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A.K. Smiley Public Library Blog

Serving the City of Redlands, California since 1894

Shannon Harris

New year, new books, new authors!

January 23, 2022 By Shannon Harris

The beginning of the New Year is usually filled with resolutions of diets and exercise, but here at A.K. Smiley Public Library the only resolution we made is to make sure that our shelves are filled with the latest and greatest titles. Here are some buzz-worthy new titles whose authors are making their fictional debut.

Fiona and Jane is Jean Chen Ho’s debut novel, and it has already been named one of the most anticipated books for 2022. Fiona and Jane is about the experiences of two young Taiwanese American women and the power of their friendship that transcends distance and time. This novel is a reminder of what it feels like to be young and alive.

Frida Liu thought she was a good mother to her only daughter, Harriet, until one day, she wasn’t. The School for Good Mothers is Jessamine Chan’s unsettling debut novel where Frida is at risk of having her daughter taken away from her. She now has to prove to the government that she is indeed a good mother by attending a government-run school where mothers like her will learn to be ‘good.’

How High We Go in the Dark is Sequoia Nagamatsu’s breathtaking debut novel about an ancient deadly virus that has swept Earth and the survivors left behind in its wake. The chapters are told from the perspective of characters that are trying to find beauty, hope, and love even when the world seems like it is at its bleakest.

A.K. Smiley Public Library is closed for in-person services until January 31, so make sure to use our Books-to-Go program to check out these titles and more.

Filed Under: What's New

Stories to help bring on the holiday cheer!

November 21, 2021 By Shannon Harris

For the past five years or so, I have been reading holiday-themed books to help put me in the mood for the upcoming holiday season. There is something about reading those delightful books that make me want to drink copious amounts of hot chocolate, eat sugar cookies, and wear ridiculous sweaters. What can I say? I am a walking advertisement for a Hallmark movie. If you too want to feel the joy of the holidays through the written word, here are a few titles that are available for check out at A. K. Smiley Public Library. Warning: may induce holiday cheer!

The first book on our holiday tour is “A Holly Jolly Diwali” by Sonya Lilli. Niki Randhawa is a data analyst and is known for being practical and strategic until she is unexpectedly laid off and finds herself questioning everything. Newly unemployed, Niki makes a spur of the moment decision and goes to Mumbai, India for a friend’s wedding, just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets Sameer Mukherji. Could this be love or is Niki caught up in the holiday spirit of Diwali?

The next book on our holiday tour is “The Matzah Ball” by Jean Meltzer. Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt loves Christmas. She loves it so much that she writes Christmas romance novels, which isn’t a bad thing, except that she is Jewish and has hidden her career from her family for years. Trying to find inspiration for a new novel, a Hanukkah romance, she attends a music festival, The Matzah Ball, where she finds more than inspiration: she finds love from the past and love in Hanukkah.

The last book on our holiday tour is “A Magical New York Christmas” by Anita Hughes. It’s Christmas week in New York City at the infamous Plaza Hotel and journalist Sabrina Post will be staying there as part of her latest writing assignment, ghost writing for a famous art dealer and former employee of the Plaza Hotel. Her week is going as one would expect it to, perfect, until she meets another guest staying at the hotel, Ian Westing, a Brit who may or may not related to the British aristocracy. Ian is also under the guise that Sabrina is someone she isn’t. Will love prevail against the case of mistaken identities? Anything is possible at The Plaza Hotel at Christmas time.

Dash on down to A. K. Smiley Public Library to check out these festive reads and many more.

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Fall into a new book with A.K. Smiley Public Library!

September 12, 2021 By Shannon Harris

Are you in need of a new book to read? Well, lucky for you, our shelves are jam-packed with new books! Here are just a few new titles that are being released throughout the month of September. So, if you haven’t already reserved your copy, please do so now.

Fans of the novels, “Big Little Lies” and “The Hypnotist’s Love Story,” by best-selling author Liane Moriarty, will be pleased to know her latest work of fiction, “Apples Never Fall,” a novel about the sudden disappearance of a prominent family’s matriarch, will be released mid-September.

Author of “The Family Upstairs” Lisa Jewell has just released her latest thriller, “The Night She Disappeared,” a novel about a young couple’s mysterious disappearance at a party in the secluded English countryside.

Fans of Sally Rooney, author of “Normal People,” will be happy to know her book, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” was released September 7.  Her latest novel is about two friends and their desire for love, friendship, and a beautiful world.

“The Last House on Needless Street,” by Catriona Ward, comes out at the end of the month and just in time for frightful October. The residents of the house have secrets, dark secrets that they thought were safe until a new neighbor moves in.

Come in to check out or reserve these titles and more.

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Looking for fireworks? Enjoy some newly released romance titles

July 4, 2021 By Shannon Harris

The long hot summer nights are upon us and what better way to fill those never-ending steamy evenings than with hot summer reads. A.K. Smiley Public Library is here to fulfill those balmy night needs with an extensive and inclusive romance collection that will satisfy even the most discerning reader’s taste.

Here are a few of the latest titles from the romance collection:

“Happy Endings” by Thien-Kim Lam

“The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes” by Xio Axelrod

“Boyfriend Material” by Alexis Hall

“One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston

“People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry

“Satisfaction Guaranteed” by Karelia Stetz-Waters

“Hang the Moon” by Alexandria Bellefleur

“Seven Days in June” by Tia Williams

“Heart & Seoul” by Jen Frederick

“Talk Bookish to Me” by Kate Bromley

“To Love and to Loathe” by Martha Waters

“Disrespectfully Yours” by Raynesha Pittman

Come and check out these titles and more by visiting us in person or by utilizing our Books-to-Go program. Our hours can be found on our website, www.akspl.org, or give us a call at 909-798-7565.

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On a waiting list for a book? Try these recommendations for an alternative

May 2, 2021 By Shannon Harris

What should you check out at A.K. Smiley Public Library when all of the books you want to read are already checked out? Well, lucky for you, I have a few book recommendations if you find yourself on the request list for a few of the Library’s most popular titles. Who knows, you might like these titles more than the titles you have on hold.

Kristen Hannah’s latest title about the Great Depression, “The Four Winds,” is so popular that at one time there were a staggering 30 requests for it. If you find yourself on this list, try “Send for Me” by Lauren Fox, a story set in Germany at the beginning of World War II.

“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V. E. Schwab has been on so many bestseller lists that the Library can’t keep its two copies checked in. Instead, try these two magical titles, “The Midnight Bargain” by C.L Polk or “The Year of Witching” by Alexis Henderson.

“Set My Heart to Five” by Simon Stephenson and “The Hierarchies” by Ros Anderson should tide you over until Kasuo Ishiguro’s latest novel, “Klara and the Sun,” a novel about artificial intelligence, becomes available for check out.

Check out these titles and more. Make sure to check our website at www.akspl.org, or call the Library at 909-798-7565 for our updated hours.

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