You finally get your hands on THE book your friends are raving about. You MUST read this, they say. It’s great! But when you finish it, you are underwhelmed. As readers, we’ve all been there. I asked my fellow bloggers what books they read that didn’t live up to their high expectations. Ellen: I read…
It is always a treat revisiting the serene village of Three Pines, which serves as the backdrop for Louise Penny’s 11th exceptional mystery, The Nature of the Beast. Armand Gamache, retired head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, is at a crossroads in his life. He is enjoying a quiet existence with his wife…
Harper Lee, Stephen King and a lot of Young Adult books highlight the August Cook Memorial Public Library staff reading list. Harper Lee returns: Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman came out in July. It’s been a hot topic among library employees and…
Swedish author Fredrik Backman burst onto the literary scene last year with his debut novel, A Man Called Ove, featuring a curmudgeon who is forced to want to live again by his colorful neighbors. A Man Called Ove was one of my favorite books of 2014, so I was excited the author had a second…
Eva Thorvald is an innovative, legendary Minnesota chef whose secret supper club garners $5,000 a person. This celebrity cook’s story is slowly revealed in J. Ryan Stradal’s refreshing debut novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest. Each chapter is written from the perspective of a person who was significant in Eva’s life. The chapters conclude suddenly…
Jo with Nelson DeMille Are you looking for a good book? Then you’ve come to the right place! The July staff reading list, compiled from all our library employees, is posted on our Books/Movies/Music page. The books are separated by Fiction, Mysteries and Suspense, Nonfiction, and Biography/History. Here are some books and authors that caught…
Bobby Nesku is a skinny boy who feels unloved and alone. His mother is no longer home after a terrible car accident. Bobby waits for her to come back by cataloging any scraps he can find of her. He spends the rest of the time trying to avoid his abusive, neglectful father and the bullies…
Hey, do you want to know what the library staff is reading? Then you are in luck! Since we are a bunch of bookworms, we like to share what we read every month on the Cook web site. You can find the June lists on our Books/Movies/Music page. The books are separated by Fiction, Mysteries…
If you had a 50-50 chance of inheriting a disease that was guaranteed to debilitate and eventually kill you, would you want to know? That heavy question faces the four O’Brien adult children in Lisa Genova’s new novel about family, happiness, love and choices. Genova, a neuroscientist, broke out as a novelist with her debut,…
I spent a hot summer before my sophomore year in college studying my Grammar for Journalists book. I was preparing for the dreaded test that the University of Wisconsin Journalism School gave prospective students as part of the admissions process, and was told that more than 60 percent failed. I was one of the fortunate…
