Melissa's Staff Picks

I'm a librarian at Southeast Regional Library, and these are some of my favorite reads! Feel free to email me at melissa.schultz@wakegov.com if you enjoyed one of these books!
 

Showing 21 - 40 of 43  There are a total of 208 valid entries on the list.

21. The last thing he told me: a novel

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Star rating for The last thing he told me
Author:
Dave, Laura
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
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On Shelf
146 copies, 1 person is on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Adult Fiction
DAVE
Cary Regional - Adult Fiction has 2
DAVE
Duraleigh Road - Adult Fiction
DAVE
Description:
"When her husband of a year disappears, Hannah quickly learns he is not who he said he was and is left to sort out the truth with just one ally- her husband's teenage daughter, who hates her"--

22. The left-handed booksellers of London

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Author:
Nix, Garth
Average Rating:
3.6 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Young Adult
YA NIX
Cary Regional - Young Adult
YA NIX
Eva H. Perry Regional - Young Adult
YA NIX
Description:
"A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world"--Publisher marketing.

23. The library book

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Author:
Orlean, Susan
Average Rating:
3.7 stars
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On Shelf
21 copies, 1 person is on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Adult Non-Fiction
020 ORLEA
Cary Regional - Adult Non-Fiction has 2
020 ORLEA
East Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
020 ORLEA
Description:
A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

A WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018

"A constant pleasure to read...Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book." —The Washington Post

"CAPTIVATING...DELIGHTFUL." —Christian Science Monitor...

24. The nickel boys: a novel

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Author:
Whitehead, Colson, 1969-
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
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On Shelf
48 copies, 17 people are on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Adult Fiction
WHITEHEA
East Regional - Adult Fiction
WHITEHEA
Eva H. Perry Regional - Adult Fiction
WHITEHEA
Available Online
13 copies, 9 people are on the wait list.
Online OverDrive Collection has 13
Description:
Follows the experiences of two African-American teenagers at an abusive reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.

25. The nineties: a book

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Author:
Klosterman, Chuck, 1972-
Average Rating:
3.7 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Adult Non-Fiction
306.097 KLOST
Duraleigh Road - Adult Non-Fiction
306.097 KLOST
East Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
306.097 KLOST
Description:
"Essays about 1990s popular culture, politics, sports, literature, music"--

26. The orphan master's son: a novel

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Star rating for The orphan master's son
Author:
Johnson, Adam, 1967-
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
This novel follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea. The son of an influential father who runs an orphan work camp, Pak Jun Do rises to prominence using instinctive talents and eventually becomes a professional kidnapper and romantic rival to Kim Jong Il. Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother, a singer "stolen" to Pyongyang, and a father...

27. Persuasion

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Author:
Austen, Jane, 1775-1817
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
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On Shelf
6 copies, 2 people are on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Large Print
LP AUSTEN
Fuquay-Varina Community - Large Print
LP AUSTEN
North Regional - Large Print
LP AUSTEN
Available Online
Online OverDrive Collection has 999999
Available Online
Online OverDrive Collection has 2000001
Description:
The romance between Captain Wentworth and Anne, the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, seems doomed because of the young man's family connections and lack of wealth.

28. The plot

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Author:
Korelitz, Jean Hanff, 1961-
Series:
Book (Korelitz) volume 1.
Average Rating:
3.4 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Adult Fiction
KORELITZ
East Regional - Adult Fiction has 2
KORELITZ
Eva H. Perry Regional - Adult Fiction has 5
KORELITZ
Available Online
Online OverDrive Collection has 20
Description:
"Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he's teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what's left of his self-respect; he hasn't written-let alone published-anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn't need Jake's help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as...

29. The postscript murders

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Author:
Griffiths, Elly
Series:
Harbinder Kaur novels volume 2.
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this ... novel by ... Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery ... for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie"--

30. The queen of the Tearling: a novel

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Author:
Johansen, Erika
Series:
Queen of the Tearling volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
JOHANSEN
Duraleigh Road - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
JOHANSEN
Eva H. Perry Regional - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
JOHANSEN
Description:
"On her nineteenth birthday, Princess Kelsea Raleigh Glynn, raised in exile, sets out on a perilous journey back to the castle of her birth to ascend her rightful throne. Plain and serious, a girl who loves books and learning, Kelsea bears little resemblance to her mother, the vain and frivolous Queen Elyssa. But though she may be inexperienced and sheltered, Kelsea is not defenseless: Around her neck hangs the Tearling sapphire, a jewel of immense...

