EUREKA PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT (Eureka, Illinois)
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Library Board
    • Library Policies
    • Staff & Employment
    • Friends of the Library
    • Donations
    • Library Newsletter
  • At The Library
    • Program Calendar
    • Library Card Sign-Up Month 2023
    • Illinois Libraries Present
    • Kids
    • Teens
    • Adults
    • Get a Library Card
    • Loan Periods and Fines
    • Access Your Account
    • Library of Things
  • Find Books & More
    • Search Catalog
    • Wowbrary: Latest Additions
    • Interlibrary Loans
    • eBooks & eAudiobooks
    • Online Music and Movies
    • Digital Magazines & Newspapers
    • E-Sequels
    • Staff Book Reviews
    • Pages of Eureka
  • Services
    • Outreach
    • Porch Pickup
    • Free Services
    • Copy, Print, & Fax
    • Educational Materials Request
    • Talking Books
    • Explore More Illinois
    • Online Classes
    • Niche Academy
    • READsquared
  • Research
    • Genealogy & Local History
    • Eureka Pumpkin Festival
    • City & County Resources
    • State & Federal Resources
    • Tax Form Information
    • Voter Information

March 29, 2023 | Adult Review

3/29/2023

 
Picture

Assault and Pepper

Budewitz, Leslie

2015, Berkley Prime Crime

Fiction

Print copy and large print available through interlibrary loan; eAudiobook available through Libby

After leaving a dicey marriage and losing a beloved job in a corporate crash, Pepper Reece has found a new zest for life running a busy spice and tea shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Her aromatic creations are the talk of the town, and everyone stops by for a cup of her refreshing spice tea, even other shopkeepers and Market regulars. But when a panhandler named Doc shows up dead on the store’s doorstep, a Seattle Spice Shop cup in his hand, the local gossip gets too hot for Pepper to handle—especially after the police arrest one of Pepper’s staffers, Tory Finch, for murder.

Tory seems to know why she’s a suspect, but she refuses to do anything to curry favor with the cops. Convinced her reticent employee is innocent, Pepper takes it on herself to sniff out some clues. Only, if she’s not careful, Pepper’s nosy ways might make her next on the killer’s list…

Read a review by Gennifer King:

assault_and_pepper.pdf
File Size: 605 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 29, 2023 | Adult Review

3/29/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture

The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road

Murphy, Finn

2017, W.W. Norton & Company

Nonfiction

Audiobook at library; print copy available through interlibrary loan

More than thirty years ago, Finn Murphy dropped out of college to become a long-haul trucker. Since then he’s covered more than a million miles as a mover, packing, loading, hauling people’s belongings all over America. In The Long Haul, Murphy recounts with wit, candor, and charm the America he has seen change over the decades and the poignant, funny, and often haunting stories of the people he encounters on the job.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

the_long_haul.pdf
File Size: 319 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

March 22, 2023 | Adult Review

3/22/2023

 
Picture

The Swimmers

Otsuka, Julie

2022, Anchor Books

Fiction

Print copy at library; eBook available through Libby and Axis360

The swimmers are unknown to each other except through their private routines (slow lane, fast lane), and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps. But when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief.

One of these swimmers is Alice, who is slowly losing her memory. For Alice, the pool was a final stand against the darkness of her encroaching dementia. Without the fellowship of other swimmers and the routine of her daily laps she is plunged into dislocation and chaos, swept into memories of her childhood and the Japanese internment camp in which she spent the war. Narrated by Alice's daughter, who witnesses her stark and devastating decline, The Swimmers is a searing, intimate story of mothers and daughters, and the sorrows of implacable loss, written in spellbinding, incantatory prose.

The most commanding and unforgettable work yet from a modern master.

Read a review by Ann Reeves:

the_swimmers.pdf
File Size: 600 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 22, 2023 | Middle Grade Review

3/22/2023

 
Picture

Max:  Best Friend. Hero. Marine.

