Entries by Jeana Gockley

Family Family by Laurie Frankel

India Allwood grew up wanting to be an actor. She was hooked from the age of ten when she saw the play Guys and Dolls with her mother. Her whole life was about making this dream come true.  She had to make a lot of tough choices along the way, but finally, decades later, her […]

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

For twenty years, each time Daphne Bell meets a new man the universe sends her a sign for how long their relationship is destined to last – Noah, five weeks; Hugo, three months; Tae, two years and two months – but this time, as she heads out for a blind date with Jake, it’s different. […]

Funny Story by Emily Henry

’Tis the season … oh, no, not that season … the season for the release of bestselling author Emily Henry’s latest book. It definitely feels like a celebratory season to anyone who has counted down since the last one came out in spring 2023. And it would seem that I am not alone in my […]

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

Hopefully the idea of summer reading brings to mind getting outside, perhaps on the beach, and taking time to get lost in a good book or two.  In Libraryland this type of book is usually called a beach read, even if you’re not at the beach. They usually end up being some of my favorites […]

ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld

In ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld, Sally Milz is a sketch writer who works for a late-night live comedy show called The Night Owls. She has been unlucky in love on several occasions, most notable a divorce right after finishing college. So unlucky that she has sworn off dating anyone at work, and while she […]

JEANA’S FAVORITE READS OF 2023

Happy New Year and welcome to 2024! As with past years I like to kick off the new year by reflecting on what I read during the previous year. And 2023 was a strange one, reading-wise for me. I kept starting books and not being able to get into them, so I would not finish […]

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

Thanks to being born with red eyes, a condition known as ocular albinism, life for Sam Hill has never been easy. Fortunately he grew up in a loving home, where his mother continually assured him that he was going to have an extraordinary life. However, his life at school and in public were much different. […]

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

The setting for Lisa See’s latest New York Times bestselling novel, LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN, is fifteenth century China.  A place where women are encouraged to follow a traditional path, usually one dictated by their father or husband.  Tan Yunxian, the novel’s narrator, is reminded of this by her mother as the book opens.  […]

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

In April, the Library hosted bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt.  Following her presentation, during the Q&A, an audience member asked what she was currently reading.  She shared that she had just finished a new book by Steven Rowley called The Celebrants. She loved it and thought that it was a powerful, thought-provoking read.  I am […]

Happy Place by Emily Henry

With summer on the way, it is a good time to start thinking about what books to take on vacation. To me, vacation reading has become synonymous with a category of fiction called Beach Reads.  These are some of my favorite books to read while sitting at the beach enjoying the sand, surf and summer […]