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It’s time for your monthly cheat sheet for navigating the long wait on Overdrive/Libby’s most popular titles in ebook and eaudio.  If you are on the waitlist for any of the titles in red below, try one of the mentioned alternatives to tide you over until your turn comes up!

For recommendations on Libby, I’ve selected authors/titles with little to no waitlist.  Titles on Hoopla are always available, no lines or waiting!

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

This hot new title is being compared to the work of Agatha Christie and other locked room mysteries. Try one of these authors while you wait:

Agatha Christie (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

Lisa Gardner (on Libby)

Gillian Flynn (on Libby)

Fiona Barton (on Libby)

Karin Slaughter (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

Or, try one of these books:

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (eaudio on Hoopla)

The Last Flight by Julie Clark (ebook on Hoopla)

The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda (eaudio on Hoopla)

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (ebook/eaudio on Libby) (ebook/eaudio on Hoopla)

Or, check out this great story collection in print: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked Room Mysteries: The Most Complete Collection of Impossible-Crime Stories Ever Assembled, edited and with an introduction by Otto Penzler.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

This New York Times best-selling book explores the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality. Overdrive/Libby has curated a selection of books on race, racial equality, diversity, and inclusion, including White Fragility, but all the titles are currently showing long waiting lists.  Try one of these alternative titles while you wait:

So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (eaudio on Hoopla)

The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole (ebook on Libby)

In the Shadow of Statues: a White Southerner Confronts History by Mitch Landrieu (ebook/eaudio on Libby)

The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma (ebook/eaudio on Hoopla)

White Awake: An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White by Daniel Hill (ebook/eaudio on Hoopla)

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

The Washington Post describes this summer delicacy as “Big fun, and then some. It’s empowering and surprising—a reminder to put down the phone and enjoy each moment for what it is.” Weiner in known for her summery, fun novels so try another of her titles while you wait!

Jennifer Weiner (eaudio on Hoopla)

Or, try one of these other beach-read favorites:

Elin Hilderbrand (on Libby) (eaudio on Hoopla)

Nancy Thayer (on Libby) (eaudio on Hoopla)

Mary Kay Andrews (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Bennett is a relatively new author on the scene and is being compared to Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Jacqueline Woodson.  Her first novel, The Mothers, is also experiencing a wait on Libby, but not as lengthy as the new book.

Toni Morrison (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

James Baldwin (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

Jacqueline Woodson (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

Jesmyn Ward (on Libby)

Or, try one of these books:

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (on Libby)

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai (on Hoopla)

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom (on Libby)

Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West (on Hoopla)

Run by Ann Patchett (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

American Dirt By Jeanine Cummins

Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic," Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope. 

Alternative titles:

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (on Libby)

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames (on Libby) (on Hoopla)

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez (ebook on Libby) (Alvarez on Hoopla)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (on Libby)

Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips (on Libby)

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (eaudio on Libby)

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (eaudio on Libby) (eaudio on Hoopla)

A couple, far from home and in desperate straits, does whatever is necessary to make it out alive in the thrilling film, Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

From the National Book Award–winning author comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society—and in ourselves.
Alternative titles:

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (eaudio on Hoopla)

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi (on Libby) (eaudio on Hoopla)

The Person You Mean To Be by Dolly Chugh (eaudio on Hoopla)

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors & Asha Bandele (eaudio on Hoopla)

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (on Libby)

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX • A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Alternative titles:

Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores by Dominique DuBois Gilliard (on Hoopla)

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein (ebook on Libby)

Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler (ebook on Hoopla)

American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer (on Libby)

Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis (ebook on Hoopla)

The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma (on Hoopla)

The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and U.S. Social Transformation by Fania Davis (ebook on Hoopla)

Or, place a hold on this important account due to be published September 8^th, “A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom” by Brittany K. Barnett.

“An urgent call to free those buried alive by America’s legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity—from a gifted young lawyer and important new voice in the movement to transform the system.”