Shotz, Jennifer

2015, Harper

Fiction

Grades: 3 - 7; Lexile: NC740L

Print copy and audiobook at library; eBook available through Freading

When Justin's older brother, Kyle, is killed in Afghanistan, Justin can't believe that his brother is really gone. Except there's one thing that Kyle left behind…

Max is a highly trained military canine who has always protected his fellow soldiers. But when he loses his handler and best friend, Kyle, Max is traumatized and unable to remain in the service.
​
He is sent home to America, where the only human he connects with is Justin, and he is soon adopted by Kyle's family, essentially saving his life. At first Justin has no interest in taking care of his late brother's troubled dog. However, the two learn to trust each other, which helps the four-legged veteran become his heroic self once more. As the pair start to unravel the mystery of what really happened to Kyle, they find more excitement—and danger—than they bargained for. But they might also find an unlikely new best friend—in each other.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

max.pdf
File Size: 313 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 15, 2023 | Adult Review

3/15/2023

 
Picture

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man

Newman, Paul

2022, Alfred A. Knopf

Biography

Print copy at library; eBook available through Libby and Axis360; eAudiobook available through Axis360

In 1986, Paul Newman and his closest friend, screenwriter Stewart Stern, began an extraordinary project. Stuart was to compile an oral history, to have Newman's family and friends and those who worked closely with him, talk about the actor's life. And then Newman would work with Stewart and give his side of the story. The only stipulation was that anyone who spoke on the record had to be completely honest. That same stipulation applied to Newman himself. The project lasted five years.

The result is an extraordinary memoir, culled from thousands of pages of transcripts. The book is insightful, revealing, surprising. Newman's voice is powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, always meeting that high standard of searing honesty. The additional voices--from childhood friends and Navy buddies, from family members and film and theater collaborators such as Tom Cruise, George Roy Hill, Martin Ritt, and John Huston--that run throughout add richness and color and context to the story Newman is telling.

Newman's often traumatic childhood is brilliantly detailed. He talks about his teenage insecurities, his early failures with women, his rise to stardom, his early rivals (Marlon Brando and James Dean), his first marriage, his drinking, his philanthropy, the death of his son Scott, his strong desire for his daughters to know and understand the truth about their father. Perhaps the most moving material in the book centers around his relationship with Joanne Woodward--their love for each other, his dependence on her, the way she shaped him intellectually, emotionally and sexually.

The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is revelatory and introspective, personal and analytical, loving and tender in some places, always complex and profound.

Read a review by Jill Martin:

the_extraordinary_life_of_an_ordinary_man.pdf
File Size: 392 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 15, 2023 | Adult Review

3/15/2023

 
Picture

The Last Bookshop in London

Martin, Madeline

2021, Hanover Square Press

Fiction

Audiobook copy at library; print and large print copies available through interlibrary loan; eBook available through Libby, Axis360, and Freading; eAudiobook available through Axis360

August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and blackout curtains that she finds on her arrival were not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.

Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

the_last_bookshop_in_london.pdf
File Size: 322 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 8, 2023 | Adult Review

3/8/2023

 
Picture

For Those Who Are Lost

Thomas, Julia Bryan

2022, Sourcebooks Landmark

Fiction

Print copy at library; eBook available through Freading

One woman's split-second decision on the eve of World War II will tear a family apart...

On the island of Guernsey, as WWII looms, many islanders make the heartbreaking choice to ship their children to safety in England, not knowing when (or if) they will be reunited. Acting on faith, Ava and Joseph Simon reluctantly send their 9-year-old son Henry and four-year-old daughter Catherine with their children's teacher Helen, who will escort them to the mainland.

But Helen's sister Lily is fleeing an abusive, childless marriage, and, just as the ferry is about to leave, she convinces her sister to let her take Helen's place so that she can make a new start for herself. It is Lily who takes the children to England, and it is Lily who lets Henry get on a train by himself. But Lily has always wanted a child, and she's unable to let Catherine go. So she decides to walk the other way, taking Catherine with her in her arms. That split-second decision impacts the lives of everyone long after the war ends.

