here comes the sun

Join us for Book It to City Hall: Mini Adult Summer Reading Celebration! 

We’re serving up some Pizza Hut BOOK IT nostalgia at our temporary City Hall location. Adults ages 18 and up can visit on four select Fridays, July 24, 31 and August 7 & 14, check out a book, movie, or music CD from the Adult collection, then spin our prize wheel for a chance to win restaurant gift cards and other fun prizes! One spin per person, per Friday on July 24th and 31s and August 7th and 14th. 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting will be on Tuesday, August 25th at 6:30pm in the Levite Jewish Community Center’s Berkowitz Boardroom.  I am always excited about our annual Author Study and this year is no exception.  This will be my first time reading any Georgette Heyer!  Explore her life by clicking here, and see what titles the Public Libraries of Jefferson County have by clicking here.

This week, BAB met to chat about the sun and solar energy.  Have a look at what all we discussed:

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY TAIKA WAITITI AND STARRING JENNA ORTEGA AND AMY ADAMS (in theaters October 23, 2026) A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • A BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE 
From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Never Let Me Go and TheRemains of the Day, a magnificent novel about the wondrous, mysterious nature of the human heart. “A masterpiece that will make you think about life, mortality, the saving grace of love: in short, the all of it.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR

Circle of Days by Ken Follett

From a bestselling author of epic fiction comes the deeply human story of one of the world’s greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge.

Chasing the Equinox (2020, 45m, streaming on Disney+/Hulu/HBOMAX)

The ancients hid the secrets of their incredible knowledge of astronomy in their temples and palaces, built to align with the sun, on the same day, all over the world. Revealing our species' obsession with the sun, across thousands of years and on every continent, this is architectural magic on a cosmic scale.

Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L.Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilizationof the Maya by William Carlsen

In 1839, rumors of extraordinary yet baffling stone ruins buried within the unmapped jungles of Central America reached two of the world’s most intrepid travelers. Seized by the reports, American diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and British artist Frederick Catherwood—both already celebrated for their adventures in Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece, and Rome—sailed together out of New York Harbor on an expedition into the forbidding rainforests of present-day Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. What they found would upend the West’s understanding of human history.

(I mentioned Sylvanus Griswold Morley in my description of this book, but I got this wrong!  I learned about Morley in this book, but the great book about him that I read was The Archaeologist Was a Spy: Sylvanus G. Morley and the Office of Naval Intelligence by Charles Harris and Louis Sadler. Alas, it is not available in the JCLC.)

In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of SunExposure by Rowen Jacobsen

In Defense of Sunlight sounds the call on what researchers have been sure of for years, and what health care providers and media outlets have been slow to take up: that sunlight is one of the simplest, and most equitable, treatments for a variety of health issues, from diabetes to dementia to multiple sclerosis. A call for a return to common sense in our relationship with our local star, In Defense of Sunlight offers its own seven words of advice: Get sun. Not too much. Go outside.

Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

On an ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer; gravity is affected; the birds, the tides, human behavior, and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking portrait of people finding ways to go on in an ever-evolving world.

Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Who invented reality television, the world’s most dangerous pop-culture genre? And why can’t we look away? In this revelatory, deeply reported account of the rise of “dirty documentary” Emily Nussbaum unearths the origin story of the genre that ate the world, as told through the lively voices of the people who built it. 

The Truman Show (1998, Rated PG, 1h 42m)

He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive producer Christof (Ed Harris) orchestrates "The Truman Show," a live broadcast of Truman's every move captured by hidden cameras. Christof tries to control Truman's mind, even removing his true love, Sylvia (Natascha McElhone), from the show and replacing her with Meryl (Laura Linney). As Truman gradually discovers the truth, however, he must decide whether to act on it.

Keeping Up with the Kontinuity Errors archive 

"It's no easy feat to Keep Up With the Kardashians, but Mariah Smith does it better than, well, anyone. This is, in part, due to the nature of her column for The Cut, called "Keeping Up With the Kontinuity Errors" (aka KUWTKE). In it, she nails down concrete time frames in which events actually happened and compares them in relation to when the show's scenes are filmed. The result is an exposé of plot holes and continuity errors galore." (bet.com)

Hollywood Demons (streaming on Disney+/Hulu/HBOMAX)

"Hollywood Demons" pulls back the curtain of fame to expose the hidden struggles, sacrifices and scandals of life in the spotlight. From the seemingly cursed dynasties to iconic figures and series plagued by peril and misfortune, this new series unveils the shadowy underbelly of Hollywood. Each episode features accounts from Hollywood insiders, project collaborators, and survivors. Insight and perspective are provided by addiction specialist, Dr. Drew Pinsky and culture writer, Scaachi Koul.

