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Hello and welcome to this week's edition of No Wait Wednesday, where we take a look at a title on our New Release shelves at one of our Libraries that's sitting there, just ready and waiting for a lucky patron to discover it. Today's book is How To Be Remembered by Michael Thompson, a thoughtful, heartwarming debut novel with magical elements that draws comparisons to last years' breakout hit The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab as well as the book group smash The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. A book that both enlightens and entertains, excellent for book groups looking for deep

Hello and welcome to another edition of No Wait Wednesday, where we take a look at a title that's sitting on our New Release shelf just waiting on a lucky reader to check it out. (And the best part? Just like it says in the title: no waiting.) With the post-Thanksgiving season upon us and the days getting shorter and shorter, some of our patrons might need something bright, funny, and romantic to spice up those dark and chilly nights. Luckily, we have a delightful, charming, and refreshing romance novel in Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid to do just that.

As the novel begins, Mickey

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of #NoWaitWednesday, where we look at a title on the New Release shelf at one of our Library branches that's just waiting for a lucky patron to check it out - all without worrying about a lengthy waiting list. 

Others Were Emeralds is the debut adult coming-of-age novel by internationally acclaimed writer and poet Lang Leav. A stunning novel about guilt, friendship, and loss, this story will move readers who love insightful and lush writing from authors like Etaf Rum or Ocean Vuong. The story begins in the 1990s with Ai, the daughter of Cambodian

Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we shine a spotlight on a book in the New Release section of one of our Library branches that's just sitting there ready for a lucky patron to check it out. Since we're getting deeper into November, some of you might be looking for a title that will bring some warmth into your lives, since the winter months are growing both shorter and darker. Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly by Marie Bostwick, this week's pick, will please readers who love warm, syrupy, emotional southern fiction novels by the likes of Mary Kay Andrews, Jill Shalvis or Susan Mallery

"How Easter was Born"

Have you ever heard the tale of the Easter Bunny? 

Sure, you may think you have, that you’ve been hearing the same tale since childhood. The Easter Bunny is the one that comes and leaves little goodies in your yard, the one that brings children joy. 

But that tale is a lie. 

The true story is one that isn’t told often, one that might spoil Easter Day for you. 

It all began on a cool spring night, back hundreds of years ago. Little Mary Ann was sitting outside on a green, grassy hill, the one that sat right up against the Dark Woods, waiting for her mother to come back from

“Middle School Mayhem” by Samuel K., age 12/Grade 6 

The sound of misery, the sound of cries. 
This dreaded vault will not open before my eyes. 
I bang, I hit, I twist the lock. 
It will not open, no matter how hard I’ve fought. 
Oh, the agony! The woe! 
This locker is my sworn and forever foe! 

Then I remember in the locker this day 
there’s something scary, something chilling, something haunting locked away… 
Within the locked chamber is my library book; it’s centuries overdue. 
If I keep it any longer, I will definitely be sued! 
Banned forever from the library, 
like all those words trapped in the

A sigh left my lips as I kicked my feet softly against the sand. My chest constricted slightly at the sound of the waves crashing into the earth-thinking it was something else. 

I’ve always been paranoid about that type of stuff, always thinking a murderer will come out of nowhere and slaughter me. It’s very unlikely to happen obviously, I don’t know why it’s such a big fear. 

I finally felt the wet sand sink beneath me and stopped walking, standing there as I felt the ocean slip through my toes. It burned the tiny cuts on my feet slightly, at this point though I didn’t care. 

I took in a deep

The whole town of Aurora tells rumors about my grandfather's farm. Supposedly, the place is a hotspot for the deceased. 

Ironic, considering that my grandfather, the esteemed Gregory Wilson, rich beyond belief from his many years in the law department, recently passed. 

Everyone in town has a story about meeting a dead friend or relative that is seeking revenge on them in the afterlife. If it were up to them, they’d never have to visit the farm. Unfortunately for them, Gregory was the best lawyer in Aurora. The town has a reputation for getting into trouble, so lawyers were a valuable asset. 

My

Not Very Happy Halloween!

       Alone, scared, and injured, 7-year-old, Jane is one of the only humans still alive.  She whimpers as the zombies moan around her.  “Help us, help me”, they shriek.  The tombstones erupt with hands and heads.  Jane runs franticly to an abandoned cabin.  “Help us”!  She slams the door, bad idea.  Suddenly she’s in total darkness, she’s trapped herself with nowhere to run.  She hears them clawing at the door. “Help us”, they moan!  Then it all stops, the silence is eerie.  Out of nowhere a girl drifts through the wall, blood stains on her face and ghostly clothes. 

