Welcome to #FDL! #FDL is an update with book recommendations to help you find your next great read! Lists are curated based on popular authors and novels, trending topics, seasons, and holidays. And don’t miss our occasional book giveaways!
#FDL: International Authors – October Giveaway
Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, international authors can open our eyes to new corners of the human experience. Below are some upcoming titles from international authors that range from cozy mystery to reporting the aftermath of a recent tragedy.
Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes (United Kingdom)
Expected Publication: January 9, 2024
For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy Cotswold village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their unexpected first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she’ll learn to make jam. But the rural idyll they’d hoped for doesn’t quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local antenatal class and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.
With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.
The Favorites by Rosemary Hennigan (Ireland)
Expected Publication: November 14, 2023
Most students would kill to be accepted into the prestigious Law and Literature cohort at Franklin University. But for Jessie Mooney, enrollment in the course is about more than elite campus status, rigorous thought, and professional connections. It’s her chance to get close to charismatic professor Jay Crane—and take him down.
From the moment she discovered their secret relationship, Jessie’s been convinced Crane is to blame for the events leading to her sister’s death. Still haunted by their last email exchange— You know what you did —she’ll cross any line to hold him accountable. But when Jessie finally earns Crane’s trust and the coveted position as one of his “favorites,” attracting the other students’ envy and suspicion, the truth becomes darkly twisted. Is it justice Jessie craves, or revenge? And what does she stand to lose if she gets her way?
Shimmering with tension, this provocative novel explores the nature of obsession, the inequities of power, and the ways that anger, desire, and love reveal the best, and worst, of us.
Forgottenness by Tanja Maljartschuk (Ukraine)
Expected Publication: January 23, 2024
From one of Ukraine’s most prolific contemporary authors comes this profound novel of belonging and uprootedness, as understood by two exiles across time. Winner of the BBC Ukrainian Book of the Year Award and the German Usedom Prize, Forgottenness movingly―and unflinchingly―illuminates the intricacies of the Ukrainian experience in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. An exceedingly anxious young narrator grapples with a host of conditions, from obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcoholism to a creeping sense of agoraphobia. As her symptoms deepen, she finds unexpected solace and companionship in researching the historical figure of Viacheslav Lypynskyi (1882–1931), a social and political activist of Polish descent who played a pivotal role in the struggle for Ukrainian independence―and just so happened to struggle with hypochondria. Through a series of mesmerizing digressions, the narrator’s own family saga is told in parallel with Lypynskyi’s, culminating in “an impressively sincere self-inquiry about identity”?(Jury of the Usedom Prize, led by Olga Tokarczuk). Shot through with wry humor and brilliantly translated by Zenia Tompkins, this urgent work announces Tanja Maljartshuk as a major voice in world literature.
All She Lost by Dalal Mawad (Lebanon)
Expected Publication: January 9, 2024
On August 4 2020, a huge explosion in the heart of Beirut killed hundreds of people – it is the apocalypse of a sequence of events that have led to Lebanon’s unprecedented collapse. Journalist Dalal Mawad has interviewed tens of Lebanese and foreign women – victims of the explosion, and those stuck in Lebanon – and weaves an extraordinary story of survival, corruption and impunity.
She spoke to mothers who lost their children on August 4, spouses who lost their partners, refugee women who have fled from the war in Syria – and who now find themselves in another failing state. We hear from the Lebanese grandmother, bankrupted by the small nation’s collapse, who remembers Beirut’s glory days of the 1960s – when the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Miles Davis came to Beirut. And then the women like Dalal herself, who have left their home behind.
The women in this book all experienced the explosion and suffered unimaginable loss and tragedy, but it is not just this one event that brings them together. Their personal stories converged to tell the story of a nation whose glory days are long gone, now riven by protracted violence, lurching from crisis to crisis, and fighting to survive. It tells not only of what these women have lost, but also what Lebanon has lost, and a part of the Middle East that is no more.
-Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Melissa Friedlund, Adult Services Specialist
Giveaway
Enter your name here for a chance to win ARCs of the books mentioned in this post. One entry per person. Drawing to be held approximately 7 days after this post.
ARCs are “advanced reading copies.” These are free copies of a new books given by a publisher to librarians and other reviewers before the book is printed for mass distribution.
#FDL is a weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria.
