A controversial government project has brought her back to life and now wants to use her and others like her to justify the continuance of the program. But Lou has questions...This was a fascinating sci-fi mystery novel with lots of twists and turns.

-Mary R.

Drinking From Graveyard Wells by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

This is an incredible story collection! I really enjoyed it! The author is originally from Zimbabwe and most of the stories are set there. Some are about Zimbabwean immigrants. Themes include justice, rebellion, colonialism, and loyalties. Most of the stories have speculative elements, although there are a couple exceptions. I loved how beautifully written these stories are! Each has beautiful prose, engaging pacing, and layers of nuance. Many of the stories and themes deal with heavy, dark realities, yet the tone manages to stay hopeful and optimistic. I also loved the way traditional Zimbabwean folklore and spirituality was deeply woven throughout, but often seen through the lens of a modern, skeptical Zimbabwean. Despite these stories being short, they pack an emotional punch. I was deeply moved by these stories.

-Kristen L.

New Releases: February 2024 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!

FICTION

The Book of Love by Kelly Link. In a small-town high school classroom in the middle of the night, the spirits of three dead students and one interloper have escaped death's realm by methods as mysterious as the cause of their deaths. They are confronted by two equally mysterious beings and a puzzle. Two of them will live, two of them will die, but as they're solving all the riddles, they may reunite with their families. The town has become ground zero for big magic, a place where good and evil, death and chaos, music, and especially love, wreak havoc as the teenagers attempt to unravel the mystery before it unravels them and all they love...  Lovers of magical coming-of-age stories will find the protagonists' journeys compelling, while anyone who believes that love is the greatest magic of all will find the redemptive power of love (of all types) imbued in every single page.—Marlene Harris Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides. "There were seven of us in all, trapped on the island. One of us was a murderer." So begins Michaelides's latest (after The Maidens), a tale of friendship and retribution, stardom and fame, and the wounded child that hides in everyone. Playwright Elliot Chase is the unreliable narrator spinning a fantastical tale of a group of people trapped on a private Greek island by the Fury, harsh windstorms that batter the island. Told over five acts, Elliot's narrative moves from Hollywood to London to the Greek island of Aura and provides a history of the major players in the island murder case, including himself. His main focus is his best friend, former movie star Lana Farrar, who invited the guests to her private isle.. Michaelides's use of Elliot as dubious storyteller is clever, keeping readers engrossed in peeling back the layers... The tension, unrequited feelings, lies and resentment, friendship and jealousy that permeate this suspenseful page-turner will keep readers guessing until the satisfying ending. —Marianne Fitzgerald.  Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams.
Ricki Wilde's inability to fit in with her rich, insipid family has made her doubt her ability to connect with others. Disinterested in the family business, she has a chance encounter that spurs her to move to Harlem and pursue her passion for all things floral. Not long after her arrival, she meets Ezra Walker, a reclusive musician whose talent is his primary tether to a world that has caused him much pain. Ezra and Ricki's shared attraction is immediate, so his strong reluctance to get to know her is mystifying...Williams's (Seven Days in June) novel is both a love letter to Harlem and a recognition of its history that gentrification cannot erase.—Nicole Williams.  Copyright 2023 Library Journal.

NONFICTION

Big Meg: The Story of the Largest and Most Mysterious Predator That Ever Lived, by Tim Flannery & Emma Flannery.  
Paleontologist Tim Flannery teams up with his scientist daughter Emma for this… examination of the megalodon, an extinct shark species that lived from 20 to five million years ago. Admitting that the megalodon “remains largely a mystery,” with the only known remnants consisting of “fossilised teeth and a few vertebrae,” the authors gamely cover what scientists have speculated on the basis of this evidence. Because megalodon teeth are usually found “as isolated specimens,” it’s believed the megalodon, like most sharks, produced and lost teeth continuously, with each individual “capable of producing tens of thousands of teeth over its century-long life.”… The impressive science highlights how much researchers have been able to learn from a limited fossil record… This is worth diving into. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Feb.) Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly. 

