Book Jockey Recommendations

It's taken us 59 Days to get around to recommending some books for you to read!

(The main character from the TV show Parks and Recreation has a notorious feud with the local library)

We fielded a question from someone asking for book recommendations...fiction, feel-good, not too serious. The Pandemic version of a 'Beach Read'.  The three of us put our heads together to come up with some suggestions.  Please note that we all have our particular styles of book that we typically read, so what follows is not an exhaustive list by any means.  The titles link to the book's page in Goodreads, another side popular with readers for reviews and recommendations. 

But First:  How can you get books if you aren't able to go to the library?  Depending on where you live, your local public library may (soon?) make curbside service available.  You can also often find used books on Amazon for not that much money.  But the primary way I've been reading my way through the pandemic is eBooks.  Downloadable to your phone or tablet, germ-free and cost-free from a library.

Getting eBooks...there are two ways:

1. The Erikson Library has a collection of popular fiction and non-fiction titles available from a program called eRead Illinois.  You'll need an app on your phone or tablet called Axis360.  Once you have the app, use the barcode from your Erikson staff or student ID as the Library Card ID, and the last four digits on your barcode as the PIN; if your barcode is 20344000012345, that’s your ID and your password is 2345. You must have a library account in good standing to check out these eBooks. If you are having difficulty logging in, or your staff ID does not have a barcode, please send an email to libraryhelp@erikson.edu and include your barcode (if you know it).
2. Go to your local public library's website. If you don't have a card, most libraries have made it possible to get a library card remotely. They will have additional options for accessing eBooks.  Need help with this?   Send an email to libraryhelp@erikson.edu.

On to the Recommendations!

From Brittany:

I’ve considered these books uplifting… but depending on your tolerance for and definition of violence, they may not be a good fit. All of them have characters who’ve encountered some kind of trauma… but the overall tone of the books is light.

The Supremes at Earl’s All You Can Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore

Hilarious (in my opinion) novel about the power of female friendship. It does have a bit of domestic abuse, but there’s a happy ending.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert 

Includes a bit of PTSD from emotionally abusive relationships, but a romance with a happy ending.

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

I love Alyssa Cole’s books - she’s intentional about including diverse characters (not just race) and has strong female protagonists who don’t need to be saved by a prince. This book seems like it’d be cheesy, but it was one of the best romances I’d read in a while.

From Lindsey:

I also don't read much fiction. Here's a few I read in the couple years that didn't have really dark themes.

The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper

The untold story of Louisa May Alcott's youngest sister -- an artist in her own right.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

A recently-widowed woman in rural Maine starts and unlikely friendship with a former major-league baseball player.

I also usually recommend The Martian.  You get to learn a little science too!

From Karen:

99% of my leisure reading is mystery novels.  Usually with a female protagonist, heavy on the historical settings. Series preferred (I hate endings, so the characters continue into the next book even after they solve the crime.  A win-win in my book!).  What I'm not that into are 'Cozy Mysteries' which are like Murder She Wrote in book form (not that there's anything wrong with that!).  Small town setting, non-professional detectives. You can recognize this genre by the titles - they usually have terrible/awesome puns.  Visual Aid: 

 

'A Cat Groomer Mystery'?  YASSSSS! 

Here are my favorite series:

Contemporary Series:

Currently working my way through Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in Quebec. These are really good, I'm currently waiting on the 3rd in the series to become available on eRead Illinois.

Verlaque and Bonnet series. By M.L. Longworth.  Set in Provence, France. So much food and wine talk, it will really give you wanderlust. First in the series is Death at the Chateau Bremont

Cormoran Strike series from “Robert Galbraith” who is really JK Rowling. He's a private investigator who lost a leg in Afghanistan. A new one comes out this Sept.  I can’t wait!  First is called The Cuckoo's Calling.  These are really good.  

Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. The first is The Crossing Places. This contemporary series is about a single woman, Ruth Galloway, who is a university professor of archaeology, specializing in forensic archaeology. She lives on some remote part of the Norfolk coast and there’s a lot of ancient and Roman anthropology stuff mixed in with the crime solving. 

Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series by Deborah Crombie – contemporary police procedural.  First is A Share in Death. 

Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series.  Anna Pigeon is a cop with the National Park Service and each book is set in a different national park. I’ve read about 9 of these, which are great and I get a kick out of the 'reliving the 90s technology' aspect.  E.g. she uses calling cards and no one has a cell phone.

Historical Series:

My all-time favorite is the series by Laurie King featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.  The first book, The Beekeepers Apprentice, is unlike all the others because she uses it to really lay the groundwork on the two characters and how Mary Russel met a retired Sherlock Holmes and becomes his partner. They solve several smaller crimes.  Then the other books are more focused on solving one big crime.

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear is also fantastic.  Whenever a new one comes out I snap it up.   The first is simply called Maisie Dobbs. The series is about a young woman in post-WWI London who sets up a private detective agency, or as they call it, an Inquiry Agency.

The Maggie Hope series is also great.  WW2-era. First is Mr. Churchill's Secretary, because Maggie is, well, the Winston Churchill's Secretary.  These books get increasingly dark as the war goes on.

Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley – the protagonist is an 11 year old girl.  Set in the 1950s in rural England. First in the series is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  

Stephens and Mephisto, by Elly Griffiths. This series is set in post-war Brighton and the two main characters are a Magician who performs in the variety theatres and his fellow WW2 soldier who is a cop.

Not from a Series: The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett. This has elements of a mystery novel but it's not a whodunnit in that sense.  A young widower and antiquarian bookseller goes back and forth from present day to Elizabethan to Victorian times to find out if Shakespeare really did write his books. 

Non-Mystery Fiction I have Read and Liked:

Funeral for a Dog, by Thomas Pletzinger, translated from German. This is one of my favorite non-mystery books I’ve read in the past 10 years.

A friend gave me All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki and loved it, but I haven’t read it yet.  From goodreads: "a quirky cast of characters and a wickedly humorous appreciation of the foibles of corporate life, globalization, political resistance, youth culture, and aging baby boomers. All Over Creation tells a celebratory tale of the beauty of seeds, roots, and growth—and the capacity for renewal that resides within us all."

Girl Waits with Gun – Amy Stewart – can’t recommend this series enough.  This is the first in a series about three sisters living together on a farm in rural New Jersey circa 1914, it is based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.  

I really liked the book Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal The Goodreads description "Each chapter in J. Ryan Stradal's startlingly original debut tells the story of a single dish and character, at once capturing the zeitgeist of the Midwest, the rise of foodie culture, and delving into the ways food creates community and a sense of identity."  The same author has another one out I haven’t read yet called Lager Queen of Minnesota.  

There’s an author from my hometown (Eau Claire, WI) who I quite like, Nickolas Butler, his first book is Shotgun Lovesongs.   He has two others.  Shotgun Lovesongs is VERY loosely based on the guy who started the band Bon Iver (also from my hometown).  The book is set in Eau Claire so I loved seeing places I’ve been in print.  He’s a good writer…if you care about such things, he went to the Iowa Writers Workshop.

This is a romance that I really liked: The Last Letter From your Lover, by Jojo Moyes.  Read if you liked One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I also have these on my for later list: 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton ""Gosford Park" meets "Groundhog Day" by way of Agatha Christie" 

Nonfiction:

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Amgrim (Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie) – started to read it but got sidetracked. It’s very entertaining but she is a childhood sexual assault survivor so that might not be what you are looking for right now.

If you want additional suggestions, many public libraries subscribe to a resource called 'NoveList'.  There's an adult and a K-8 version.  You put in a book you like and it recommends similar titles.  

If you're interested in sharing a curated book list on the Blog, please let us know!