Interested in reading one of these Wilmette Reads suggested titles? Head to the Hot Picks area by the main entrance of the library, or find ebook and audiobook versions on the Digital Library of Illinois.
Featured Title: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store's most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls' Day, but she simply won't leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading "with murderous attention", must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning.
The Sentence begins on All Souls' Day 2019 and ends on All Souls' Day 2020. Its mystery and proliferating ghost stories during this one year propel a narrative as rich, emotional, and profound as anything Louise Erdrich has written. Find copies of The Sentence here.
What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose. In Komachi's unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. This inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfill our lifelong dreams. Which book will you recommend?" Find copies of What You Are Looking for is in the Library here.
The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories that Carried them Through a War by Delphine Minoui
An extraordinary account of a band of young men in a besieged Damascan suburb who find books in the rubble and create a secret library. Find a copy of The Book Collectors here.
The Rediscovery of America : Native peoples and the unmaking of U.S. history by Ned Blackhawk
The most enduring feature of U.S. history is the presence of Native Americans, yet most histories focus on Europeans and their descendants. This long practice of ignoring Indigenous history is changing, however, with a new generation of scholars insists that any full American history address the struggle, survival, and resurgence of American Indian nations. Indigenous history is essential to understanding the evolution of modern America. Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late twentieth century. In this transformative synthesis he shows that: European colonization in the 1600s was never a predetermined success; Native nations helped shape England's crisis of empire; the first shots of the American Revolution were prompted by Indian affairs in the interior; California Indians targeted by federally funded militias were among the first casualties of the Civil War; the Union victory forever recalibrated Native communities across the West; twentieth-century reservation activists refashioned American law and policy. Blackhawk's retelling of U.S. history acknowledges the enduring power, agency, and survival of Indigenous peoples, yielding a truer account of the United States and revealing anew the varied meanings of America. Find copies of The Rediscovery of America here.
Words are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books by Ursula K. Le Guin
A collection of essays on life and literature, from one of the most iconic authors and astute critics in contemporary letters. Find copies of Words are My Matter here.
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of Merlin, a young left-handed bookseller. With the right-handed booksellers, they are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world... in addition to running several bookshops. Find copies of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London here.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Now, historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. In An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, Dunbar-Ortiz challenges the founding myth of the United States and shows how policy against Indigenous peoples was colonialist and designed to seize the territories of the original inhabitants, displacing or eliminating them. And as Dunbar-Ortiz reveals, this policy was praised in popular culture, through writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Walt Whitman, and in the highest offices of government and the military. As the genocidal policy reached its zenith under President Andrew Jackson, its ruthlessness was best articulated by US Army general Thomas S. Jesup, who, in 1836, wrote of the Seminoles: "The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them." Find copies of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States here.
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
It's 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn't ask for more out of life--her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library. But Laura wants more, and applies to the Columbia Journalism School. She discovers the Heterodoxy Club--a radical, all-female group, and soon Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. But when valuable books are stolen back at the library, she's forced to confront her shifting priorities head on. Eighty years later, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, at her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books begin disappearing from the library's famous Berg Collection. Things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage. Find copies of The Lions of Fifth Avenue here.
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming a children's book editor, but she's been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over email turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won't let herself entertain--until he ghosts her without a word. Months later, Lily is still crushed, but she's determined to get a hold of her life, starting with finding a date to her sister's wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, who she feels drawn to for reasons she can't explain. But little does she know, Nick is an author--her favorite fantasy author. Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet girl from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over email months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but--not when he can't get her off his mind. Find copies of The Neighbor Favor here.
All summaries are provided by the publisher.
You're welcome to read along with us — but none of these books are required to participate in Wilmette Reads! Stop by the Recent Arrivals Desk to get started and pick out a free tote or hat. Learn More >>
Wilmette Reads is funded by the Friends of the Wilmette Public Library.
