Staff Picks

This book made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. Careful if you read it in public--you might not be able to control your reactions. A tender, hilarious, and heartfelt journey of unexpected connections and new beginnings. Phoebe completely won my heart!

Publisher description:
It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years--she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan--which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other. This is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagine--and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

Find The Wedding People in our online catalog

Oh, Margo... I don't even know where to start. This book was thought-provoking, heartwarming, and so real. Margo's struggles and triumphs felt like I was right there with her--cheering, cringing, and tearing up. I couldn't put it down. You'll want to read this before the TV show drops in 2025!
 

Publisher's description: 
As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger. Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

Find Margo's Got Money Troubles in our catalog

When We Flew Away is a touching historical fiction about Anne Frank's life before going into hiding. As someone who's read The Diary of a Young Girl, I found this book beautifully captures Anne's courage and wisdom beyond her years. Though aimed at young adults, it resonates with all ages.

Publisher's description:
Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius. With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family's life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence. In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she will become a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it.

Find When we flew away in our online catalog

You Are Here delivers a heartfelt journey of healing. Michael and Marnie, both lost in their own ways, reluctantly embark on a ten-day hike, only to discover something unexpected: each other. Fans of One Day will appreciate the wit and warmth woven into David Nicholls' latest novel.

 

Publisher's description:

Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he'll do anything to avoid his empty house. Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she's battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it's passing her by. When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of ten-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they've been looking for. Michael and Marnie are on the precipice of a bright future ... if they can survive the journey.

 

If you loved The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics, you'll adore this Ashley Poston cozy read as well! It's a delightful romance with a magical twist, perfect for book lovers seeking a charming escape.

 

Publisher's description:

When her car breaks down traveling to her annual book club retreat, a superfan of romance novels finds herself stranded in the quaint, but fictional town of Eloraton, the site of her favorite series, looking for her own story.

 

Am I really in control of my thoughts, or are they shaped by the internet, media, and AI? Is there a remedy for an oversaturated mind? This book made me reflect on our world while feeling like I was chatting with a friend. I highly recommend it for anyone struggling with information overload.

Publisher’s description:

'Magical thinking' can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain's coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven. Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the 'Halo effect' cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger than life celebrities, to how the 'Sunk cost fallacy' can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we've realized they're not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.

Find The age of magical overthinking in our catalog

When I moved from my country to the U.S., I didn't know what to expect. Patti Smith's words gave me the courage I needed to fly higher. When Patti left Philadelphia and moved to New York, she didn't have much more than hopes and dreams. Isn't that what most of us have before starting anew?

 

Publisher's description:

In this memoir, singer-songwriter Patti Smith shares tales of New York City : the denizens of Max's Kansas City, the Hotel Chelsea, Scribner's, Brentano's and Strand bookstores and her new life in Brooklyn with a young man named Robert Mapplethorpe--the man who changed her life with his love, friendship, and genius.

 

I read this on my commute to work, and I felt a bit sad every time I reached my destination. Sayuri Komachi is a librarian with the ability to match each person with the book that will lead them to the path their souls are craving. This book is a heartwarming tale about library magic.

Publisher description:

What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose. In Komachi's unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams. Which book will you recommend?

 

One of the coziest magical romances I've ever read, it pairs wonderfully with a cup of tea before bedtime! Mia, a member of a secret society of witches, receives a message about tutoring three secluded young witches. Little does she know, this invitation will completely transform her life!

Publisher’s description: 

A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family-and a new love-changes the course of her life. As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic.

Find The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches in our online catalog.