From the Stacks
By Carol Ann Robb, PPL Reference Librarian
In the past week I’ve been embroiled in a Virginia civil rights court case before landing in England to take part in a televised baking contest. Of course, these adventures were courtesy of books—the first one being “Calamity of Souls,” by David Baldacci, followed by Olivia Ford’s “Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame.” They are just the first of several adventures I plan to take during the library’s Summer Reading Program, “Adventure Begins at Your Library.”
Book adventures are the best—you don’t have to do much planning, doesn’t cost anything if you check out books from the library, and you are able to sleep in your own bed every night. And if you get started on one but decide it’s not something you want to continue you can just put it down and pick up something else. That’s not easily done if you’re on a cruise and then realize it’s not what you expected at all.
So, what all do I have on my agenda? There’s “Twilight Garden” by Sara Nisha Adams (she wrote “The Reading List,” which I highly recommend) and “Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade,” by Janet Skeslien Charles. Helen Simonson’s “Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club” has piqued my interest and others have recommended “Door-to-Door Bookstore” by Carsten Henn.
Of course, I have mysteries on my list. The next David Rosenfelt (“Dog Day Afternoon”) isn’t out until early July; the same holds true for “The Burning,” the latest in the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo. But two others I’m eager to get my hands—the final Maisie Dobbs book, “Comfort of Ghosts” by Jacqueline Winspear, and Susan Elia MacNeal’s “Last Hope”—are already out or will be soon.
Those are just the books on my radar—I fully expect to find a hidden gem that will provide a wonderful, unexpected adventure. Be sure to stop in and find your own this summer.