“The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson took much longer to read than I expected. This book weaves several compelling fictional stories together with descriptions of real-life responses to climate change in a way that captured my attention for several weeks. I would read 30 pages and then need a day to think about what I had read before tackling another section — and I normally devour books whole! I highly recommend this book for readers who are willing to take a deep dive into what climate change will mean for people, and the many different ways that we can choose to think about addressing it.
Three words that describe this book: Thought-provoking, challenging, wide-ranging.
You might want to pick this book up if: You might pick up this book if you are concerned about climate change and want to think outside the box.
-Sarah
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“People We Meet On Vacation” introduces us to Poppy and Alex, who have been friends since college when they traveled home together to the small town they grew up in. Since that trip home, they became best friends — the type that have nothing in common but take a trip together every summer. At first, these trips were done with little to no budget, but now Poppy is living in New York and writing for a travel magazine and able to use the magazine’s money for these trips. But the last trip Poppy and Alex went on together, left them not speaking. Poppy is miserable and determined to get her best friend back, so she decides they need to take another trip together like they did in the old days.
Three words that describe this book: Fun, Sweet, Summer-y
You might want to pick this book up if: You want a fun summer read! It’s perfect to read by the pool or when you are on vacation!
-Rebecca
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
Whatever its reputation may be now, for much of the last century Hot Springs, Arkansas was a wide-open town and the undisputed gambling mecca of America, surpassing even Las Vegas. “The Vapors,” which takes its title from a Hot Springs casino that featured nationally known celebrities, fine dining and, of course, gambling, intertwines the author’s own family history with a chronicle of the gambling and vice-saturated culture of Hot Springs from the 1930s through the 1960s. Interestingly, gambling was never legal in Hot Springs, but as the book details, nonetheless operated completely in the open and seemingly dominated every aspect of life in Hot Springs — political, business and cultural — through the 1960s. Hot Springs was a company town, and, like Las Vegas today, gambling was the company. And, because gambling was illegal (though open and obvious), this small town in Arkansas also attracted some of the most notorious organized crime figures in the country. It’s a fascinating story told well.
Three words that describe this book: Absorbing, journalistic, historical
You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoy reading about 20th Century American culture or organized crime.
-Jeff
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“The Travelling Cat Chronicles” follows a cat and his human through the adoption of the cat and the subsequent attempts to re-home the cat due to unforeseen circumstances (the revelation of which is part of the story). The pair travel Japan together visiting old friends, and each stop includes a retelling of the history of the friends. It is a whimsical, bittersweet story displaying the beauty of friendships, good memories, and quirky cats. This is one of those books that is a journey more than a story, and you just sit back and leisurely walk through it. The main human character’s story hit too close to home to say I 100% liked it, but it is a unique book.
Three words that describe this book: thoughtful, descriptive, big-hearted
You might want to pick this book up if: you like to read a little before bed.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“The River” is the adventure of two best friends on a canoeing trip down a river close to their home town. A fun and relaxing adventure planned in nature can become something totally different, not fun and not relaxing but an adventure of life and death as Jack and Wynn discover. I enjoyed this book for the story of the men’s friendship, how their personalities compliment each other and how they were able to work together in the face of the difficulties they faced.
Three words that describe this book: Adventure, friendship, loss
You might want to pick this book up if: you like unexpected twists and turns in a story of best friends.
-Susan
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
The moment. The breath. “Start Here, Start Now” focuses on these and teaches you how to come back to those whenever you should stray. With touches of a Buddhist connection, it stays mostly on the path toward finding a better you, the you that’s already there, through the simplest thing you’re already doing. You just have to focus. I enjoyed this book for the meditation instruction and tips, but was most thrilled with the humor. “Somewhere in this process, you will come face to face with the sudden and shocking realization that you are completely crazy,” is among the sharper lines that caught me off guard in this sea of calm prose.
Three words that describe this book: Calm, considered, filling
You might want to pick this book up if: You want to learn about mindfulness meditation, need a refresher, or want a fun read.
-Jim
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“The Anthropocene Reviewed” is a series of essays where John Green discusses, and ultimately reviews, various items and phenomenon that make up our current geological age, the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is all about how humans have shaped the world and its biodiversity by our influence and mere existence. What I enjoyed about Green’s reviews is that while he clearly takes humanity’s effect on the planet serious, his essays are not doom-and-gloom serious. He is addressing common, often universally experienced phenomenon (such as Canada Geese and the QWERTY keyboard) in a thoughtful yet lighthearted way. His essays diverge at times in ways that make you think “where is this going and how did I get here from where we just were?” but it always comes back together. I enjoyed Green’s humor and insight, learned a few things, and appreciated the opportunity to consider some aspects of everyday life I’d never really thought about before.
Three words that describe this book: Intelligent, challenging, informative
You might want to pick this book up if: You might, as I did, pick this book up if you are a fan of John Green’s other works. If you like his writing and are interested in the human behind the YA stories, you will be rewarded for your time — you will learn both about the world around you, how Green sees it, and more about the author himself. If you are hoping for another witty set of teenagers facing the challenges of youth, you will be disappointed.
-Sarah
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“Convenience Store Woman” is a story about a woman who truly finds her calling, working part-time at a convenience store. If only everyone else in her life could accept this, things would be peachy. But her parents and sister always hold out hope that she will eventually “get better” over her autistic traits. Keiko tries with all her might to understand and obey the rules of being human, observing that “foreign objects get expelled.” This book will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like a misfit.
Three words that describe this book: quirky, funny, thought-provoking
You might want to pick this book up if: You want a quick read or you like stories about quirky people.
-Anonymous
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“The Eye of the World” is the first book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. The series is described as a redefinition of the genre of fantasy adventure. The book follows five young people from a small farming community as they are caught up in an adventure that involves trollocs (like orcs for those who have read Lord of the Rings), friendly ogres and powerful witches. The action is non-stop, the character development is excellent, and the plot is enchanting on its own, and mind-boggling when one considers that it is setting up another 13 books. My word of advice: read the prequel “New Spring” first.
Three words that describe this book: Mythical, engrossing, enchanting
You might want to pick this book up if: you were in the mood for a long, fun, and always entertaining adventure.
-Lynn
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading 2021. We will continue to share these throughout the year.
“The Bees: A Novel” is a truly imaginative thriller that tracks the life of Flora, a sanitation worker bee of the lowest caste, in the hive system. Disney it is not. Dystopian it certainly is. If you are looking for a breezy read about flowers and insects and nature, look elsewhere. What makes the book so engrossing, though, is the author’s deft use of scientifically accurate details to create a sometimes disturbing though always fascinating tale. (Note: I frequently found myself fact checking on the Internet while reading the book. “Are queen bee larvae fed royal jelly?” Check. “Are wasps predators of bees?” Check. In every instance, the detail was accurate). Instead of making up “facts” to fit the story, the author created a story to fit the facts, which makes it that much more compelling.
Three words that describe this book: Imaginative, dystopian, compelling
You might want to pick this book up if: You are fascinated by bees or enjoy a dystopian thriller.
-Jeff