Perfect for readers of Sold on a Monday, For Those Who Are Lost is at once heartbreaking, thought-provoking, and uplifting.

Read a review by Ann Reeves:

for_those_who_are_lost.pdf
File Size: 324 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 8, 2023 | Adult Review

3/8/2023

 
Picture

Part of Your World

Jimenez, Abby

2022, Forever

Fiction

Print copy at library; eBook and audiobook available through Libby and Axis360

After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.

While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

Read a review by Cindy O'Neill:

part_of_your_world.pdf
File Size: 315 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 1, 2023 | Adult Review

3/1/2023

 
Picture

The Mitford Affair

Benedict, Marie

2023, Sourcebooks Landmark

Fiction

Print copy at library; large print available through interlibrary loan; eBook available through Axis360 and Freading

Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes. Though they've weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister's lead, inciting rumors that she's become Hitler's own mistress.

Novelist Nancy Mitford is the only member of her family to keep in touch with Diana and Unity after their desertion, so it falls to her to act when her sisters become spies for the Nazi party.

Probing the torrid political climate of World War II and the ways that sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair follows Nancy's valiant efforts to end the war and the cost of placing loyalty to her country above loyalty to her family.

Read a review by Ann Reeves:

the_mitford_affair.pdf
File Size: 334 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

March 1, 2023 | Adult Review

3/1/2023

 
Picture

Night Shift

Cook, Robin

2022, G.P. Putnam's Sons

Fiction

Print copy at library; large print and audiobook available through interlibrary loan; eBook available through Libby and Axis360

In this exhilarating medical mystery-thriller by Robin Cook, fan favorites Jack and Laurie are lured into the dark underbelly of hospital dangers when an internist is murdered.

Colleagues-turned-spouses Doctor Laurie Montgomery and Doctor Jack Stapleton already have their plates full with crazy work schedules and family pressures. The last thing they need is a murder. When Laurie’s longtime friend, by all accounts healthy Dr. Sue Passero dies mysteriously in the hospital parking garage, an autopsy is required, which falls squarely under Laurie’s purview as newly-appointed Chief Medical Examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse.

His curiosity sparked by the mystery around Sue’s death, the indefatigable Jack, compelled to resolve the case at hand, sets out to investigate on-site at Manhattan Memorial Hospital, even though it means blatantly defying the Office of Chief Medical Examiner’s rules. What started out as an inquiry into Sue’s tragic passing soon turns into a deadly and dangerous chess game between Jack and the clever and deranged killer, who might just administer another lethal blow if Jack isn’t careful.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

night_shift.pdf
File Size: 318 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

    Authors

    EPLD staff.

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

    Categories

    All
    Adult
    Middle Grade
    Picture Books
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

address

202 S. Main St.
​Eureka, IL 61530

phone

309.467.2922

hours

Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday:
​9:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Wednesday & Friday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Saturday:
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
(Labor Day - Memorial Day)
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Library Board
    • Library Policies
    • Staff & Employment
    • Friends of the Library
    • Donations
    • Library Newsletter
  • At The Library
    • Program Calendar
    • Library Card Sign-Up Month 2023
    • Illinois Libraries Present
    • Kids
    • Teens
    • Adults
    • Get a Library Card
    • Loan Periods and Fines
    • Access Your Account
    • Library of Things
  • Find Books & More
    • Search Catalog
    • Wowbrary: Latest Additions
    • Interlibrary Loans
    • eBooks & eAudiobooks
    • Online Music and Movies
    • Digital Magazines & Newspapers
    • E-Sequels
    • Staff Book Reviews
    • Pages of Eureka
  • Services
    • Outreach
    • Porch Pickup
    • Free Services
    • Copy, Print, & Fax
    • Educational Materials Request
    • Talking Books
    • Explore More Illinois
    • Online Classes
    • Niche Academy
    • READsquared
  • Research
    • Genealogy & Local History
    • Eureka Pumpkin Festival
    • City & County Resources
    • State & Federal Resources
    • Tax Form Information
    • Voter Information