Flathead County Library

I’m Deidre—an avid book lover, Adult Programming Librarian for Flathead County Library, and Branch Manager of the Bigfork Library. I love when other people make monthly book plan lists, so I’d thought I’d share mine too!

There are so many books publishing this month to be excited about. I cheated a little by listing books you might love that aren’t necessarily on my own list! I don’t actually believe in the idea of a “good book” because everyone loves different things. What I love might not work for you, and vice versa! One good trick is to pay attention to authors you know you enjoy adding a blurb to another author’s book. Very often they will have a similar feel.

I hope you enjoy my recommendations, and keep in mind that these aren’t books I’ve read, they’re just my guesses for what I might like! I think about half of the books I thought I would love last month ended up being books I didn’t even feel like finishing. Thank goodness for a library card and free access to books!

• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout – Elizabeth Strout is on my must-read list, and I’ll pick up anything she publishes. Her writing seems simple, but her characters are so real and somehow always become beloved to me. I don’t even know what this is about, and yet I want to read it.
• Glyph by Ali Smith – A favorite author of mine. Literary books don’t usually get sequels, but this is the sequel to her book Gliff. I love that the covers of the two books match each other.
• Platform Decay by Martha Wells – Hurray! A new Murderbot novella. I love this space series, with a security robot trying to protect humans who are frustrating and hard to understand. Book 8 has children in it.
• Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun by Monica Ojeda – Magical realism from a National Book Award finalist, a very cool cover, and only 256 pages.
• It’s Hard to Be an Animal by Robert Isaacs – A shy man in New York City suddenly becomes able to understand the talk of animals. The description said “for readers of Shark Heart and Hollow Kingdom,” and that was enough for me, since I loved both of those books.
• American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed by Isaac Fitzgerald – A memoir of a man who walks the path Johnny Appleseed took. I love books that are both memoir and history, and because this year is the 250th anniversary of our country, I’m feeling thoughtful about stories connected to its history.

NOT AT THE TOP OF MY LIST, BUT MAY BE ON YOURS:

• A Murder in Hollywood by Michael Crichton – An unpublished mystery thriller written in 1973 and released after Crichton’s death. A sleazy 1970s Hollywood whodunit–type story.
• Ironwood by Michael Connelly – The second book in the Catalina series, a police procedural set on Catalina Island.
• The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Melissa Fung – A standalone novel written with a journalist; a political thriller about a mother-daughter team.
• The Midnight Train by Matt Haig – A sequel to The Midnight Library: take the train to relive moments from your past.
• Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister – a kidnapping story, yikes!
• Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer – An end-of-life friendship story about 80-year-old best friends who decide to break the rules, find joy, and get into a bit of trouble.

HISTORICAL FICTION

I have to add a special section for historical fiction because, while it’s probably one of the most popular genres among library patrons, it’s not one of my personal favorites. But here are a few you historical fiction lovers might be excited about:

• The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett – From the author of The Help, set in 1933 Mississippi.
• The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline – Set in 19th-century North Carolina, about two sisters who marry conjoined twins from Siam, based on a true story.
• The Forgotten Midwife by Laura Anthony – 1950s Ireland, a dual-timeline story
• Treat Them as Buffalo by Blair Palmer Yoxall – An anti-Western set in 1885 Saskatchewan about a Métis community where teenage boys have started going missing.