In the summer of 1988, the murdered bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. All the evidence leads the town to believe it is the work of a serial killer who they dub “The Boogeyman”. As Richard Chizmar starts to investigate the murders on his own, he begins to have a personal relationship with the murderer. This is a piece of fiction written in the style of a non-fiction true crime novel. The author, Richard Chizmar, makes himself the main character by writing himself into the novel as both a character and the author. It is really interesting to see the way everything plays out! I also just finished his sequel Becoming the Boogeyman, but I wanted to recommend Chasing the Boogeyman first since I think it is best to read it in chronological order.
To celebrate National Poetry Month, my recommendation for this month is a book in verse. Written in free verse and based on the story of The Little Mermaid, this variation takes the mythology of sirens and the naivety of youth and blends it together for a captivating, quick read. Maris is the youngest of her sisters and is still learning the song used to hunt their prey. She does not quite enjoy hunting, as she is bad at it. When she finally is successful, she finds it disagreeable. Humans are odd creatures that provide her with many questions, and she is entranced by the way they do things. She questions how and why she must live this way, when one day, she meets a sea witch. The witch grants her wish to find out more about the “above still land,” under the stipulation that she has only a year and she must find love. While the parts of the original Hans Christian Andersen fairytale are still present, this version provides new twists and turns for a happy ending.
An absolutely adorable graphic novel I’ve been wanting to read for ages but only recently found the time for, Patience and Esther focuses on two Edwardian housemaids who fall in love, showing how their relationship allows the pair to overcome barriers both internal and external. While still believable for the historical setting, S.W. Searle wrote a story that focuses on how queer joy is something people can always make for themselves, even during less accepting times. I found the art itself to be simple but perfect for the story, with pastel palettes and wonderfully expressive character designs.
This graphic novel is utterly charming! Despite their unique personalities and varying backgrounds, the characters find themselves drawn together by their desire to raise Tea Dragons. In doing so, they learn how to support each other as each character moves forward with their personal goals. Plus, the art style is gorgeous!
In 1994 two women living in a small town in Ireland are unhappy in their marriages. Divorce is not an option since it is illegal.
How each woman tries, unsuccessfully, to cope with her situation is the crux of the story. Those coping strategies have impacts not just on themselves but family, friends and neighbors with tragic results.
‘Acceptance was not the same as resignation” is the hard-won lesson learned by one of the women. The story is told with sympathy for both women and their husbands, children and neighbors.
A few years later divorce became legal in Ireland. It is up to the reader to decide whether the story would have been different had divorce been a choice.
22-year-old Lindsey was supposedly teaching English in China during a college gap year when she has been critically injured in a hit-and-run accident. The accident draws her bitterly divorced parents to her bedside, hoping for her recovery. Over the course of their wait, surprising details unfold as to Lindsey’s current life in Shanghai, as well as memories of the cause of their divorce and Lindsay’s estrangement from them. This book was a pleasant surprise for me, focusing not only on the relationship of Lindsey’s parents, but also on the connection of siblings and the troubles of this emotionally mixed-up young adult.
Recommended by Chris
Recommended by Jessica
The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
Zoe and Cassie Grossberg are sisters, but they could not be more different. Zoe, pretty and popular, longs to be a pop star. Cassie, a musical prodigy with an amazing voice, longs to be left alone. One day, she helps Zoe out at a Battle of the Bands, and the Griffin Sisters are born. The sisters are catapulted to fame, tour the country, appear on Saturday Night Live and more. Then one day, tragedy strikes. The band breaks up and the sisters go their separate ways. Twenty years later, Zoe is a suburban mom. Cassie lives off the grid in Alaska. Zoe’s daughter Cherry has the talent of her Aunt Cassie, and she longs to be a singer. She wants to find out what happened to the sisters and to bring them together again. The story moves back and forth between the past and the present.
Jennifer Weiner has long been an advocate for books by women and about women to receive more respect from critics. She is the author of more than 20 commercially successful novels. Her books are always funny and insightful.
Suzanne Collins does it again, nailing the perfect mix of plot, character growth and connection, and creating an impactful book that will leave fans of The Hunger Games series hanging by every word. Get transported back into Panem, but instead of the world we knew from the original series, we’re going back, yet not quite as far back as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes! This time, we’re following Haymitch’s story and how he got pulled into the Games when he was just a teenager. We learn about his first love, who and why he is who he is, and the evolution of the games. There are many familiar cameos, themes, and pleasant surprises that a reader can connect back to the other books. While it’s a book that may need tissues on standby, it’s a quick and fantastic read. Plus, it was announced that it will be adapted into a movie that will be released in November 2026!
The title Flowers of Mold, with its contrasting imagery of beauty and decay, is the perfect name for this short story collection by South Korean writer Ha Seong-nan. While each of the ten stories featured here take place in the author’s home country, really the main connecting thread between them is an aesthetic which I can only ambiguously describe as straddling the line between–on one end–the grounded and the mundane, and–on the other–the surreal and the haunting. Many of the stories often end up feeling like someone recollecting a dream (such as in the fittingly titled “Nightmare”) or a vague childhood memory (as in the case of the opening “Waxen Wings,” about a woman who, as a child, was a gymnast, but had to abandon the sport). Recommended if you’re in the mood for something weird, grimy, and disturbing.
Who Is Government? : The Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis
It’s easy to engage with the eight stories collected in this book. Each written by a journalist or a novelist, that you may already know, they bring alive the life and work of an individual employee of one the federal departments. More than just bland job descriptions, it is the details of home and upbringing along with work life that make this interesting.
Edited by the renowned nonfiction author, Michael Lewis, these essays appeared in the Washington Post throughout 2024. Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, and Geraldine Brooks are some of the contributors. One could use library access to the paper and look up these articles, but there is meaning in reading as a collection.
When a high school soccer teams plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, they will do everything and anything to survive. This show not only follows the girls in the wilderness, but it also follows them as adults in the future trying to live a normal life after. But what is normal after everything they did in the past? The show is stacked with amazing actresses for both timelines, such as Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Sammi Hanratty, and Sophie Thatcher, just to name a few. This show will have you questioning yourself and everything you know, and you will want to keep watching. I will warn you that it can be gory at times, and it can be a lot sometimes.
The Brokenwood Mysteries: Seasons 1-10 (2014-2024)
Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd arrives on assignment in Brokenwood, a small town where memories--and animosities--run deep. He's an experienced cop with a 1971 "classic" car, a collection of country music cassettes, and an indeterminate number of ex-wives. The new woman in his life is his assistant, Detective Constable Kristin Sims, a by-the-book investigator nearly twenty years younger than her boss's car, who quickly has to get used to his lone-wolf ways.
Start with a cast of colorful characters dealing with an improbable number of murders in a small town, ala Midsomer Murders. Add a healthy bit of humor. Then complete each episode with breathtaking views of the New Zealand countryside and exposure to the unique society of a country half a world away and this cozy mystery series is a constant delight!
CAN YOU CATCH THE CHAMELEON? In this social deduction board game, everyone knows the secret word, except for the player with the chameleon card, who is trying to pretend they know the secret word too. Will you catch them out?
This game is simple to learn and very fast paced, so 4 rounds can be completed in as little as 15 minutes. Every time we play, we find plenty to think about and laugh about!
Join our virtual film discussion. Watch the movie beforehand on Kanopy or Hoopla and then join us on Zoom to talk about it. If you need help using Zoom, see our guide here.
