MY LIBRARIAN ASTRID – Batavia Public Library

My Librarian Astrid

If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book. — J.K. Rowling

Reading book review journals for my job ensures that my “To Read” list keeps getting longer every day. I read mostly fiction, though I’ll read nonfiction if it is something that interests me. I’m generally perceived to be the “quirky books” reader, and guilty as charged. I like weird and snarky, if it’s written well. Loved Rowling’s Casual Vacancy, Ramsland’s Doghead, and Good Omens by Gaiman/Pratchett. I will read anything contemporary or historical (literary or genre) if I like the writing and mood, especially books taking place in colder climates (quirky!) A vacation in either Bali or Finland? No contest, I’d head north every time. I also like mysteries (I’ve read everything by P.D. James and Louise Penny) and psychological suspense, with the odd thriller thrown in. I love the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly and I enjoy the occasional ghost/horror novel, but have my standards—no zombies, boring and devoid of personality! Dark and gloomy I like, a la Karen Maitland. Not much one for chick-lit or romance and I rarely read fantasy or science fiction (unless required to by work), but I never say never.

On Astrid's Bookshelf

Billy Summers by Stephen King

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk

Astrid's Top 10

A novel told through interconnected short stories, involving crotchety old Olive Kitteridge and assorted denizens of Crosby, Maine. The book won a Pulitzer Prize and the HBO adaptation won six Emmy awards.

Wacky story of three generations of a quirky, dysfunctional Scandinavian family. Rambunctious, absurd, and hilariously funny at times, it won the Danish Best Novel award. Requires an off-beat sense of humor.

Wildly imaginative, Pulitzer Prize-winning coming of age tale and family saga that spans continents and generations from Turkey to Detroit to San Francisco to Berlin during much of the 20th century.

The tale of miserable Quoyle, moving back to Newfoundland with his two daughters and newly discovered aunt, hoping for a better life. Great sense of place and of the majestic force of nature. Deserving Pulitzer Prize winner.

The four motorcyclists of the apocalypse are raring to get said apocalypse going, but years ago baby Satan was misplaced and the representatives of good and evil kind of like life on earth as is. What to do?

There's a vacancy on the Pagford Parish Council and war breaks out between the various factions. Harry Potter it most certainly is not; snarky, dark (some might say depressing), and tragicomically funny it most indubitably is.

Maud likes to have people think she is old, frail, and not too sharp anymore. But woe be to anyone who annoys her, they won’t last long…

This superbly executed fifth entry in the Cormoran Strike series finds our private investigators looking at a cold case that delivers plenty of red herrings. When all is revealed, you’ll never have seen it coming.

An older woman inserts herself into the investigation of deaths in her remote Polish village. She is absolutely sure she knows who is responsible, the animals. A great combination of mystery and literary fiction by a Nobel Prize winner.

Crimes relayed by the killer or someone who observed the crime, years after the deed. My favorite: Senior resident in a cheap retirement home blackmailing his stingy kids into putting him in a much more luxurious home. Priceless.

Favorite Books in Series

Department Q, the cold case unit, was established to find and solve cold cases, in this intricately plotted, action- packed, and sometimes violent Scandinavian crime series. Start with: The Keeper of Lost Causes

By her own account, Northumberland DI Vera is fat, ugly, and drinks too much. A loner by nature, complex and flawed, she is known by all for her abrasivde manner, but she gets results. Also a great TV show with Brenda Blethyn as Vera. Start with: The Crow Trap

Character-driven, lyrical and leisurely paced series featurning Chief Inspector Gamache and the denizens of the idyllic Three Pines, Canada, where life is usually sweet but can be a killer. Read volumes in order. Start with: Still Life

Featuring richly detailed writing and disturbing psychological suspense & horror aspects, PI Parker works on cases that often detour into the supernatural. Great supporting characters. Start with either: Every Dead Thing or Dark Hollow

Dark and bleak but compelling and intricately plotted series about Detective Aector McAvoy who just wants to do his job and then come home to his family - but life always intervenes. Start with: The Dark Winter

Jimmie Perez solves crimes in the Shetland Islands in this plot- driven, atmospheric and suspenseful series that features well- developed characters and a harsh but beautiful environment. Start with: Raven Black

