In this book, Peter Heller has created one of my favorite literary heroines. Celine Watkins is a 69-year-old private investigator, born into East Coast money, fluent in French, educated at prep school and Sarah Lawrence College. Still reeling from the loss of both of her sisters and the destruction of the Twin Towers, she is…
“An Indian Affairs agent said,' The question will suggest itself, which of these people are the savages?'” ― David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon Mollie Burkhart (second from right) lost all three of her sisters under suspicious circumstances. Rita Smith (left) died in an explosion, Anna Brown (second from left) was shot in the…
“The Marsh King’s Daughter’’ is a gripping story about a girl who slowly realizes that the father she worships is a monster. Growing up, Helena is a shadow to her Native American father, who trains her how to live off the land of their marsh home. She learns how to track, hunt and fish, while…
I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes it can’t be helped. Sometimes you see a book, and its cover says, “I am the perfect summer romance! Read me when you need something long on breezy charm, short on doom and gloom, with a healthy dose of swoony-ness.” Too…
There's a couple of changes coming to some of our eLibrary services this month. Our services will stay the same, but how you access some of them will be updated. Read below to find out more. What's in a name? Zinio to RBdigital Zinio, one of our digital magazine providers, will be changing its name…
Susan Ryeland is a London book editor who has just received the latest manuscript from one of her most irascible authors, Alan Conway. Much as she dislikes him, he’s the best seller at her publishing house, so there’s no question that she will give the book her full attention. But the manuscript’s ending appears to…
When one of the regular customers of the Bright Ideas Bookstore hangs himself as she is closing the store one night, Lydia is shocked to find a picture of her ten-year-old self sticking out of his pocket. Joey had been one of their regulars, part of a scruffy and mostly harmless group fondly nicknamed the…
Welcome back to what is a much, much more uplifting entry in my series on the history of Mundelein! When we left off in my last post, the year was 1950 and having weathered the trials of the Great Depression and Second World War, things in Mundelein were finally beginning to look up: New businesses…
Novels can help readers better understand what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes. When I read “Ginny Moon’’, I gained great empathy for the main character and all the people in her life trying to help her succeed. Ginny Moon is a 14-year-old autistic girl who never feels she belongs. She desperately…
Occasionally, we like to check in and see what our patrons are learning about with their free access to Lynda.com. For the month of May, we noticed an emphasis on photography and graphic design. Must be gearing up for those vacation pics and summer video projects! These were the top 10 courses viewed in May.…
