Recommendations from Mindy Bilyeu, Adult Services Librarian
Too Old for This
by Samantha Downing (Fiction)
Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her. Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town, when investigative journalist, Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past, and specifically her involvement in numerous unsolved cases.
Eddie Winston is Looking for Love
by Marianne Cronin (Fiction)
Eddie Winston is 90 years old and has never been kissed. A gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love along the way. It is here he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, at 24 years old, has just lost the love of her life. When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help Eddie Winston finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie Winston to the moment he has waited for all his life.
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
by Anna Johnston (Fiction)
Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he'd return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is, there's nobody left in Fred's life to borrow from. At 82, he’s desperately lonely, broke and on the brink of homelessness. Fred’s luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now, he has a roof over his head, three meals a day, and, most importantly, the chance to be part of a family again.
The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans (Fiction)
Throughout her life, Sybil Van Antwerp has used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, Sybil sits down to write letters to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes the letter she has been writing needs to be read and she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
My Three Dogs
by W. Bruce Cameron (Fiction)
When a tragic accident separates three dogs from their human, they find themselves up for adoption – separately. But, Riggs, an Australian Shepherd with a heart of gold, refuses to see his family torn apart. After the exuberant and fun-loving doodle, Archie, and quick-witted Jack Russell, Luna, are taken to new homes, Riggs' powerful herding instincts send him on a journey to bring his pack together again.
Poets Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats
by Courtney Gustasfon (Non-fiction)
What could accidentally moving into a house with thirty feral cats teach you about going viral, surviving capitalism and the importance of community? Kind of a lot. When Courtney Gustafson moved into a rental house in Tucson, Arizona, she didn't know the property came with thirty feral cats. Focused only on her own survival in a new relationship during a pandemic with poor mental health and a job that doesn’t pay enough, she was reluctant to spend any of her own time or money caring for the wayward animals. But, the cats, with their pleading eyes, ribs showing and giving birth in the driveway, she didn’t have a choice.
Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian
by Amy Attas (Non-fiction)
Hilarious, jaw-dropping and heartfelt stories from New York City’s premier “house-call veterinarian,” that take you into the exclusive penthouses and 4-star hotel rooms of the wealthiest New Yorkers, and show that when it comes to their pets, they are just as neurotic as any of us. When a pet is sick, people—even the rich and famous—are at their most authentic and vulnerable. That’s when they call premier in-home veterinarian, Dr. Amy Attas. In Pets and the City, Dr. Attas shares all the shocking, heartbreaking, and life-affirming experiences she’s faced throughout her 30-year career.
Recommendations from Katie Ross, Youth Services Supervisor
Rose Weaves a Garden
by Rashin Kheiriyeh (Picture Book)
Rose loves to watch her Baba Joon turn colorful threads into woolen rugs for family and friends. Inspired by one of her floral garden drawings, she asks Baba Joon if they could turn it into a rug. This is a beautiful story of one generation teaching the next to carry on a tradition of craft.
My Hive
by Meredith May (Picture Book)
A grandfather finally asks his granddaughter to help in the Honey Bus. Although she is afraid to work in the hive, she summons the courage to spend the day with her grandfather, making honey. Facts about bees are sprinkled throughout this sweet tale.
The Mailbox in the Forest
by Kyoko Hara and Kazue Takahashi (First Chapter Book)
Mayu is spending the holidays with her grandparents. While visiting, she discovers a mailbox in the forest and finds a letter. So begins a joyous discovery of letter writing that will help her understand why her grandfather loves to get letters.
Star & The Maestro: How a Musical Bird Made Melodies with Mozart
by Thor Hanson (Juvenile Non-fiction)
A composer walked by a shop and heard seventeen notes of a song he wrote. Those seventeen notes he heard came from a common starling. The composer was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He bought the bird, and for the next three years, Vogel Starr would become his musical companion.
My Pet Cat! (I Got a Pet! Series)
by Brienna Rossiter (Juvenile Non-fiction)
My Pet Cat! is one of 10 titles in this series relating to the most popular pets. Very young children and new readers will learn about the different behaviors of their pets and the type of care pets need. These are bite-sized introductions to pets for both pet owners and non-owners.
Best in Show
by David Elliott (Juvenile Non-fiction)
This unique collection of poems about man’s best friend combines lyrical homages to each dog breed, along with fun facts.
