A Bookworm and Her Books

  Author: Larry McMurtry Title: Lonesome Dove Genre: Western Publication Date: June 15 th , 2010 Number of Pages: 864 Geographical Setting: Texas and Montana wilderness Time Period: late 19 th century Series (If applicable): Yes; Lonesome Dove saga (1 st in the series) Plot Summary: It’s a love story. An adventure. An epic journey on the frontier and a tale of two aging Texas Rangers, Gus and Call, Gus’s woman Lorena, and in the dusty little town of Lonesome Dove in Texas who take to the range on one last adventure, and the cast of characters they meet along the way, including Gus’s woman Lorena and a conniving Indian renegade name Blue Duck. From heroes and outlaws to whores and ladies, Indians and settlers, it’s a dramatic tale of love, heartache, and the beautiful yet harsh Texas wilderness that becomes a character all its own. Subject Headings: Fiction – Westerns – Cowboys – Literary fiction Appeal: -          Richly authentic or detailed – details enrich t

Author: Kim Michele Richardson Title: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek Genre: Historical fiction Publication Date: May 7 th , 2019 Number of Pages: 320 Geographical Setting: Kentucky, Appalachian Mountains, Appalachian Trail Time Period: 1930s, late Great Depression Series (If applicable): Yes; Book woman of troublesome creek (1 st book in the series) Plot Summary: Cussy Mary Carter is Troublesome Creek’s very own traveling librarian. She’s also the very last of her kind, one of the famed and often feared Blue people. Any whiff of trouble and Blues are automatically to blame. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Cussy is able to deliver books to the people living in the most rural of areas in the Appalachians but along the way she’s forced to confront prejudice and racism while holding tight to the belief that knowledge is power and books can take us anywhere while giving readers a powerful story of courage and strength.   Subject Hea

Author: Leslye Penelope Title: The Monsters We Defy Genre: Fantasy Publication Date: August 9, 2022 Number of Pages: 384 Geographical Setting: Washington D.C. Time Period: 1920s Series (If applicable): N/A Plot Summary: Every charm a spirit bestows comes with a price, one young Clara Johnson knows about all too well. Clara uses her ability to walk the line between the living and dead to often broker deals on behalf of spirits with those desperate enough to make them. When local residents start acting strange, almost zombielike, before they go missing, Clara uses her gifts and discovers a magical ring may be the connection. With the help of a handsome musician, his gifted cousin, Clara’s strange albino roommate, and a glamourist, Clara and resulting company find themselves on a dangerous mission that takes them through Washington, D.C.’s historical 1925 Black community, one filled with speakeasies, literary salons, and Fairy Balls as they discover the true meaning of lov

When it comes to reading, I’ve always been a person who prefers to hold a book in their hand. I like the weight and feel of a book in my hand, the sound of the pages as they’re being turned, and yes, even the smell sometimes. There’s nothing like the smell of a new book. Or one from the library that’s gone through multiple readers. That musty book smell... there’s nothing like it. I never really cared for e-books or audiobooks. I don’t like to read things on a screen unless I absolutely have to because I don’t like scrolling or the feel of a mouse in my hand for long periods of time, or on my iPad, swiping back and forth between pages. I also have sensitive eyes so trying to read for long periods of time on a screen is difficult after a while, even with my glasses. I do like that with the e-readers and e-book apps you can adjust the font, line spacing, and color of text as well as the page colors but it’s still difficult for me to read on a screen. I know a lot of library patrons tho

"Books are something social. A writer speaking to a reader. So I think making the reading of a book the center of a social event, the meeting of a book club is a brilliant idea" - Yann Martel  I’ve never been in a book club before, so this has been quite the experience for me. Not only am I in one, but I just recently joined another. The first book club is through my work. After some discussion last fall, our head cataloger in our Collections Management and Development department decided to form a book club specifically for our department and Outreach. The other is a book club through one of our local churches that a co-worker invited me to, so for this assignment I’ll be taking a look at both. For my work book club, our head cataloger, Ashley, is our leader and will lead the discussion by asking if we’ve finished the book, and then asking for our thoughts and opinions on the book. It’s an open discussion, and we each take turns speaking. The first book we read, The Last Fl

My ‘to be read’ pile was much smaller until I discovered a little corner of the world called ‘Bookstagram.’ For those who do not know, or who are unfamiliar with the ‘Bookstagram’ community, it is generally defined as an Instagram account solely dedicated to sharing book covers, book reviews, what the user is currently reading or has previously read, book clubs, discussions, etc. According to Google Trends, the term itself came about as early as 2004, but the hashtag didn’t appear or become popular until 2014 (Google Trends). I created my own bookstagram account at the end of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it feels as if I’ve stepped into a glorious community of fellow book lovers… but on social media. According to a 2018 study published by the American Psychological Association, less than 20 percent of teens in the United States reported reading a book, magazine, or newspaper daily for pleasure; however, more than 80 percent of those same teens say they use soc