31. Remote control

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Author:
Okorafor, Nnedi
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
OKORAFOR
East Regional - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
OKORAFOR
Fuquay-Varina Community - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
OKORAFOR
Description:
"The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From here on in she would be known as Sankofa--a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past. Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks-alone, except for her fox companion-searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers. But is there...

32. Sea of Tranquility

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Author:
Mandel, Emily St. John, 1979-
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
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On Shelf
112 copies, 1 person is on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
MANDEL
Cary Regional - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
MANDEL
Duraleigh Road - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
MANDEL
Description:
The "author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel returns with a novel of art, time, love, and plague that takes the reader from an island off Vancouver in 1912 to a dark colony of the moon three hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and planets"--

33. Searching for Sylvie Lee: a novel

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Author:
Kwok, Jean
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Adult Fiction
KWOK
Cary Regional - Adult Fiction has 3
KWOK
Duraleigh Road - Adult Fiction has 2
KWOK
Available Online
Online OverDrive Collection has 15
Description:
Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, vanishes. Terrified yet determined, Amy, the sheltered baby of the family, retraces her movements, but instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth.

34. A spindle splintered

Book cover for "A spindle splintered"
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Author:
Harrow, Alix E.
Series:
Fractured fables volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
HARROW
Duraleigh Road - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
HARROW
East Regional - Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
HARROW
Description:
"It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no-one has lived past twenty-one. Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks...

35. The stranger diaries

Book cover for "The stranger diaries"
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Author:
Griffiths, Elly
Series:
Harbinder Kaur novels volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
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On Shelf
20 copies, 2 people are on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Mystery
GRIFFITH
Cary Regional - Mystery
GRIFFITH
East Regional - Mystery
GRIFFITH
Description:
"Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare's colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R.M. Holland's most famous story, 'The stranger,' left by her body. Clare is horrified to see her life collide with the storylines of her favorite literature. To make matters worse, the police suspect the killer...

36. Talking to strangers: what we should know about the people we don't know

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Author:
Gladwell, Malcolm, 1963-
Average Rating:
4 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
302 GLADWELL 8 CDs
East Regional - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction
302 GLADWELL 8 CDs
North Regional - Audio Books - Adult Nonfiction has 2
302 GLADWELL 8 CDs
Description:
The popular podcast host and author explores how people interact with strangers and why these exchanges often go wrong, offering strategic tips for more accurate and productive interactions.

37. Taste: my life through food

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Author:
Tucci, Stanley
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Biography
B TUCCI
Cary Regional - Biography
B TUCCI
Duraleigh Road - Biography
B TUCCI
Description:
"From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate ... memoir of life in and out of the kitchen"--

38. Tell me everything: the story of a private investigation

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Author:
Krouse, Erika
Average Rating:
3.5 stars
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On Shelf
Athens Drive Community - Adult Non-Fiction
363.259 KROUS
Cary Regional - Adult Non-Fiction
363.259 KROUS
Duraleigh Road - Adult Non-Fiction
363.259 KROUS
Description:
"Part memoir and part literary true crime, Tell Me Everything is the mesmerizing story of a landmark sexual assault investigation and the female private investigator who helped crack it open. Erika Krouse has one of those faces. "I don't know why I'm telling you this," people say, spilling confessions. In fall 2002, Erika accepts a new contract job investigating lawsuits as a private investigator. The role seems perfect for her, but she quickly realizes...

39. The Windsor knot: a novel

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Author:
Bennett, S. J. (Sophia J.)
Series:
Her Majesty the Queen investigates volume 1.
Average Rating:
3.2 stars
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On Shelf
21 copies, 1 person is on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Mystery
BENNETT
Duraleigh Road - Mystery
BENNETT
East Regional - Mystery
BENNETT
Description:
"The first book in a ... crime series featuring Queen Elizabeth II as an amateur detective who solves crimes in secret and behind the scenes, in between her royal duties"--

40. Wintering: the power of rest and retreat in difficult times

Book cover for "Wintering"
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Author:
May, Katherine
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
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On Shelf
22 copies, 1 person is on the wait list.
Athens Drive Community - Adult Non-Fiction
155.2 MAY
Duraleigh Road - Adult Non-Fiction
155.2 MAY
East Regional - Adult Non-Fiction has 2
155.2 MAY
Available Online
12 copies, 4 people are on the wait list.
Online OverDrive Collection has 12
Description:
"Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it...