The Invitation

By Theo C., grade 4

(transcribed by his mom)

It was a dark and stormy night. I had gotten an invitation to this scary haunted house for free. I thought, “Oh, this is gonna be so lame, like the other haunted houses.” Then, something on the paper appeared in one of the blank spaces. It read “This is going to be like Nothing you have ever experienced.” So I thought, “Letters appearing out of nowhere? Maybe this will be a good haunted house after all. I might even scream.” 

So I went to the place, which looked like a very old Western town. A tumble weed was rolling in front of me

Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we turn the spotlight on a book on the New Release shelf that's hot, available, and ready for a lucky patron to check it out. No one likes waiting in line for the newest bestseller, but there's always quality authors that are lurking just under your nose at your local Library. 

Patrons love a good police procedural, and patrons really love a good rural police procedural, where the action is taken out of a big city with all of the security cameras and state-of-the-art forensic equipment and into a more rural setting, where resources are scarce and law

With the climax of the spooky season just around the corner, we thought it might be fun to spotlight a spooky read here at #NoWaitWednesday. For that, there were some recent horror novels that were excellent contenders for the spotlight, but Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward really jumped off the shelf, primarily because it isn't, technically, a horror novel - it's more of a dark, atmospheric psychological thriller with some horror elements lurking around the edges. Which makes it a great gateway read for those patrons who might like the idea of a horror novel this time of year but are

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of #NoWaitWednesday, where we take a look at a title from our adult New Release shelf that's just waiting for a lucky patron to discover it. Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, horror - we look at all kinds of books here at #NoWaitWednesday, however it's been a while since we've looked at romance in this space. It seems all of Kansas City is buzzing about the relationship between Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Even though Kelce is a star in his own right, Swift is several

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of #NoWaitWednesday where we take a look at a great book on the New Release shelf at a local branch that's just waiting for you to place your holds. We know that patrons don't like being 432nd in line for the latest New York Times blockbuster, but there's always plenty of great stuff to read right under your nose.  

Our patrons have a seemingly insatiable appetite for lush and vivid historical fiction set around World War II. From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr to "The Nightingale" by Kristen Hannah to "The Diamond Eye" by Kate Quinn

Hello and welcome to this week's #NoWaitWednesday where we look at a specific title that's ready for just the right patron to check it out in the New Release section at one of our branches right now. Hot, new, and best of all - no waiting! (If you're fast enough, that is! Make sure to click the green "place hold" button in the web catalog while logged in to reserve a copy.)  

For patrons who might like to read a good book but don't have the time, I like to recommend three specific genres: either a romance, a horror, or a thriller. These three genres in particular are engineered to hook readers

Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we spotlight a book that's ready and available on the New Release shelf at one of our Library branches. Hot, ready, and best of all - no waiting!

"Scent of a Garden" by Namrata Patel introduces us to Asha "Poppy" Patel, daughter of a family of successful hoteliers in Napa Valley, California. When Poppy was young, she discovered that while tending her grandmother's garden, she has a special gift for identifying scents - so much so, that as she grows up, her family steers her away from the family business and into a prestigious career working as a

“. . . we’re only as healthy as the environment in which we live.” This statement from the introduction to Grow Now is the underlying theme of this book. Every chapter makes a case for gardening beyond organic, rewilding your land, sequestering carbon, and supporting biodiversity. 

In the chapter on composting Murphy explains multiple techniques which might be right for you and your home. She leads with how compost sequesters carbon, protects soil and soil structure, decreases runoff, and keeps food waste out of landfills. Murphy says, “You may have heard it said that if food waste were a

Lone Women by Victor LaValle blends the best of several genres, giving us western, historical fiction, horror, thriller, and plenty of social commentary to boot. The year is 1914 and our heroine, Adelaide Henry, is fleeing California – her parents are dead and all she has with her is a suspiciously heavy locked steamer trunk. She makes her way to Montana where, thanks to the Homestead Act, single women were able to claim plots of land, work it for three years, and then “prove up” to owning the land. The harsh Montana environment is difficult enough for anyone to survive, let alone a young

On Wednesdays we put a spotlight on a book on our Adult Fiction New Release shelf that's absolutely worthy of your attention. We call it #NoWaitWednesday, and we hope you take a closer look at any of our New Release shelves at your local Library branch the next time you come in, as there's always tons of great titles just waiting for you to check them out. 

Last week we looked a title that's a bit moodier and darker to match the approaching fall season. We're continuing the trend this week with an atmospheric psychological thriller for patrons who love novels from authors like Alice Feeney or R

Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we take a look at a title that's available on the New Release shelves at one of our branch libraries, just waiting for some lucky patron to place a hold on it.

