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The Good Stuff From the Staff of Driftwood Public Library April 2025 |
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Fool by Christopher MooreFool -- the bawdy and outrageous New York Times bestseller from the unstoppable Christopher Moore -- is a hilarious new take on William Shakespeare's King Lear...as seen through the eyes of the foolish liege's clownish jester, Pocket. A rousing tale of "gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity." |
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One Wrong Step is a new Young Adult action/adventure book about a teenager attempting to climb Mt. Everest with his father back at the brink of WWII. It's got thunderstorms, avalanches, Nazis, annoying climbers you wouldn't mind seeing fall into a crevasse, and always, always the Mountain (capitol M for Magnificent Monster. I love you Everest, don't ever change). I started to catalog it. Twenty-eight pages later, I CANNOT STOP READING IT. In all fairness, I love books about Mount Everest. The highest mountain in the world. A real beast. Many people have tried to climb it. Many people have died trying to climb it. Still, more people keep trying. What is it about this giant rock that makes people keep throwing themselves against it? What does that say about human nature, and nature itself? Urgh. I can't get enough. So, please, join me on Mount Everest (once again) for another trek up. Can't get enough Everest? Me either! |
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A fairly short day-in-the-life novel about seven astronauts orbiting 250 miles above Earth at 17,500 mph, was the winner of this year’s Booker Prize. The novel is gorgeously poetic and philosophical and should appeal to those who have ever seen and been inspired by the legendary 3-minute video excerpted from the Carl Sagan book Pale Blue Dot*. Harvey expands upon that text in a ravishing fictional ode to humanity and nature and the infinite ways in which they intertwine and relate to one another, and also a painful realization of what may be lost if we keep heading along the path we find ourselves on now. I’m really excited now to try some of her earlier novels. * the “Pale Blue Dot” video is taken from Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, a 2014 National Geographic series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. |
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On the calculation of volume (Book I)by Solvej Balle The first two books of Danish writer Solvej Balle’s time loop septology, On the Calculation of Volume, were released in English late last year, and I read the first book in a couple of days. The small book is crammed with ideas as the narrator wakes up to November 18th 365 days in a row. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like a story like this could be sustained for 7 volumes, but after reading the first I think Balle can absolutely pull it off (she’s currently finishing writing the 6th book; books 3 and 4 will be released in English in November). More than anything, the first book explores the ways in which couples grow apart (while most don’t do so in such an extraordinary fashion, the ideas explored reveal some universal truths). I’m eager for the 2nd book to become available on Libby so I can dive back into this repeating world.
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Sarah Perry’s most recent book, Enlightenment, was almost as gorgeous as I remember The Essex Serpent being: beautifully-realized characters, an engaging and provocative story, a thorough sense of place. Plus unrequited love, astronomy, a ghost, betrayals. It’s just… I can’t recommend it enough, particularly if you were a fan of Serpent. |
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Eye of the needleby Ken Follett My buddy and I decided we wanted to read a spy novel, as neither of us had ever read one, and we settled on Ken Follett’s Eye of the Needle, because we’d enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth so much. We both enjoyed it thoroughly. I have to admit I didn’t feel enthusiastic about a spy novel: I anticipated something hard-boiled, something aggressively masculine, something I’d grow bored with quickly, then start hating and not finish. I’m happy to say this was none of those things: the writing was almost lush, the characters were appealing (particularly the very strong lead female character), there was a sense of romance (both in the classic and modern senses of the word), the violence was shocking, there was a strong sense of humor. Set in England during World War II, the plot basically follows a top German spy and the British government’s attempts to stop him before he delivers vital information (that could turn the war in Germany’s favor) to the Reich. It’s exciting and compelling --one of those books you just can’t wait to get back to -- and I finished hungry to try more of Follett’s earlier spy fiction.
