“The Island of the Sea Women” follows a woman throughout her life as a diver (Haenyo dive without equipment) on the South Korean island of Jeju. This book weaves between past and present to understand her story. It also gives insight to the social and political struggles on Jeju throughout her life, including Japanese annexation, colonization, and WWII.
I liked how different this book felt. I had never heard of Jeju or Haenyo and this book was able to teach so much history and culture while still telling a fictional story. It didn’t shy away from any of the hardships and often left me feeling… depressed, hopeless, etc. But it also provided hope and encouragement. When a book can make me feel so many emotions, that’s a good book.
Three words that describe this book: Educational, unique, intriguing
You might want to pick this book up if: I was wanting a story about a culture I didn’t know much about but wanted to learn more.
-Lauren
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog.
Books and beats to give texture to these long, hot days.
“Pathemata, Or, The Story of My Mouth” by Maggie Nelson
Publication Date: April 1, 2025
Why I Picked It: “Pathemata” arrives as a companion to “Bluets” (2009), an astonishing work of prose poetry of which I’ve memorized whole passages (speaking more to the way Nelson writes — with stunning precision; straight to the heart — than to my memory). In “Bluets,” Nelson lifts up the color blue as a lens, muse, mirror. In a similar fashion, “Pathemata” makes chronic pain its precious subject.
Recommended For: Anyone who is familiar with pain, especially pain that doesn’t go away, that demands an answer. Anyone who still visits early memories of the COVID-19 pandemic with a feeling of grief and fascination.
Continue reading “Quick Recs: Three Books and an Album”
Summer has officially begun! This month’s LibraryReads brings new books to check out. Some of the favorites books by library staff from around the country include a new Maggie Stiefvater, some romance, a thriller or two, and a new book by this year’s One Read runner-up, Nicki Erlick. Read on to learn about these and more!
“The Listeners” by Maggie Stiefvater
Joan is the manager of a resort hotel in West Virginia. Life is good until the U.S. is pulled into WWII and the hotel’s only guests are detained Axis diplomats. While Joan is very good at keeping secrets, this adds strain on the staff. Readers who adored Stiefvater’s YA books will welcome this historical fiction that reads like a classic spy thriller.
~Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX Continue reading “June 2025 LibraryReads”
The book “Variation” is about a elite principal ballerina and a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who were best friends for several years growing up before a tragedy struck them, severing their friendship and leading to silence between the two for a decade. Their paths end up crossing and the story follows their relationship and the unexpected connections that force them to reconsider what happened that tragic day.
I really enjoyed the romance in this book as well as the characters. It’s a great book for someone who is looking for a light and quick read that’s comedic but serious at many points and has a stereotypical romance/enemies-to-lovers plot line.
Three words that describe this book: Cheesy, Romantic, Fun
You might want to pick this book up if: I’m looking for an easy, light-hearted and romantic read.
-Tasneem
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. Submit your own book review here for a chance to have it featured on the Adults Blog.
100 years ago, two of the top 10 most popular names in the United States were Doris and Donald. My grandmother was named Doris and the current U.S. president is a Donald. In 2024, Olivia and Liam topped the list. Times and tastes change but what does it matter? What is in a name?
Florence Knapp’s book, “The Names,” begins with a mother heading to the registry office to register her baby. She must decide upon his name. What follows is three different storylines based on what his life might have been depending on the name she chose. How will her son be treated if he is named Gordon or Julian or Bear? How will it affect his future or people’s perception of him? What burden would he carry if he is named after his abusive father, Gordon? Publishers Weekly says, “Readers won’t be able to stop talking about this intelligent exploration of a single choice’s long tail of repercussions.” Continue reading “What’s in a Name?”
As I am writing about scavenger hunts, I want to mention one of my favorite movies. “My Man Godfrey,” is a 1936 comedy starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, a comedic, witty film about social inequities of the Great Depression. The opening scenes introduces us to Godfrey, a forgotten man, who is persuaded by Irene, a bored socialite, to be a found object in a scavenger hunt. Godfrey finds himself in a lavish ballroom where people are noisily dragging goats and lamps about and who look appalled at a man dressed in dirt and tattered clothes.
Why am I thinking about scavenger hunts? The Columbia Public Library is offering our own scavenger hunt on Saturday, June 28. You won’t be looking for goats but you will be looking for a murderer! Location clues will take you through the library where you will find clues (hints) to help you determine the murderer, how they did it and where the deed was done.
Who dies? Marianne Librarian! Continue reading “Let’s Go On a Scavenger Hunt!”
Because Summer Reading 2025’s theme is “Color Our World,” for July’s First Thursday Book Discussion I aimed to select a book that revolves around art and artists. As I was searching through options, “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” jumped out at me and seemed to be a perfect pick. Trust me, it doesn’t disappoint!
Continue reading “First Thursday Book Discussion – “Anita de Monte Laughs Last””
How do you celebrate Juneteenth?
Remembering, celebrating and reflecting on Juneteenth and the end of slavery in the U.S. is done by differently by different people. Many of the traditions associated with Juneteenth trace back to original events when people first learned they were free of enslavement.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture‘s (NMAAHC) website has photographs, articles and artifacts that illustrate the history of Juneteenth. Continue reading “Celebrating Juneteenth”
Elijah Burrell is a Mid-Missouri author whose latest book is “.” It’s a book of poems that navigate the depths of human connection and disconnection, love and loss, and the spaces between. Burrell is the author of two other collections of poetry and his writing has appeared in many various publications. He is part of the faculty of Lincoln University, where he serves as a Professor of English. He was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Elijah Burrell, Author of “Skies of Blur””
Written by Kat Stone Underwood and Lauren Williams, One Read co-chairs.
This year’s One Read selection, Daniel Mason’s “North Woods,” follows an extraordinary succession of inhabitants of a single house in the woods of New England, exploring the many ways we’re connected to our environment and to one another across time, language and space. This work of historical fiction narrowly beat out Nikki Erlick’s work of magical realism, “The Measure,” in a public vote.
The remaining eight titles considered by our reading panel examine survival of all kinds, from processing grief and escaping abuse to thriving in spite of oppression and being alien in a human world. Continue reading “Literary Links: One Read Finalists 2025”