With the official start of fall finally in the rearview mirror, some patrons might be looking for a novel that's a bit darker than some of the titles we've previously discussed in this space - something more moody to fit the changing weather, perhaps. Something that's written with an elegant yet gripping prose, with the kind of story where you never really know where it's going but it grabs

I believe that keeping backyard chickens could have an extremely positive impact on diverting compostable waste from landfills, directly impacting food insecurity, while building community and boosting personal joy. When I stumbled upon Let’s All Keep Chickens! I checked it out because the title speaks to me. I read it because Dalia Monterroso speaks my language. She says, “If we can learn to raise chickens in a sustainable and inclusive way, we can actually change the world.” I believe this.

I love that she focuses on keeping chickens in the best way for their health, while also recognizing

Want a good book to read at the library but don't want to be 347th in line? Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we shine the spotlight on a title on our New Release shelves that's ready and waiting for you to check it out!

Cozy mysteries are a genre that every librarian needs to know about, as they are ideal to recommend to patrons at any age level, from teen readers who are just starting to explore the adult section to older readers who wish to avoid harsh language or explicit violence in their reading. Cozy mysteries also have a deep bench, as the genre is rich with dozens of

Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesdays, where we pick an item off the New Release shelf at one of our library branches that's available for a lucky reader to discover. There are always plenty of gems at the library to find that don't require a two-month wait on the hold lists, and the New Release shelves are always a great place to explore and find your next favorite read.

Medusa is a familiar figure in Greek mythology - a female monster with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns men to stone, usually presented as an antagonist to the hero Perseus, who then cuts off her head to use as a weapon

Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we take a look at a title that's sitting on our New Release shelves that's just waiting for a lucky patron to check it out.

Set in the hills of the Ozarks on the Missouri-Arkansas border during the Great Depression, a young woman, Gracelynn Doherty, lives a quiet life as she helps her grandmother get by as a midwife and apothecary to the local community, supplying herbs, advice, and rudimentary medical care to those around Tin Mountain. Whispers abound that Gracelynn - and her Granny - are actually witches, but people still come to their remote

Part Willy Wonka, part The Westing Game, a little reverse Notting Hill and ALL heart! I loved this gentle charmer about Lucy, a kindergarten aide and Christopher, the lonely boy she wants to adopt if only their wishes could make it so. Hope springs eternal in the pages of the bestselling Clock Island kid's books that Lucy and Christopher read together. Some adult themes bring depth to the story but don't distract from the overall feeling of wonder. The ending won't be a surprise but you will race to get there, smiling all the way!

Looking for a good book? (Who isn't, really?) We at the library love pointing out all the great books we have on our shelves for patrons to enjoy. For those of you who are in a hurry, on Wednesdays we wear pink love spotlighting a great book that's available on our New Release shelves right now - or, at least, available the last time we checked. Find a great book right here and right now that doesn't require you to be number on a long wait list! We call this #NoWaitWednesdays, and we hope it helps you find your next great read.

Some Desperate Glory isn't a debut, exactly, but it is Emily Tesh's

Here at the library, we love books. We especially love books that we don't have to wait for. This is why on #NoWaitWednesdays, we spotlight a book that - at the time of this writing, anyway - is sitting on the New Release shelf at a local branch, just waiting for someone to come by and check it out. So if this book sounds like something you might be interested in, go ahead and press that hold button! You might be deeply immersed in its pages far faster than you might expect.

Many of our book group patrons LOVE a good multi-generational novel. There's something about a story where one generation

If you're a regular reader of this space, you might know that we occasionally spotlight books on their release date. But there is often a delay between the time when a book gets published and the time it can be bought, shipped, cataloged, tagged, and delivered to the shelves of your local library. So today we're introducing #NoWaitWednesdays, where we take a look at a title on the shelves of the New Release section of one of our branches that is desperately waiting for you to check it out. We can't guarantee there will be no wait at all, of course, but if it's on the shelf when we publish our

Hello and welcome to the New Title Tuesday for this week! Patrons can't seem to get enough of feel-good reads, and to be honest, neither can we - especially during times of great stress, there's nothing like making a mug of tea and sinking deep into a book that has a heartwarming plot, engaging characters, and a feel-good ending that you just KNOW will lift your spirits. This week, for our New Title Tuesday pick, make sure that you have The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons on your holds lists if that's the sort of thing you're looking for.

The novel begins with a widow named Gertie who owns a

So you know the basic idea of the fairy-tale and folklore-inspired fiction: Princess Aurore had a christening party which was interrupted by a slighted uninvited guest who casts a curse over the poor child. In the fantasy fiction curse when she turns 16 she will prick her finger and one drop of blood will fall and Aurore will die. Another guest utters a counterspell in the suspenseful tale, and the guest at least is not a fairy in this book.

Like in the traditional once upon a time, Aurore will not die, she will fall into a deep, deep sleep that will last 100 years until she is awakened by the