Wonders of the Sun (streams on BBC Select)

Comedian Dara Ó Briain explores Earth's vital relationship with the Sun, the star at the center of our solar system. He looks into stories an
d legends, such as our Sun-worshiping ancestors and ancient monuments like Stonehenge. In this intriguing documentary, he investigates the science behind how the Sun was formed, watches a solar eclipse and reveals where its ferocious power originates.)

Photo by Ankit Sood on Unsplash

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes. 

books deserving a sequel

Holley, here!  I'm always skeptical of sequels, a little scared even.  If I loved it, will the new work live up to my expectations?!  Kirkus book review magazine just put out this excellent list, many of which I've seen on other best-of lists.  My personal recommendation is for the Tasha Suri book mentioned here.  Suri OBVIOUSLY loves libraries and storytelling, and it comes through loud and clear in this thrilling sapphic fantasy! 

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years—an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss

Heart the Lover by Lily King

From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, and the lasting impact of first love

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

A smart and tender story about the transformative power of grief, love, and family, this luscious novel explores past secrets, present truths, and futures forged in the wake of wild summer storms.

The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri

In an England fuelled by stories, the knight and the witch are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same tale retold over hundreds of lifetimes. Simran is a witch of the woods. Vina is a knight of the Queen’s court. To survive, the two will need to write a story stronger than the one that fate has given to them.

The Fox Hunt by Caitlin Breeze

Dive into the dark underbelly of England’s most ancient university, where behind closed doors a circle of privileged students enter into a dark pagan ritual—one that holds tantalizing power and comes at a terrible price.​

Die For Me by Shirlene Obuobi

A stay-up-all-night, smart, spicy romance following a doctor who finds herself falling for an alluring, much-younger man with a deadly secret.

The Radiant Dark by Alexandra Oliva

In the wake of First Contact, one mother upends her life and her children’s futures, as humanity reckons with its place in the universe.

Whistler by Ann Patchett

The acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling writer returns with a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time.

Hyper by Agri Ismail

Equal parts heartfelt family story and razor-sharp satire, Hyper is an ambitious, thrilling articulation of life in the twenty-first century, marking debut author Agri Ismaïl as one of the most perceptive and exciting new voices in contemporary literature.

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.

Stay For a Spell by Amy Coombe

A cursed princess must discover what her heart truly longs for in this charmingly cozy romantic fantasy for everyone who’s ever lost – or found – themselves in a bookshop.

John of John by Douglas Stuart

From the Booker Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo comes a vivid, moving novel following a young man returning to his Hebridean island home, a portrait of a father’s expectations and a son’s desires

My Grandfather, the Master Detective by Masateru Konishi

A Japanese The Thursday Murder Club, taking healing fiction for a mystery-filled spin with this bestseller that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Japan.

Blunt Instrument by Amy Bloom

A failed professor solves a murder on campus in this new whodunit.

The Arcadian by Steven Pressfield

The best-selling author of Gates of Fire and A Man at Arms presents a gripping, genre-bending story of a mercenary in late medieval Spain and the eternal costs of violence.

Photo by Craig Cameron on Unsplash

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-lists/15-books-deserve-sequel

books and beyond

 

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting will be on Tuesday, July 21^st at 6:30pm.  For the duration of the library’s renovation, BAB will meet at the Levite Jewish Community Center (3960 Montclair Road 35213) in their Berkowitz Boardroom.

BAB participants are required to sign in at the front desk with a valid photo ID. If you happen to be a member of the LJCC, simply scan in as usual for this establishment. LJCC membership is NOT required to attend Books & Beyond. The boardroom is across the hall from the indoor walking track. 

New members are always welcome!  In July, we’ll be chatting about solar energy, the sun, and the solar system.  If you’re looking for reading/watching/listening inspiration, check out the Books & Beyond row on the Shelf Care page of our website: https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

Last night, BAB met for one of our biannual Salon Discussions, where there is no assigned topic and participants can share anything they’ve listened to, read, and watched.

You Weren’t Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White

Alien meets Midsommar in this chilling debut adult novel from award-winning author Andrew Joseph White about identity, survival, and transformation amidst an alien invasion in rural West Virginia.

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone

Tautly wound and expertly crafted, Two Nights in Lisbon is a riveting thriller about a woman under pressure, and how far she will go when everything is on the line.

Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen

Inspired by Kailee Pedersen's own journey being adopted from Nanning, China in 1996 and growing up alongside her family's farm in Nebraska, this rich and atmospheric supernatural horror debut explores an ancient Chinese mythology.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (NPR, TIME, USA Today, The Economist,Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest,BuzzFeed, BookRiot, HuffPost, Jezebel, The Globe and Mail, Kirkus, and more!)

