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A Baker's Dozen of Staff Picks April 2021
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Check out what our staff is recommending this month!
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If you enjoy this newsletter and would like to subscribe to our bimonthly issue, you may do so by visiting Avon Lake Public Library homepage. Click on the Collection tab, and select Book Lists. Under Find Your Next Read, click the "click here" link to sign up for Next Reads newsletters. Simply place a check next to A Baker's Dozen of Staff Picks or any other newsletter you might be interested in receiving and complete the short form at the bottom of the page. |
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The House of Silk : a Sherlock Holmes novel by Anthony HorowitzA year after Holmes's death, Watson--now in a retirement home--narrates a Sherlockian tale that could tear apart the very fabric of society, opening with a train robbery in Boston and moving to the innocuous setting of Wimbledon Amy: Adult Services
"The game's afoot! The first Sherlock Holmes book authorized by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate, The House of Silk follows Holmes and Watson as they become entangled in an international conspiracy involving opium dens, Boston's criminal underworld, and much more." |
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Into the Pit by Scott CawthonA mash-up of three novella-length tales in the twisted world of Five Nights at Freddy’s finds Oswald, Sarah and Millie pursuing their most fervent wishes about summer vacation, beauty and invisibility. Maxx: Technical Services "A book series that combines childhood innocence with murder and haunted animatronics. What I love about Into the Pit is it takes childhood fairytales and events into a horrifying trauma. Fazbear Frights is this generation's Goosebumps. Unlike Goosebumps all the Fazbear Frights stories are all loosely linked together."
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An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene TurstenMaud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and... no qualms about a little murder. This funny, irreverent story collection by Helene Tursten, author of the Irene Huss investigations, features two-never-before translated stories that will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home. Ever since her darling father's untimely death when she was only eighteen, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg rent-free, thanks to a minor clause in a hastily negotiated contract. That was how Maud learned that good things can come from tragedy. Now in her late eighties, Maud contents herself with traveling the world and surfing the net from the comfort of her father's ancient armchair. It's a solitary existence, and she likes it that way. Shelley: Circulation Department "This is a delightful little book containing five short stories about Maud an 88 year old Swedish woman. This sweet old lady is not at all what she seems and has a devilish way of dealing with situations that aren't to her liking. In spite of the horror that occurs, it's very hard not to admire Maud's ability to not let anything or anyone get in her way. This collection of short stories is funny and entertaining particularly if you have a darker sense of humor."
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Gerry: Administration "We rarely think about how complicated the “real world” is — because we can’t. Our brains developed shortcuts to help us survive it. They can help us or fool us. As we make and share more of our own reality (art, literature, science, media), experience of our inner and outer worlds becomes richer and sometimes overwhelming."
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The Vanishing Half by Brit BennettSeparated by their embrace of different racial identities, two mixed-race identical twins reevaluate their choices as one raises a black daughter in their southern hometown while the other passes for white with a husband who is unaware of her heritage. Karen: Adult Services "Britt Bennett shows us the world of "colorism". A very thought-provoking tale."
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The Guest List : a novel by Lucy FoleyAn expertly planned celebrity wedding between a rising television star and an ambitious magazine publisher is thrown into turmoil by petty jealousies, a college drinking game, the bride's ruined dress, and an untimely murder. Jess: Adult Services "A picture-perfect setting for a young power couple to wed. Friends and family are gathered for this joyous occasion. . .but "everyone on the island has a secret. Everyone has a motive. And someone won't leave this wedding alive. . ."
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The Zig Zag Girl by Elly GriffithsInvestigating a murder committed in the style of a famous magic trick, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens reconnects with an illusionist friend from World War II to uncover links to their special ops service. Jess: Adult Services "I found this story to be unique, as it was based on magicians and magic tricks. Hocus Pocus and abracadabra, who is the murderer?"
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Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth KeaneA family saga about two Irish American families in a New York suburb, the love between two of their children, and the tragedies that threaten to tear them apart and destroy their futures. Karen: Adult Services "A perfect example of what happens behind closed doors."
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Anxious People : a novel by Fredrik BackmanTaken hostage by a failed bank robber while attending an open house, eight anxiety-prone strangers--including a redemption-seeking bank director, two couples who would fix their marriages, and a plucky octogenarian--discover their unexpected common traits. Dianne: Circulation Manager
"Only Backman can make a book about suicide a comical story of strangers who are unknowingly connected. They become more connected through the debacle actions of a would- be bank robber." |
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In an Instant by Suzanne RedfearnAfter a devastating car accident takes her life, 16-year-old Finn Miller, trapped between worlds, watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive after the tragedy and finds herself unable to move on. Carrie: Technical Services "I don't want to give away too many details on this book, but it is a devastating and lovely story of pain, loss, and love from the perspective of one who has passed on. It is a heartwarming and emotional book which will stay with you for a long time. The author just published a new book earlier this month, Hadley & Grace, and it's on my list as a "must read"."
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A Girl Named Zippy : growing up small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven KimmelAn entertaining memoir chronicles growing up in a small town in America's heartland, offering colorful portraits of her family and her vivid encounters with the baffling complexities of the adult world, romance, and small-town life during the 1960s and 1970s. Carol: Children's Services "If you grew up in the1960s, these just might be some of your memories, too. And if not, this book, written totally from the viewpoint of a child, will still make you smile, and maybe even laugh out loud! "
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The Children's Blizzard : a novel by Melanie Benjamin"They came on boats, on trains, great unceasing waves of them--the poor, the disenfranchised, the seekers, the dreamers. Second and third generations of farmers eking out an existence on scraps of farms divided up among too many sons. Political agitators no longer welcome in their homelands. Young men fleeing conscription in a king's army. Married couples starting out. Bachelors from towns with few women. The poor in tenements with air so stifling and foul there was no room to breathe, let alone dream. Come to Nebraska! Dakota Territory! Minnesota! Come to the Great Plains of America!" Nicole: Children's Services "I really enjoyed this book."
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I Will Always Write Back : how one letter changed two lives by Caitlin AlifirenkaTraces the friendship between an American girl and her pen pal from an impoverished region of Zimbabwe, describing how 12-year-old Caitlin wrote to an unknown student for a class assignment and shared a life-changing six-year correspondence. Kerri: Circulation Department "This was the true story of how two people from different worlds became best friends after becoming pen pals in school. It was eye-opening to see the stark contrasts of a kid growing up in the suburbs of the United States versus a kid growing up in a rural area of Zimbabwe. It was inspiring to read about their friendship and how one person can impact the life of another for a lifetime."
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Avon Lake Public Library 32649 Electric Blvd. Avon Lake, Ohio 44012 440-933-8128alpl.org |
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