#FDL: Book Adaptations Coming Soon
There are plenty of book-to-screen adaptations premiering by the end of 2023. Check out this list and read the book or listen to the audiobook before seeing it on film.
-After Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist, is fired from her position in a patriarchal lab, she is given the opportunity to host a TV cooking show in the 1950s.
-On Apple TV+ on October 13, 2023
-Follows historical events in the 1920s surrounding the murders of the wealthy Osage people in California after oil was found in their territory.
-The book was a bestseller in 2017, winner of the Edgar Award and National Book Award nominee
-Film release will be in theaters on October 20, 2023
-World War II novel that alternates between the viewpoints of Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a German boy in military school.
-Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2015)
-Series premiere will be on Netflix on November 2, 2023
-The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 17, 2023
-This adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel produced by Oprah will be musical this time around.
-The original novel was the Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
-The theatrical release date will be December 25, 2023
–Post by Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
#FDL: Dark Academia Books
Dark academia is a TikTok subculture and book subgenre that can feature stories set in classic academic settings like Oxford University. It’s characterized by a high interest in the classics, calligraphy, Gothic architecture, and autumn imagery. Many times there is a central mystery or noir element to this type of fiction. Check out the list below for some dark academia titles in our collection!
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella
Vicious by Victoria Schwab
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
– Post by Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
#FDL: While You’re Waiting to Read Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros’ The Fourth Wing is topping the bestseller charts this summer! While you are waiting to get your hands on this romantasy, try one of these similar titles in our collection.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire LegrandLady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She’s young, gorgeous, and rich. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin—embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family—often forget Gemma exists. Worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong.
Suspenseful fantasy, rich worldbuilding, Romantasy
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy, young girls are raised to be killers. In some few children the old bloods show, gifting rare talents that can be honed to deadly or mystic effect. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls. A bloodstained child of nine falsely accused of murder, guilty of worse, Nona is stolen from the shadow of the noose. It takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist, but under Abbess Glass’s care there is much more to learn than the arts of death. Among her class Nona finds a new family—and new enemies.
Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone–even the lowborn–a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders. Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn’t be more different. Annie’s lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet. But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.
Action packed, Fantasy Romance, Forbidden love
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa TahirUnder the Martial Empire, those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. When Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
Young Adult, Richly Detailed, Dystopia, Romance Fantasy
-Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
#FDL: For Fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses
Check out these fantasy picks if you love Sarah J. Maas’s Court of Thorns series. Click on one of the titles to view them in our collection!
Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
Fae Realm, Plot Twists, Engaging characters, Dark fantasy
Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm.
Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods.And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire.
Action packed, Fantasy Romance, Forbidden love
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope. Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.
Fantasy Retelling, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Richly Detailed
-Annotations from the publishers
–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
#FDL: Overdrive Big Library Read
Fondulac District Library provides access to a large collection of eBooks and audiobooks through the Libby app. Several times during the year, Overdrive hosts a Big Library Read, an online book club for readers around the world. Featured books are chosen by librarians and announced shortly before the Big Library Read begins. Our library is provided with unlimited copies of the eBook or audiobook, and our patrons can read without wait time through the Libby app from July 13-27. A library card number and PIN are required to access the book.
This summer, the Big Library Read has chosen A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey.
Below is a little about the book from The Big Library Read’s website:
“All families are messy. Some are disasters.Natalie Walker is the reason her older brother and sister went to prison over 15 years ago. She fled California shortly after that fateful night and hasn’t spoken to anyone in her family since. Now, on the same day her boyfriend steals her dream job out from under her, Natalie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her estranged mother has died and left the family’s historic Santa Cruz house to her. Sort of. The only way for Natalie and her siblings to inherit is for all three adult children to come back and claim it—together.
Natalie drives cross-country to Santa Cruz with her willful cat in tow expecting to sign some papers, see siblings Lynn and Jake briefly, and get back to sorting out her life in Boston. But Jake, now an award-winning ornithologist, is missing. And Lynn, working as an undertaker in New York City, shows up with a teenage son. While Natalie and her nephew look for Jake—meeting a very handsome marine biologist who immediately captures her heart—she unpacks the guilt she has held onto for so many years, wondering how (or if) she can salvage a relationship with her siblings after all this time.”
Check it out on the Libby app and join the Big Reads discussion at https://biglibraryread.com/current-title/
–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.