It’s basketball season and our staff at the Crawfordsville District Public Library are ready with some great basketball reading recommendations and many more favorite books to share. Dennis recommends the book “Hoosier Hysteria: Indiana High School Basketball” by Bob Williams (796.32 Wil). He says, “This book might be 40 years old, but it’s jam-packed with great old stories and information on high school basketball in Indiana!” Plus, our youth area has a lot of great books on sports. Check out “Epic Athletes: LeBron James” by Dan Wetzel (j 921 James, L.). Dennis chose this one because James recently became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. He also of course recommends the movie Hoosiers (DVD FIC Hoo): “This year’s Indiana High School Basketball Tourney is now underway, so what better time to re-watch the greatest sports movie ever? Also, lead actor Gene Hackman recently turned 93 years old.”
Looking for a good fiction read? Joni loved “Less” by Andrew Sean Greer (FIC Gre): “This book is moving and very, very funny. You will love following Less on his travels to a very happy ending.” Stephanie K. enjoyed “The Winemaker’s Wife” by Kristin Harmel, which is available on our Libby app: “If you like to read World War II historical fiction, you will enjoy this book.” And Brenda recommends “Dreamland” by bestselling author Nicholas Sparks (FIC Spa): “This was a good read and has some twists to it that I couldn’t figure out how it would all come together in the end. The story touches on the complexities of mental illness and its effect on families. Helps readers understand the sacrifices those around someone with a mental illness must make.”
If you are seeking a twisty thriller, don’t miss Kaela’s pick, “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides (FIC Mic): “If you are a lover of books with surprising and unexpected endings, this one’s for you! One of the only books that had ever made me gasp at the ending.” Mary also recommends two popular thrillers: “The Housekeeper” by Joy Fielding (FIC Fie) and “Anywhere You Run” by Wanda M. Morris (FIC Mor). In Fielding’s novel, “The woman hired to be the housekeeper begins to take over the lives of an aging couple. How far will the housekeeper go to get what she wants?” Morris’s novel takes place in the summer of 1964 when three innocent men are murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians gain the right to vote and two Black sisters find themselves in a lot of trouble.
If you’ve never read “Frankenstein” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (FIC She), Susanna recommends giving it a try: “This is not only a classic horror novel, but one of the earliest examples of sci-fi. It addresses both ancient and very modern fears about the nature of life and the ethics of scientific discovery. Don’t be put off by its age; there’s a reason this story is still popular.”
Dellie has some new large-print reading recommendations. Check out “Something Old, Something New” by Amy Clipston (LP FIC CLI), “The Sandcastle Hurricane” by Carolyn Brown (LP FIC BRO) and “The Blizzard Bride” by Susanne Dietze (LP FIC DIE). Stephanie K. also recommends a book we have in large print, “Stay” by Catherine Ryan Hyde (LP FIC HYD): “A reminder that our pasts do not define us and we are not alone in the world.”
For nonfiction reads, Dawn recommends “The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line” by Major General Mari K. Eder (940.53092 Ede), which is perfect reading for Women’s History Month and shares untold stories of the women who changed the course of Worl War II. And Steph’s recommendation this month is “The Adventurer’s Son” by Roman Dial (921, Dial, R.): “This is a saga about an adventurous man and how he instilled a love for nature in his son. After many expeditions, both personal and scientific, the son sets off on an after-college adventure into the rainforests of Central America. When what was supposed to be a four-day hike into Costa Rica turned into a two-year search, the author faces his biggest adventure in finding his son and bringing him home.”
All these staff picks are on display on the first floor of the library and are ready to be checked out with your library card anytime during our open hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
Megan Taylor is assistant manager in the reference and local history department at the Crawfordsville District Public Library.
