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The Good Stuff From the Staff of Driftwood Public Library May 2025 |
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Star wars. Episode IV, A new hope.Originally released simply as "Star Wars," this 1977 space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas, is the first part of the Star Wars original trilogy and the first Star Wars film ever released. The film is set 19 years after the formation of the Galactic Empire and the events of Revenge of the Sith; construction has finished on the Death Star, a weapon capable of destroying a planet. After Princess Leia Organa, a leader of the Rebel Alliance, receives the weapon's plans in the hope of finding a weakness, she is kidnapped and taken to the Death Star. Meanwhile, a young farmer named Luke Skywalker meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived in seclusion for years on the desert planet of Tatooine. When Luke's home is burned and his aunt and uncle killed, Obi-Wan begins Luke's Jedi training as they — along with Han Solo, Chewbacca, and robots C-3PO and R2-D2 attempt to rescue the princess from the Empire. |
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Young adult horror novels have changed a lot since I was a young adult. This one is outrageously violent and gory, but...I have to admit, it was pretty entertaining. The twist at the very end was particularly delightful. I look forward to seeing how the upcoming movie turns out. |
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A beautiful, gentle, very brief novel from an Irish writer I look forward to reading more from. Summary: It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household -- where everything is so well tended to -- and this summer must soon come to an end. |
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A pretty standard courtroom-based thriller, very clearly inspired by Reginald Rose’s teleplay/play 12 Angry Men (which itself has been adapted into at least a dozen subsequent films, TV movies, and episodes of television series, including versions in Korean, Russian, Chinese, & Hindi). This is a fun, quick read with a pretty preposterous plot and resolution. |
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A gorgeously poetic, episodic exploration of Madeleine’s dreams and the efforts of her family to protect her in her sleep. I read Bynum’s follow-up, The Mrs. Hemphill chronicles, years ago, and that was much more straightforward than this one. This reminded me a little of Jeanette Winterson’s Sexing the Cherry. I honestly hope that Bynum returns to this more free-flowing, poetic style in the future. |
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An excellent, lovely bildungsroman of two friends who share a passion for video games (a passion I do not share, but… I would happily play any of the games this pair created, particularly the game based on Emily Dickinson’s poetry, and the game inspired by Hokusai’s print “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa”). I was entranced and always eager to get back to where I’d left off. Remember: just because you’re not a gamer doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy novels about video games (Neal Stephenson’s Reamde is another excellent case-in-point). |
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Twenty thousand leagues under the sea by Jules VerneI’d never ready any Verne before, and decided that needed to be rectified. While this was a bit bloated (I’d much rather he’d described more of the marine life instead of just typing endless lists of fish), it’s still a quick read and fascinatingly prescient, as well as an interesting homage to Moby Dick, at least in part. I’m eager to try Journey to the Center of the Earth next.
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Goblin: a novel in six novellasby Josh MalermanI really enjoyed his book Bird Box a few years ago (not so much the Netflix movie adaptation), and have been meaning to try more by him. When this collection of connected novellas popped up on sale for $2 on Apple books, I couldn’t resist. Thoroughly enjoyable (see if you can spot the references to Stephen King, particularly to Salem’s Lot). |
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The lost story: a novel by Meg ShafferI picked this up on sale at Apple based on the recommendation from a cherished patron of Shaffer’s first book. This is a very sweet queer fairy tale based partially in the real world. Few books make me tear up, but the ending of this one sure did. It made me want to go back and re-read Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, and she reminded me a little of one of my co-worker’s favorite authors, Sarah Addison Allen. I am even more eager to read that first book of Shaffer’s, The Wishing Game (as soon as I make my way through the waiting list for the sole copy on Libby). Her third book, The Book Witch, is scheduled to be published next February (maybe I can get on the waiting list for that a little earlier).
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Never lieby Freida McFaddenI read this based on the recommendation of a friend’s sister, and at first I was afraid I’d made a big mistake. The plot reminded me of early Mary Higgins Clark (whose romantic thrillers I enjoyed thoroughly as a kid), but the heroine seemed just a little bit… well dumb, and I was sure I’d figured out what was going on a quarter into the book. I'm glad I kept going: the tale becomes gleefully deranged and campy. This would be a fun Summer book, especially since it’s set during a blizzard. |
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Conclave by Robert HarrisI was just curious how closely the recent film followed the book, and it was pretty spot-on. I’ve always enjoyed back-room stories about the Catholic Church (the election of a new pope is particularly fascinating) and other vaguely mysterious, secretive, shadowy institutions. This was fun, added some depth to the movie, and I look forward to trying a couple more books from Harris.