Super Communicators, by Charles Duhigg.  Pulitzer winner Duhigg contends… that “we can learn to connect in more meaningful ways if we can understand how conversations work.” According to Duhigg, so-called supercommunicators more easily build trust, persuade others, and form friendships because they’ve honed such skills… Drawing on social experiments, neurological studies, and examples of how CIA agents recruit informants and doctors review treatment options with patients, Duhigg provides wise advice for bonding with friends, fighting with partners, and bridging divides over such lightning-rod issues as gun control… In lucid prose, Duhigg breaks conversation down to its fundamentals, providing both an actionable guide and a revealing peek into the psychological needs and motivations that underpin human interaction. It’s a smart, revelatory look at the complex ways in which humans conflict and connect. (Feb.)  Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly. 

The Unit, my life fighting terrorists as one of America's most secret military operatives, by Adam Gamal.  A memoir from a member of “the military’s most secret intelligence/special operations unit.” Gamal (a pseudonym) was born in Egypt to a family whose father, although struggling to make ends meet, put four children through college. As a child, the author grew up detesting the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian extremists who exerted great influence. As he was studying law, a professor explained that he would never practice what he was learning because there was no rule of law in Egypt. Brilliant but frustrated, Gamal moved to the U.S. in 1991 at age 20, with no job and speaking no English…In 1994, feeling he owed a debt to his chosen country, he joined the Army… Gamal breezed through training, during which he encountered both encouragement and racism. He volunteered for a force so secret that he can only refer to it as “the unit.”… Fiercely patriotic despite regularly encountering prejudice, the author does not hesitate to point out the catastrophic consequences of Americans’ ignorance of other cultures… The compelling story of an unlikely hero in the war on terror. Copyright Kirkus 2024 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. 

WPL Books It! Adult Winter Reading Challenge

WPL Books It! Adult Reading Challenge. Don't forget to grab your registration grab bag full of your favorite ‘90s swag! For this '90s themed challenge we're offering readers the opportunity to be entered to win three different prizes. 

Prize 1: Your Favorite ‘90s CDs and a state of the art CD player alarm clock with a $50 gift card to Joe’s Albums

Prize 2: The Beanie Babies collection of your dreams with a $50 gift card to That’s Entertainment

Prize 3: A VCR and a starter collection of all the best VHS movies from the ‘90s with a $50 gift card to the Elm Draught House Cinema

Prizes sponsored by the Worcester Public Library Foundation

Click here for more information and to log into your Beanstack account to start logging your minutes, activities, and reviews. If you don't have an account, you can create one today!

Read these patron book reviews submitted by your fellow readers to get an idea of what to read next! And don't forget to log what you read, WPL events you attend, and your book reviews!

The Underworld by Susan Casey

Parts of this were fascinating and truly compelling. Other parts got a little lost in the weeds. This book is a collection of vignettes from Casey’s own life and travels interspersed with history about various attempts to reach the deepest parts of the ocean. I learned a lot, but I also found it difficult to follow the through line and the more technical details at times. Perhaps this would have been easier with an ebook than an audiobook—the supplemental PDF was almost impossible to access, so I didn’t see the contents until afterward. Overall, though, I finished this book more satisfied than I did when I finished Devil’s Teeth. So that’s something.

Tracy B.

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

I don't typically enjoy ghost stories, but I appreciated this one told from the perspective of a Navajo woman because through the character's point of view I was able to suspend my disbelief. I also liked the detailed descriptions of her photography and how her cameras were almost like characters in the story.

Lynn F.

Defiant by Brandon Sanderson

A satisfying end that, as all good sci-fi does, leaves room for more to come.

Matthew N.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

This was even more intense than I was expecting, in terms of violence. It was incredibly interesting to read it in 2024, which is where things pick up in this text written about the future. Living through a pandemic and insurrection made some of the events and attitudes in the beginning of the book hit in a new way. Overall a very standout work.

John S.

WPL Books It! Adult Winter Reading Challenge

 

Welcome to WPL Books It! Adult Reading Challenge. Every contender will get a registration grab bag full of your favorite ‘90s swag (yes, there is a snap bracelet) and be entered to win ‘90s themed prizes! 

For this '90s themed challenge we're offering readers the opportunity to win three different prizes. 

Prize 1: Your Favorite ‘90s CDs and a state of the art CD player alarm clock with a $50 gift card to Joe’s Albums

Prize 2: The Beanie Babies collection of your dreams with a $50 gift card to That’s Entertainment

Prize 3: A VCR and a starter collection of all the best VHS movies from the ‘90s with a $50 gift card to the Elm Draught House Cinema

Prizes sponsored by the Worcester Public Library Foundation

Click here for more information and to log into your Beanstack account to start logging your minutes, activities, and reviews. If you don't have an account, you can create one today!