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The same buddy decided we needed to read something by Bret Easton Ellis because he’s so often mentioned together with Donna Tartt (they were classmates in school, and remain friends, and both of their careers at least started along similar paths). I had recently read that Italian director Luca Guadagnino is working on a new film adaptation of American Psycho, so chose that one, despite strong misgivings based on everything I’d read about the book over the years. I don’t regret reading it. While the book is shocking, violent, sickeningly gory, horrifyingly misogynistic (at least on the surface), and deeply disturbing, it’s also an impressive pitch-black dark satire of 80s-era Wall Street culture. If read with the right frame of mind, it’s a wickedly funny book indicting America’s obsession with material success and label-consciousness. And the protagonist is one of the most unreliable narrators I’ve ever encountered (by the end of the book I was questioning whether a single word he’d written had any basis in “reality”; I seriously suspect that he was not who he claimed to be, but most likely a member of one of the groups he claimed to abhor. Ultimately it might be a book about self-hatred brought on by American cultural ideals [think The Bluest Eye]).” But… yeah, it’s not an easy read and I could never recommend it for anyone who doesn’t have the strongest of stomachs (seriously: it’s disgusting). It’s debauched, but there is a point to the debauchery. |
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Whale fallby Elizabeth O'ConnorJust this weekend I read Whale Fall, a first novel by British writer Elizabeth O’Connor. Set on a tiny Welsh island in 1938, the narrator is an 18-year old whose family has lived on the island for generations. The islanders eke out a living by fishing and farming, and most of the island’s children dream of escaping to the mainland. The narrator’s mother has died, and so she is helping her father raise her younger sister. A dead whale washes up on the island at around the same time a pair of “ethnographers” visit from Oxford to “study” the island’s culture. The academics hire on our narrator as an assistant, and it slowly becomes clear that they have come to the island with certain preconceptions that they refuse to discard. The story relates the struggle of an incredibly intelligent young woman on the cusp of life, trying to decide whether to move away from the home she’s always known, and how to do it. The writing is simultaneously blunt and beautiful, and the narrator is a pleasure to spend time with. It’s another brief book, and a relatively quick read, but it promises great things to come from the author. |
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November (2017) November is the one movie that I’ve seen so far this year that I was just enthralled by. So of course it’s, you know… weird. A 2017 Estonian movie filmed in sumptuous black and white (yes, I’m a sucker for black and white), it’s a story of thwarted romance, folk legends, deals with the devil, inanimate objects animated and enslaved… medieval Estonians just trying to survive the Winter. It’s marketed as horror, and while there are horror elements, it transcends genre: there are also aspects of fantasy, romance, historical drama, absurdity, folk legend… it sounds like a mess, but somehow it all works. It’s one of those really rare movies that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
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Based on The Taming of the Shrew and updated to a 1990s high school setting, this movie was a big hit worldwide. A rom-com with the age old idea of enemies to lovers.
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Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell
Inspired by Much Ado About Nothing. From love to misunderstandings and disappointment to love again. In other words, a modern day rom-com.
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Based on The Tempest, the sci-fi elements of this film set the standard for many others, most notably Star Trek. |
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Based on Shakespeare’s Othello and set in the modern day London police force. Jealousy and self-doubt lead to tragedy. |
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Inspired by Twelfth Night, this rom-com/teen sports movie is set in a modern day high school. A story of fake identities, confusion, misunderstandings, and love. |
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2021: Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose One of the best known Shakespeare inspired stories, this musical is a version of Romeo & Juliet with gangs taking the place of feuding families. |
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1994: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons. 2019: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Beyoncé.
Based on Hamlet, this Disney classic combines comedy, tragedy, and music. It continues to enchant and thrill people of all ages.
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The title says it all. A fun animated version of Romeo & Juliet with garden gnomes taking the roles of the sweethearts and their families. |
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Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet. In this first-ever full-text film of William Shakespeare's work, the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer. Meanwhile, war is brewing. |
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With his wedding a week away, Claudio can't wait to marry the beautiful young Hero. To distract him, his best friend Don Pedro devises mischief: a romantic trap for the sharp-tongued Beatrice and the man she loves to hate, Benedick. Their amusement is almost spoiled by the jealous scheming of Don John, but love and laughter prevail when the local constable unwittingly exposes the plot -- and all the trouble proves to be much ado about nothing.
