Adult Fiction Staff Picks: I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin

 I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin

Reddit rumors spiral wildly out of control when an anxious vlogger goes offline to transport a strange woman and a mysterious sealed box from California to Washington D.C. 

Unaware that he’s the subject of internet speculation or that he's being pursued by a large, angry, tattooed motorcyclist, Abbot Coburn and the woman known to the Reddit community as GSG (Green Sunglasses Girl) bond in real life while traveling through middle America discussing their differences in this satirical novel that's equal parts smart and silly.

Novel Realities Book Discussion July 8 at Sharon Forks Library The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

Anxiety-inducing global conflicts, overpopulation, and food scarcity weigh heavy on the mind of draftsman George Orr who believes that his nightly dreams impact reality. Guilt-stricken and terrified by the power of his subconscious, George self-medicates in an attempt to ward off sleep. When George's drug use is discovered, he's forced into a psychiatric treatment program under the care of psychiatrist and sleep researcher Dr. William Haber. 

Like everyone else, Dr. Haber is certain that George is delusional and forces him into an experimental sleep therapy. Even after awakening to a world altered by Dr. Haber’s suggestions during their session, George is unable to convince his therapist that anything has changed. Still, Dr. Haber is so fascinated by George's disorder that he decides to test his new patient's abilities.  

Dino-vember Adult Fiction Book Recommendations

 

The decline of the dinosaurs allowed mammals - including us - to flourish. And that leads us to wonder whether the disappearance of the dinosaurs is going to be repeated, sooner or later, by us as well. Whether at the deepest level the fault lies not in blind fate - in some fiery meteor from the skies - but in our own behavior. At the moment we have no answer.

Michael Crichton

The Lost World

Here are some of the popular fiction titles from our Dino-vember reading list.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 

Velociraptors agree, no dinosaur reading list would be complete without Michael Crichton's 1990 novel that warned about the dangers of genetically modified dinosaurs.  

The Dinosaur Hunter by Homer Hickam

Homer Hickman, author of the New York Times bestseller Rocket Boys, draws on his own experience fossil hunting in this realistic thriller set in Montana. 

Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

Bestselling author James Patterson adapts an unfinished novel from the late Michael Crichton into a fast-paced thriller about military secrets and an active volcano on Big Island, Hawaii. 

Alicia Cavitt

Information Specialist

The 2023 Libby Book Awards - Genre Fiction

 

Libby is the digital platform Forsyth County Public Library uses to provide patrons with free access to thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks.

In March, the Libby Book Award winners were officially announced at the first-annual Libby Book Awards. The ceremony was presented on YouTube by podcast duo, the Professional Book Nerds. Books in 17 categories were chosen by voters from over 1,700 librarians and library workers across the country.

Here are a few of the winners of the 2023 Libby Book Awards in various genre categories.

Winner for Best Fantasy

Fourth Wing

by Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to live a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her mother—has ordered Violet to join the dragon riders . But when you're smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don't bond to "fragile" humans. They incinerate them.

Novel Realties Book Discussion: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

 

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

Many books about time travel focus on fixing the past or averting disaster. In Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, changing the past is a moot point—you can’t change it even if you try. But that doesn’t stop people from attempting it. And when amateur time travelers invariably get stranded in a time loop of their own making, time travel repairmen are called in to set them free. 

Fixing time machines for users trying to alter their past gives time machine technician Charles Yu (a character named after the book's author) a unique perspective on human nature and time manipulation. 

Fans of science fiction stories that raise provocative questions about human nature and highlight the humor in fanciful possibilities will appreciate this witty novel. If you enjoy the classic science fiction stories of Douglas Adams, Philip K. Dick, and Kurt Vonnegut, you'll love How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. 

FCPL's Novel Realities Book Club will discuss this unique How to Guide, the implications of time travel, life with a visionary entrepreneur, and why so many time travelers try to kill their own fathers or relive the worst moment of their lives. 

Please join FCPL's Novel Realities book discussion on Thursday, May 9th at 7 p.m. at Sharon Forks Library. There's no knowledge of quantum physics required, and time travelers are welcome to attend. 

As part of FCPL's Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage series, this month's Novel Realities discussion will showcase speculative fiction by Asian and Asian American authors like Haruki Murakami, Matthew Salesses, Kōbō Abe, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, and Sayaka Murata.   

Staff Picks: Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman

Are fish intelligent? 

You may be surprised to learn that some species of fish demonstrate high levels of intelligence. Fish have been known to use tools to crush shells, deceive and manipulate predators, and even use massage to regulate stress.  A fictional creation of author Ned Beauman, the venomous lumpsucker, is the subject and title of a cautionary science fiction novel set in the near future.  

Venomous Lumpsucker paints a bleak but comic portrait of an environmental apocalypse and is part of a growing subgenre of books called eco-thrillers. 

Staff Picks: Trashlands by Alison Stine

 

Trashlands by Alison Stine

Alison Stine’s dystopian novel Trashlands envisions a world where environmental catastrophes have radically altered the American landscape and human civilization. The story takes place in Scrappalachia, a wasteland of broken vehicles, contaminated rivers, and extreme poverty where nonbiodegradable plastic is the only material of value. In Scrappalachia, people find shelter wherever they can, usually in abandoned vehicles or makeshift shelters.  A man as cruel as his name, Rattlesnake Master, runs a club called Trashlands, where women are forced to entertain in exchange for room and board.

Necessities like eyeglasses and expired medicines are traded for things like milk jugs, pool noodles, water bottles, and credit cards. Children are often abducted and housed in prison factories that make structural materials for building new cities far to the north. 

Despite the grim setting, survivors band together, form friendships, marry, and raise children. Some create art and strive to memorialize their world. Others teach the next generation about their lost heritage.   

Novel Realities Adult Book Discussion at Sharon Forks Library -The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

 

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Think back to when you were a teen or preteen and all the changes and drama that took place as you were coming of age. Now imagine coming of age during a possible apocalypse. That is the premise of Karen Thompson Walker’s book The Age of Miracles. The novel is a beautiful blend of coming of age story and apocalyptic fiction. We  recently discussed The Age of Miracles at our Novel Realities book club.  If you enjoy speculative fiction and fiction that reaches beyond the normal realm, please join us for future Novel Realities discussions on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Sharon Forks Library.