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Described by the New York Times as “a love letter to old-fashioned department stores,” and by author Hillary Mantel as “the book I most often give as a gift to cheer people up,” The Women in Black (2020) by Madeleine St. John explores the lives of five women who work in the Ladies’ Frocks department of a fictional high-end retail establishment, F.G. Goode, during the 1950s.

Strength to Love (2019) is a series of sermons from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., many written in response to the struggle to end segregation, which he saw as a great evil that affected both the perpetrator and the victim.  Dr.

Steelheart is a great book by Brandon Sanderson about David who wants to avenge his father's death. His father, a great optimist to many degrees, believed that the world would be saved by superheroes. However, David's dad got brutally murdered by one of the heroes he believed in, prompting David to seek out superhero hunters and join their forces. 

All the Living and the Dead (2022) by Hayley Campbell was entertaining and informative yet hard to read sometimes because of the dark subject matter, because what is more dark than death? (Huge trigger warning for discussion of deceased children).

I started reading the novel Anywhere You Run (2022) because I was soon to interview the author, Wanda Morris, for WPL’s Thriller Author Panel. I wanted to be prepared, of course, but by the end of the book I was far more than that.

Wheaton Public Library (WPL) will host the exhibit, MLK’s Chicago Freedom Movement, featuring photographer Bernard Kleina’s rare and historic color photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr. The exhibit will be on display in WPL’s Arts & Culture Center during the month of January. All artwork is from the Elmhurst Art Museum's collection, Gifts of Bernard Kleina and Susan Keleher.

Sarah Addison Allen delivers again with her tale of found family entrenched in magical realism. Filled with memorable characters and a lush setting, this lovely and lyrical novel will draw readers in immediately.

Motherthing is author Ainslie Hogarth's third novel, and it's about a married couple's descent into darkness after the main character's husband loses his mother. A great suggestion for people who love dark humor, unreliable narrators, and disturbing domestic horror. Deals with mental illness, family relationships, dysfunctional families, and death. 

V.E. Schwab has written numerous novels for teens and younger folk, many of them best-sellers. But it is her latest novel, her first intended for adult readers, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, that has firmly established her as a writer to be watched.

I'm new to actually enjoying nonfiction, but author Tori Telfer made it easy in Confident Women. I often get a crime bug in me, and I was looking for something longer and more substantial than an internet article, but I didn't want to feel like I was doing required reading on a subject that truly interests me.

This novel may be short but it packs a punch. Set in rural Ireland in the 80s, Small Things Like These (2021) is an inspirational read about the struggles of the poor and working-class Irish.

A wonderful series for fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld.