The Good Stuff
From the Staff of Driftwood Public Library
 
July 2025
  
Staff Picks
Kirsten Recommends
The Joy of a Long Series
 
Often, the idea of signing on to reading a long series can be a bit daunting, especially if it’s unfinished. “What if the author dies before they finish it?” you might ask. Or, “What if the quality of the books goes down, but I feel obligated to keep reading because of the amount of time I’ve already spent on the series?”
 
But sometimes, if you read the first book from a series and love it, there is something so glorious about knowing that there are many, many more books ahead of you! That was my experience in discovering Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. The first volume I read was so delightful and such a quick read that I was overjoyed to realize that he’s been writing the series for decades and I had many more stories to discover. Another great thing about this particular series is that you don’t necessarily need to read it in order; most of the books do a pretty good job of standing alone, and since the chronology of the series jumps around a bit, you don’t need to strictly adhere to the publication order.
 
The basic idea of the series is this: Vlad Taltos is an assassin and minor crime boss in the fantasy world of Dragaera. In this world, there are Dragaerans and there are Easterners. The Dragaerans might be considered akin to something like elves, while Easterners are humans. Vlad is a human, living and moving in a mostly Dragaeran world. Each book in the series tells of one of Vlad’s adventures. He is a bit of a likeable anti-hero; he is mainly (especially at first) concerned about his own skin and his livelihood, but he keeps ending up in major events in the world around him, and then ends up being a hero in spite of himself. While the novels are fantasy, the plots are straight out of hardboiled detective novels and heist films. Each individual novel is a rewarding story in its own right, while also building on what we know of Dragaera and how it came to be.
 
Here are a few recommendations to get you started!
 

The book of Jhereg: contains the complete text of Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla
by Steven Brust

Quick with both sword and wit, Vlad Taltos makes his way through the world of Dragaera as an assassin, aided by a small talent for magic and a lizard-like jhereg companion. Collecting the first three novels in Brust's Vlad Taltos series (Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla), this volume serves as a good introduction to the adventures of the author's archly sophisticated, wryly humorous hero.
The book of Taltos
by Steven Brust

This is a compendium featuring "Taltos" and "Phoenix" -- two more novels in Brust's classic series featuring the intrepid assassin Vlad Taltos and his dragon companion, in which Vlad pursues a thieving Dragaeran employee to the lair of Sethra Lavode, a dangerous vampire, and Phoenix, in which he must repay a debt to the Demon-Goddess with his professional services as an assassin.


The book of Athyra: contains the complete text of Athyra and Orca
by Steven Brust

A two-in-one omnibus volume continues the fantasy adventures of sorcerer-assassin Vlad Taltos and his winged, telepathic jhereg companions, in which  Vlad decides to retire but finds that the House of Jhereg is not ready to let him go, and Vlad's repayment of a debt to a boy who saved his life uncovers a financial scandal that threatens repercussions throughout the empire.
The book of Dzur
by Steven Brust

Vlad is back in the great city of Adrilankha, with a price on his head. He decides to hide out among his relatives in faraway Fenario, in a paper-making town called Burz. At first it's not such a bad place, though the mill reeks to high heaven. But the longer he stays there, the stranger it becomes. Then a grisly murder takes place. And in its wake, far from Dragaera, without his usual organization working for him, Vlad has to do his sleuthing amidst an alien people...his own.


Iorich
by Steven Brust

House Jhereg, Dragaera's organized crime syndicate, is still hunting Vlad Taltos. There's a big price on his head in Draegara City. Then he hears disturbing news. Aliera -- longtime friend, sometime ally -- has been arrested by the Empire on a charge of practicing elder sorcery, a capital crime, and there appears to be no one that can help her except Vlad, despite the fact that he's being sought by the most remorseless killers in the world.
Tiassa
by Steven Brust

Years after his successes as an assassin and a mobster enabled his influential acceptance by the Dragonlords, Empire and Jenoine, Vlad Taltos endeavors to acquire a god-made artifact, a silver tiassa. To Devera the Wanderer, it's a pretty toy to play with. To Vlad, it's a handy prop for a con he's running. To the Empire, it's a tool to be used against the Jenoine. And to the Jhereg, it's a trap to kill Vlad. As it happens, however, the silver tiassa has it's own agenda.

Matthew Recommends
4th of July
by James Patterson

In a deadly late-night showdown, San Francisco police lieutenant Lindsay Boxer fires her weapon and sets off a dramatic chain of events that leaves a police force disgraced, a family destroyed, and Lindsay herself at the mercy of twelve jurors. During a break in the trial, she retreats to a picturesque town that is reeling from a string of grisly murders -- crimes that bear a link to an unsolved case from her rookie years. As summer comes into full swing, Lindsay battles for her life on two fronts: before a judge and jury as her trial comes to a climax, and facing unknown adversaries who will do anything to keep her from the truth about the killings. It all comes to a head before the big annual 4th of July celebration on the waterfront at Half Moon Bay.

Lisa Recommends
An Ode to Libby
It took me a long time to convert to the idea of books in electronic format. I love the look, feel, sound, and yes, even the smell of paper pages. However...as a person with a diagnosed book addition, I've come to realize that books in electronic format are (high drama alert!!)...a life-changing experience. I am now never without a book. I currently have all three of Graeme Simsion's "Rosie" books downloaded on my phone via the Libby app (available as a free download to every Driftwood library card holder) and I can walk for miles while listening to these fun rom-coms while feeling no pain. No kidding, my brain is so distracted by the stories I feel no (heel, leg, or emotional) pain. When I travel, I have a half dozen books downloaded on my phone and tablet, ready to go for tedious drives, layovers, bus rides.  All I needed was a device (phone, tablet or computer), the free Libby app, and my library card and password. Now I can have books available anytime, anywhere. 
Learn more about Libby
 
And check out these fun summer rom-coms, available at the library or via Libby:
 
The Rosie project
by Graeme C. Simsion
 
Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who's decided it's time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner. Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate but is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie ― and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don't find love, it finds you.


 
The Rosie effect
by Graeme C. Simsion

Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he's left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie. 
The Rosie result
by Graeme C Simsion

Don and Rosie are back in Australia after a decade in New York. Their son, Hudson, is struggling at school: he's socially awkward and not fitting in. Don's spent a lifetime trying to fit in, so who better to teach Hudson the skills he needs? The Hudson Project will require the help of friends old and new and force Don to and raise some significant questions about his own identity. Meanwhile, there are multiple distractions to deal with: the Genetics Lecture Outrage, Rosie's troubles at work, estrangement from his best friend Gene ... And opening a cocktail bar.

Hobbes Recommends
Jaws Turns 50!
The first true Summer blockbuster was released in theaters 50 years ago on June 20, 1975. Jaws was Steven Spielberg’s first major theatrical release (he had previously released The Sugarland Express, but it enjoyed only a fraction of the success of Jaws), and it was a runaway smash hit almost instantaneously. A lot of studios, many of them financed by Italian producers, attempted to replicate the unprecedented success of Jaws, with little success and extremely mixed (though really just varying degrees of awful) results. I recently watched three of my favorites, two of which are admittedly pretty dumb, but really a pleasure to watch despite their inherent badness. The third was written with a sense of humor (albeit a pretty gruesome and dark one), and was one of the more successful “aquatic menace” clones.
 
In 1976, Italian producer Dino De Laurentis had financed a successful (though not necessarily beloved) remake of King Kong, starring Jeff Goldblum, Jessica Lange, and Charles Grodin. The next year he produced one of the earliest Jaws imitators, Orca: The Killer Whale. It was not as successful, despite a pretty impressive cast: Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Bo Derek, and Keenan Winn. Still, there’s something wonderfully deranged about the whole mess, as if it was aspiring to something operatic, and it’s an entertaining watch, though ultimately just a pale reflection of Spielberg’s masterpiece.
 
A much, much sillier attempt came out the same year, but this time with a killer octopus: Tentacles, starring John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins, and Henry Fonda (who I’m not entirely convinced had been shown the entire script: he seems to be acting in another movie). It’s hard to believe that this attempt was entirely serious, because it really is just that silly. Winters is just a cartoon character, and the premise is completely preposterous, though the characters seem frightened enough… of a killer octopus (and not even one of the venomous species).
 
A year later, in 1978, Joe Dante released his first big success Piranha. While not as blatantly a knockoff of Jaws, it’s still a story about killer fish, so I’m allowing it. It’s pretty disgusting, and at times really quite (intentionally) funny. It doesn’t boast a very recognizable cast, though Keenan Wynn is along for the ride again, and just as in Orca, meets his end pretty early on in the proceedings. Six years later Dante would give us his horror/comedy masterpiece: Gremlins.
 
There are many, many others, most lost to time (and rightfully so) and not really worth bothering with, but killer animal movies will always be fun, and if you ask Lisa, I’m sure she’ll recommend some of her favorites.
 

Jaws (June 20, 1975)

In the ocean surrounding Amity, a small tourist resort off the coast of New England, a 25-foot man-eating predator stalks any human foolish enough to get in the water. At first, the only believer in the shark's existence is the town's chief of police, Martin Brody. Brody enlists the help of scientist Matt Hooper and Quint, a crusty old seaman whose life is devoted to hunting sharks. The threesome sets off in Quint's boat to kill the leviathan. Available in DVD and Blu-ray.
Sugarland express (1974)

The Sugarland Express is based on the true story of Lou Jean Poplin, who kidnapped a Texas State Trooper and led the police on a wild chase across the state in an effort to save her son from adoption. This complex role was enough to lure superstar Goldie Hawn back to the screen after a one-year hiatus following her Oscar-winning performance in Cactus Flower. It also marks the feature film debut of a young, now famous, director, Steven Spielberg.


King Kong (1976)

The Big Apple is again besieged by the monstrous King Kong. Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange star in this ambitious remake of the 1933 original, which adds a great deal of camp and good fun to the story, Again, the gargantuan ape battles attacking aircraft high above the streets of New York, this time plunging from the top of the World Trade Center to his death amidst thousands of horrified onlookers.
Orca: The killer whale (1977)

It's the epic tale of one powerful being against another; a strong, determined fisherman (Richard Harris) versus an equally determined whale. When the giant whale's pregnant mate is maimed and killed by Harris, in a variation on Moby Dick, the whale seeks revenge on the man. Orca smashes boats, collapses buildings, causes enormous destruction by fire. and eventually lures his human adversaries to a final confrontation on the marine creature's own arctic turf.


Tentacles (1977)
Blu-ray
 
It's angry. It's hungry. It's extremely well-armed -- and it's descending on a small seaside town to sample the local cuisine! When a giant, bloodthirsty octopus emerges from the deep, John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins and Henry Fonda do all they can to keep the marine menace from turning their sleepy village into a one-stop snack-shop.
 
Piranha (1978)
On order

After prehistoric piranha are released into a lake as a result of an earthquake, the local sheriff must find a way to stop the fish from destroying everyone in town during Spring Break parties


Gremlins (1984)

"Don't expose him to bright light. Don't ever get him wet. And don't ever, ever feed him after midnight." This sage advice is ignored midway through Gremlins, with devastating results.
 