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon. Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

Sierra Simone’s New Camelot series:
American Queen
American Prince
American King
The Moon
American Squire

A president. A vice president. And the woman they're forbidden to love. New Camelot is a contemporary reimagining of the legend of King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot—elegant, carnal, and unforgettable.

Jay Bell’s Something Like series (not available in the JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)
Something Like Summer
Something Like Winter
Something Like Autumn
Something Like Spring
Something Like Lightning
Something Like Thunder
Something Like Hail
Something Like Rain
Something Like Forever

Central to the plot is the troubled relationship between Ben and Tim, former high school sweethearts who continue to meet over the years, their chemistry changing with each encounter. While the series doesn’t shy away from intimate details, it also focuses deeply on emotion, resulting in a combination that will make your heart flutter.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

From the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner—a powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity that asks questions about race, class, and gender with characteristic subtlety and grace.

Our Game by John le Carre

With the Cold War fought and won, British spymaster Tim Cranmer accepts early retirement to rural England and a new life with his alluring young mistress, Emma. But when both Emma and Cranmer’s star double agent and lifelong rival, Larry Pettifer, disappear, Cranmer is suddenly on the run, searching for his brilliant protégé, desperately eluding his former colleagues, in a frantic journey across Europe and into the lawless, battered landscapes of Moscow and southern Russia, to save whatever of his life he has left. 

Spy Game (2001, 2h 7m, Rated R)

Redford stars as CIA operative Nathan Muir, who is on the brink of retirement from the field, when he learns his protégé Tom Bishop has been arrested in China on a charge of espionage. No stranger to the machinations of the CIA's top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre

The man he knew as "Control" is dead, and the young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn't quite ready for retirement—especially when a pretty, would-be defector surfaces with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence. Relying only on his wits and a small, loyal cadre, Smiley recognizes the hand of Karla—his Moscow Centre nemesis—and sets a trap to catch the traitor.

Winds of Change podcast 

Spies. Secrets. Soviets. And tight leather pants. It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall has just come down. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. A heavy metal band from West Germany, the Scorpions, releases a power ballad, “Wind of Change.” The song becomes the soundtrack to the peaceful revolution sweeping Europe — and one of the biggest rock singles ever. According to some fans, it’s the song that ended the Cold War. Decades later, New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe hears a rumor from a source: the Scorpions didn’t actually write “Wind of Change.” The CIA did.

Winds of Change song

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes

Djuna Barnes' strange and sinuous tour de force, "belongs to that small class of books that somehow reflect a time or an epoch" (Times Literary Supplement). That time is the period between the two World Wars, and Barnes' novel unfolds in the decadent shadows of Europe's great cities, Paris, Berlin, and Vienna―a world in which the boundaries of class, religion, and sexuality are bold but surprisingly porous.

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker

Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker’s ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell

In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop in Edinburgh and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her great-aunt Esme, whom she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital—where she has been locked away for more than sixty-one years. If Iris takes her in, what dangerous truths might she inherit?

What Maisie Knew by Henry James

Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her selfish mother and her selfish father. Through her experiences, Maisie learns to navigate her complicated situation with insight and resilience. This timeless novel explores the themes of love, loyalty, and the power of family.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.

Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens's Barnaby Rudge is a vivid portrait of London's descent into anarchy, where 'King Mob' rules the streets, and innocent lives are swept up in the chaos. Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge is a story of mystery and suspense which begins with an unsolved double murder and goes on to involve conspiracy, blackmail, abduction and retribution.

Tell Others: Storytelling for a World in Turmoil by Kim Echlin (not in the JCLC, request from Interlibrary Loan)

Looking to her favourite writers—Milan Kundera, Salman Rushdie, Ma Jian, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, and Haruki Murakami, to name a few—Echlin grapples in fresh ways with tyranny, war, sexual violence, and censorship to bear witness to the past and look to the future. Written in characteristically unsparing and evocative prose, Tell Others is an invitation to all readers to acknowledge histories that are difficult to see and to make meaning from the stories that buried bones tell. The author has one novel, about the rise of the Khmer Rouge regime, titled The Disappeared.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke   

A traditional American woman, a “tradwife” influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something
far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon, Fantastic Fiction, Rotten Tomatoes, Crooked Podcasts, and Youtube.

Amazon top 20 of 2026

Amazon editors have released their top 20 best books of 2026 so far!  Find your next read here:

20. Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of Cinderella, the world’s most famous fairy tale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

19. Homebound by Portia Elan

In a dazzling ode to human inventiveness and desire for meaning, four lives are entangled across time by one unfinished story, saved to a floppy disk in the 1980s and destined to ripple across the centuries.

18. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

The multimillion-copy-selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything.

17. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Meet Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick: eighty-one years old, gloriously grumpy, fiercely independent, and never without a hot cup of tea―or a cutting remark. She minds her own business in her quiet Melbourne suburb, until a neighbor turns up dead and the whispers start flying. Is she a cantankerous old lady with a shady past? A cold-blooded killer with arthritis? Or just someone who’s finally ready to tell her side of the story?

16. John of John by Douglas Stuart

Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry back home to the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to find that little has changed except for him. John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of the truth. It is a magnificent literary work that cements Douglas Stuart's reputation as one of our greatest novelists working today.

15. Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for Saturday Night Live; instead, she’s stuck working in a video rental store, with slim odds of escaping her small Massachusetts town. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty, and her life changes forever. Despite wildly different upbringings, the two forge a deep, cosmic bond, first as friends, then as acting partners—until one day, Noah disappears without a word.  Seven years later, in New York City, AJ is shocked to find herself cast in the same intergalactic TV production as Noah, by then a well-known Hollywood heartthrob. As their on-screen characters grow closer every day, the lines between reality and acting begin to blur.

14. Five by Ilona Bannister

Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.

13. A Far-Flung Life by M. L. Stedman

From the author of the acclaimed bestseller TheLight Between Oceans comes a breathtaking and epic novel set in the vast outback of Australia—about tragedy, family secrets, and the enduring power of love.

12. Famesick by Lena Dunham

In this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girls and the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl asks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain.

11. Transcription by Ben Lerner

The narrator of Ben Lerner’s new novel has traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor and the father of his college friend Max. Thomas is a giant in the arts who seems to hail from the future and the past simultaneously and who reenchants the air when he speaks. But the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink. He arrives at Thomas’s house with no recording device, a fact he is mysteriously unable to confess. What unfolds from this dreamlike circumstance is the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and an exploration of fathers and sons, male friendship and rivalry, and the challenges of parenting in a burning world.

10. Crux by Gabriel Tallent

In this story of intense friendship and grit, two down-and-out teens escape their lives and chase a different future through rock-climbing -- from the New York Times bestselling author of My Absolute Darling.

9. Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas

The nationally bestselling author of The Paleontologist and A History of Fear returns with a spine-tingling new thriller about a weight loss treatment with terrifying side effects.

8. Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

#1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell returns with a breathtakingly honest novel about a woman who lost everything — and isn't sure she wants it back.

7. American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn

Men wield outsized power across all major institutions. But they are falling behind across all measures of well-being and success. They include loving husbands and absent fathers, corporate strivers and displaced workers, the objects and instruments of incredible violence. They are half the population. And yet when mentioned as a bloc, it’s often to ask the question: What’s wrong with them? American Men is a book that burrows deep into the lives of four men, exploring how each of them construct their relationship to masculinity, and how they navigate that relationship over time.

6. Land by Maggie O’Farrell

On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great Ordnance Survey project to map the whole of Ireland. The year is 1865, and in a country not long since ravaged and emptied by the Great Hunger, the task is not an easy one. Tomás, however, is determined that his maps will be a record of the disaster.  The British soldiers in charge are due to arrive any day, expecting the work to be completed, but Tomás is unexpectedly sent off course by an unsettling encounter in a copse. His life, and the lives of those of his family, will never be the same again. 

5. Night Objects by Eli Raphael (not yet in the library system, but it is on order)

This suspenseful novel transports readers to the windswept coast of Washington State and a boarding school steeped in privilege and deadly secrets—a remarkable story of grief, power, and the dangerous price of belonging.

4. Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage by Belle Burden

In March 2020, Belle Burden was safe and secure with her family at their house on Martha’s Vineyard, navigating the early days of the pandemic together—building fires in the late afternoons, drinking whisky sours, making roast chicken. Then, with no warning or explanation, her husband of twenty years announced that he was leaving her. Overnight, her caring, steady partner became a man she hardly recognized. He exited his life with her like an actor shrugging off a costume. In Strangers, Burden revisits her marriage, searching for clues that her husband was not who she always thought he was.

3. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

 A traditional American woman, a “tradwife” influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

2. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and aFamily’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe

From the bestselling, prizewinning author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, a spellbinding account of a family devastated by the sudden death of their nineteen-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath London’s glittering surface.

1. Kin by Tayari Jones

A magnificent new novel from the bestselling, award-winning author of An American Marriage—Tayari Jones has written an unforgettable novel that sparkles with wit and intelligence and deep feeling about two lifelong friends whose worlds converge after many years apart in the face of a devastating tragedy.

