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Hello!
Welcome to Cary Reads!
Check out the books that we're enjoying! (And some that we're not.)
Looking for some book suggestions? Use our "What's Next?" form and staff will recommend 4-5 titles for you to enjoy.
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Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
This charming memoir follows the author's experience from finding a baby hare, a leveret, abandoned by its mother in a field and choosing to try to save the delicate creature. Rather than try to domesticate the hare, the author allows the leveret free range to explore her home and also escape into the outside world as it so chooses. This book is sure to charm any animal loving reader!
Adult Memoir
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Isola by Allegra Goodman
Based upon the incredible true story of Marguerite, a French noblewoman in the 1500s, orphaned at birth with her considerable fortune controlled by her distant guardian. After losing much of Marguerite's fortune, her guardian sets forth with Marguerite and a multitude of colonists for the New World only to abandon Marguerite on a remote island after discovering her affections for his secretary. Isola is a well crafted story of a time period where women possessed few, if any, rights to control their own fate.
Adult Fiction
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Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
I'd never picked up this gothic-horror classic until I became completely obsessed with the recent TV adaptation (which we also have on DVD, and which I would also highly recommend!). As someone who watched the show first, I had a lot of fun comparing the text to the visual medium, and found it a really fascinating study in adaptation. There's not much left to say about Interview that hasn't already been said: it's worth checking out if you're curious! And I would recommend the adaptation to anyone who's interested in gothic storytelling, phenomenal acting, or thoughtful adaptations made by super-fans of the books.
Adult Fiction
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As She Appears by Shelley Wong
A gorgeous collection that explores the speaker's relationship to visual art as a queer woman of color. Wong writes beautifully on queer desire & queer joy, as well as the many ways in which the world of art does and does not reflect those of us who engage with it. Her poems read to me like miniature landscape paintings, very tightly constructed and explosively beautiful. I found they had a gentle, coiling energy that mounted quietly, then ignited all at once, like the feeling of looking up in April to find that spring has finally kicked into full bloom all around you.
Adult Poetry
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Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung
This was my favorite memoir I have read (listened to) this past year. Connie Chung paints a vivid picture of the world of TV News over the last 50+ years through the course of several well known current events (Watergate, Oklahoma Bombing, even the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal). Her stories about being one of the few women (and often the only Asian-American) in the room are both upsetting as well as moving. When Chung learns about and meets all of the Connies who were named for her, it's hard not to get emotional. Chung's tone is thoughtful and her anecdotes are fascinating but she's also a great wit. I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did. (I snorted when she referred to husband, Maury Povich, as "the man who's been determining the paternity of every child in America." Though, I will say that my opinion of Povich went up a lot as a result of this book). Connie Chung is as delightful a narrator as she is a storyteller so get this on audio, if you can.
Adult Memoir
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Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds
One of the best first time YA books featuring one of the healthiest ficticious teen romantic relationships I have ever read by one of my favorite current writers. Neon's stream of consciousness and reverse time narration paint a full picture of family, first love, high school, and the nuances of life.
Teen Fiction
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The Minutemen and their World by Robert Gross
This is a fascinating everyday history of the people of Concord in the years and days leading up to and following April 19, 1775. First published in 1976, this book details people who were otherwise ignored by historical accounts, especially at that time, including people of color and women. (And don't worry, Lexington does get referenced!) I recommend picking up the 25th anniversary edition which includes a forward by historian, Alan Taylor, and a new afterword by Robert Gross. The Cary Library has been lucky to host Mr. Gross twice in the last year. Last April, he discussed the differences between Lexington and Concord leading up to the American Revolution. This month, Robert Gross interviewed historian Woody Holton, about his book, Liberty is Sweet. Both talks are available on Youtube.
Adult Nonfiction
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The Matchmaker's Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman
This novel, taking place in two separate time periods, is about Sara, an Eastern European Jewish immigrant who arrived in New York with her family in 1910, and her grand daughter, Abby. Starting at ten years old, Sara realizes that she has a special gift for matchmaking and must navigate conflicting ideals and sexism as she moves onward.
Told in alternating (third person) points of view between Sara (from 1910 - 1994) and Abby (in 1994), this is a lovely multi generational story about the impact that we can have on others.
Adult Fiction
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Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan
Inspired by the true story of the Grand Mosque of Paris and the Muslim community of Paris during World War II, this debut novel is an important addition to the WWII Resistance stories featuring a celebration of interfaith solidarity and a story not generally told when resistance stories are highlighted.
Children's Fiction
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Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
This book is worthy of every award seal that graces its cover - and should be read by everyone! A story that does not shy away from the horrors of enslavement, yet is full of hope and strength and resistance and a lesser-known aspect of Black history - hidden enclaves in swamplands.
Children's Fiction
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The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse
In a gripping psychological thriller, Monica Hesse features another little known chapter of history, the Hello Girls: women employed by the US Army to operate phone lines in France. Alternating between the present, and her time in France, Edda embarks on a journey that forces her to confront her past and come to terms with the truth behind a deadly mistake.
Teen Fiction
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To Walk the Sky: How Iroquois Steelworkers Helped Build Towering Cities by Patricia Morris Buckley
Generation after generation of indigenous workers called Skywalkers have faced down terrifying heights and heartbreaking losses building the towering buildings that create our skylines. Buckley pays tribute to the Mohawk Skywalkers who became sought-after construction workers for bridges and buildings all over North America taking great pride in the legacy of landmarks they created.
Children's Nonfiction
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The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay
This novel reminded me why I love historical fiction. It’s 1919 and the four Turner Sisters — ranging in age from 13 to 22 — become a vaudeville act in order to save their family after their father is injured at work. Their mother, who quickly and happily settles into the role of stage mom, accompanies them as they travel from theatre to theatre. The world around them is changing — it’s the time of Prohibition and the passing of the 19th Amendment — and the girls are changing right along with it. The author touches on difficult subjects like racism, sexism and classism in a novel that’s ultimately about first love, growing up and the unbreakable bond between sisters.
Adult Fiction
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