J.K. Rowling writes this fast-paced and intelligent series about Cormoran Strike who lost a leg in Afghanistan and now runs a struggling detective agency with his assistant Robin. Start with: The Cuckoo's Calling

If you want to get a feeling for what it was like to live in the 1600s, this mystery series with the local hangman as the hero will make you thankful for indoor plumbing. Start with: The Hangman's Daughter

It's Iceland. It's cold. There are murders in the middle of nowhere...The author translated Agatha Christie into Icelandic. What more does one need to know? Start with: Snowblind

With #33 coming out in 2022, this excellent procedural, about Vermont cop Joe Gunther and his cohorts, never disappoints. Start with: Open Season

Part Irish, part Native American cop Cork O'Connor solves crimes in Northern Minnesota, where it gets really cold in the winter and can get uncomfortably hot in the summer. Start with: Iron Lake

A Little of This, a Little of That...

Making the original murder here just a spring-board for telling a story that involves a group of senior citizens as the main characters, Rendell once again proves that psychological fiction was her forte; she excelled at it.

An ill-fated 1937 scientific expedition to the Arctic is relayed in journal entries in this excellent and unusual ghost story. You can feel the cold and desolation of the place and you keep turning the pages to find out what lurks in the darkness.

A hushed, moving, occasionally melancholy novel about two long-time neighbors--a widow and a widower--who become close friends and astonish the residents of their small Western town. A short, understated novel that packs an emotional punch.

A group of misfits is trying to outrun the advance of the "pestilence" in 14th century England. Very interesting story line and good historical fiction about the conditions during that time period. Creepy and suspenseful.

Early 1800's Massachusetts is the setting, the town is in decline with its dwindling population of cast-offs and semi-feral dogs. Their stories are told in a melancholy tone and there are no happy endings in this profoundly moving book.

Jonas Ebeneser decides to end it all with a rope and a hook attached to his living room ceiling. After careful consideration, though, he decides that he does not want his daughter to be the one to find him. Instead, he resolves to go “on vacation,” check into a hotel in some war-torn land far away, and do the deed there. After his arrival at said hotel, however, things don’t go quite as planned.

Moving to 1960s Reykjavik to pursue her literary ambitions, an aspiring novelist moves in with her gay childhood friend only to be confronted by a male-dominated literary community that does not believe women belong in the art world. Quirky Icelandic fiction.

Lighter Fare (It's All Relative)

A small island government starts banning more and more letters from the alphabet that can be used for communication. 'Z' is the first to go, others follow.When 'U' goes, the "sun" becomes a "yellow sphere." Eventually, an underground resistance movement is formed. Very clever and inventive.

A warm, gently funny story about three African American women and the long-lasting friendship that carries them through tough challenges. Witty, a little bit quirky, and ultimately as comforting as the food at Earl's diner.

The follow-up to the first Supremes book finds our lively cast of characters dealing with passion, family, and forgiveness. A joy to read. Long may the Supremes reign.

A quirky contemporary romance for people who don't read romances. Warm and witty, with relatable characters, and the hero is a horror novelist. How can you go wrong?

Polly goes searching for her missing brother, enlists as a manly man, and is welcomed into the army, along with a vampire, an igor, a troll, and a werewolf, among others. This being a Terry Pratchett novel, hilarity ensues.

Subtitle: A Sheep Detective Story. That's because said sheep are the ones doing all the investigating here, after their shepherd is murdered. This quirky, orignal, witty story was an international bestseller.

An alien who takes on human form discovers there is much that puzzles and intrigues him about life on earth: clothing, dogs, peanut butter, dead poets and love. A witty and thought-provoking look at the best and worst of humanity.

Crime & Punishment (Sometimes)

FBI interrogation specialist Rob Barrett gets a confession out of local drug addict Kimmie Crepeaux in a double murder case. Kimmie helped conceal the murders and accuses local resident Mathias Burke of committing them. Problem is, the bodies aren't where she says they should be. So who's lying? An unpredictable murder mystery.

David Malone starts an affair with a local law student who ends up dead and David becomes a suspect in her murder. Meanwhile, the killer debates if and how he should kill David, who has started to investigate the killing on his own. Intricately plotted and fast-paced, this is a book of well-crafted suspense.

