Check It Out Category: Books

Horror For Those Who Don’t Scare Easily

Posted October 20, 2020 by Chelsea

Need something a little extra spooky this season to scare your socks off? You are not alone! Some of us need more truly nightmarish tales to really send us running and screaming off into the woods. With these titles you might run into cannibals, a serial killer, a clown, or other dark scenes…

Off Season by Jack Ketchum

Five friends from New York City escape to the quiet Maine beach town of Dead River for some rest and relaxation, only to be terrorized by a cannibalistic family with an unquenchable hunger for human flesh.

Ring by Koji Suzuki

Journalist Kazayuki Asakawa’s investigation into the sudden deaths of four teenagers from heart failure leads to an isolated cabin containing a videotape warning of death in seven days unless certain, now missing, instructions are not followed.

Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

Three elderly friends with the power feed off emotions generated during murders meet every year to discuss their game–an ongoing competition of mass murder and vampirism.

The Between by Tananarive Due

The effect on an a black family of racist death threats. They are sent to the mother, a judge in Miami, but it is the husband who is most affected. Already unstable because of a near-drowning in childhood, the threats provoke in him nightmares and anger which he takes out on his family.

The Handyman by Bentley Little

Daniel Martin has never forgotten his childhood encounters with Frank Watkins, the man who built his family a summer home out of cardboard and plywood and acted as if he didn’t know how to respond in a human manner. Young Daniel thought maybe the man was crazy, but eventually learned the terrifying truth about Frank. And as an adult, Daniel is about to discover there are more of THEM out there…

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

A family vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake faces a home invasion by four strangers carrying menacing but unidentifiable objects who claim to be acting to save the world.

The Troop by Nick Cutter

During a camping trip, on an uninhabited island off the coast of Prince Edward Island, Tim and his boy scout troop encounter an unexpected intruder whose bioengineered body spreads horror faster than fear.

New In Creepy Books

Posted October 17, 2020 by Chelsea

Just in time for pumpkin spice and spine-chilling season: seriously creepy and disturbing books! Heed the warnings why these titles might really creep you out, tempt you to read them, or spur an itching to run to the hills. If you end up doing the latter though, beware of what goes bump in the night….

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

An entity bent on revenge after a forbidden elk hunt

Wonderland by Zoje Stage

Moving to a rural farmhouse in far upstate New York, Orla, a retired dancer, must protect her family from an unknown entity that is calling to them from the land, in the earth, beneath the trees — and in their minds.

Another unknown entity wanting to trap this family in a rural farmhouse

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires book cover

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

A supernatural thriller set in South Carolina in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious stranger who turns out to be a real monster.

A new, disturbing kind of vampire…and community

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

Forced to drop out of school to help support her family, Lena takes a lucrative job as a secret laboratory subject before devastating side effects make her question how much she can sacrifice.

Terrifying human experimentation

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods.

Strange found journal, horrific creatures

National Reading Group Month

Posted October 12, 2020 by Chelsea

Rally round, readers and book group enthusiasts! October is National Reading Group Month and we have book discussion resources for you as well as your book club. Our resources include: Books to Go bags (Book Discussion Kits), Book Club How-To’s, Discussion Questions, and more!

Books-To-Go Bags

Each Books-To-Go kit may be checked out for six weeks and includes ten copies of a title, as well as a binder containing information about the book, biographical information on the author, and questions for discussion.

For more information, including how to reserve at kit for your group, you may visit our Books-To-Go webpage.

Book Discussion Questions

Staff Created Book Discussion Questions are available online. Can’t find the title your group is discussing? Email us at readers@mppl.org for book discussion questions and anything else book discussion-related or below are a few discussion guide websites.

Lit Lovers
An excellent hub for resources, including: reading guides, book club help, book reviews, and more.

Reading Group Guides
Hundreds of guides from many different publishers are available through the site-a great place to start.

Reading Group Choices
A comprehensive site containing a directory of hundreds of reading guides from a variety of publishers.

Completely Booked

Last, but not least, we have a upcoming library-led discussion on October 20th for readers in their 20s & 30s called Completely Booked!

Completely Booked book discussion group, Tuesday October 20th from 6 to 7 p.m. Calling all readers in your 20s and 30s, join us for a social book group where we will discuss a variety of genres Meet up with other book enthusiasts every third Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. Registering for the discussion is required to receive the login information.

Happy Reading!

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted September 27, 2020 by Chelsea

Hispanic Heritage Month September 15 through October 15

“Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the contributions Americans tracing their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South American and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean have made to American society and culture” – United States Census Bureau

Whether you are in the mood for quiet and thoughtful, tense and unnerving, heartfelt and sweet, or sincere and compelling, exciting reads by Hispanic American authors are yours for the taking. The contributions from writers of Hispanic descent are monumental, and one of the ways we are honoring Hispanic Heritage Month is to share suggestions that celebrate the authentic experience in great storytelling.

Check out a fresh list of rich reads for Hispanic Heritage Month 2020 or browse a sample below. For information on national events and much more, visit the Library of Congress website.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel follows the experiences of a courageous socialite in 1950s Mexico who is drawn into the treacherous secrets of an isolated mansion.

Gothic Fiction; Horror

You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria

Rendered the subject of tabloid gossip by a messy public breakup, soap star Jasmine takes a part in a new bilingual comedy at the side of a telenovela costar who would revitalize his career.

Romantic Comedy

A Long Petal Of The Sea by Isabel Allende

Sponsored by the poet Pablo Neruda to flee the violence of the Spanish Civil War, a pregnant widow and an army doctor unite in an arranged marriage, only to be swept up by the early days of World War II.

Historical Fiction

Once I Was You by Maria Hinojosa

Maria Hinojosa is an award-winning journalist who has collaborated with the most respected networks and is known for bringing humanity to her reporting. In this beautifully-rendered memoir, she relates the history of US immigration policy that has brought us to where we are today, as she shares her deeply personal story. Once I Was You is an urgent call to fellow Americans to open their eyes to the immigration crisis and understand that it affects us all.

Memoir; Global Affairs

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

Reeling from her beloved husband’s sudden death in the wake of her retirement, an immigrant writer is further derailed by the reappearance of her unstable sister and an entreaty for help by a pregnant undocumented teen.

Domestic Fiction

Everything Inside: Stories by Edwidge Danticat

A single-volume collection of short stories by the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author is set in such locales as Miami, Port-au-Prince and the Caribbean and poignantly explores the forces that unite and divide.

Authentic Short Stories

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

Enduring the rampant violence against women and the LGBTQ community in the decades of the Uruguayan dictatorship, five women heartbreakingly unite as lovers, friends and family.

Historical Fiction

Summer Reading: G. Spectacular Covers

Posted August 29, 2020 by Chelsea

spectacular reading journey - read a book with a spectacular cover (a summer reading challenge category)

As the Adult Summer Reading Challenge: The Spectacular Reading Race wraps up after August 31st, we thought we’d show off some of the spectacular covers chosen by participants for this reading challenge category. We hope you enjoyed some truly spectacular titles on this spectacular summer reading journey. Thanks to all for participating!