Library Reads: May 2017

This is your monthly Library Reads announcement.

Library Reads day means 3 things here on RA for All.

1. I post the list and tag it “Library Reads” so that you can easily pull up every single list with one click.
2. I can remind you that even though the newest list is always fun to see, it is the older lists where you can find AWESOME, sure bet suggestions for patrons that will be on your shelf to actually hand to them right now. The best thing about Library Reads is the compound interest it is earning. We now have hundreds and hundreds of titles worth suggesting right at our fingertips.
3. You have no excuse not to hand sell any Library Reads titles because there is a book talk right there in the list in the form of the annotation one of your colleagues wrote for you. All you have to say to your patron is, “such and such library worker in blank state thought this was a great read,” and then you read what he or she said.

So get out there and suggest a good read to someone today. I don’t care what list or resource you use to find the suggestion, just start suggesting books. 

One final note, the No. 2 book on this list is one I read back in January and have been telling everyone I meet to put on their May to list read...Radium Girls.  Click here to read my review. This nonfiction title is going to be a book club favorite for many years to come.

Without further ado.... May 2017 LibraryReads

Eleanor Oliphant Is
Completely Fine:
A Novel

by Gail Honeyman

Published:5/9/2017 by Pamela Dorman Books
ISBN: 9780735220683

“I loved this book about the quirky Eleanor, who struggles to relate to other people and lives a very solitary life. When she and the new work IT guy happen to be walking down the street together, they witness an elderly man collapse on the sidewalk and suddenly Eleanor’s orderly routines are disrupted. This is a lovely novel about loneliness and how a little bit of kindness can change a person forever. Highly recommended for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Rosie Project – this would make a great book club read.”

Halle Eisenman, Beaufort County Library, Blufton, SC

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women

by Kate Moore

Published: 5/2/2017 by Sourcebooks
ISBN: 9781492649359

“This is the story of hundreds of young, vibrant women who were sentenced to death by their employers. The so-called “Radium Girls” painted luminescent faces on clock and watch dials using a paint mixture that contained radium. Instructed to “lip-point”their brushes as they painted, they absorbed high doses of radium into their bodies. When the effects of the radium led to horrific disfigurement and pain, the company refused to take responsibility. This heartrending book was one I could not put down.”

Catherine Coyne, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, CT

Since We Fell: A Novel

by Dennis Lehane

Published: 5/9/2017 by Ecco
ISBN: 9780062129383

“Rachel is a journalist who, after her online breakdown, becomes a recluse scared to resume her daily life. She is recently divorced and meets an old friend who wants to help her overcome her fear. They fall in love, marry and appear to have the perfect life, until Rachel ventures out of the house one day and sees something that makes her question everything she knows about her new husband. Once a reporter, always a reporter and Rachel has to get to the bottom of her story.”

Michele Coleman, Iredell County Public Library, Statesville, NC

The Leavers: A Novel

by Lisa Ko

Published: 5/2/2017 by Algonquin Books
ISBN: 9781616206888

“One morning, eleven-year-old Deming Guo’s mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant named Polly, goes to her job and never comes home. Deming is eventually adopted by two white college professors who move him from the Bronx to a small town. This is a poignant story of a boy who struggles to find his footing in a new world. It’s also an unflinching look at the difficult decisions a mother faces. This novel explores what it means to be a family and the duality of lives, especially through adoption.”

Jennifer Ohzourk, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis MO

Ginny Moon: A Novel

by Benjamin Ludwig

Published: 5/2/2017 by Park Row Books
ISBN: 9780778330165

“What an amazing debut novel! Ludwig effectively captures the voice, thought process, and behaviors of a young autistic girl who has escaped a harrowing living situation and has finally settled into a new”forever”home. Unfortunately, she becomes obsessed with returning to her old home to find her “baby doll,”jeopardizing both her own and her new family’s safety. Ginny truly is an original, and readers will be captivated by her story.”

Vicki Nesting, St. Charles Parish Library, Destrehan, LA

Saints For All Occasions: A Novel

by J. Courtney Sullivan

Published: 5/9/2017 by Knopf
ISBN: 9780307959577

“Sisters Nora and Theresa Flynn leave their home in Ireland for a new life in 1958 Boston. Each adjusts to life in America in her own way. Steady Nora watches younger Theresa, until choices made by each woman drive the sisters apart. We follow the story from 1958 to contemporary New England, Ireland, and New York, exploring how siblings and children relate to their parents and each other as they age. Novels about Irish immigrant families and their American descendants are a weakness of mine and the way this story unfolds from everyone’s perspectives is very satisfying!”

Trisha Rigsby, Deerfield Public Library, Deerfield, WI

White Hot: A Hidden Legacy Novel

by Ilona Andrews

Published: 5/30/2017 by Avon
ISBN: 9780062289254

“After rereading the first Hidden Legacy book, I plunged immediately into White Hot. I wasn’t disappointed. Nevada is trying to return her life to a semblance of normal, “normal” being without powerful, sexy, and very dangerous Prime Rogan. Rogan hasn’t stopped thinking about Nevada and hasn’t stopped wanting her. And what Rogan wants, he eventually gets. The action in White Hot was faster, the plot more intricate, and the characters became even more real. I cannot wait to read book three!”

Heather Cover, Homewood Library, Birmingham, AL

Sycamore: A Novel

by Bryn Chancellor
Published: 5/9/2017 by Harper
ISBN: 9780062661098

“A newly divorced woman is starting life over in a small Arizona town. She comes across the skeletal remains of what the locals think is the body of a seventeen-year-old girl named Jess who disappeared almost two decades ago. The discovery forces community members to recall memories and secrets that have been buried a long time. Readers are treated to a cast of characters with distinct personalities who, with each piece of the puzzle, form a patchwork that reveals the truth surrounding Jess’s disappearance.”

Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, Huntington, NY

Astrophysics For People In A Hurry

by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Published: 5/2/2017 by W.W. Norton & Company
ISBN:   9780393609394

“Tyson’s writing style is always approachable and entertaining, and his latest book is no exception. Clear and concise, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry gives readers exactly what the title promises, a basic understanding of a deeply fascinating subject. Highly recommended for readers who want to understand our universe better.”

Mary Vernau, Tyler Public Library, Tyler, TX

The Jane Austen Project: A Novel

by Kathleen A. Flynn

Published: 5/2/2017 by Harper Perennial
ISBN: 9780062651259

“The Austen fan genre is expanded by an original new novel set both in the past and the near future. Two employees of a time travel company are assigned to go back to Austen’s day, ostensibly to retrieve the full copy of “The Watsons,” lost for all time…until now. The blending of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance with a beloved classic author thrown in the mix is a daring combination which succeeds.”

Leslie DeLooze, Richmond Memorial Library,Batavia, NY