Get Reading This Summer

Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: 2020/06 - June

There are thousands of books at the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library, but what classifies as a “favorite” is highly subjective. 

Branch Librarian Serenity Richards polled her staff during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place quarantine to learn what they were reading. 

Following is a good mix of 10 titles that are all available in e-book and/or e-audiobook – just in case. 

– The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is a secret underworld love story novel.

– The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb, is a historical fiction novel about one of the strangest murder trials in American history — the case of the Greenbrier Ghost; McCrumb has captured the essence of North Carolina/Tennessee mountain-setting dramas in her various ballad-themed works, such as The Ballad of Frankie Silver.

– The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare includes six young adult fantasy novels.

– The Serafina series by Robert Beatty was written “for children, but adults really enjoy them, too,” pointed out Richards.

– Handmade Garden Projects by Lorene Forkner promises to “transform your yard into a beautifully personalized retreat with 30 step-by-step projects.”

– The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner is the National Public Radio foreign correspondent’s account of happy places around the globe.

– The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski inspired a Netflix series. (Always read the books first!)

– Dune by Frank Herbert is a 50-year-old sci-fi classic that tackles themes of heroism, environmentalism, adventure, and more. 

– The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd, who wrote the bestseller The Secret Life of Bees, made into a 2008 film, is a novel set in the ancient holy land. 

– The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel, is a brand new novel that follows the aftermath of a graffiti incident at a hotel on Vancouver Island and the collapse of an international Ponzi scheme.

Books are available to reserve, with a library card, by visiting fontanalib.org/cashiers.