Get Rec’d
Book Recommendations Part 1
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Reading is fucking rad.
Not only is it nice to peacefully sit and spend a few hours wrapped up in events that have no bearing on your real life, but it’s a great way to keep your own creativity alive. Use your imagination or lose it, ya’ll!
While reading is one of my favorite things, figuring out your next read is probably the most difficult part of being a book lover. Who doesn’t have a TBR (to be read) pile taller than they are? After working for a local library and an organization that helps provide new and popular books to elementary school kids, my own pile has years worth of books on it for all ages. So this week, I figured I’d pay it forward and add to your list with some of my favorite reads…you’re welcome.
Mysteries/Thrillers/Horror
The Dublin Murder Squad Series - Tana French
- I first picked up Tana French’s debut novel, In the Woods, on a fluke while walking through Target. I wasn’t even looking for a new book at the time but it caught my eye and ya’ll…I’ve been a fan of French ever since! I tore through In the Woods in a couple of days and immediately ran out to pick up the sequel, The Likeness. Since then, French has added four more titles to her Dublin Murder Squad series, dubbed such as it follows the detectives of the Dublin murder squad…believe it. Each new entry, so far, follows a supporting character from the previous novel in the series as they take on the role of main character for the new case. It’s a nice way to feel connected to the story before you even know what’s coming because you’ve got one familiar face to guide you through it from the jump and I like that. It’s also a series that doesn’t always give the cases a happy ending which personally, I sometimes love when authors don’t tie everything together neatly and harmoniously because that’s not real life. Sometimes you don’t get the answers you’ve been hoping for. Sometimes the bad guys win.
The Joseph O’Loughlin Series - Michael Robotham
- While setting up the new release shelf display at the library one day, I was introduced to Michael Robotham’s novel, Bleed For Me. The inside jacket description drew me in immediately as it described Joe O’Loughlin, a psychologist whose personal life is in shambles when a friend of his daughter shows up at his door traumatized and covered in blood. I checked it out that day and not until I finished did I realize this was actually the fourth entry in a long running series that follows Joe O’Loughlin, his family, and the wild cases he gets involved in. Since then, I’ve made my way through 8 out of 9 of the series and that 8th one, Close Your Eyes, left me kinda devastated. This is a series you could easily pick up anywhere and not feel like you’re totally lost but starting from the beginning with The Suspect, will allow you to truly watch the characters develop and form a bond with them through out the series so when they inevitably encounter some bad shit it’ll hit you right where it hurts.
The Outsider - Stephen King
- At this point I think it’s pretty clear that I’m a big ol’ Stephen King fan, when he refers to his Constant Reader…that’s me. But I’m perfectly capable of knowing a meh Stephen King book (Rose Madder…blech) from a great Stephen King book. The Outsider is a great Stephen King book. It’s even recently become an HBO series. The Outsider follows detective Ralph Anderson as he deals with the mysterious case surrounding Terry Maitland, a well liked local man accused of murdering an 11 year old boy. DNA makes it seem like an open and shut case until evidence shows that Terry was in two places at once. Ralph has to figure out how that could be and prove if Terry is the killer once and for all. This story captures your attention from the first page and has you coming up with wild theories as to how Terry could or couldn’t have done it. There’s even a surprise cameo from a beloved character from King’s Bill Hodges trilogy. King fan or not, this is a book that should head to the top of your list!
Young Adult and Children’s Fiction
- Hear me out. Is this book well written? No. Does it showcase some pretty questionable actions in the name of “love?” You bet. But 18 year old Jodi read the first three books of this series in a week, shared her copy of Twilight with so many people it’s falling apart, and went to a midnight release for the fourth book (which was truly the worst of the series,) so let me have this one. This book was a pop culture phenomenon spawning 3 sequels and 5 ehhh movies, a gender swapped retelling of the original written by Meyer herself, not to mention it was the inspiration for the 50 Shades of Grey series. This shit was so popular that now, 15 years later, Meyer has FINALLY announced the release of Midnight Sun, the original Twilight story told from Edward’s point of view which was originally leaked in 2008. This summer seems like the perfect time to revisit the book that started it all, even if it’s hella cringey.
- This. Series. I love it so. Greek mythology has always been fascinating to me and Rick Riordan takes all your fave Gods and Goddesses, mellows out the savagery a tad, and puts them into modern times. We also get introduced to the sass king himself, Percy Jackson who I could easily be friends with IRL. This series spans 5 books and a companion series called The Heroes of Olympus that adds in new characters and the Roman counterparts to Percy and the Greek Gods and Goddesses. If you’ve ever wanted to see how the Gods of old might deal with their millennial/gen z children, this is truly the series for you. Oh! and the chapter title names alone are worth picking up the books…they’re so long and so what I would have titled chapters at 14 years old if I found out half my lineage was a God and I had to save the world.
Elephant and Piggie series - Mo Willems
- If you’ve got a 3 - 6 year old in your life, have I got the book series for you! Mo Willems created a dynamic duo in Elephant, otherwise known as Gerald, and Piggie. They’re best friends who get into all sorts of adventures and predicaments together. Should Gerald share his ice cream with Piggie? Will Piggie let Gerald nap? Will Gerald ever have the patience to just wait for Piggie’s surprise? These are just some of the themes you’ll find in the 25 books in this series. They’re quick reads that you and the kid in your life can even act out together and no kidding, they’re actually pretty funny. Willems infuses that typical kids movie humor into his stories that adults will love and kids will have no idea why but will laugh anyway cause they’re kids.
Graphic Novels and Comics
Lumberjanes - Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooklyn A. Allen and Noelle Stevenson
- It’s 2020, we all know by now that comics aren’t just for boys. In 2014, through the work of four creators interested in making a girl-centric comic series, the Lumberjanes series was born. Lumberjanes takes place at a summer camp where those attending are referred to as Lumberjane scouts. The series follows five main scouts: Jo, Molly, Mal, April, and Ripley and the mostly supernatural incidents they happen upon at camp. This comic is super cute and explores themes like friendship, romantic relationships, and general growing up all while trying to earn as many Lumberjane scout badges as possible. Each issue even includes a mixtape list of songs by one of the characters at the end! I never went to camp as a kid but if they had one like the Camp for Hardcore Lady Types…I’d have begged to sign up.
El Deafo - Cece Bell
- This graphic novel used to show up in our shipments of books to the elementary schools for the kids to pick out and take home. After hearing my boss praise it I figured I’d read it to have a better idea of how to explain it to the kids. Ya’ll, it’s awesome. It follows a bunny named Cece Bell (yup, it’s partially autobiographical) who has to wear a hearing aid and feels self conscious about it. But, through the comic, Cece starts to see her hearing aid as less of an embarrassment and more of a superpower, privately calling herself El Deafo, as she eavesdrops on teachers. It’s a great story teaching kids the power of being different and what being kind can do.
Ya’ll, this ain’t even the tip of the iceberg of book recs I have. This is like one trickle of water off the tip of the iceberg. So prepare for this to become an ongoing series over the next few months. But I want to hear from you too! What are some book recommendations you have? Books you’ve loved, books you’ve hated? Comment below and let me know what they were and why!