Staff Picks: Slow Horses by Mick Heron

 

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

If you love quirky spy novels and British humor, check out Mick Herron's Slow Horses. His Slough House series is what Apple TV's runaway hit show Slow Horses is based upon (The series was just approved for Season Six). 

Slough House is where MI5 agents go when they turn out to be less than spectacular in their roles or make disastrous mistakes. The characters find themselves involved in a myriad of intrigue with very mixed results and often a good bit of mayhem.

Joan Dudzinski, MLIS
Branch Manager

Novel Diversions Reads Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reads

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Journey to the 1960s music scene, where ambition and talent collide with temptations. 

Author Taylor Jenkins Reid crafts an unforgettable story, weaving a colorful tapestry of the 1960 music industry and rock-n-roll scene. The story is an oral history of how an up-and-coming singer-songwriter and a rock band meet, create chart topping music, and fall apart. Written as a transcript, each character, bandmates, friends, and managers, gets a chance to tell their version of events, revealing how the band reached its peak and what really led to the band’s break-up.

Staff Picks - All The Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer

All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer

Six years after a terrorist attack with mass fatalities in Vienna, CIA Agent Henry Pelham crosses the Atlantic to interview former agent, Celia Harrison. Henry has lingering questions about the disastrous day and the abrupt end of their relationship. But Celia now has a family of her own, and her instincts tell her that Henry has a hidden agenda. 

I really enjoyed this complex he-said/she-said story, which has been adapted for film and is currently available on Amazon Prime. If you're looking for an engaging, quick read with unexpected twists, check out All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer.   

Alicia Cavitt

Information Specialist

#WeKnowBooks

Staff Picks: The Killing Floor by Lee Child

The Killing Floor by Lee Child

In 1997, Lee Child’s novel The Killing Floor introduced readers to an oversized, blues-loving, ex-military drifter named Jack Reacher. For more than two decades Reacher’s adventures have captivated readers in Forsyth County and around the world. FCPL patrons constantly tell me how much they love the Jack Reacher series. Reacher, a 2022 Amazon Prime Video adaptation, updates the original story for modern viewers and is drawing even more readers to the Jack Reacher fan club.

Staff Picks Dune by Frank Herbert - Adult Fiction

Dune by Frank Herbert 

Dune's impressive world-building weaves together a spell-binding tale of political rivalry, futuristic technology, intellectual puppet masters with super-human mental abilities, and a harsh desert environment populated by primitive tribes and gigantic apex predators.  

For a science fiction fan like myself, one of the most fascinating concepts in the series involves the Space Guild and its navigators who transform physically and utilize the spice harvested on Arrakis to steer ships across the universe by folding space. Dune Messiah reveals the odd and fascinating career pathway of one such navigator.  I'm equally intrigued by the mysterious Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.  Learn more about mental powers, mind control, and the scheming ways of the Bene Gesserit in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune.  And fans of swordmaster Duncan Idaho will appreciate his appearances in each of Frank Herbert's original Dune books. 

The unlikely story behind the publication of this classic science fiction novel is one of the best Cinderella stories in science fiction. Dune was originally published as a serialized story in Analog Magazine but was a hard concept to sell to publishers in the 1960s. In fact, twenty publishers rejected it. It's all thanks to Chilton Books of Philadelphia, a publisher of business magazines and automotive manuals who took a chance on the book, that this epic story has been entertaining readers for generations.  

Alicia Cavitt
#WeKnowBooks

Information Specialist

Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.

                

Staff Picks Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman describes an unlikely encounter between a bank robber, police, and prospective buyers at an apartment open house in a small town in Sweden.  As in Backman’s international bestseller, A Man Called Ove, the lives of quirky characters intertwine in unexpected ways. Backman uses a light touch and humor to tackle tough topics like economics, real estate, separations, grief, and guilt.  

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

#WeKnowBooks

 

Staff Picks The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr

The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr

This summer I got hooked on an addictive television series called The Sinner. The show revolves around a detective with a talent for understanding the complex motivations of unlikely killers. Season One was an adaptation of a book by German novelist Petra Hammesfahr. Hammesfahr's dark psychological fiction has earned her comparisons to Patricia Highsmith, author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. 

While waiting with much anticipation for the fourth season of The Sinner to air, I checked out the slim translation.  Set in Germany, the book begins when a woman spending a day with her husband and son suddenly stabs a stranger on the beach. Under questioning, Cora Bender seems oddly detached and investigators can find no motive for the attack. The unusual crime raises the interest of a police commissioner who digs into Cora’s past and strange family dynamics to explain her actions.  As in the show, the story takes some extremely dark twists. Fans of psychological stories like Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn will enjoy this international bestseller! 

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist
#WeKnowBooks

 

OverBOOKed to Read: The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper

Small towns hold big secrets. Agent Aaron Falk is called back to his drought-stricken Australian hometown to attend the funerals of his childhood best friend, Luke, and Luke's wife and son. Luke's parents have asked him to investigate the deaths, which appear to be murder-suicide. Aaron left town decades ago under a suspicious cloud surrounding another young woman's death. At that time, Luke and Aaron had been each other's alibi, but now it has become apparent that more than one person knows they weren't telling the truth.

Set against the backdrop of the worst drought in a century, The Dry is a suspenseful tale of anger and revenge. This debut thriller from Jane Harper is followed by the second in the Aaron Falk series, Force of Nature.

