June 2021 Recommendations
June 2021 RECOMMENDATIONS
Deparaved Heart by Patricia Cornwell
Once again, Dr. Kay Scarpetta keeps us in suspense as she investigates a bizarre death in a historic Cambridge, Massachusetts home with the assistance of her investigative partner, Pete Merino. The investigation begins when Dr. Scarpetta begins receiving emergency alert messages with twenty-year-old surveillance videos that appear to be from her niece, Lucy. When Lucy’s home is searched by the FBI – with her FBI agent husband, Wesley Benton, being part of the team, it becomes hard to know who to trust. If you have been a Patricia Cornwell fan, it is unlikely that this story will disappoint you. If you are new to her work, you will find yourself wanting more and going back to her earlier novels. I am anxiously awaiting the twenty-fourth Scarpetta novel!
– Bonnie
Depraved Heart is available in print at the Farmville Library, as well as digitally on Libby and Hoopla.
BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore
Follow Darla as she moves into her new place while trying to make it as a fashion designer in South Chicago. However this new complex has a history that runs deeper than the new owner trying to flip an old building. This comic manages to talk about the black experience while keeping everything in line with the story and expertly ties it all together making one great piece of horror art. If you enjoy works such as “Get Out” this is something you need to check out. Even if you are newer to comics this book has some of the easiest pages to read. But its complexity comes with the story, from its monster to its story about the friendship dynamics between a white and black woman. This is the perfect book for horror movie fans looking to get into horror comics or for someone who wants a book that will stick in their minds for weeks as they mull everything over.
– Brandon
BTTM FDRS is available in print at the Farmville Library, as well as digitally on Libby and Hoopla.
Knives Out (DVD)
This 2019 film is directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daniel Craig and Chris Evans. The film’s mystery focuses on the investigation of the death of Harlan Thrombey. In spite of the wishes of Harlan’s dysfunctional family, Detective Benoit Blanc partners up with Harlan’s nurse, Marta Cabrera, a woman incapable of lying, in an attempt to uncover the truth behind the wealthy mystery novelist and family patriarch’s death.
– Chelsea
Knives Out is available at the Farmville Library.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is an odd coming-of-age story told in magic and remembrance. Brought back to his old neighborhood by a funeral, our narrator recounts the year he turned seven and all of its strangeness. The Ocean at the End of the Light is a great reading experience, but an even better audiobook – one that is read by Mr. Gaiman himself.
– Max
The Ocean at the End of the Light is available in print at the Farmville Library, and as a digital audiobook on Libby and Hoopla.
Folklorn by Angela Hur
Elsa Park, a well-renowned physicist, has been working at an observatory in Antarctica for years as an attempt to run from the emotional baggage of her family. However, not even her pragmatic, scientific thinking and miles of ice can separate her from the painful memories of her childhood and the centuries-old curse that is said to plague women in her family’s lineage. Hur weaves Korean folklore with magical realism to tell an impactful story about families and grief.
– Megan
Folklorn is available digitally on Hoopla.
Joy and 52 Other Very Short Stories by Erin McGraw
Don’t let the title confuse you, Joy by Erin McGraw is not a joyful book. The book consists of 53 short stories covering a range of human emotions, mostly thought provoking and partially sad. Read the story about the man who accidentally shoots a young child, take a look into the life of three people coping with a wife’s diagnosis with cancer, or watch as a woman decides to help her husband win back the love of his girlfriend. Joy captures the essence of what it means to be human and puts us face to face with the brutal, but necessary, moments of life.
– Morgan
Joy is available in print at the Farmville Library.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Dog lovers will find this novel uplifting as the main character, Enzo – canine companion to Denny – shares his story. Denny is a race car enthusiast and Enzo sagely narrates some of Denny’s most joyful and tragic moments in his life. Enzo’s canine perspective of human behavior is lovingly captures by Garth Stein. Readers, you will experience an array of emotions. Do not walk away from this experience.
– Virginia
The Art of Racing in the Rain is available in print at the Farmville Library, as an eBook and digital Audiobook on Libby, and as a digital audiobook on Hoopla.
The Bedford Boys by Alex Kershaw
The Bedford Boys opens in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944 aboard the British troopship Empire Javelin. Among the 116th Infantry’s A Company, which is crossing the English Channel in route to Normandy, are thirty-four young men from Bedford, Virginia. Having enlisted in the National Guard during the Depression, due in large part to the “dollar-a-day” wages, those young men were mobilized into the Army following the German invasion of Poland in 1939. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, A Company underwent extensive training – both stateside and later in England – before being part of the first wave of Allied forces to storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Of the thirty-four young men from Bedford who took part in the invasion, only twenty-two survived. Through extensive interviews with survivors and the relatives of those who perished at Normandy, as well as through an abundance of personal correspondence, Alex Kershaw offers a poignant reminder of the human cost of war.
– William
The Bedford Boys is available in print at the Farmville Library and as a digital audiobook on Hoopla.