2024 Summer Staff Picks

Check out what we've been reading/watching and loving! We think you'll enjoy these titles, too.

Updated July 6, 2024
L
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Gladstone & Oak Lodge Public Libraries
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Challenger : a true story of heroism and disaster on the edge of space
Higginbotham, Adam
Paper Book
On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all seven people on board. Like disaster is a defining moment in twentieth-century history - yet the full story of what happened, and why, has never been told. It's a compelling tale of ambition and...

Kerrie says: A fast-paced history of the space shuttle program and the astronauts, focusing on the Challenger disaster showing how corporate selfishness, government deadlines, miscommunication and unwillingness to share information made the shuttle program a disaster waiting to happen.

Also available as:

CD Audiobook

EAudiobook

EBook

Divine rivals : a novel
Ross, Rebecca
Paper Book
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever. After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family...

Maria says: One of my favorites this year!

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

The frozen river : a novel
Lawhon, Ariel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GMA BOOK CLUB PICK * AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR * From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha...

Bonnie says: I've always enjoyed a good historical novel! It starts with a body found in the river which makes the reader interested in who did it. Martha Ballard is a midwife from the 18th century who delivered hundreds of kids and kept diaries. It was interesting to see how her life was tied to the mystery of the body found.

Also available as:

EAudiobook

The hunter
French, Tana
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book of 2024 * A New York Times Best Crime and Best Thriller Novel of 2024 * A Washington Post Best Thriller of 2024 * An NPR, New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, and Globe and Mail Best...

Walt says: The author's best book yet!

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

The island of missing trees
Shafak, Elif
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction "A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times." -David...

Jill says: This book is incredible and my favorite of the year so far. To pique your interest, half of it is narrated by a fig tree!

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

The Kamogawa food detectives
Kashiwai, Hisashi
Paper Book
The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series, for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold. What's the one dish you'd do anything to taste just one more time? Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto...

Jessica says: I devoured this first book in a new fun foodie mystery series! Pun intended. :)

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

Large Print

The other significant others : reimagining life with friendship at the center
Cohen, Rhaina
Paper Book
Why do we assume romantic relationships are more important than friendships? What do we lose when we expect a spouse to meet all our needs? And what can we learn about commitment, love, and family from people who put deep friendship at the center of their lives?In The Other Significant Others, NPR's...

Brian says: I enjoyed how this book values friendship and chosen family. It creates space for folks to build meaningful connection alongside traditional romantic and familial relationships.

Also available as:

EAudiobook

Silver in the wood
Tesh, Emily
Paper Book
"A true story of the woods, of the fae, and of the heart. Deep and green and wonderful."--Naomi NovikThere is a Wild Man who lives in the deep quiet of Greenhollow, and he listens to the wood. Tobias, tethered to the forest, does not dwell on his past life, but he lives a perfectly unremarkable...

Brian says: A charming novella! The setting reminded me of folktales I read as a child, but with more complex characters and relationships. A quick and satisfying read.

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

So sad today
Broder, Melissa
Paper Book
So sad today? Many are. Melissa Broder is too. How and why did she get to be so sad? And should she stay sad? She asks herself these questions over and over here, turning them into a darkly mesmerising and strangely uplifting reading experience through coruscating honesty and a total...

Emma says: This essay collection is a classic 'sad girl summer' read. I found Broder's writing about mental health, feminism, and relationships to be funny and relatable.

Also available as:

EBook

What Moves the Dead
Kingfisher, T.
Paper Book
An Instant USA Today & Indie Bestseller A Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Finalist A Goodreads Best Horror Choice Award Nominee A gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" from Hugo, Locus, &...

Heather says: This was an interesting retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Fall of the House of Usher which added more depth to the characters and explanation for the occurrences in the story. A quick read if you are in the mood for something creepy!

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

What the river knows
Ibañez, Isabel (Novelist)
Paper Book
'BURNING WITH ROMANCE' STEPHANIE GARBER 'ALL THE STARS' HEATHER FAWCETT 'A ROMANTIC, SPELLBINDING ADVENTURE' REBECCA ROSS The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical romantasy set in 19th century Egypt, filled...

Emma says: I really enjoyed this YA adventure that spans from South America to Egypt! It's full of side quests, light magic, and a cute romance.

Also available as:

EAudiobook

EBook

Who ate the first oyster? : the extraordinary people behind the greatest firsts in history
Cassidy, Cody
Paper Book
Stephanie says: I love history and the author has selected a list of facinating 'firsts of' and using archeology and experts in various fields works out how we came to have the first wheel, or beer, or the first clothes. The writer has a delightfully funny writing style and the information is intriguing.
The women : a novel
Hannah, Kristin
Paper Book
"Women can be heroes, too." When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in...

Bonnie says: Hard to read at times and I even put it down occasionally, but so worth finishing!

Also available as:

CD Audiobook

EAudiobook

EBook

Large Print

Woven in moonlight
Ibañez, Isabel (Novelist)
Paper Book
Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena's motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to...

Maria says: I loved this young adult fantasy. Another one of my favorites this year!

Also available as:

EBook


Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.