Read these patron book reviews submitted by your fellow readers to get an idea of what to read next. And don't forget to log what you read, WPL events you attend, and your book reviews!

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi

The Beast Player offers a captivating story, yet the main character's seemingly privileged attitude may leave some readers wanting more challenges and character growth. Despite this, the narrative keeps a compelling pace, making it an engaging read for those intrigued by fantasy and unique worlds.

-Lian S.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Wow, this book made me cry! I've seen previews of the movie and wanted to read it before I watched it. Finished it over the course of one long evening. The structure of the novel was done in such a way that made the story feel well-rounded. The characters felt relatable and weighed by their choices in a way that pulled me in! Also 👀 the comment on the Cold Storage Warehouse fire was just super surprising because I just finished 3000 Degrees last month in Dec. I might permanently add this book to my collection for the Woo reference. The ending of the book still sits with me and the premise in general -impossible choices for love on all ends-

-Kandis S.

 

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

We read this one for homeschool today. It was so beautifully written and just a joy to read out loud. I can see why it's become such a classic, and definitely expresses both joy and pain so clearly and poignantly.

-John S.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Rich world-building, a compelling and interesting MC, surprising turns, and dark tragedy. I understand now why so many people love this one. The only element that felt forced or underdeveloped was The Dragon as love interest, but I don’t begrudge the inclusion of that familiar trope.

-Tracy B.

WPL Books It! Adult Winter Reading Challenge

 

Welcome to WPL Books It! Adult Reading Challenge. Every contender will get a registration grab bag full of your favorite ‘90s swag (yes, there is a snap bracelet) and be entered to win ‘90s themed prizes! 

For this '90s themed challenge we're offering readers the opportunity to win three different prizes. 

Prize 1: Your Favorite ‘90s CDs and a state of the art CD player alarm clock with a $50 gift card to Joe’s Albums

Prize 2: The Beanie Babies collection of your dreams with a $50 gift card to That’s Entertainment

Prize 3: A VCR and a starter collection of all the best VHS movies from the ‘90s with a $50 gift card to the Elm Draught House Cinema

Prizes sponsored by the Worcester Public Library Foundation

Click here for more information and to log into your Beanstack account to start logging your minutes, activities, and reviews. If you don't have an account, you can create one today!

Read these patron book reviews submitted by your fellow readers to get an idea of what to read next! And don't forget to log what you read, WPL events you attend, and your book reviews!

Trust by Hernan Diaz

I read Trust by Hernan Diaz. This is a historical fiction tome set during the late 19th and early 20th century and centered on the topic of finance. The book begins with a novel within the novel, the story of a prominent finance baron (not unlike JP Morgan) and his rise to financial superstardom. His humanity is lodged in the story of his wife, Helen. Similar in personality, they gel and build a life together until tragedy strikes. This first part sets the tone for the rest of the novel. The book then segue into a manuscript told from the voice of Andrew Bevell, the real-life financier. In the third part, Bevel hires a woman to write his memoir and the final section is Mildred Bevel's wife's diary. Who has power and who controls the narrative? It all interconnects and weaves into a great story that makes you think long after it is over. I had to read the last line of the book over and over because it was so beautifully written, "Words peeling off from things, in and out of sleep, like a needle coming out from under a black cloth and then vanishing again unthreaded." This was a great book.

- Abby C.

The Hard Road Out: One Woman’s Escape From North Korea by Jihyun Park

This book, originally published in French, tells the saga of a North Korean family's decent into poverty and famine during the 1980's and '90's. The author was a loyal North Korean, as one must be in any communist regime, until deciding to flee at the point when she could no longer watch the bodies piling up in the street and the children starving to death. Her path of escape, unbeknownst to her, was being sold to a Chinese family. The only good thing to come out of that nightmare was her son, but they were separated for a number of years when she was sent back to North Korea when he was young. A second attempt to go from China to South Korea was also unsuccessful, but she eventually was assisted by a missionary organization in China and able to immigrate to the U.K. The epilogue explains her success there, but the bulk of the book is her life in North Korea and China - worlds that we are not typically privy to understanding from an insider's perspective. Well written and worth your time.