When Billy's Christmas present of a Mowgli named Gizmo accidentally gets wet and his babies eat after midnight, devilish gremlins take over the town
New Books
ADULT Non-Fiction

 
Burning down the house: Talking Heads and the New York scene that transformed rock
by Jonathan Gould

On the 50th anniversary of Talking Heads, an acclaimed music biographer presents the story of the band, capturing the gritty energy of 1970s New York City and showing how a group of art students brought fringe culture to rock's mainstream, forever changing the look and sound of popular music. 
2024: how Trump retook the White House and the democrats lost America
by Josh Dawsey

Nearly four years after Trump's first turbulent presidency concluded in a violent attempt to overturn the election, he made a political comeback on a scale that stunned the nation. Award-winning reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf bring us the definitive and explosive account of how Trump and his advisers overcame a dozen primary challengers, four indictments, two assassination attempts to defeat the Democrats, and pave the way for a second term


A different kind of power: a memoir
by Jacinda Ardern

What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. The remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made political history and changed our assumptions of what a global leader can be,  including for the first time the full details of her decision to step down during her sixth year as Prime Minister.
The how not to age cookbook
by Michael Greger
 
In this companion to Dr. Greger's book, How not to age, decades of scientific research are put to use in over a hundred recipes that will leave readers feeling nourished for years to come. Each of these simple, nutrition-packed dishes uses ingredients that have been proven to promote a healthy lifespan and inspiration from the places around the world where people traditionally live the longest.

YOUNG ADULT and JUNIOR Non-Fiction

Drawing Is ...  :Your guide to scribbled adventures
by Elizabeth Haidle
Ages 8 and up

An expansive approach to drawing that covers much more than the mechanics of putting pencil to paper. Calling the act "two-dimensional traveling," exploratory text strikes an intimate chord that should immediately put any audience at ease, extending into ideas about consciousness and self-discovery.
Athlete is agender: true stories of LGBTQ+ people in sports
by Katherine Locke
Ages 9 and up
 
This anthology is part memoir, part manifesto. Twenty individuals representing an array of gender identities and varying degrees of athletic prowess share how sports have affected their lives. Selections range from profiles to free verse poems to coming-of-age testimonials, with many directly addressing the reader. The overall tone is inclusive and reassuring, and a common theme is how being on teams created a sense of belonging.


Family style: memories of an American from Vietnam
by Thien Pham
Graphic novel ; Ages 13 and up

Told through the lens of meaningful food and meals, this graphic novel chronicles the author's childhood immigration to America, where food takes on new meaning as he and his family search for belonging, for happiness and for the American dream.
 
Flowers in the gutter: the true story of the Edelweiss Pirates, teenagers who resisted the Nazis
by K. R. Gaddy
Ages 12 and up

A photo-illustrated account documents the story of the Edelweiss Pirates, a group of working-class teens who survived the Third Reich in their Cologne neighborhoods while resisting the Hitler Youth, helping POWs and sabotaging Nazi factories.

ADULT Fiction

The sisters: a novel
by Jonas Hassen Khemiri

The novel opens on New Year's Eve 1999. Three sisters are at a party. This night sets the scene for the rest of this sprawling epic, as eldest sister Ina, the most staid of the three, meets the man she'll fall in love with; middle sister Evelyn, whose charisma draws everyone into her circle, flits from space to space; and Anastasia, the youngest and the "fun sister," demonstrates a cavalier disregard for everyone around her.
Crown
by Evanthia Bromiley

In the quiet trailer park, Jude and her twins are in jeopardy, the eviction notice slapped on their front door like a white shout. When Jude's contractions flare just as their power is shut off, she rushes to the hospital instructing Evan and Virginia to hide in their car. Jude labors through the night in a crowded emergency room while the twins strike out along a dangerous riverbank in search of a new home for their growing family. As night hurtles toward morning lockout, both mother and children reckon with what it means to live and dream in a modern America insistent on slamming doors.


A Thousand Natural Shocks
by Omar Hussain
 
Dash, a reporter in Monterey, California, is desperate to outrun his past. During the day, he investigates the reemergence of a long-dormant serial killer. At night, he has become entangled with a criminal cult that promises a pill to erase his traumatic memory. But as Dash begins to lose his memories he discovers a dark secret about the cult, one that would horrify its members. And soon he finds himself in a race against time to evade the cult, unveil the killer, and reconcile his past before his own memories fade away.
Mystery
 
The woman in suite 11
by Ruth Ware

Journalist Lo Blacklock travels to a luxury Swiss hotel hoping to revive her career, but when a mysterious woman draws her into a dangerous chase across Europe, she must weigh ambition against survival in a world of wealth and shifting alliances.