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Drawing on Twain's bountiful archives, including his fifty notebooks, thousands of letters, and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, Chernow masterfully captures a man whose career reflected the country's westward expansion, industrialization, and foreign wars. No other white author of his generation grappled so fully with the legacy of slavery after the Civil War or showed such keen interest in African American culture. Today, more than one hundred years after his death, Twain's writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted. |
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America, América: A new history of the New Worldby Greg GrandinGrandin reveals how North and South America emerged from a constant, turbulent engagement with each other. This work will fundamentally change the way we think of slavery and racism, the rise of universal humanism, and the role of social democracy in staving off extremism. At once comprehensive and accessible, America, America shows that centuries of bloodshed and diplomacy not only helped shape the political identities of the United States and Latin America but also the laws, institutions, and ideals that govern the modern world. |
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Martha Stewart's gardening handbook: the essential guide to designing, planting, and growing by Martha StewartFrom designing your garden to selecting the right varieties for your region, this manual has every detail covered. Whether you're a green thumb or a gardening novice, this gorgeous book, filled with practical tips, stunning images (many from Martha's personal gardens), and detailed explanations, will arm you with the knowledge to help your garden thrive. As Martha likes to say, gardening is a never-ending opportunity for growth.
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Fans of dungeon crawls and dice rolls and anyone wanting to know more about them, Side Quest is a stand-alone graphic novel with a meld of history, fantasy and memoir of roleplaying games (RPGs), from ancient games to those played today, with personal stories from creators throughout!
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Rap. Rap. Rap. The eerie sound was first heard in March of 1848 at the home of the Fox family in Hydesville, New York. The family's two daughters, Kate and Maggie, soon discovered that they could communicate with the spirit that was making these uncanny noises. This strange incident, and the ones that followed, generated a media frenzy beyond anything the Fox sisters could have imagined.
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Young Roberto loved baseball so much that he played with a tree branch and tin cans in Carolina, Puerto Rico, practicing until he was chosen to play for a Major League team. He showed off his talent as part of the Pittsburgh Pirates, became an All-Star, and won a World Series title but still faced discrimination from people who wouldn't accept a Black man who demanded to be called Roberto instead of Bob. Though he regularly had to remain segregated in Black hotels, he never stopped speaking Spanish and demanding recognition. |
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Dinosaursby Mary Pope Osborne & Jomike Tejido (illustrator)Graphic novel ; ages 6 and up.
Find out the answers to things like: What did dinosaurs look like? Where did they live? How did they survive? What's the difference between flesh-eaters and plant-eaters? And, of course, how did the dinosaurs die? There's so much to learn, so come along on this prehistoric adventure with Jack and Annie as they investigate and discover the world of dinosaurs.
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The bright years: a novelby Sarah DamoffOne family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they're unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga. Told from three intimate points of view, The Bright Years is a tender, true-to-life novel that explores the impact of each generation in a family torn apart by tragedy but, over time, restored by the power of grace and love. |
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My name is Emilia del Valle: a novel by Isabel AllendeIn San Francisco in 1866, an Irish nun, abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman. After convincing an editor at The Daily Examiner to hire her, she is paired with another talented reporter, Eric Whelan. As she proves herself an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile. She seizes it, as does Eric, and while there, she meets her estranged father. As she and Eric discover love, the war escalates and Emilia finds herself in extreme danger, fearing for her life and questioning her identity and her destiny.
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The man made of smoke: a novelby Alex NorthDan Garvie's life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child -- narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years? |
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Fever beach: a novel by Carl HiaasenFever Beach begins with Dale Figgo, a former Proud Boy known for his incompetence, picking up a hitchhiker. This encounter sets off a chain of events in a politically charged and environmentally threatened Florida. Figgo's life becomes further complicated by Viva Morales, a resourceful newcomer renting a room from him, and Twilly Spree, an environmentally conscious millionaire with anger issues. The narrative follows these characters and others, including Noel Kristianson and Jonus Onus, as their lives intertwine within a landscape of extremism, greed, and corruption.
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Vera Wong's guide to snooping (on a dead man)by Jesse Q SutantoEver since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly...bored. |
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The missing half by Ashley FlowersNicole Monroe, still haunted by her sister Kasey's unexplained disappearance seven years ago, teams up with Jenna Connor, whose sister vanished under similar circumstances, as they unravel buried secrets and risk everything to uncover the truth about their missing loved ones. |
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Who will rememberby C. S. HarrisAugust 1816. England is in the grip of what will become known as the Year Without a Summer. Amidst the turmoil, a dead man is found hanging upside down by one leg in an abandoned chapel, his hands tied behind his back. The pose eerily echoes the image depicted on a tarot card known as Le Pendu, the Hanged Man. The victim--Lord Preston Farnsworth, the younger brother of one of the Regent's boon companions -- was a passionate crusader against what he called the forces of darkness -- namely criminality, immorality, and sloth. |
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One death at a time by Abbi WaxmanWhen Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress and professional thorn in the side of authority, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it's anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and the cops say she did it. Mason is eager to clear Julia's name and help keep her sober, but all Julia wants is for Mason to leave her alone. Eventually, this unconventional team realizes their shared love of sarcasm and poor life choices are proving to be a powerful combination.