Join the overBOOKed book club for a discussion of this title on Thursday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. at the Cumming library. OverBOOKed meets at 10:00 a.m. every third Thursday of the month.

The eBook and eAudiobook versions off The Dry are available through OverDrive. Anyone with a Forsyth County Library card can sign up for a free OverDrive account. Sign up for a free card today to start enjoying FCPL's digital catalog from wherever you are!

Jen
Information Specialist
Cumming Library
#WeKnowBooks

May 2021 Reading Challenge: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

In 1982 a BBC adaptation of the Douglas Adams novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, aired on US television as a six-part miniseries. Years later I caught a rerun of the show and was instantly intrigued by a scene that showed a man in an English pub explaining to his very confused friend that the Earth was about to be destroyed but they were going to hitch a ride on a passing spaceship. 

Even by '80s standards, the special effects were poor and the costumes comical. Nevertheless, I was hooked.  As soon as I learned it was an adaptation of Douglas Adams' novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the book. 

If you’ve spotted T-shirts or towels with the slogan Don’t Panic, or heard a reference to the number 42 being the answer to “Life, the Universe, and Everything”, you’ve had some exposure to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The book, published in 1979, has been adapted for radio, television, film, comics, and even a video game. 

Filled with comical observations about human nature and many imagined wonders of the galaxy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has appealed to generations of fans. The novel tells the story of Arthur Dent who learns his home is being demolished to make way for a highway bypass on the same day that he learns Earth is being destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. (Talk about your bad day!)

The book introduced readers to many undiscovered oddities of the universe like the Vogons who create poetry so bad that it’s used to torture people and the Babel fish, a species that translates languages when placed in the ear. 

If you enjoy witty British humor and funny insights, check out The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If you were born or graduated in the 1970s, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is an entertaining read that can satisfy FCPL’s 2021 May Reading Challenge – read a book published in the year you were born or graduated.  

Whether you’re already a fan of the story or not, be sure to visit our The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – The Forsyth County Edition – the online version. The interactive virtual parody is an homage to Douglas Adams that highlights the wonders of Forsyth County for extra-terrestrial visitors to the area and will be viewable May 16-29 on forsythpl.org.

Alicia Cavitt
Sharon Forks Library 
#WeKnowBooks

Information Specialist

Staff Picks

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer’s spooky Southern Reach Trilogy imitates life in all of its imperfections -- and far supersedes it on the weirdness scale.

A poorly managed agency staffed by competitive and neurotic government researchers oversees the marginally effective border between a small coastal community in Florida and a mysterious wilderness called Area X.

Got that?

Slightly more simply stated, Area X is an ecological anomaly that sprung dramatically into existence off the Florida coast decades ago and has been covered up by the government ever since.

Modern technology fails inside borders that must be unconsciously traversed. Doomed expedition members record sightings of extinct species and other mysteries in handwritten journals that are rarely recovered. Descriptions of things as basic as the terrain and simple structures vary wildly in their reports.

Despite the dangers, the Southern Reach Project that oversees the expeditions finds no shortage of volunteers for ventures into the unknown.  (It’s a well guarded secret that scouting parties rarely return. The few who do are in no condition for explanations.)

Fans of ABC’s Lost will appreciate the complexity of this story and the illuminating flashbacks that provide rival viewpoints.  

The Southern Reach Trilogy can be read in a single edition under the title Area X or a three-volume set:  Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance.  In any sequence every chapter poses tantalizing questions and offers wild revelations. It's a perfect summer read for immersing yourself in a very weird new world.

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist

2014 Staff Favorites - 5th in a Series

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

My list of favorite books in 2014 is short, thanks to discovering a new favorite author and one of the most moving and memorable stories I've ever read. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was my favorite book of 2014.       

Set during the Nazi occupation of France, this spellbinding novel illustrates the triumphs and tragedies of a continent at war and a city under siege. The walled city of Saint Malo, rich in history before the war, is the only remaining German stronghold at its end and becomes a target for the Allied forces.

It’s an evocative setting but the highlight of this story truly is the characters. They come from all backgrounds and on all sides of the war.  They all struggle with circumstances beyond their control:  a gifted locksmith, a battle-scarred World War II veteran, some very creative saboteurs as well as a “giant” of a boy who intimidates his way through the ranks of the Hitler Youth.  Each touches the heart but it’s the war’s impact on the lives of two young people – Marie Clare LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig -- that frames the novel.

Overcoming the loss of her mother, her sight, and her home, Marie-Clare plays an unlikely role during the Nazi occupation. With vacant eyes and her white cane she navigates the streets of Saint Malo, guarding dangerous secrets and valuable treasure.  

Werner’s journey begins in an orphanage in German coal country and takes an unexpected turn when he repairs a discarded radio. Despite warnings from his wise-beyond-her-years younger sister, it’s the radio’s circuitry--rather than the intercepted transmissions it receives--that captivates the boy's imagination. Technical skills earn Werner a coveted military school education and an awe-inspiring visit to modern Berlin. But there’s a sinister underside to Werner’s new life that he is unable to ignore.

All the Light We Cannot See is epic, poetic, and in many ways eye-opening. History, science, magic and suspense blend perfectly in this mesmerizing story that offers hope even amid the most dire of circumstances.

Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist