Batavia Public Library

Batavia Public Library
10 S. Batavia Ave. Batavia, IL 60510
(630) 879-1393

LIBRARY HOURS:
Mon.–Thurs:    9 am–9 pm
Fri.–Sat.:           9 am–5 pm
Sunday:             12   –  5 pm

Masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status

Menu

My Librarian Kristin

My Librarian
Email Kristin

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.

—Charles William Elliot

Growing up with a children’s librarian for a mother, I lived and breathed reading.  I could most often be found with my nose in a book.  I forced myself through math homework by promising myself I could read a page after I did 5 problems.  So it was natural that I became an English major and ended up in library school.  Now as a reference librarian, I get to read for my job!  I enjoy humorous novels, like those of Donna Andrews and Debbie Mason.  My taste in mysteries runs to cozies and classics.  Christian fiction is another genre I enjoy.  When I turn to nonfiction, it’s most often to something that touches on women’s contributions to history–I loved Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly!

Subscribe to Staff Picks eNewsletter
Request Customized Reading Suggestions

On Kristin's Bookshelf

Leadership in Turbulent Times
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Giver of Stars
by Jojo Moyes
Fellowship of the Ring: Part One of The Lord of the Rings
by J R R Tolkien
Lady Takes the Case
by Eliza Casey

Kristin's Top 10

Disgraced airship captain Madison Grimm and his crew of privateers and secret agents become humanity's lone defenders when an ancient enemy reawakens and threatens the world.
Mark Watney wakes up on the Martian surface to find his crewmates have left him for dead. Survival becomes a day-to-day struggle calling on all his ingenuity – and Mark has a lot!
All manner of mayhem breaks loose when Richard forgets to bring his girlfriend to his old college for the Samuel Taylor Coleridge Dinner. Quirky, self-important private investigator Dirk Gently offers his services.
In this comic cozy mystery, practical Meg Langslow juggles being maid of honor in three weddings while trying to keep her father out of trouble.
Charlie Harris, librarian, and his cat, Diesel, put aside their quiet orderly life to find who murdered a famous author before the wrong person is arrested.
Spinster Jane Marple is usually overlooked, but her sharp mind and knowledge of human nature – garnered over a lifetime living in a small English village – unmasks murderers every time.
As London is emerging from the shadow of World War II, writer Juliet Ashton discovers her next subject in a book club on Guernsey.
Sookie Poole’s formidable mother never seemed to approve of her. Now approaching 60, Sookie receives unexpected news that has her questioning both her family history and her mother's cold shoulder.
Pride and Prejudice transported to modern-day Cincinnati! Level-headed Liz and sweet-tempered Jane rush home from New York City after Mr Bennet has a heart attack and find the family’s finances are in terrible shape.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore pining for the sea when his friend Dr Stephen Maturin visits him with the news Stephen is heading for the Indian Ocean to undermine French control of the island of Mauritius.

Cozy Mysteries

Bookmobile-driving librarian Minnie Hamilton investigates after her new cat, Eddie, leads her to the body of a murdered local resident.
When she finds her mentor lying in a pool of blood, clutching a priceless and supposedly cursed book, Brooklyn is accused of murder by an annoyingly attractive British security officer.
Charlie Harris, librarian, and his cat Diesel put aside their quiet, orderly life to find who murdered a famous author before the wrong person is arrested.
When a dinner party at her family’s estate turns deadly, Lady Cecilia Bates and lady’s maid Jane join forces to save the family reputation with “help” from intuitive cat Jack.
Practical Meg juggles being maid of honor in three weddings while trying to keep her father out of trouble as he plays detective after a neighbor’s guest is found dead.
After her love life implodes, Lucy leaves Boston for a delightful new job at the Lighthouse Library on Bodie Island. Then a priceless first edition Jane Austen book disappears and the chair of the library board turns up murdered.
Down-on-his-luck reporter Jim Qwilleran finally lands a job—but it’s writing about art, which he knows little about. When the paper’s art critic is murdered, it’s up to Qwill and the critic’s cat Koko to solve the crime.
Lady Georgiana may be 34th in line for the throne, but she’s dead broke. When a rogue claiming her father lost the family estate to him conveniently turns up dead, naïve but smart Georgie must solve the case to save her brother.

Email Kristin