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.

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.

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.

In celebration of Black History Month, I would like to share some new fiction titles written by Black contemporary authors that either highlight current social issues or show positive representation in their works. Providing books to a community that are written by people of color is important because books have the ability to educate the reader about the struggles and triumphs Black people have endured and still face in America.

“Black Buck” by Mateo Askaripour is the author’s debut novel and is already receiving a lot of buzz. “Black Buck” is a satirical novel about a young Black man named Darren Vender who is completely content working as a manager at Starbucks, living with his mother, and spending time with his girlfriend in New York City until one day he reverse-sells a cup of coffee to Rhett Daniels, a CEO of tech startup Sumwun. Rhett likes what he sees and hires him for a sales position at Sumwun. Pressured by his mother to find a better job, Darren reluctantly takes the position and discovers that he is the only Black man working there and he immediately encounters racism. Darren decides to completely flip the system by creating a job training program for people of color to help empower them in the workforce. Reminiscent of the cult classic “Fight Club,” this sharp book will hook you in at page one.

If one is looking for something on the lighter side to read, “Take a Hint, Dani Brown” by Talia Hibbert is the perfect book for you. “Take a Hint, Dani Brown” is a contemporary romance novel about casual acquaintances, PhD student Dankia Brown and Zafir Ansari, a retired rugby player and security guard at the university Dani attends. When a video of the two of them goes viral, in which he’s heroically rescuing her from a disaster drill, things between them start to heat up. When describing her work, Hibbert says that “she writes sexy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation.”

Aside from these two new titles which we have available for check-out, here are a few other new novels to read in celebration of Black History Month.

“His Only Wife” by Peace Adzo Medie

“Yellow Wife” by Sadeqa Johnson

“This Close to Okay” by Lessa Cross-Smith

“The Secret Lives of Church Ladies” by Deesha Philyaw

“The Kindest Lie” by Nancy Johnson

“The Rib King” by Ladee Hubbard

Call, email, or go online to reserve one of these titles today. Information on how to reserve an item can be found on our website, www.akspl.org.

It’s hard to believe that the end of the year is rapidly approaching. With that in mind, the end of year is usually filled with ‘best of lists,’ so I want to share the top three books that I really enjoyed reading this year.

“The Regrets,” by Amy Bonnaffons, is a unique novel about love, life, and death. This isn’t a typical love story, if one would even consider it a love story. The two main characters, Rachel and Thomas, meet and fall in love, but there is one small problem, Thomas has recently passed away. Before Thomas can cross over to the afterlife he has to stay on Earth for 90 days, with one condition, he cannot get involved with a living person, otherwise he will incur ‘regrets.’  This is a beautifully written story that will keep the reader wanting more.

“We Ride Upon Sticks,” by Quan Barry, is also one of my favorite books this year. The novel transports readers to 1989 to Danvers, Massachusetts (neighboring town to the infamous Salem, Massachusetts) and follows the mainly all-girls and one-boy varsity field hockey team. Let’s just say the team isn’t known for winning. Sick of being on the losing side, the team takes matters into their own hands and decide that they need some supernatural assistance. This book has it all: 80s references, overly processed bangs referred to as ‘the claw,’ and most importantly, the power of friendship. Get swept up in this fun and empowering book and find out if the Danvers Falcons make it all the way to the state championship, with or without a little help from the dark side.

“Shuggie Bain,” by Douglas Stuart, is a hauntingly beautiful novel that has recently won the prestigious Booker Prize award in England for 2020. The novel takes place during the Thatcher administration in Glasgow, Scotland, and focuses on a young boy named Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain and his unwavering devotion to his mother Agnes, who would rather spend her weekly government allowance on beer than on food. Shuggie struggles to survive in an environment where the odds of survival are stacked against him. To say this novel is a feel-good read would be a lie. This book is gritty, harrowing, and, at times, you almost feel like your heart has been ripped out of your chest, but Stuart’s words and imagery are too beautiful to not want to continue to read about young Shuggie Bain.

You can check these titles out by using our Books-to-Go service. For more information call the library at 909-798-7565 or visit our website at www.akspl.org.