Laura's Staff Picks

 

Showing 1 - 19 of 19  There are a total of 37 valid entries on the list.

1. 11/22/63: a novel

Book cover for "11/22/63"
Star rating for 11/22/63
Author:
King, Stephen, 1947-
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eBook
Description:
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? The author's new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination. In this novel that is a tribute to a simpler era, he sweeps readers back in time to another moment, a real life moment, when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has...

2. The beach trees

Book cover for "The beach trees"
Star rating for The beach trees
Author:
White, Karen (Karen S.)
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Ellie Holt befriends a struggling artist who reminds her of her little sister who disappeared and was never found, and through the friendship is able to begin a long and painful healing process.

3. City of girls

Book cover for "City of girls"
Star rating for City of girls
Author:
Gilbert, Elizabeth, 1969-
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"[A] unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance....

4. Demon Copperhead: a novel

Book cover for "Demon Copperhead"
Star rating for Demon Copperhead
Author:
Kingsolver, Barbara
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
The teenage son of an Appalachian single mother who dies when he is eleven uses his good looks, wit, and instincts to survive foster care, child labor, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.

5. The dream daughter

Book cover for "The dream daughter"
Star rating for The dream daughter
Author:
Chamberlain, Diane, 1950-
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"From bestselling author Diane Chamberlain comes an irresistible new novel. When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before--and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background...

6. Eight perfect murders: a novel

Book cover for "Eight perfect murders"
Star rating for Eight perfect murders
Author:
Swanson, Peter, 1968-
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre's most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack--which he titled "Eight Perfect Murders"--chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie's A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin's Deathtrap, A. A. Milne's The Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double...

7. The good sister

Book cover for "The good sister"
Star rating for The good sister
Author:
Hepworth, Sally
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"From the outside, everyone might think Fern and Rose are as close as twin sisters can be: Rose is the responsible one, with a home and a husband and a fierce desire to become a mother. Fern is the quirky one, the free spirit, the librarian who avoids social interaction and whom the world might just describe as truly odd. But the sisters are devoted to one another and Rose has always been Fern's protector from the time they were small. Fern needed...

8. Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone

Book cover for "Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone"
Star rating for Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone
Author:
Rowling, J. K.
Series:
Harry Potter (Original series) volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.8 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

9. It

Book cover for "It"
Star rating for It
Author:
King, Stephen, 1947-
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Stephen King's classic New York Times bestseller and the basis for the massively successful films It: Chapter One and It: Chapter Two as well as inspiration for HBO Max's series Welcome to Derry --about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled upon as teenagers...an evil without a name: It. Welcome to Derry, Maine. It's a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry...

10. Just for the summer

Book cover for "Just for the summer"
Star rating for Just for the summer
Author:
Jimenez, Abby
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea... and it just might work. Emma hadn't planned that...

11. The little book of hygge: Danish secrets to happy living

Book cover for "The little book of hygge"
Star rating for The little book of hygge
Author:
Wiking, Meik
Average Rating:
3.4 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"The Danes are famously the happiest people in the world, and hygge is a cornerstone of their way of life. Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) loosely translates as a sense of comfort, togetherness, and well-being. You know hygge when you feel it. It is when you are cuddled up on the sofa with a loved one, or sharing comfort food with your closest friends. It is those crisp blue mornings when the light through your window is just right. It is about gratitude...

12. A man called Ove: a novel

Book cover for "A man called Ove"
Star rating for A man called Ove
Author:
Backman, Fredrik, 1981-
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cranky and short-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors, a boisterous family whose chattiness and habits lead to unexpected friendship.

13. One day in December: a novel

Book cover for "One day in December"
Star rating for One day in December
Author:
Silver, Josie
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Get ready to be swept up in a whirlwind romance. It absolutely charmed me.”—Reese Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club Pick)
“The perfect book to get lost in . . . Josie Silver’s characters sneak their way into your heart and stay.”—Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost
Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love...

14. The outsiders

Book cover for "The outsiders"
Star rating for The outsiders
Author:
Hinton, S. E.
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society.

15. Reunion Beach: stories inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank

Book cover for "Reunion Beach"
Star rating for Reunion Beach
Author:
Hilderbrand, Elin
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Formats:
Book, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"Inspired by the title Dorothea Benton Frank planned for her next book--Reunion Beach--these close friends and colleagues channeled their creativity, admiration, and grief into stories and poems that celebrate this remarkable woman and her abiding love for the Lowcountry of her native South Carolina--a land of beauty, history, charm, and Gullah magic she so brilliantly brought to life in her acclaimed novels."--

16. The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo: a novel

Book cover for "The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo"
Star rating for The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author:
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Average Rating:
4.4 stars
Formats:
Book, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?"--Amazon.com.

17. Something in the water: a novel

Book cover for "Something in the water"
Star rating for Something in the water
Author:
Steadman, Catherine
Average Rating:
3.8 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
"Erin is a documentary filmmaker on the brink of a professional breakthrough, Mark a handsome investment banker with big plans. Passionately in love, they embark on a dream honeymoon to the tropical island of Bora Bora, where they enjoy the sun, the sand, and each other. Then, while scuba diving in the crystal blue sea, they find something in the water. Suddenly the newlyweds must make a dangerous choice: to speak out or to protect their secret. After...

18. A tree grows in Brooklyn

Book cover for "A tree grows in Brooklyn"
Star rating for A tree grows in Brooklyn
Author:
Smith, Betty, 1896-1972
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
An autobiographical novel concerning a young daughter of German immigrants growing up in the slums of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 20th century.

19. Winter in paradise: a novel

Book cover for "Winter in paradise"
Star rating for Winter in paradise
Author:
Hilderbrand, Elin
Series:
Paradise (Elin Hilderbrand) volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Formats:
Book, Audiobook, Large Print, OverDrive eAudiobook, OverDrive eBook
Description:
Irene Steele's idyllic life--house, husband, family--is shattered when she is woken up by a late-night phone call. Her beloved husband has been found dead, but before Irene can process this tragic news, she must confront the perplexing details of her husband's death. He was found on St. John island, a tropical paradise far removed from their suburban life. Leaving the cold winter behind, Irene flies down to the beautiful Caribbean beaches of St. John...