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Dalton Greaves, reluctant envoy for the dubious Unity confederation, finds himself stranded on a hostile planet after a clash with the rival Assembly, forcing him to survive dangerous aliens, political scheming, and the manipulative Neera while uncovering the true stakes of humanity's role in intergalactic conflict.
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Fantasy
Sybil Delling is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur. Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives. Rude, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil's visions. But when Sybil's fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking and only a heretic like Rodrick can defeat a god. |
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Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with willrequire bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends. Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diazhas the devils on his side.
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Science fiction
In a near-future Appalachia, Adrian and Trey, part of a government task force, must stop homegrown militia, grappling with the role of androids and their use in combat, in this story of loss, trauma and survival as the emergence of AI intersects with state violence and political extremism.
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by Ursula Le Guin (author) & Fred Fordham (illustrator, adapter)
Graphic novel edition ; ages 13 and up. Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and unleashed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance. |
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When her boyfriend excludes her from participating in a roleplaying game, high school senior Hollie joins an all-girls group where an in-game romance has the potential to be more than just pretend.
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Carina Marshall is looking to reinvent herself, and what better place to do it than Jamaica, where she conveniently has access to an au pair gig for the wealthy Hall family. Once there, Carina finds herself settling right into her new life. Yes, the family runs a tight ship, and yes, there is some tension between the Halls, but Carina is content hanging out with her new friends -- not least, the handsome and charming Aaron. But when inexplicable things start happening to her in the house, only getting worse each night, Carina realizes that someone, or something, is out to get her.
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Indigo finds a series of paintings made by her mother, once-famous artist Zoe Serra, that could be the solution to their financial insecurities; however, her mother refuses to revive the series, so Indigo secretly takes up the brush herself and falls into the paintings' dangerous world which blurs fantasy and reality. Can she keep her forgery secret -- and her mind lucid? By the time Indigo realizes the true nature of the monsters she's up against, the monsters might just win.
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Ages 4 and up.
Earl, a cheerful bird who loves playing saxophone, and Worm, a quiet bookworm, overcome their differences with lemonade, creativity, and sharing their stories, becoming the best of friends |
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It's Picture Day and the teacher says the class will take a perfect picture, but Henry, a sensitive child on the autism spectrum, does not feel perfect, in a story about embracing life's messier moments and one's uniqueness.
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Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. "Hello, friends! It's time for fun with the sun! Let's play!" He and his menagerie of forest pals -- including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky -- exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by.
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Celebrate the mess makers, scavengers of the dirt, and kids who march to their own drum, in a story that follows children as they explore their relationship with the natural world, from insects to dandelions to playing in the mud.
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In March 1776, the flames of war quickly turn all of Elsbeth Culpepper's hopes to ash. The British and Loyalists prepare to flee, plunging Boston into chaos. As Elsbeth searches for her missing father, she stumbles across a stranger dying of smallpox. An epidemic rages in tandem with the American Revolution. Suddenly, her dreams of the future are reduced to one simple wish: survival.
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Everly and her mother have always lived on the move and low on funds. Then Everly receives unexpected news of an incredible inheritance that could change their lives, but there's a catch: she'll inherit the family fortune only if she successfully locates a hidden island that's missing from every map. Clever clues embedded in journal entries, letters, and newspaper clippings fill in the backstory, making it particularly appealing to anyone with a penchant for puzzles |
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Squishedby Megan Wagner Lloyd & Michelle Mee Nutter (Illustrator)Graphic novel ; ages 8 and up.
Tired of feeling squished by her six siblings, 11-year-old aspiring artist Avery Lee hatches a plan to finally get her own room until everything around her gets complicated, especially when she finds out her family might move across the country.
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Makayla has ideas but can't form a story, Howard loves to draw but struggles with ideas, Lynda draws constantly but focuses on mistakes and Art loves trying something new -- and together they form The Cartoonists Club. Creative prompts, tips, instructions, and definitions feature throughout, delivered in a cheeky tone that seamlessly integrates heartfelt narrative with approachable how-to guides.
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Driftwood Public Library 801 SW Hwy 101, Second Floor Lincoln City, OR 97367 Phone: 541-996-2277 Email: librarian@lincolncity.org | | |
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Hours: Monday-Saturday: 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM Sunday: 1 PM - 5 PM |
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