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Baz Luhrmann's unconventional adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic love story, with the setting moved from Renaissance-era Verona to modern-day southern California. |
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Poetry
Tracing her family's story from her grandfather's birth in Belarus and emigration to Tel Aviv -- Maira Kalman considers her unique family history, illuminating the complex relationship between recollection, regret, happiness, and heritage with 50 striking, full-color paintings. Through these narratives, Kalman uses her signature wit and tenderness to reveal how family history plays an influential role in all of our work, lives, and perspectives. |
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Zero: the biography of a dangerous ideaby Charles SeifeA "biography" of the most vexing and troublesome number in human history reveals how the Babylonians invented it, why the Greeks were afraid of it and the Hindus worshipped, the role it played in hunting down heretics in the Middle Ages, and its current place in the Y2K issue. |
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In common with: the fish wars, the Boldt Decision, and the fight to save salmon in the Pacific Northwest by Wilkerson, BillIn Common With is an insider's look at a number of successful negotiations between historic adversaries. They include a salmon treaty between the US and Canada, a long-term management agreement between the state and Tribes, and an accord between the state, Tribes, and forestland managers to protect salmon on privately owned forestlands. Diplomacy and partnership reveal the power of honoring one another's opinions, needs, and wants. This spirit of cooperation and dedication to common ground serves as a shining example for contemporary leaders in today's polarized political landscape.
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Ages 16 and up
When transitioning into adulthood in a world that often marginalizes autistic people, how do you begin to figure out and pursue your own goals and dreams, while also managing the new challenges of adulthood? Learn how to navigate these transitions and recognize that no matter where you are you have the right to be heard, to feel safe and comfortable, and to chart your own path to success. |
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Why do women live longer than men? Why do girls score better in every academic subject than boys until puberty, when suddenly their scores plummet? Is the female brain 'wired differently?' Explore these questions, scientific claims and other teen-related topics such as mental health and the biology behind it including insights on how adolescent brains are going through all kinds of changes, and shifting hormones.
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Ages 7 and up
Learn how seagrass flowers underwater, how the Venus flytrap counts to make sure it catches its prey, and why some tulips used to cost more than a house! This fascinating book explores the vast plant kingdom and explains how plants work, as well as the weird and wonderful relationships they have with animals. |
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Ages 8 and up
With savvy and wit, a financial expert demystifies money for kids with a look at some wild and weird facts about what makes the world go round. Readers learn about bartering, profit and loss, the origins of credit, ATMs, and other fun facts about money. |
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Strangers in timeby David BaldacciFourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he's old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver,and solace at his book shop. As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive. |
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Broken country: a novel by Clare Leslie HallWhen her brother-in-law's actions reconnect her with a former love, Gabriel, whose son eerily resembles her deceased child, Beth's carefully constructed life unravels as past secrets and jealousies resurface, leading to deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become. |
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Real Americans: a novelby Rachel KhongIn this intricately woven tapestry of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance, 15-year-old Nick Chen, who can't shake the feeling his mother is hiding something, sets out to find his biological father — journey that raises more questions than provides answers. What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures? |
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The summer guests by Tess GerritsenIn Purity, Maine, former spy Maggie Bird and her Martini Club of ex-CIA operatives are drawn into the search for a missing teen with ties to their past, as they confront an innocent friend's wrongful suspicion, a buried corpse, and dark secrets that threaten to unravel everything they've worked to protect. |
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The big fixby Holly JamesWhen bookish Penny Collins reluctantly lets her sister drag her to an estate sale at a neighbor's house, she ends up in a public squabble over candlesticks with the deceased owner's nephew, Anthony--right before a dead body tumbles out of a closet. Penny is suddenly on the run with a man she barely knows, scaling walls, evading bullets, and accidentally stabbing henchmen. It seems the wrong people have got it in their heads that she's Anthony's girlfriend and, by association, in possession of something they desperately need. |
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The museum detective by Maha Khan PhillipsMuseum curator, Dr. Gul Delani, is summoned to a narcotics investigation in a remote desert region in western Pakistan. Amid a drug bust gone wrong, there is a life-size mummy, seemingly authentic, its sarcophagus decorated with symbols from Persepolis. Aided by her team of unlikely misfits, Gul will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it, even as her quest for the truth puts her in the throes of a dangerous conspiracy and threatens to collide with her ongoing search for her missing niece. |
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Fantasy
Tam hasn't eaten anyone in years. She is now Mama's soft-spoken, vegan daughter -- everything dangerous about her is cut out. But when Tam's estranged Aunt Tigress is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits an undead fox in a shoebox, and an ensemble of old enemies. The demons, the ghosts, the gods running coffee shops by the river? Fine. The tentacled thing stalking Tam across the city? Absolutely not.
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Soma by Fernando LlorSciencey fiction graphic novel
Maya is a comic book artist in the middle of a creative crisis. In between trying to fight her writer's block and doling out advice to her best friend on how to finally land a date, Maya receives an unexpected visitor: Soma, an extraterrestrial alien who crashlands in Maya's living room. Soma delivers a message to Maya, warning her that an alien invasion from his own kind is fast approaching, and he needs her help to stop it!
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Science fiction
Near the top most deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn't hers -- just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship's detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies, but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.
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Thirteen strangers are mysteriously summoned to a tower that appears over England, facing a countdown to a potentially catastrophic fate; as a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity lead the group in understanding their purpose, they must race through nightmarish challenges to reach the top.
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Ages 14 and up
After taking time off from Yates Academy to grieve his best friend Ari's death, Milo returns to school, only to find himself drawn into a dangerous web of secrets everyone wants buried involving the school's most popular student, Liam, who is accused of murdering Ari. |
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Sunrise on the reaping (A Hunger Games novel)by Suzanne CollinsAges 13 and up As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight.
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by Briana Loewinsohn Graphic novel ; Ages 14 and up
The book begins in 1991 with Briana in middle school. Classes are a bummer, but lunches are worse; either spent alone, or being teased. Briana is not doing well in her academics and her parents (divorced) are a mess, and largely absent. By high school, she makes friends, and those connections are her only source of happiness but life at home with each parent remains fraught forcing Briana to grapple with her sense of self-worth, her longing for belonging, and her desire for authenticity in her relationships. |
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Graphic novel, Ages 14 and up Once dubbed the Queen of Balance as her school's top rock climber, Kirby Tan suffers an injury that sidelines her for the rest of the season. Now she's forced to join the newspaper club and is recruited by crystal-wearing, tarot-reading Bex Santos for her astrology-based love advice column. As Kirby reluctantly agrees to orchestrate "matches made in heaven" with Bex, she begins to wonder if their own stars could be aligned. But loving who she wants isn't so easy when her family and church community are on the line. Can Kirby pull off her greatest balancing act yet? |
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Echoby Adam RexAges 4 and up
Everyone always agrees with Junior, including the mysterious voice from across the valley. 'Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!' he shouts. 'Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!' the echo shouts back. Until one day, a new girl moves in next door. Junior must decide if a new friend is worth admitting he was wrong.
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Papilio by Ben ClantonAges 3 and up
Papilio Polyxenes, a Black Swallowtail Butterfly, is ready to join the work, but growing up is a complicated work in progress and she encounters hiccups along the way in a story told in three parts by three authors, Papilio transforms from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.
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Ages 4 and up
Every Monday Mabel takes her breakfast outside on her favorite day of the week and waits for... the garbage truck. |
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Dorani's mom taught her to be bold, but after her mom dies, Dori loses her voice and moves to Wyoming where she befriends a horse, Sunshine, and is reminded that the best parts of her mother live on through her.
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Josh Willet is a techie, a serious gamer. Which is why Josh and his friends can't stand Mr. N's class; it's a strict no-tech zone. Mr. N makes them write everything out by hand and he's obsessed with some hundred-year-old grammar book. Then Josh discovers a secret; turns out Mr. N's been keeping a lot more than technology from his students! Together with his best friend Vanessa, and using all their computer skills, they seek the mystery of Mr. N's past. And maybe get some screentime back, too?
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Casey wants nothing more than to be a detective. No mystery is too big or small for her to tackle! it's Casey's eleventh birthday, and she's just been given a magnifying glass and a pair of binoculars--perfect gifts for today's mystery: Mr. Muffin, a cat Casey's parents insist is too big to be a hungry stray. Will Casey manage to convince them he belongs with her? More importantly, could that new girl in school be the perfect contender for a new best friend?
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Speechlessby Aron Nels SteinkeGraphic novel ; Ages 8 and up
Mira, who struggles to speak in class even though she can speak at home without a problem. She didn't used to have anxiety speaking and now, her former best friend Chloe is her worst enemy. When Chloe's mom has to travel for a family emergency, Mira is horrified to learn that her family has volunteered to let Chloe stay with them. When it feels like everything is going wrong, will Mira ever find her voice?
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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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