Posts

Join us each month as we interview a Readers' Advisor at WPL so you can get to know the team a little better! This month we are featuring Readers Services Coordinator, Catherine. Continue below to see what book she can’t stop raving about, tips for branching into new genres, and more.

How long have you worked in libraries?

5 ½ years – 2 ½ years here at Wheaton Public Library where I enjoy working in readers’ advisory and choosing and delivering books for our homebound patrons.

I just finished Happiness Falls (2023) by Angie Kim. The plot centers around a boy who has Angelman Syndrome, which is the same genetic disorder my daughter has. That level of representation was not something I ever expected to see in a mainstream fiction book.

The Feather Thief (2018) is a fascinating combination of true crime and natural history which reads like a novel. Its author, Kirk Wallace Johnson, was on a fishing trip when his guide told him an anecdote about an unusual heist: the 2009 theft of hundreds of dead birds from a British natural history museum.

Get yourself a cup of coffee, a pastry, and get cozy while reading A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss. For fans of romance who like a cozy setting and delicious descriptions of food and drink, this book has all that and then some.

Looking for a sweet, cozy story? Check out this heartwarming novel from perennial bestseller Mary Kay Andrews. In Bright Lights, Big Christmas (2023), Kerry Tolliver is between jobs and helping out her family’s business by living in a tiny trailer selling Christmas trees in New York City.

How would a twelve-year old boy survive losing his entire family of origin, mother, father, and older brother, in plane crash? How would he cope with being the only survivor of the crash, which took, in addition to his family, nearly two hundred passengers and crew? How could anyone survive this?

Readers' advisory is all about connecting patrons to their next great read. Join us each month as we interview a Readers' Advisor at WPL so you can get to know the team a little better! We'll highlight their favorite genres, books they can't stop raving about, and tips patrons can follow for discovering new books. The first advisor we are featuring is Adult Services Department Head, Jennifer. Get to know her better below, and check back in December for our next interview.

How long have you worked in libraries?

A Burning (2020), Megha Majumdar's debut novel, follows three characters in the wake of a firebomb attack at a railroad station in a Kolkata slum.

The Silent Patient (2019) is an amazing psychological thriller that takes you into the mind of, not only the title patient Alicia, but also into that of a psychotherapist.

I absolutely loved The Rachel Incident (2023) by Caroline O'Donoghue, set in Ireland during the aftermath of the global economic crisis of 2008. As an elder Millennial, I really identified with the main character Rachel, and her struggles as a college student during that economically depressing time.

This is a really cute romance. If you like cheese and cheesy love stories you will love this book. In order to be independent and maintain her wealth after the death of her father, Lady Camembert must pretend to be Count Camembert.

It’s impossible to do justice to The Water Dancer (2019) in a book review. The story is powerful and haunting, the characters are expertly and thoughtfully portrayed throughout, and the time period and settings are drawn such that I felt that I was viewing the horrors of slavery on a Virginia plantation and experiencing the terrifying dangers of the flight to freedom.