 

 

paleontology

 

As a reminder, the O’Neal Library building is closed to begin a major interior renovation, but we will be opening a temporary location on Monday, June 1^st across the street at Mountain Brook City Hall!  More information here: https://oneallibrary.org/temporary-location

The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting will be Tuesday, June 30^th at 6:30pm at the Levite Jewish Community Center (LJCC).  Thanks so much to the J for hosting us!! You will need your ID/driver’s license to sign in at their front desk if you plan to join us 😊Take note that Books & Beyond will continue to meet at the LJCC for the duration of renovation. 

Last night, BAB met at La Paz restaurant to discuss paleontology! 

EXPERIENCES

Melbourne Museum exhibition, Triceratops: Fate of theDinosaurs 

Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs is an immersive voyage into a lost world, where visitors will explore the landscapes of the Cretaceous and get to know the creatures that thrived there. Don't miss your chance to meet the most complete real dinosaur in Australia, Horridus the Triceratops, only at Melbourne Museum.

Danger Semiotics/long-term nuclear waste warning messages
“The mind-bending challenge of warning future humans about nuclear waste” (Scientific American November 17, 2025

"If built properly, NWMO’s deep geological repository will outlast governments, economies and the very languages that name it. It will join a global lineage of reverse arks: monuments to societies that dared to think beyond themselves. If the facility is someday uncovered by a far-future archaeologist, its depth, placement and engineered barriers could reveal what our civilization judged to be dangerous, how we calculated risk and how we imagined future humans would think, live and interpret signs."

Hoover Dam Star Map 

“For those encountering the Star Map for the first time: it’s the terrazzo floor at the base of Hansen’s massive Winged Figures of the Republic bronze statues on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam, in the area known as Monument Plaza. Oskar Hansen designed the terrazzo as a celestial map, a 26,000-year astronomical “clock” that tracks the “precession of the equinoxes,” the fascinating astronomical and astrological fact that because of the subtle tilt and wobble of the Earth’s axis, over the course of every 2,166 years the position of the Zodiac constellations in the sky shift one at a time in a full circle, creating each “Zodiacal Age” (ie, the Age of Pisces or the Age of Aquarius). Using the complex mapping of this 26,000-year star cycle, and a precise placement of its stars and planets, Oskar Hansen designed a perpetual “clock” that could be used for thousands of years to pinpoint the exact moment President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam on September 30, 1935.”

Voyager missions’ Golden Records 

“Pioneers 10 and 11, which preceded Voyager, both carried small metal plaques identifying their time and place of origin for the benefit of any other spacefarers that might find them in the distant future. With this example before them, NASA placed a more ambitious message aboard Voyager 1 and 2, a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record, a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.”

Jobs you may not have known existed - Paleontological Monitors

They work to make sure that paleontological resources are protected in compliance with the Paleontological Preservation Act (PRPA) and also follow the impact mitigation guidelines set by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.   As described by Eocene Environmental Group:

“We work to make sure paleontological resources are protected in compliance with the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. Our paleontologists are practiced at identifying fossils to taxon and element, assessing their scientific significance, recording site geology and sedimentology, and developing mitigation measures to protect paleontological resources.

We have experience coordinating with agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service, Department of Transportation, and state agencies to ensure that projects do not have adverse impacts to paleontological resources.”

ON SCREEN

The Farthest: Voyager in Space

This PBS documentary tells the captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in exploration: NASA’s Voyager mission, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in August 2017. The twin spacecraft—each with less computing power than a cell phone—used slingshot trajectories to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They sent back unprecedented images and data that revolutionized our understanding of the spectacular outer planets and their many peculiar moons.

Still going strong four decades after launch, each spacecraft carries an iconic golden record with greetings, music and images from Earth—a gift for any aliens that might one day find it. Voyager 1, which left our solar system and ushered humanity into the interstellar age in 2012, is the farthest-flung object humans have ever created. A billion years from now, when our sun has flamed out and burned Earth to a cinder, the Voyagers and their golden records will still be sailing on—perhaps the only remaining evidence that humanity ever existed

PODCASTS

The Ancients 

A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes. 

ADULT NONFICTION

Annals of the Former World books by John McPhee

Basin and Range
The first of John McPhee's works in his series on geology and geologists, Basin and Range is a book of journeys through ancient terrains, always in juxtaposition with travels in the modern world―a history of vanished landscapes, enhanced by the histories of people who bring them to light.
In Suspect Terrain
In Suspect Terrain is a narrative of the earth, told in four sections of equal length, each in a different way reflecting the three others―a biography; a set piece about a fragment of Appalachian landscape in illuminating counterpoint to the human history there; a modern collision of ideas about the origins of the mountain range; and, in contrast, a century-old collision of ideas about the existence of the Ice Age.
Rising from the Plains (not available in the JCLC, access via WorldCat)
Rising from the Plains continues to present a cross section of North America along the fortieth parallel.
Assembling California
At various times in a span of fifteen years, John McPhee made geological field surveys in the company of Eldridge Moores, a tectonicist at the University of California at Davis. The result of these trips is Assembling California, a cross-section in human and geologic time, from Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada through the golden foothills of the Mother Lode and across the Great Central Valley to the wine country of the Coast Ranges, the rock of San Francisco, and the San Andreas family of faults.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

In Sapiens, Professor Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical—and sometimes devastating—breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology, paleontology, and economics, and incorporating full-color illustrations throughout the text, he explores the origin of our species and how the currents of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us, and even our personalities.

Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group ofVictorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World by Edward Dolnick

“Exuberant” (Kirkus Reviews), entertaining, erudite, and featuring an unconventional cast of characters, Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party tells the story of how the accidental discovery of prehistoric creatures upended humanity’s understanding of the world and its own place within it.

A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee

In A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, Henry Gee zips through the last 4.6 billion years with infectious enthusiasm and intellectual rigor. Drawing on the very latest scientific understanding and writing in a clear, accessible style, he tells an enlightening tale of survival and persistence that illuminates the delicate balance within which life has always existed.

Divine Magnet: Herman Melville’s Letters to Nathaniel Hawthorne edited by Mark Niemeyer (not available in the JCLC, access via WorldCat)

These letters are full of passion, humor, doubt, and spiritual yearning, and offer an intimate view of Melville's personality. Lyrical and effusive, they are literary works in themselves.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

The World Without Us is a penetrating, page-turning tour of a post-human Earth. Drawing on the expertise of engineers, atmospheric scientists, art conservators, zoologists, oil refiners, marine biologists, astrophysicists, religious leaders from rabbis to the Dalai Lama, and paleontologists, Alan Weisman deftly illustrates what the planet might be like today, if not for us.

ADULT FICTION

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Alongside his nephew, Axel, Professor Lidenbrock finds a secret message hidden in one of the runic notes of a newly acquired manuscript from Iceland. Once deciphered, the message reveals that a volcano was discovered, which acted as a passage to the center of the Earth. Determined to discover this phenomenon for himself, Lidenbrock, Axel, and their guide, Hans, set off on an adventure full of surprises, which include a deep ocean, giant mushrooms, and lightening-filled gas that lights up the unknown world. The trio encounters numerous pre-historic animals, including dinosaurs and other gigantic beasts. They build a raft out of tree limbs and travel far and wide. They become separated, and must rely on the unique way sound is carried underground in order to communicate and reunite. Although they do eventually escape from their adventure, the imaginative and awe-inspiring world inside the Earth will never be forgotten. 

Taunt by Eve Dangerfield (not available in the JCLC or via WorldCat)

Daniel Schwartz is a free-spirited, independent woman living her life however she pleases. Until she accidentally uncovers the world is about to end. Now the eco-terrorist is imprisoned by a shadowy organization trying to make her talk.  Locked in a beachside mansion, the only upside Daniel can see to imprisonment is that the private security guards hired to keep her under constant surveillance are all incredibly sexy...As each man becomes increasingly drawn to the weird, pop-obsessed Daniel, she is equally drawn to them. How is a girl supposed to choose between three gorgeous, ex-paramilitary men? And does she even really want to escape this ménage à quatre? A Reverse Harem, Why Choose, ménage, Bodyguard romance with three Alpha Heroes and one independent woman.

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas

A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous spirit in this chilling novel.

Extinction by Douglas Preston

(Haha! For those who were there: I totally misremembered a lot of the plot of this last night, sorry!)
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire's son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.

Eruption by James Patterson & Michael Crichton

As the Big Island of Hawai'i faces an eruption of unprecedented intensity, the U.S. military contends with the consequences of a long-held doomsday secret. Eruption is the passion project Michael Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park, ER, Twister, and Westworld, had been pursuing for years ahead of his untimely passing in 2008. After discovering his notes and the partial manuscript, his wife, Sherri Crichton, searched for more than a decade until she found the perfect partner: James Patterson

YOUTH FICTION

West of the Sea by Stephanie Willing (Reading age: 8-12 years)

Paleontology-loving Haven West and her older sister, Margie, have hardly talked with their mom since she retreated into a deep depression. Each morning Haven wonders if it’s going to be a “good” or “bad” day, and the only thing that seems to occupy her mom is collecting fossils for her bone garden.

But one night, after an ominous moonlight heart-to-heart, her mom disappears—right before Haven discovers she’s inherited a monstrous family trait. It turns out that she is the latest in a long line of cryptids, a past her mom has been hiding. Suddenly, the Texas terrain is full of ghostly dinosaur silhouettes and Haven is breaking out in scales at all the wrong moments. Even worse, she doesn’t know whom she can trust with this information.

Since the only person who could guide her through this has vanished, Haven sets off on the road trip of a lifetime with Margie and their new friend Rye in tow. Together, they’re determined to find her mom and finally get some answers, hopefully before Haven’s secret is revealed . . .

Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce (Reading age: 12 years and up)

When Daine is sent to Carthak as part of a Tortallan peace delegation, she finds herself in the middle of a sticky political situation. She doesn’t like the Carthaki practice of keeping slaves, but it’s not her place to say anything—she’s only there to heal the emperor’s birds. Her worries only expand once she learns that her own power has grown in a dark and mysterious way.

As the peace talks stall, Daine puzzles over Carthak’s two-faced Emperor Ozorne. How can he be so caring with his birds, and so cruel to his people? Daine is sure he’s planning something—a terrible, power-hungry scheme. And she knows that she must fight this powerful Emperor Mage; the life of her beloved teacher is at risk.

 

Item descriptions pulled from Amazon, PBS, NASA, et al. 

Photo by Jordyn St. John on Unsplash

 

historical novels

 

Upcoming programs:

--Register for Smells Like Teen Spirit: Scents of the 90s (ages 18+)
https://www.oneallibrary.org/event/16262449

--Books & Beyond May 26^th – Location TBD – Topic: Paleontology
Visit the Shelf Care page of our website for suggestions on the topic! https://oneallibrary.org/adults---reading-recommendations

This week, the Books & Beyond discussion club met to chat about historical fiction.  Have a look!

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Member comment: “It was published in 1993 and won the National Book Award. This fictional story is based on the true story of a young black man who survived a failed execution by electrocution in Louisiana in 1946. The book focuses primarily on a young black teacher, Grant Wiggins, who is asked to speak to Jefferson, a young black man who has been sentenced to die in the electric chair in rural Louisiana. Grant’s task is to make Jefferson feel human before he goes to the chair. It’s an interesting contrast between Grant who feels trapped in his hometown and Jefferson who is actually trapped in his hometown.  The book is powerful but the last couple of chapters are truly incredible. The last chapter is written in the words of Jefferson and brought me to tears.”

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup.

Daisy Jones and the Six (Rated TV-MA, 1 season, Amazon PrimeVideo)

In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world; the band had risen from obscurity to fame, and then, after a sold-out show at Chicago's Soldier Field, they called it quits; now, decades later, the band members agree to reveal the truth.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger.

Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION – Qianze (member comment: this character Americanizes her name to Kenzie) has not seen her father in eleven years, since he walked out of her life the night of her fourteenth birthday and disappeared without a trace. But then she gets a call—there is a man on the porch of her childhood home, and he’s asking for her. This man isn’t the Ba Qianze remembers: he is much older, more fragile, and worst of all, haunted by a half-forgotten prophecy.

Spanning decades and continents, A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing employs a combination of stunningly rendered folklore and atmospheric prose to examine the legacy of colonialism through the eyes of three generations. Alice Evelyn Yang’s debut novel is a story of family and forgiveness, of folklore and fate, that will leave you unsettled and undone.

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sasha Lamb

Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.

Stolen By the Wolves by Lyx Robinson (only available on eaudio on Hoopla)

It is the year 870. Hordes of Vikings sweep through the green lands of Northumbria and Ireland, raiding and pillaging. Soon, no kingdom will be safe from their bloodlust. Tamsin has always been safe behind the walls of her sanctuary. Safe enough to yearn for a glimpse of the world beyond. But with the Viking threat looming, even her secretive kingdom must open its gates to invite allies. And she gets far more than a glimpse. STOLEN BY THE WOLVES is a fantasy non-shifter omegaverse romance that is based loosely on real historical events. It is the first of a 6-book series, slow-burn with eventual Reverse Harem romance. 

The Quick by Lauren Owen

1892: James Norbury, a shy would-be poet newly down from Oxford, finds lodging with a charming young aristocrat. Through this new friendship, he is introduced to the drawing-rooms of high society and finds love in an unexpected quarter. Then, suddenly, he vanishes without a trace. Alarmed, his sister, Charlotte, sets out from their crumbling country estate determined to find him. In the sinister, labyrinthine London that greets her, she uncovers a hidden, supernatural city populated by unforgettable characters: a female rope walker turned vigilante, a street urchin with a deadly secret, and the chilling “Doctor Knife.” But the answer to her brother’s disappearance ultimately lies within the doors of the exclusive, secretive Aegolius Club, whose predatory members include the most ambitious, and most bloodthirsty, men in England.