William Heming is a bland, forgettable real estate agent. Little do his clients know that he's saved copies of each and every one of their keys, and he enjoys paying them visits from time to time when they're not home. This enjoyably creepy novel of psychological suspense will leave you wondering, who has the keys to your house?

The author of the internationally best-selling Harry Hole series now gives us an electrifying stand-alone novel set amid Oslo's hierarchy of corruption, from which one very unusual young man is about to propel himself into a mission of brutal revenge.

2 brothers, who haven't seen each other in months, are brought together when their other brother’s desiccated corpse is discovered in the Australian outback, a few miles from his fully functioning truck. The hot and dry conditions can kill a grown man in no time at all. Was it an accident, murder, suicide? Suspicions start to take hold and long-buried family secrets are revealed.

Famous bestselling author Henry Hayden is happily married to Martha, who, unbeknownst to everybody, is the one actually penning all his books. Life is good, but then Henry’s mistress Betty, whom truth be told he is not particularly fond of, informs him that she is pregnant. Before long, Martha ends up dead and Henry has to try to keep the carefully created façade of his life from unraveling. Wicked!

Joe is a janitor for the police department by day (The Cleaner), and a serial killer (The Christchurch Carver) by night. Not for the squeamish, this is definitely to be enjoyed on audio (available from hoopla), the narration is great and I kept laughing. (I know, I know!)

A literary mystery that contains a story within a story. Red herrings galore and lots of suspects make this a great choice for Agatha Christie fans and anyone who enjoys a puzzle.

Betsy has been diagnosed with BPD and has run away from her abusive boyfriend. When she crashes her car on a country road, a local farmer comes to her rescue and she ends up staying with him to recover. Farmer Jude writes poetry, is mysterious and attentive, but also rumored to have killed his wife. Betsy is very happy with Jude but isn’t quite sure what to think...

Just Creepy to Horror in Varying Degrees

Unappreciated suburban housewives tend to their True Crime book club while battling a dark force in the shape of James Harris, a charming new neighbor. FYI: Don’t mess with the housewives!

In this creepy Native American horror story, 4 friends in their 30’s, who all grew up on the Blackfeet reservation, are being stalked by an entity. A decade ago they ignored the hunting boundaries of their community and hunted an elk herd on land reserved for Elders. Big mistake!

This is King’s follow-up to his 1977 book The Shining, which established him as the successful writer he has become. RVs and their traveling owners are involved, so are the measles (yup!), recovering alcoholics, and a cat, together with some remnants of the first book. I found this much more enjoyable than the first book.

A decaying ancestral home, three members of an upper-class family fallen on hard times, and a doctor whose mother once worked at the great manor. All must face a malevolent force in this haunted house tale of post Word War II Britain.

Four novellas: A cell phone communicating from beyond the grave, a series of apocalyptic incidents, a Faustian bargain, and Holly Gibney - of King’s Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider – facing off against evil in the form of a television newscaster. King's the master.

In this blend of history, horror, mystery, and magic, Irish healer Molly and her companions are being stalked by an evil force. First in a four-volume series.

Bill Hodges has retired from the police force and is contemplating suicide. Then he receives a note from the “Mercedes killer” who killed 8 people at a jobs fair and was never caught. Mr. Mercedes is trying to talk Hodges into killing himself, but Hodges comes out of his depression and decides to go after the Mercedes killer, who has plans for a much bigger massacre. Excellent on audio.

This supernatural thriller - Koontz's best book, in my opinion - features two genetically engineered creatures. Einstein, a golden retriever who can communicate with humans and The Other, a vicious monster, bred from a baboon.

Terry Maitland, local coach and all-around great guy, is arrested for the brutal murder of an 11-yr old boy. There were reliable witnesses who saw Maitland, and his DNA and fingerprints are all over the evidence. But then Maitland produces an iron-clad alibi that has witnesses and DNA evidence putting him in a different place when the murder was committed. Now what? Excellent on audio.

Nonfiction Titles I Enjoyed

Gorgeous pictures of ancient trees in various countries. Makes you feel like a young whipper- snapper, compared the the age of these majestic specimen.

Did you know that tea had far-reaching effects on British foreign policy and that beer was used thousands of years ago to pay wages?

