Overheard at our March Morning Book Buzz: What Librarians (and our Staff!) are Excited to Read

By Jennifer Rubins | March 13 2024 | Morning Book BuzzStaff Picks

Raise your hand if you love to talk about what you’re reading. [We see you! Us, too!]

Whether or not you joined our March Morning Book Buzz, you can still join the always entertaining What Are You Reading? conversation! We’ve got all the books that YOU—our lovely librarians—buzzed about in the comments during the presentation when we asked what’s on your March reading lists. Plus, our hosts share what they are loving this month:

Jen C. is patiently waiting for Season 3 of Bridgerton (so tough!) so while she’s biding her time, she picked up A LADY’S GUIDE TO SCANDAL by Sophie Irwin. While keeping an eager eye out for the chili peppers spice factoršŸŒ¶ļøšŸŒ¶ļøšŸŒ¶ļø (if you know, you know), she is really enjoying the well-written story.

Elizabeth is finishing up FIRST LIE WINS by Ashley Elston, read by Saskia Maarleveld and already taking a poll on what she should read next. The Husbands? A Gentleman in Moscow? Or a book set in the intriguing world of ice dancing? (The Favorites by Layne Fargo)

Maureen, fresh off of finishing COME AND GET IT by Kiley Reid (which many of you picked as well),
is switching to horror and diving in to BRAT by Gabriel Smith.

Scroll down to see more fabulous book recommendations to keep you busy all spring—and beyond—as if your TBR lists weren’t long enough! Sorry, not sorry! Happy reading!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Librarians Are Reading...

A Novel
The award-winning author of The Leavers offers a visionary novel of friendship, art, and ambition that asks: What is the value of a meaningful life?

Bestselling author Ruth Reichl takes readers on an adventure of food, art, and fashion in 1980s Paris in this dazzling, heartfelt novel

Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon. They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they're sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire—it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

A Novel
In the long-awaited debut novel from bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, three teenagers become pawns in a supernatural power struggle."A dizzying dream ride you will never forget.”—Leigh Bardugo"An astonishing, gorgeous novel.”—Holly Black"An incredible achievement." —Cassandra Clare

A Witty Literary Mystery with a Stunning Twist
"A delight from start to finish. If you like Agatha Christie, you’ll love this.” –Alex Michaelides, # 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient Fans of Veep and readers of Richard Osman, Anthony Horowitz, and Nita Prose will love this intelligent, wildly funny, literary mystery from the host of the "All About Agatha" podcast as a ghostwriter is chosen to collaborate on a presidential candidate’s memoir, only to end up as a prime suspect in a twisted murder investigation…"Kemper Donovan’s voice is original, captivating, and assured." —Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on The Wager, showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire.

A novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • The Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There ("Pure soaring beauty."The New York Times Book Review) delivers a masterful follow-up to his already classic first novel. Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous.NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW"For the sake of knowing, of understanding, Wandering Stars blew my heart into a thousand pieces and put it all back together again. This is a masterwork that will not be forgotten, a masterwork that will forever be part of you.” —Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez

A Novel
The mega-bestseller with more than 1.5 million readers that is soon to be a major television series"The novel buzzes with the energy of numerous adventures, love affairs, [and] twists of fate." --The Wall Street Journal

A Novel

NOW A HULU STREAMING SERIES ā€¢ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā€¢ READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY ā€¢Ā Two estranged siblings delve into their motherā€™s hidden pastā€”and how it all connects to her traditional Caribbean black cakeā€”in this immersive family saga, ā€œa character-driven, multigenerational story thatā€™s meant to be savoredā€ (Time). Ā  ā€œWilkerson transports you across the decades and around the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters.ā€ā€”Taylor Jenkins Reid


Intriguing and Inspiring Stories from the Smithsonian Collections
From Dorothy's ruby slippers to a speech that saved Teddy Roosevelt from assassination, this authoritative guide delivers in-depth reportage on the history of remarkable objects from the Smithsonian's collectionsFor American history, pop culture, and museum enthusiasts

Bookish suffragist Catriona Campbell is busy: An ailing estate, academic writer’s block, and a tense time for England’s women’s rights campaign—the last thing she needs is to be stuck playing host to her father’s distractingly attractive young colleague.

A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era
DON’T MISS FX’s FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS—THE ORIGINAL SERIES BASED ON THE BESTSELLING BOOK—NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON HULU!New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans."

A Novel
From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward comes an emotionally layered and engrossing family story that asks: Can love make a broken person whole?

Fictions
From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a richly detailed and sharply drawn collection of stories, including a novella featuring one of his most beloved characters

Librarians Are Listening To...

The long-awaited memoir by the superstar of stage, screen, recordings, and television. PLEASE NOTE The audiobook edition is read by Barbra Streisand. Features additional anecdotes and music that are exclusive to the My Name is Barbra audiobook. Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in the history of popular music.


NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERNational BestsellerA Good Morning America Book Club PickAn Indie Next Pick A LibraryReads PickAcclaimed author Kiley Reid’s fresh and provocative story about desire, consumption, and bad behavior.It's 2017 at the University of Arkansas, and Millie Cousins—a super-senior resident assistant at Belgrade Dormitory—just wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a writer and visiting professor itching for her next big topic, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity for them to help each other further their own interests, Millie naturally jumps at the chance.But Millie's starry-eyed hustle quickly becomes jeopardized by a lonely transfer student, unruly residents, and illicit intrigue. Both Millie and Agatha are forced to question just how much of themselves they are willing to trade to get what they want.Sharp and intimate, Come and Get It, the new thought-provoking, singular novel by the bestselling and critically acclaimed author Kiley Reid, explores the choices we make, particularly for the things that can and cannot be paid for.

A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist, from the author of The Bear and the Nightingale.“A wonderful clash of fire and ice—a book you won’t want to let go of.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander“Spectacular—a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly EducationJanuary 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else? November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear. As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.