Black Mountain Library reviews and recommendations
With thousands of books to choose from, and new titles coming in regularly, the Black Mountain Library offers reading material for everyone.
Below are six book recommendations with reviews by library staff. Call the Black Mountain Library at 250-4765 or visit buncombecounty.org/libraries if you would like to reserve any of these titles.
Fiction:
"Never Have I Ever"
by Joshilyn Jackson
William Morrow & Co. ($26.99)
Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary, domestic life, until one book club night that brings Angelica Roux to her doorstep. Sultry and magnetic, Roux lures the group into a “harmless” game of spilling secrets. Only Amy knows better, and later, Roux threatens to make Amy pay for her past dark sins if she doesn’t give Roux what she wants. To save the life she’s built, Amy must match wits with the devil in an escalating war of hidden pasts. The consequences are dire if she can’t beat Roux, and if she wins, she could lose everything.
If you like this one, also try: "The Rumor" by Elin Hilderbrand, "The Mother-in-Law" by Sally Hepworth, "The Wife" by Alafair Burke
"The Dearly Beloved"
by Cara Wall
Simon & Schuster ($26.99)
Charles and Lily, James and Nan. They meet in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hired to steward the Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. Ministers and academics, their differences threaten to tear them apart. Against the backdrop of turbulent changes facing the city and the church’s congregation, these four forge improbable paths through their evolving relationships, each struggling with uncertainty, heartbreak, and joy in this poignant meditation on faith and reason, marriage and children.
If you like this one, also try: "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson, "Our Souls at Night" by Kent Haruf, "Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner
Non-Fiction:
"The Library Book"
by Susan Orlean
Simon & Schuster ($28)
In 1986, a fire at the Los Angeles Public Library consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. Over thirty years later, the mystery remains: was this arson? Journalist Susan Orlean investigates the legendary fire. She visits library departments; delves into the evolution of libraries; studies arson and the history of library fires; attempts to burn a copy of a book; and re-examines the case of Harry Peak, long suspected as the arsonist. Along the way, she reveals the importance of these buildings and why we need them.
"Art Matters"
by Neil Gaiman
William Morrow & Co. ($19.99)
"Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World" is a timely embodiment of this remarkable multi-media artist’s vision—an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives. Illustrated by Chris Riddell, the book includes Gaiman’s "Credo,” his manifesto on free expression; “Make Good Art,” his famous commencement address; “Making a Chair,” a poem about the joys of creating; and “On Libraries,” his impassioned argument for libraries.
Teens:
"The Crimes of Grindelwald"
by J.K. Rowling
Arthur A. Levine ($24.99)
At the end of "Fantastic Beasts" and "Where to Find Them," the Dark Wizard Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But Grindelwald escapes and sets about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. So Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, who agrees to help once again. This second screenplay from J.K. Rowling, illustrated with art from MinaLima, includes delightful nods to the Harry Potter stories. Ages 10 and up.
"Wundersmith"
by Jessica Townsend
Little, Brown BYR ($17.99)
The heart-pounding sequel to the New York Times best-seller and number 1 Kids’ Indie Next Pick "Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow," as heroine Morrigan battles a new evil. Morrigan Crow and her best friend Hawthorne Swift are now proud scholars in the elite Wundrous Society, but life is far from perfect. Does Morrigan have what it takes to prove that she belongs in the Society? Publishers Weekly called Nevermoor “[A] spellbinding debut… that champions bravery, self-confidence, and hope.” Ages 9-12.