Written by a confessed introvert who used to work in a decidedly extrovert environment, the reader gets a thoughtful examination of the often second class status that introverts hold in these not-so-quiet times of take-charge extroverts.

Just look at that face! The book is full of pictures of dogs that lack a pedigree, but these common canines have more personality and interesting looks than dogs with papers.

Not for the squeamish, this bestseller by a popular science author is an often laugh-out loud funny but respectful and serious book on the important part cadavers have played throughout human civilization. My favorite chapter was "Out of the fire, into the compost bin: and other new ways to end up."

Chef Marcus Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia, adopted by a family from Sweden, and later moved to America. Here is the story of his life as an aspiring chef, told with humor and heart.

Makes the case that everything in nature is interrelated and that “human tinkering” can have unintended consequences. The author believes that "we don't even need to do anything. Just the opposite, in fact. We need to leave things alone—on as large a scale as possible." An important book everyone should read.

In this very timely social history, the Pulitzer Prize winning author looks at how the U.S., Nazi Germany, and India implemented the caste system and the affects if has had on each country's society. Deserving of becoming a classic and recommended reading for all.

The host of The Daily Show shares his story of growing up in South Africa when it was against the law for a child of mixed race to exist. The book includes sections of laugh-out-loud descriptions of various aspects of Noah’s life. Also excellent as an author-narrated audiobook.

Throughout civilization, salt has been used as currency, influenced the establishment of trade routes, financed wars, and secured empires. And flavored our food, of course. Did you know that "It takes two years for the salt to reach the center of a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese"?

The history of one of the world’s major foods, and how its consumption changed and adapted over the millennia. Lots of recipes included (some that you definitely may NOT want to replicate). Did you know that milk as a beverage on its own was relatively uncommon? The Romans thought consumption of milk by the Northern people was “barbaric.”

Movies I've Watched More Than Once

It was a movie before it became a Broadway show. The coming-of-age story of 11-yr old Elliot, son of a blue collar miner, who wants to go to ballet class instead of boxing. Has become a classic.

The story of a violin and its various owners through the centuries. In contemporary Canada, Samuel L. Jackson is the violin expert who becomes obsessed with the violin and its lineage. I love that movie!

Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving, and Terrence Stamp portray 3 drag queens on their way to a cabaret engagement in the Australian outback. Their mode of transport is Priscilla, their battered, pink tour bus. Wickedly funny and ahead of its time. Watch for the little "present" from ABBA one of them wears around his neck.

Won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. Great story, great acting, and the music is pretty darn good, too.

The original one, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Austrian accent as Conan, and James Earl Jones as bad guy Thulsa Doom, who turns himself into...well, don't want to give too much away. Great fun!

Holly Hunter won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ada, a mute Scottish woman who enters into an arranged marriage and takes herself, her young daughter, and her piano off to New Zealand. I must have watched this movie a dozen times and it never gets old.

Roger Ebert said it best: "Here is a movie so absorbing, so atmospheric, so suspenseful and so dumb, that it proves my point: The subject matter doesn't matter in a movie nearly as much as mood, tone and style. Smilla's Sense of Snow is a superbly made film with one of the goofiest plots in many moons."

Scott comes from a family of ballroom dancers and wants to choreograph his own steps for the upcoming Ballroom Dancing Championship. But that's not 'strictly ballroom' and he gets into trouble with the head of the Australian Dancing Federation. A timeless fun Australian movie with great dance sequences.

Nominated for 5 Academy Awards, this magical film has Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche, and Alfred Molina as characters in a small French town where a mother and daughter open up a chocolate shop right before lent. An oscar-winning great score adds to the enjoyment.

Winner of multiple deserved Oscars, including Best Picture, this is a masterpiece of the craft of film making. The film describes 3 defining chapters in the life of Chiron, growing up in Miami under difficult circumstances. Moving and memorable.

A great movie based on a great Pulitzer Prize-winning book. My all-time favorite movie that I've watched more often than any other movie. Judi Dench disposing of her brother's ashes is one of the great scenes in moviedom. Great cinema.

Gary Oldman is the ultimate Dracula. You root for him because he is much more fun and much more interesting than boring Keanu Reeves, with his bad English accent. Loved it.

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