Good Reads & Views

Endless Summer: Stories from Days That Last Forever by Elin Hilderbrand
Fiction

What’s it about: "One wonders what the author of 28 novels, sometimes appearing at the rate of two per year, does in her spare time. It turns out she writes what might almost be called Elin Hilderbrand fan fiction, creating short stories piggybacking off already-developed characters and plots....[Endless Summer is] a generous gift to fans" (Kirkus Reviews).

Reviewers say: “Bask in the brilliance of the 'queen of beach reads'" (New York Magazine).

You might also like: Summer Love by Nancy Thayer or The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

Visit Roseanne’s My Librarian Page

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Fiction

What it is: A collection of literary short stories that examines the lives of contemporary African American women, focusing on spirituality, secularity, relationships, sexuality, body image, and self-determination. The stories are deeply moving, and characters are portrayed with scorching honesty. If you don’t like short stories, give this collection a try anyway—the writing is so good it might convert you. “Snowfall” is filled with gorgeous bittersweet memories of life in the South, and “How to Make Love to a Physicist” is perfect storytelling.

Of special interest: The story “Peach Cobbler” was inspired by a prompt to write about food, and to kick off with a fantastic first line, as well as Philyaw’s childhood confusion while growing up in the Church—she thought the preachers were God. That first line—“My mother made a peach cobbler so good, it made God himself cheat on his wife.”

Book buzz: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was a finalist for The National Book Awards and is a Los Angeles Times Book Awards finalist for first fiction. It is also the first book to win both The Story Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Visit Laura’s My Librarian Page

If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Fiction                                                                                                   

What it is: Four novellas by the master of horror, never before published.

What you will find inside: A cell phone communicating from beyond the grave, a series of apocalyptic incidents, a Faustian bargain, and Holly Gibney - of King’s Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider – facing off against evil in the form of a television newscaster.

Reviewers say: “This excellent collection delivers exactly the kind of bravura storytelling King's readers expect” (Publishers Weekly); “King has gone a far piece from the killer clowns and vampires of old, with his monsters and monstrosities taking on far more quotidian forms--which makes them all the scarier. Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you're new to him” (Kirkus Reviews); “This set of novellas is thought-provoking, terrifying, and, at times, outright charming, showcasing King's breadth as a master storyteller” (Booklist).

Visit Astrid’s My Librarian Page

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
Fiction

Featuring: Maud, a Swedish lady in her upper 80’s. She never married, lives alone, and prefers to keep it that way.

What it’s about: Maud lives in a nice, big apartment in a building that used to belong to her family. She pretends to be a sweet, confused, and rather frail old lady when it suits her, but woe to those who invoke her wrath. She’s actually in great physical shape for someone her age, sharp as a tack, and ruthless beyond measure when it comes to - permanently - getting rid of nuisances that interfere with her enjoyment of life… A small book, but, like Maud, it packs a punch.

Author note: Helene Tursten also writes the Irene Huss crime series and Irene makes a brief appearance in this book.

Visit Astrid’s My Librarian Page

Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales by P.D. James
Fiction

P.D. James was a master of the detective novel and also of the short story, as she demonstrates in these 6 tales that involve murder in one form or another. Some murders go back decades, some are more recent; for some the killer is the narrator, for others it’s someone who knew about the killings but kept quiet, for whatever reason. It is hard to pick a favorite, but a senior citizen blackmailing his ungrateful children into shelling out a big chunk of their possibly ill-gotten inheritance to secure him a spot in a fancy, and very expensive, retirement home is just simply marvelous. My favorite book of 2017.

Visit Astrid’s My Librarian Page

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 
FIC Strout, Elizabeth

Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, this novel of interconnected short stories allows the reader quick peeks at the lives of some of the denizens of small-town Crosby, Maine. Olive, the title character, is a strong-willed, very opinionated and rather blunt local schoolteacher when we first meet her, and she is the thread that runs through all the stories. A finely drafted and deeply emotional work of literature, deserving of its many accolades.