Dear readers,
J.K. Rowling put it best: “If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”
Recommending beloved books comes with the territory of working in a library, and we love connecting people with their “right book.” Our staff has diverse tastes, and have their own specialties. Here are a few of their recommendations:
Terry (Adult Circulation – Head Librarian): Terry reads to relax, escape, and explore new worlds. She enjoys both fiction and non-fiction titles, but one of her all time favorites is the children’s classic The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
Yvonne (Adult Circulation Librarian): Yvonne purchases audiobooks and nonfiction books for Skidompha’s collection. She recently enjoyed listening to This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. She also recommends the immensely moving The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff.
Rachel (Adult Circulation Librarian): Rachel purchases Skidompha’s Large Print and Short Stories sections. She recently enjoyed reading Island of Sea Women by Lisa See.
Jeannette (Adult Circulation Librarian): Jeannette reads books from every genre, with an even tie between fiction and non-fiction as her favorites. All-time favorite books include: “Peace is Every Step” by Thich Nhat Hanh, Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, anything by Margaret Atwood, and The Books of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.
Pat (Adult Circulation Librarian): Pat gravitates towards mysteries, and especially loved Martin Walker’s Bruno Chief of Police series and Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series.
Jessie (Children’s Head Librarian): Jessie, Skidompha’s Children’s Librarian, is an expert on books for 0 to 12-year-olds. She recently enjoyed All the Impossible Things by Lindsay Lackey (which she recommends for readers ages 8 to 12). She also loves the incredible illustrations in the picture book Maybe by Kobi Yamada, which is intended for ages 4 to 8 (but can be enjoyed by younger and older readers alike.)
Brooks (Children’s Librarian): Brooks’s all-time favorite books include Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman, For One More Day by Mitch Albom, and Wild by Cheryl Strayed.
Sophie (Teen Librarian): Sophie manages Skidompha’s Young Adult literature. She is a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction, and highly recommends The Green Rider Series by Kristen Britain. (She was also instrumental in bringing this author to speak at Skidompha last month.)
Kathy (Genealogist): Kathy generally enjoys reading mysteries, but as Skidompha’s staff Genealogist, she also enjoys books that tackle history in interesting ways. She recently enjoyed “The Shadowland” by Elizabeth Kostova.
Carrie (Development Director): Carrie is a fan of many of Barbara Kingsolver’s novels (and is especially fond of Poisonwood Bible) as well as Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone. She also doesn’t turn her nose up at quick, thrilling reads like Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon Series.
Kelsey (Communications Director): Kelsey frequently explores nonfiction books, most recently reading Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. She has a soft spot for Science Fiction and will recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline to anyone willing to listen.
Emily (Development Associate): Emily is a classics enthusiast, and loves books like Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and epic sea dramas such as We the Drowned by Carsten Jensen. She described this tale as “wonderful…ly full of carnage!”
My favorite genres are science fiction and nonfiction. I reread William Gibson’s Neuromancer annually. I can also get happily lost for hours–sometimes longer when I’m in the mountains or on an airplane–reading Carlo Rovelli’s thoughts on time and physics.
Don’t like any of our recommendations above? We’re happy to put our heads together and come up with a personalized suggestion for you. If you’re interested in exploring on your own, the New York Public Library is an incredible resource for book list recommendations; you can find these lists on their website.
Here’s to your next page turner!
Matthew Graff
Executive Director
Skidompha Library