Month: August 2024

Goosebumps in the Summer Heat

By Rachel Cunningham, Circulation Manager

The pools are closed, kids are back in school, and the call of pumpkin patches and cozy socks has begun to tempt me into believing autumn is near. While the Kansas weather may disagree, I’ve begun daydreaming of sweater weather with chilly nights and brisk mornings. At times I even allow myself to imagine an evening walk without the threat of mosquitoes. But while my zinnias are still in full bloom and tomatoes continue to ripen on the vine, I’ll have to settle for the chill of mystery and thriller books – with the aid of central air – for a few more weeks.

“The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore has received attention from both local readers and celebrities. Alternating between perspectives over decades of time, “The God of the Woods” begins in August 1975 at a summer camp. Moore unravels the story of the disappearance of Barbara Van Laar from Camp Emerson in the Adirondack mountains. However, Barbara is not the typical camper. She’s a descendent of the notable Van Laar family, the owners and employers of the camp and surrounding estate. The same family whose son, Bear, went missing 14 years before. Intertwining the 1961 disappearance of Bear alongside the 1975 search for Barbara, Moore provides the perspective of camp counselor, Louise; Barbara’s mother, Alice; the detective, Judyta; camper, Tracy; estate gardener, Carl; and other notable characters. Chatter amongst the campers suggests that it could be an escaped serial killer, Jacob Sluiter. However, the buried truth may be darker and more familiar than they imagined. Although the novel is primarily a mystery, Moore also comments on the difficult transition of childhood self-awareness through her rich characterization: as said about one character, “Her voice, it seemed, had been continuously decrescendoing since birth, so that by age twelve, she could scarcely be heard.” Moore’s artful writing pulls the reader into the story and envelopes them in the lives of the characters within.

Award-winning author, Laura McHugh, released her latest mystery thriller in April of this year. “Safe and Sound” also shares a timeline across decades. Kylee and Amelia have spent their lives planning an escape from their hometown of Beaumont, Missouri, just like their older cousin Grace. Beaumont is a small town with even smaller opportunities, where “no one leaves.” No one, including their older cousin Grace, who went missing six years ago and left a bloody scene behind. The police have no leads, and Kylee and Amelia don’t believe their cousin would disappear for so many years without reaching out to them. McHugh weaves together Grace’s months before her disappearance alongside Kylee and Amelia’s unexpected unwinding of Grace’s last days. Will they still be able to leave if they might be able to catch her killer, or even more, find her alive? As Kylee and Amelia unearth darker and more disturbing secrets about their family and neighbors, they find themselves in the same grave danger as their cousin. Similar to her other books, “Safe and Sound” includes a plot driven by well-developed characters, which has become one of McHugh’s trademarks.

Many true crime podcast listeners are familiar with the podcast “Crime Junkie,” hosted by Ashley Flowers. “All Good People Here” is Ashley Flowers’s debut novel. Written in alternating timelines and different perspectives, Flowers reveals the 1996 murder of 6-year-old January Jacobs while giving the contemporary account of Margot Davies, a journalist who was best friends with January at the time of her murder. Margot has recently moved back to Wakarusa to care for her uncle who is battling dementia. Determined to continue her career remotely, Margot attempts to balance writing articles, researching, and keeping tabs on her uncle. Her plan begins to deteriorate when a young girl in a neighboring town is murdered in a similar manner to January Jacobs. Margot’s fixation on the connections between the cases begins to exhume long buried secrets, leaving her with more questions about her own past. But when Margot begins receiving threats, she has to wonder if the killer will come after her next. Flowers has also collaborated with Alex Kiester in a new book slated to release next spring for readers who enjoyed “All Good People Here.”

Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee when the weather will turn to fall. However, I might suggest joining the next Donuts and Danger book club discussion at the library if you’d like to meet some like-minded mystery and thriller seeking friends. Our next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 26th, 2024, and as the name suggests, donuts will be provided to complement the book discussions. As with all library programs, this event is free to attend.

Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.

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Rachel Cunningham, Circulation Manager

 

Curious about Appalachia: A Booklist

By Audrey Swartz, Adult Services and Readers’ Advisory Librarian

What happens when a Vice-Presidential candidate also happens to have written a book? Super long hold lists, long patron wait times, and struggling with the ability to order more (because everyone wants more) is the lesson being felt by almost every library in the country. If you happen to be on one of those lists, here are several alternatives you can read that will also provide a unique look into Appalachia.

All information for these titles has been taken from our catalog, which can be accessed at Manhattan Public Library Catalog.

 

“The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia” by Emma Copley Eisenberg.
In the early evening of June 25, 1980, in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, two middle-class outsiders named Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were murdered in an isolated clearing. Emma Copley Eisenberg spent years living in Pocahontas and re-investigating these brutal acts. Using the past and the present, she shows how this mysterious act of violence has loomed over all those affected for generations, shaping their fears, fates, and the stories they tell about themselves.

 

“The Prettiest Star” by Carter Sickels.
Small-town Appalachia doesn’t have a lot going for it, but it’s where Brian is from, where his family is, and where he’s chosen to return to die. At eighteen, Brian, like so many other promising young gay men, arrived in New York City without much more than a love for the freedom and release from his past that it promised. It is a novel that speaks to the question of what home and family means when we try to forge a life for ourselves in a world that can be harsh and unpredictable.

 

“When These Mountains Burn” by David Joy.
When his addict son gets in deep with his dealer, it takes everything Raymond Mathis has to bail him out of trouble one last time. Frustrated by the slow pace and limitations of the law, Raymond decides to take matters into his own hands. For months, the DEA has been chasing the drug supply in the mountains to no avail, when a lead sets one agent on a path to crack the case wide open … but he’ll need help from the most unexpected quarter. As chance brings together these men from different sides of a relentless epidemic, each may come to find that his opportunity for redemption lies with the others.