-Linda J.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is a riveting historical fiction novel about Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife, who is also tasked with investigating crimes. Martha kept copious journals about the births she attended, the crimes she investigated, and life in general. It is through these journal entries that Ms. Lawhon is able to tell us this remarkable story. The story opens with a dead man floating under the ice in a frozen river. This man was awaiting trial for rape. As the medical investigator, Martha must assess the man’s injuries and tell the court her findings. As Martha wants only justice to be served, there are others who have secrets they are not willing to let go of. In order to solve this crime and make the murderer pay, Martha needs to understand the dead man better. He was a rapist and Martha knew his victim. Martha is more entwined with this particular crime than she’d like to be. The horrors suffered by women in the 1700’s were many, but it was the heroism of women like Martha Ballard that shined bright. I had never heard of her before this book and I am so grateful to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read this amazing, well-researched bit of history. I highly recommend this book, not only to historical fiction lovers, but to anyone who loves a brilliantly written story. This easily rates 5 stars.

-Lisa G

New Releases: January 2024 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!

FICTION

You Dreamed of Empires: A Novel by Álvaro Enrigue. When the armies of Hernando Cortes first enter the city of Tenochtitlan in 1519, many in his entourage are dazzled by the size, grandeur and strangeness of the city. The Aztecs covet the invaders’ horses, but are baffled of their kings, and by their Christian faith. As Cortes and the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma prepare to meet, tensions rise and some among the Spaniards begin to wonder if they’ll get out alive let alone conquer an empire. What follows is a vividly imagined clash between two cultures, two languages, two religions and two possible futures. Be warned: This is not your typical historical novel. Enrigue has produced a feverish hallucinatory work that is in the words of one reviewer, “so electric, so unique that it feels like a dream.”

Blizzard by Marie Vingtras. A young boy goes missing in the midst of an Alaskan blizzard, and four diverse individuals converge in the effort to find him. As the hours pass, the storm strengthens, the atmosphere becomes increasingly ominous, and secrets that each character harbors are slowly revealed. Despite the novel’s North American setting, Vingras is actually French and Blizzard has become a runaway best seller in her home country.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar.  This luminous work of fiction by first-time novelist Akbar, focuses on Cyrus Shams, Iranian immigrant and Midwesterner who is a poet, an orphan a recovering addict and a seeker. Obsessed with finding meaning in his own life as well as in the lives of his deceased parents, he embarks on a journey to uncover a family secret that leads him into an unlikely friendship with a dying poet living out her days in the Brooklyn Museum. Grief, violence, the joy of language, displacement, martyrdom, homesickness and belonging are all woven into a rich and compelling quest tale.

NONFICTION

 I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn about Money by Madeline Pendleton. Well, she may not have wanted to, but Tik-Tok star and entrepreneur Madeline Pendleton surely did learn about money. Her new memoir/financial guide describes her childhood in a financially-strapped household headed by her punk father and Goth mother and her couch-surfing years working a series of low-end, dead-end jobs. Eventually, she found a compassionate employer, learned what she needed to know about-you got it-money and started her own successful clothing company, Tunnel Vison, where she is committed to fostering an equitable corporate structure. Pendleton offers practical advice to her fellow Gen-Zers, as well as a searing indictment of our socioeconomic system, which she says, “you could describe as dog-eat-dog, except dogs are more cooperative.”  

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson. Author Wilkinson is a native of Appalachia and former poet laureate of Kentucky so it may come as no surprise that she has produced a lyrical “praisesong” in honor of her homeland, her family, and “Affrilachian” culinary history. Her work incorporates family lore, archival photographs, and, and of course, recipes. How about green beans with new potatoes, or chicken and dumplings, or a lighter-than-air angel food cake? In a word, yum.

Toxic: Women, Fame and the Tabloid 2000s by Sarah Ditum. Welcome to the “noughties” roughly the first decade of the early 2000s when social media exploded and the words slut shaming, fat shaming, and revenge porn became part of our vocabulary. In this book, author Ditum profiles nine young women, most of them household names, who were caught in the crosshairs of the cyber revolution. The idea that we as a society place our idols on a pedestal only to gleefully tear them down is not new, but Ditum argues that the cost of celebrity rose exponentially during this era due to the lack of privacy and reach that social media affords. Interestingly, she does not portray all of these women as helpless victims. Some were indeed destroyed (Amy Winehouse) or continue to struggle (Britney Spears), but others adapted. Paris Hilton instinctively understood that her role was to “stand for privileged nothingness” and she played it with aplomb. And, Kim Kardashian? Doing just fine. An interesting lens through which to view our very recent past.

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