Love & Other Monsters by Emily Franklin

During the dangerous storms of The Year Without Summer, a group of famous young writers gathered at a mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Brilliant Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, her fiery fiancé Percy Shelley, the famously promiscuous Lord Byron, and John Polidori, his sexually tormented personal physician. At the group’s center was Claire Clairmont, Mary’s impressionable, clever, and dangerously loyal stepsister. In this intense and propulsive story of love, lust, art and betrayal Claire tells her story, trying to solve the mystery of why she was all but erased from history.

The novels of Patrick O’Brian

In addition to twenty volumes in the highly respected Aubrey-Maturin series, Patrick O'Brian's many books include A Sea of Words: ALexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O’Brian, and the novels Testimonies, The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore. O'Brian also wrote acclaimed biographies of Pablo Picasso and Sir Joseph Banks and translated many works from the French, among them the novels and memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Lacouture's biographies of Charles de Gaulle. He was also the stepfather of Nikolai Tolstoy. He passed away in January 2000 at the age of 85. The Patrick O’Brian Appreciation Society on Facebook hosts discussions among avid fans who describe reading all of his books as completing a “circumnavigation!” 

The novels of Kenneth Roberts

Kenneth Lewis Roberts was an American author of historical novels. Roberts worked first as a journalist, becoming nationally known for his work with the Saturday Evening Post from 1919 to 1928, and then as a popular novelist. Born in Kennebunk, Maine, Roberts specialized in Regionalist historical fiction. He often wrote about his native state and its terrain, also depicting other upper New England states and scenes.

The novels of C. S. Forester

Cecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure and military crusades. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, about naval warfare during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen (1935; filmed in 1951 by John Huston). His novels A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours were jointly awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Member recommendation: Brown on Resolution

Greyhound (Rated PG-13, 1h30m, 2020, Apple TV)

U.S. Navy Cmdr. Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) is assigned to lead an Allied convoy across the Atlantic during World War II. His convoy, however, is pursued by German U-boats. Although this is Krause's first wartime mission, he finds himself embroiled in what would come to be known as the longest, largest and most complex naval battle in history: The Battle of the Atlantic. This is the adaptation of C. S. Forester’s novel titled The GoodShepherd.

The Temeraire series of fantasy novels by Naomi Novik

The first in the series is His Majesty's Dragon. Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies . . . not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature.

Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Sepra

It’s 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude’s aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home. These three women seemingly have nothing in common, yet as they unite to stand up to injustices that have long plagued the small town, they find strength in the bond that ties women together.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Originally published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God has become one of the most important and enduring works of modern American literature. Written with Zora Neale Hurston’s singular wit and pathos, this Southern love story recounts Janie Crawford’s “ripening from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny.”

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

The unforgettable New York Times best seller begins with the story of two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. Written with tremendous sweep and power, Homegoing traces the generations of family who follow, as their destinies lead them through two continents and three hundred years of history, each life indeliably drawn, as the legacy of slavery is fully revealed in light of the present day.

A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago

…a gripping dark novel based on the true scandal of two women determined to create their own fates in the Jacobean court. When the beautiful, unhappy Frances Howard meets the astute, diminished Anne Turner, the two women strike up an unlikely yet powerful friendship. Frankie quickly pulls Anne into her close confidence, sweeping her new companion into an extravagant world of glamour and decadence. But navigating the Jacobean court is a dangerous game, and one misstep could mean losing everything - including their lives....

Wench by Dolan Perkins-Valdez

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a startling and original debut novel that raises provocative questions of power and freedom, love and dependence. An enchanting and unforgettable novel based on little-known fact, it tells the story of four black enslaved women in the years preceding the Civil War. 

Bog Queen by Anna North

When a body is found in a bog in northwest England, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate. But this body is not like any she's ever seen. Though its bones prove it was buried more than two thousand years ago, it is almost completely preserved. As Agnes faces the deep history of what she has unearthed, she's also forced to question what she thought she knew about her talent, her self-reliance, and her place in the world.Flashing between the uncertainty of post-Brexit England and the druidic order of Celtic Europe at the dawn of the Roman era, Bog Queen brims with contemporary urgency and ancient wisdom as it connects across time two gifted, farsighted young women learning to harness their strange strengths in a landscape more mysterious and complex than either can imagine.

Ancient Bodies: Secrets Revealed (2024, 4 episodes, Nat Geo TV & Amazon Prime Video purchase) 

Ancient human remains reveal prehistoric murders and rituals. Archaeologists uncover clues about lives lost, uncovering tales of how these people lived and died.

The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery

Knives Out meets Downton Abbey! Secrets, murder, and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo—an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogenarian—hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world, in this historical locked-room mystery set during the 1910 pass of Halley’s Comet.

Item descriptions by member comment, Amazon, IMDB, and Rotten Tomatoes.