 

“Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy” edited by Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll.
J. D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” has defined Appalachia for much of the nation. “Appalachian Reckoning” is a retort, at turns rigorous, critical, angry, and hopeful. It allows Appalachians from varied backgrounds to tell their own diverse and complex stories through an imaginative blend of scholarship, prose, poetry, and photography. It provides a deeply personal portrait of a place that is at once culturally rich and economically distressed, unique and typically American.

 

“Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America” by Eliza Griswold.
Griswold tells the story of the energy boom’s impact on a small town at the edge of Appalachia–and one woman’s transformation from a struggling single parent to an unlikely activist. Stacey Haney is a local nurse working hard to raise two kids and keep up her small farm when the fracking industry comes to her hometown of Amity, Pennsylvania. When mysterious illnesses begin to afflict her children, she appeals to the company for help. Its representatives insist that nothing is wrong. Soon a community that has long been suspicious of outsiders faces wrenching new questions about who is responsible for redressing their ills. Griswold reveals what happens when an imperiled town faces a crisis of values.

 

If you still are needing to put yourself on hold for one of our many copies of “Hillbilly Elegy,” you can do so by logging into your library account and placing a hold from there or give us a call and we can place that hold for you. We have one copy of the large print book with two more on order. If you are wanting a “standard” print option, we have seven copies. Want to listen to it? We have one copy of the book on CD and three digital audio book copies available through Sunflower eLibrary.

 

Manhattan Public Library is a cornerstone of free and equal access to a world of ideas and information for the Manhattan, Kansas, community. Manhattan Public Library serves more than 75,000 people in the Riley County area through curated book and other media collections, knowledgeable staff, relevant programming for all ages, and meeting space. Learn more at mhklibrary.org.

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Audrey Swartz, Adult Services and Readers’ Advisory Librarian

The Fusion of Art and Story: The Magic of Graphic Novels

By Jay Williams, Teen Services Librarian

As an avid reader of Sci-Fi and Fantasy books, visualizing the world the author is creating is crucial. Being able to take the words from the page and build them into rich worlds that are interconnected and vital to the story is key, yet most people will visualize characters and settings differently than the next. This is a fun way to flex one’s creativity and the world is made better by those who take these thoughts and create and share fanart of their favorite books. However, when an author decides to write a graphic novel the illustrations are specifically chosen for the story, a point that cannot be overstated. The author, who doubles as the illustrator for some novels, can also remove any ambiguity about character design and the world by using this format. Graphic novels uniquely combine visual art with written narratives: illustrations, vibrant colors, and detailed artwork transport readers into captivating worlds. The storyline is equally crucial—amazing visuals must align with a compelling plot to create a successful graphic novel. Graphic novels delve into societal issues through visual interpretations. Works like Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis”, George Takei’s “They Called Us Enemy”, and Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” tackle complex themes, fostering emotive connections between readers and the novel that may not be felt in a word-only format.

Graphic novels are also not limited to fiction, while many first think of traditional comics such as superheroes and science fiction, graphic novels are also a great medium for non-fiction genres like memoirs and biographies. Artists vividly depict action, magic, and making fantasy come to life while simultaneously portraying internal feelings enriched with a visual component. Feelings and moods can be conveyed with colors and stylized drawing choices. Contrary to misconceptions, graphic novels are high-quality reading material. They feature complex plots, dynamic characters, and well-presented conflicts. Readers engage with twists, character development, and resolution. They represent a rich literary form with artistic intricacy, narrative depth, and a growing cultural significance. Graphic novels receive recognition as a sophisticated literary form. They offer accessibility to readers of all ages and backgrounds, bridging gaps between traditional literature and visual storytelling. A popular trend we have seen for some time is the blending of classics being retold with the style of graphic novels. This can breathe new life into beloved stories for younger generations of readers and to those who have loved these books for years.

Sometimes we hear that graphic novels are not “real books” or are only for transitioning from picture books to the traditional novel, but that is a limiting view for a popular format. Reading in any format can build empathy, expand your horizons, and escape into a new world. There is no right or wrong way to do that when you read. We encourage children to create and tell stories. We also encourage drawing or painting as a way to express creativity. This should not stop because we supposedly age out of reading picture books. As we grow as people, we can tell more complex stories and being able to tell these stories with illustrations more fully is something wonderful.

Remember, graphic novels are a rich form of storytelling, deserving recognition and appreciation! Here are just a few graphic novels that you can find at the Manhattan Public Library:
“Kindred” by Octavia Butler, “More than 35 years after its release, Kindred continues to draw in new readers with its deep exploration of the violence and loss of humanity caused by slavery in the United States, and its complex and lasting impact on the present day.”

“They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei, “A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.”

 

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “A portrait of race and class, innocence and injustice, hypocrisy, and heroism, tradition and transformation in the Deep South of the 1930s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird remains as important today as it was upon its initial publication in 1960, during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights movement.”

 

“Anne of Green Gables” by Mariah Marsden, “When Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan who can help manage their family farm, they have no idea what delightful trouble awaits them. With flame-red hair and an unstoppable imagination, 11-year-old Anne Shirley takes Green Gables by storm.”

 

“Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, “As could only occur with Bradbury’s full cooperation in this authorized adaptation, Hamilton has created a striking work of art that uniquely captures Montag’s awakening to the evil of government-controlled thought and the inestimable value of philosophy, theology, and literature.”

 

“Squire” by Nadia Shammas, “Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It’s the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine and mounting tensions, Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war once again, so Aiza can finally enlist in the competitive Squire training program.”

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Jay Williams, Teen Services Librarian