Looking for your next great read? See what the Newfields librarians are reading and loving this month…
The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster by John O’Connor
When it’s the middle of the summer, I love to go on all sorts of fun outdoor activities with my family: hiking and camping especially. Whenever we’re deep in the woods or the mountains, that’s when the spooky or the fun stories start breaking out. Tales of urban legends, ghosts, and even….. Bigfoot! But why do we still circle back to these tales and myths when engaging in nature? I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a Bigfoot believer myself.
John O’Connor may just have the answer with his debut non-fiction work The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster. In this work, O’Connor travels across North America to prominent Bigfoot or Wildman myth sites, conventions, and interviews various bigfoot believers and researchers.
Let me be frank here: you are not going to get a history of Bigfoot. What you will get is a reflection as to why humans do, or don’t, believe.
O’Connor doesn’t just relegate this to Bigfoot either, he devotes a chapter of the book to the ivory-billed woodpecker, connecting the search for the long extinct bird—and the resulting aftermath of many a professionals’ career after saying they found one—and the belief in the Bigfoot myth. This results in an intricate discussion of the interwoven connection between nature, myth, and belief.
I found this read incredibly interesting and fun to read through! I find O’Connor’s writing witty and entertaining. He can vividly write about the people he interacts with to the point that I feel like I’m there with him about to go on a Bigfoot hunt or to a convention.
I appreciate that he made it a point in the book to show the “why” in belief, but also not make fun of the people hunting Bigfoot, (aka Bigfooters), in the process. While it does get a little political to the point of repetitiveness sometimes, overall I found the book an interesting and engaging piece that really made me ponder why humans choose to believe in the things we do or don’t. If you are a fan of Bill Bryson, this is going to be something you want to check out!
🎧 📱This book can be found on Libby in both audiobook and e-book formats.
-Lauren B.
Librarian
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
A lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love. -Goodreads
Sometimes you just need a cozy read that lets you sink into the pages with a sigh. If that’s what you’re looking for, this book might be for you.
I’m a casual fantasy reader who gets overwhelmed by dense plots and complex magic systems, and I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this debut novel from Durst. I don’t love stories that are too “sweet” to the point of being saccharine and I was worried that might be the case here. Well, color me pleasantly surprised. Durst weaves a tale of magic, adventure, found family, and community.
While there are real stakes and clear challenges for the main characters to overcome, Durst never lingers too long in the anticipation, quickly resolving tensions so you’re never getting your blood pressure up to high. This gives the plot a very pleasant pace that moves you steadily through the story without getting bored or overstimulated.
The story follows Kiela, a quiet, introverted librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium. She preserves the empire’s collection of spell books, available only to the elite class. And she’s content there. But a revolution is brewing, and when the rebels set the great library aflame, Kiela must escape into the night with her trusty assistant Caz (a sentient spider plant) and as many books as she can save.
Orphaned and alone in the world, Kiela only knows one place she can go: her childhood home on a remote island that her family left when she was a girl.
She hopes to simply lay low and avoid any nosy villagers from town. But the first morning after her arrival, she is greeted by an over-friendly (and handsome) neighbor who insists on helping her fix up the cottage.
Begrudgingly, she accepts his help (and eventual friendship), and she sets her mind to building a small jam business from her cottage garden to support herself. But she is no green thumb, and she will need a little magic to help her—something that is forbidden for commoners like her to use.
Realizing that her magic could also help the struggling villagers, Kiela decides to open a clandestine spell shop operation.
Will she be discovered by the empire’s watchful spies? Will the villagers accept her or turn her in?
This book is a warm hug, perfect for a rainy day or cool evening. It won’t keep you up at night (at least not because it’s scary), but you may have a hard time putting it down.
I’m excited to read the sequel, now on our shelves too!
📖 The book is available on our shelves.
🎧 📱The book is available on the Libby app (audiobook and ebook) and the hoopla app (audiobook in English and German).
-Brittney T.
Director
Free Piano by Whitney Gardner
Recommended for ages 10+
When Margot saves a used synthesizer from being smashed by her two best friends,
she is determined to learn to play and become a songwriter. Her father, who is sometimes
around, would make for the perfect teacher if he wasn’t chasing his own dreams out in
California. Like her peers, Margot dreams of fame and notoriety, but can’t even amass more
followers than her friends’ silly social channel. Maybe this synth is just the thing she needs to
turn that around. Good thing it said it wasn’t haunted!
Just before giving up on learning the synthesizer (a Prophet-5 to be exact) a mysterious
teacher swoops in to rescue her dreams. All too familiar with hunting fame, Margot’s new
teacher and mentor guides her through a tumultuous period in her life, helping her think about what she wants in life, but also more importantly why she wants it. What does it mean to truly love yourself and do things because it makes you happy?
Author Whitney Gardner does an impeccable job of capturing the angst and struggle
children face in our world today. Through her characters, we get to explore what or who gets to determine our success in life. It’s easy to forget what you already have when you’re so focused on what you want. What would life be like if we weren’t consumed with our image of what we should want?
📖 This book is available in our collection.
-Andy S.
Children’s Librarian
