I’ve been participating in Joplin Public Library’s Adult Winter Reading Challenge, a reading challenge designed specifically for adults that runs December 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025. The goal of the challenge is to complete five of fifteen provided reading categories, which include choices such as Debut Novel, Small-Town Setting, Western, and Suspense/Thriller, to name […]
Many of the books I read are in audiobook form; I enjoy the ease of always having a book with me that I can listen to at various times of my day. Two reasons I’m so glad to have a library card are Libby and hoopla, audiobook borrowing services my Joplin Public Library card provides […]
Mercy Thompson works as a Volkswagen mechanic in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State. Mercy is an expert mechanic that does restorations on the side, owns and runs her auto shop, and is its sole employee. Mercy keeps to herself, her cat Medea her primary companion. Yet Mercy’s life is not as simple as it […]
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova is a book that has stuck with me. If you are a reader you likely know what I refer to – a book that lingers after you’re finished reading, one that leaves a mark. Monstrilio is that for me. In a past book review I mentioned that I have been […]
Weyward is author Emilia Hart’s debut novel. A historical fiction mixed with magical realism and gothic tones, the novel became a New York Times Bestseller and won two Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Historical Fiction and Best Debut Novel for 2023. Weyward is a split narrative following the lives of three women across five centuries. After […]
I typically do not drift into the world of horror fiction because, in short, I’m a chicken that scares easily. Horror movies are not for me, either. I feel as if I am missing out on a chunk of literature that offers talented writers and grand stories, so to that end, I’ve been stretching my […]
In 2023 Joplin Public Library began a new adult program, Joplin Reads Together, the Library’s first community read. Community reads are popular at public libraries throughout the nation and offer an opportunity for a shared reading experience for members of the community. Joplin Reads Together happens in the month of April, centering around one novel […]
What begins as a whirlwind romance quickly turns into a gothic fairytale in Roshani Chokshi’s haunting The Last Tale of the Flower Bride. Typically an author of middle grade and young adult books, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is Chokshi’s first adult book, a split narrative centered around three characters and their love […]
Set in Salem, Massachusetts in the early 1800s, Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese imagines the inspiration behind Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hester is told from the point of view of Isobel, a woman that the novel suggests inspired Hester Prynne. Isobel Gamble is a 19 year old skilled seamstress who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland […]
When I was younger I went through a phase where I turned up my nose at the thought of audiobooks. “That isn’t real reading” I recall my smug self thinking. Well, younger self, here I am today, writing a dedication to audiobooks. For me an audiobook is many things. They’re a way to multitask, listening […]
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Joplin, MO 64804
Phone: 417-623-7953
