The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

 The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

368 pages

★★★

As she drives her mobile library van between villages of Ireland's West Coast, recently divorced Hanna Casey is determined to reclaim her independence by restoring a derelict cottage left to her by her great-aunt. But when the threatened closure of the Lissbeg Library puts her personal plans in jeopardy, Hanna finds herself leading a battle to restore the heart and soul of the Finfarran Peninsula's fragmented community. And she's about to discover that the neighbors she'd always kept at a distance have come to mean more to her than she ever could have imagined.

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler, 339 p.

"Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival.

One June day, an old book arrives on Simon's doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of "mermaids" in Simon's family have drowned--always on July 24, which is only weeks away. As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a curse on Simon's family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to save Enola?"--Goodreads blurb

This was a strange and wonderful book. Learning about this family through many generations and it's blessings and curses was fascinating. Swyler was an engrossing author that wove the years together and kept the story at a good pace. Swyler was a new-to-me author that I will be reading in the future!

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes

 

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes-516 pages

This book is inspired by the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime.  For anyone who loves books and the freedom to read what we want just reading about the book burnings in Germany made me furious.

This book is about three women who are woven together by their love of the written word and preserving it for the future.  It was a slow start for me, so many characters and plots taking place on different continents.  I stuck with it though and I'm glad I did.  The author put a lot of research into this book and I learned things that I was not aware of.  It is well worth your time.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

 

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles-351 pages

Based on the true story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris.  Another wonderful story about the power of books to unite us and bring us together in times of chaos and upheaval.  On the brink of WWII, Paris 1939.  Young Odile can't believe that she landed a job at the American Library.  As the war unfolds and days turn into years, it can change everything you hold dear; your family, friends, lovers.  Suddenly you find yourself not knowing who to trust and one misstep can change your whole trajectory in life.  Fast forward to Montana 1983.  We catch up with the much older Odile and her very inquisitive teen neighbor Lily.  Their love for each other grows as Odile helps  Lily navigate her teen years, loss of a loved one and a upheaval in her family life.  A slow start in the beginning, but once I got into it I enjoyed it very much.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig-288 pages

At first I could not get in to it, then I did not want to put it down.  Reminded me a lot of "It's a Wonderful Life"!  Nora can't seem to climb out of her depression, convinced that no one would even notice if she was gone.  Full of regrets, she tries to commit suicide.  On the very day she decides to die she finds herself in a library full of lives that she could have lived. Eventually she is shown that there is more to life than she ever could have imagined.  Thought provoking and an easy read.  I enjoyed it very much. 

A Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

 

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie-183 pages

A Miss Marple Mystery.  A girls body is found in the library of the Colonels home.  Neither he nor his wife have ever seen the girl before.  In true Dame Agatha's tradition, there are many characters and many plot twists.  I have enjoyed her books my whole life.

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

 The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

336 pages

★★★★

Jess Metcalf is perfectly content with her quiet, predictable life. But when her beloved grandmother passes away and she loses her job at the local library, Jess' life is turned upside down.

Determined to pick up the pieces, Jess decides it's time for a new beginning. Unable to part with her grandmother's cherished books, she packs them all up and moves to a tiny cottage in the English countryside. To her surprise, Jess discovers that she's now the owner of an old red phone box that was left on the property. Missing her job at the local library, Jess decides to give back to her new community—using her grandmother's collection to turn the ordinary phone box into the littlest library in England.

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

 The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

96 pages

★★★

Opening the flaps on this unique little book, readers will find themselves immersed in the strange world of best-selling Haruki Murakami's wild imagination. The story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library, the book is like nothing else Murakami has written.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

 The Library Book by Susan Orlean

336 pages

★★★★★

Orlean chronicles the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - 304 pages

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book!  Once I started this I could not put it down.  In the beginning I was really frustrated with Nora, she just couldn't commit to a life choice.  As Nora starts visiting lives where she lives out her biggest regrets she realizes that things don't necessarily turn out great.  Reading this book really makes you think about how it's the small decisions/actions that we take that make the biggest impact; not just on ourselves but on others around us.  Highly recommend!