Staff Picks

  • Book Review: I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer

    March 31, 2022Book Review: I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer
    This brilliant collection of erasure poems start with the original texts from many different kinds of notes Kate Baer received or experienced online and are, according to the blurb on her book, “transformed into an absolute artform that reclaims the vitriol from online trolls and inspires readers to transform what is ugly or painful in ...
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  • Book Review: The Girl Who Slept with God by Val Brelinski

    March 24, 2022Book Review: The Girl Who Slept with God by Val Brelinski
    Ignore the strange title and throw away any preconceived notions you might have about coming of age stories involving sheltered girls from overly religious families- because this book is so worth it. Thirteen year old Jory’s family is strange, even by the standards of their conservative Idaho church community in 1970. So when her older ...
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  • Book Review: Diversity in Romance

    March 17, 2022Book Review: Diversity in Romance
    Romance has moved well beyond your great aunt’s old Harlequin bodice-rippers. Today the genre is vibrant and dynamic, with heroines (and heroes) of all orientations, ethnicities, and identities from all walks of life finding love in all its forms. Whether you’ve already read every Nora Roberts book there or have never picked up a romance novel ...
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  • Book Review: Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

    March 10, 2022Book Review: Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
    For Black History Month, I really wanted to dive into some Young Adult Nonfiction and I picked up Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. This book is a “remix” of Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning and is told by Reynolds to be more engaging to young ...
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  • Book Review: Favorite Short Story Collections

    March 3, 2022
    Love short stories? So do Shannon and Hannah! View their favorite collections below, and join these local authors for a montly Writing Workshop.   Shannon Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson Drown by Junot Diaz Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri Birds of America by Lorrie Moore Goodnight, Beautiful Women by Anna Noyes Hateship, ...
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  • Book Review: Books in Cold Places

    February 24, 2022
    Winter is back (or maybe it never left?), which makes for great reading weather.  If you still have the winter spirit, curl up with one of Program and Outreach Manager Hannah’s favorite books that take place in cold places: The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier A city inhabited by only the recently deceased, an ...
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  • Book Review: Bluebird Sharon Cameron

    February 17, 2022Book Review: Bluebird Sharon Cameron
    This YA historical thriller travels back and forth in time between Germany in the last days of World War II and New York City after the war. Eva has made a deal that will take her and Brigit away from Germany and safely to the United States. But Eva seeks justice in the U.S., and ...
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  • What PFL Staff Are Reading This Week

    February 10, 2022
    The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley “Totally lives up to the hype and critical acclaim.” Bluebird by Sharon Cameron “Absolutely phenomenal. A spy story, a WWII story and a love story all in one. Nothing is sugar coated and there are some heartbreaking moments that keep it super real.” Anita and the Dragons by Hannah Carmona The Sentence By Louise ...
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  • Book Review: Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho

    February 3, 2022Book Review: Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho
    I’ve been using CloudLibrary quite a bit over the last several months as it allows me to discover books even when the library isn’t open. One book that caught my attention while I was browsing was Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho. The first sentence of the description mentioned both food and family history, ...
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  • Book Review: Find Your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky

    January 28, 2022Book Review: Find Your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky
    This book is a companion piece to Rodsky’s Fair Play, which delves into the challenges of modern motherhood, especially the “invisible workload” that women take on and how to divide these tasks equitably with a partner. In that book, Rodsky suggests that women should also carve out time for self-care, social connections, and “Unicorn Space”  ...
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News & Updates

  • March 23, 2023
    Poetry Walk

    April 1-30

    Library Park

    Take a walk in Library Pa…