We asked our library patrons to share the books they are enjoying this summer. Here is what the shared with us!
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Recommended by Laura C.
Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find various editions of the book in our collection, or check out ebook on Libby or Hoopla, or check out the audiobook on Libby or Hoopla. Our physical collection has additional varieties available, such as a CD audiobook.)
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
Recommended by Charlene D.E.
Charlene says, “Shoutout to Northeast Branch for having this book. A lot of times I see popularity for historical novels set in England/Scotland circa medieval period or lots of WWII time period novels. See’s novel about Lady Tan (a medical doctor 15th century China) is riveting. The level of history mixed with story draws you in as if you have known all about that culture and time period your whole life while simultaneously peeking curiosity of what it was like to exist as female in a time where “for every 2 women who survived child birth, 10 would die,” (See, 2023) a warning given to Lady Tan while study medicine with her grandmother. If it wasn’t for chasing around a little one, I would have had it finished the first night it was checked out.”
Find the physical book in our collection, or check out the ebook or audiobook available on Libby.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Recommended by Corrinne M.H.
Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find various editions of the book in our collection, or check out the ebook or audiobook on Libby. (You can also find the TV series in the collection as well.)
Go as a River by Shelley Read
Recommended by Laura C.
Inspired by true events surrounding the destruction of the town of Iola in the 1960s, Go as a River is a story of deeply held love in the face of hardship and loss, but also of finding courage, resilience, friendship, and, finally, home—where least expected. This stunning debut explores what it means to lead your life as if it were a river—gathering and flowing, finding a way forward even when a river is dammed. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find the physical book in the Berks County Public Libraries catalog, check out the ebook or audiobook on Libby, or find the audiobook on Hoopla.
Woman of Water by Tiana Zabala
Recommended by Laura C.
From the desk of one of our favorite local poets, Tiana Zabala’s Woman of Water is a collection of poems and short stories that are a witness to a journey. Transforming through four eras of her life, Tiana explores complex and intimate topics. In Woman of Water, she explores, what do we do with desire, rage, and passion? These writings contemplate musings on identity, dreams, and connectedness through the intricacies of a human’s lived experience. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find the physical book in our collection.
Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley
Recommended by Sarah K.
After the murder of her child, Brynn of the Istovari wants nothing more than to escape the shackles of her birthright. As a sorceress and the last of a once-great bloodline, many still seek to use her for their own schemes. Brynn will do anything for the chance at freedom, even if it means marrying an upstart warrior from the far north. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Daindreth’s Assassin Series by Elisabeth Wheatley
Recommended by Sarah K.
Amira Brindonu is a sorceress turned assassin, bound in a curse that forces her to obey her father, even to the point of high treason. When he orders her to kill the future emperor, she fails, but discovers a secret that could bring the whole of the empire to its knees. (Sourced from the author.)
Find the ebook on Libby, or check out the ebook or audiobook on Hoopla.
The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers
Recommended by Barb J.
Single, 6 foot 2, and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams took a job working for America’s first espionage agency, years before cooking or Paris entered the picture. The Secret War of Julia Child traces Julia’s transformation from ambitious Pasadena blue blood to Washington, DC file clerk, to head of General “Wild Bill” Donovan’s secret File Registry as part of the Office of Strategic Services. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find the physical book in the Berks County Public Library collection, or find the ebook on Libby, or find the ebook or audiobook on Hoopla.
Older by Jennifer Hartmann
Recommended by Monica C.
A chance encounter. An unspoken connection. I was smitten; he was curious. But, as everyone knew, fate could be decidedly cruel. He called me Halley, like the comet. I called him Reed. And my best friend? Well…she called him Dad.
Older is a forbidden, slow-burn, age-gap romance standalone, ending in an HEA.
Elphie: A Wicked Childhood by Gregory Maguire
Recommended by Marissa B.
What happened to young Elphaba before her witchy powers took hold in Wicked? Almost 30 years after the publication of the original novel, for the first time Gregory Maguire reveals the story of prickly young Elphie, the future Wicked Witch of the West—setting the stage for the blockbuster international phenomenon that is The Musical. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find the physical book in our collection, or find the ebook or the audiobook on Libby.
Summer in the City by Alex Aster
Recommended by Rosalin A.
Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer. (Sourced from the publisher.)
Find the physical book in our collection, find the ebook or audiobook on Libby.
The Unwanteds Series by Lisa McMann
Recommended by Jari-Lin J.
Experience the magic of Artimé and the chills of Quill with all seven fantastical books in the New York Times bestselling Unwanteds series. (Sourced from the author.)
Find the first book in the series in our collection, or listen to the audiobook on Hoopla.