My father always finds corpses
by Lee Hollis
 
Jarrod lives in Palm Springs where he writes and directs local theatre, while quietly grieving the loss of his partner, police detective Charlie. Jarrod hasn't disclosed much about his sleuthing past to his daughter, Liv, who just earned a degree in criminal justice. Liv, meanwhile, has put her career on hold in order to help her filmmaker boyfriend, Zel, who has just been bludgeoned to death. Jarrod rushes to Liv's aid, surprising his daughter with his ease around a crime scene.
Not they who soar
by Amanda Flower

Katharine Wright, sister of the flying Wright Brothers, attends the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis with best friend Margaret Goodwin Meacham and stumbles upon a woman in distress. It's obvious that she has been attacked and before help can arrive, the woman dies. Just before her last breath, she utters the words "aeronautics competition." Katharine convinces Margaret to join her in an investigation -- and it's soon clear that the race to be declared the first in flight might just be the deadliest competition of them all.


Three bags full
by Leonie Swann

Something is not right with George the shepherd. His sheep have gathered around him on a hill outside the cozy Irish village of Glennkill to assess the situation. George now lies pinned to the ground with a spade. His flock, set out to find George's killer, led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, the sheep engage in nightlong discussions about the crime, and their speculations vary wildly. 
Fantasy / Sci-Fi
 
The starving saints: a novel
by Caitlin Starling
Fantasy/Horror

Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. Then the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints arrive, offering succor in return for adoration. Soon, the entire castle is under their sway, partaking in feasts of terrible origin. As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness, three women see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle's new masters, or each other.


Harmattan season: a novel
by Tochi Onyebuchi
Fantasy noir
 
Private eye Boubacar doesn't need much, least of all trouble -- but trouble always seems to find him. Work has dried up, and he'd rather be left alone to deal with his bills as the Harmattan rolls in to coat the city in dust. When a bleeding woman stumbles onto his doorway, only to vanish just as quickly, Bouba reluctantly finds himself enmeshed in the secrets of a city boiling on the brink of violence. 
When we were real: a novel
by Daryl Gregory
Science fiction

A madcap adventure following two friends on a cross-country bus tour through the mind-boggling glitches in their simulated world as they grapple with love, family, secrets, and the very nature of reality in a simulation. Each stop on this trip is stranger than the last -- a Tunnel outside of time, a zero gravity Geyser, with everyone barreling toward the tour's iconic final stop, Ghost City, where unbeknownst to our travelers the answer to who is running the simulation may await. 

YOUNG ADULT Fiction 

Two truths and a Lionel
by Brian Wasson

As the grandson of a late, great action star, Lionel Honeycutt III knows all about heroics. Not that any of Grandpa's genes were passed down to him; Lionel is solidly a Background Character in the social hierarchy of his high school. But when a fire at a pet store has Lionel cast as the brave teen who helped everyone escape, Lionel can finally live up to the family name. Honestly, though...Lionel isn't sure he did any saving, despite smoky security...
 
Never thought I'd end up here
by Ann Liang

After making a cultural blunder at her cousin's wedding, seventeen-year-old Leah travels to China to connect with her roots and winds up falling for a former classmate on the trip, who she previously blamed for ruining her life.


Dan in Green Gables: a modern reimagining of Anne of Green Gables
by Rey Terciero
Graphic novel
 
Despite a life on the road with his free-spirited mother, fifteen-year-old Dan Stewart-Alvarez didn't think it'd be like this: with his mother abandoning him in rural Tennessee with two strangers -- his gentle grandmother and conservative, rough-around-the-edges grandfather. He is forced to adjust to working the farm, entering high school, and hardest yet--reckoning with his queerness in a severe Southern Baptist community. Dan grows closer to his mawmaw, befriends fellow outsiders at school, and tries to make a new life for himself in Green Gables.
Brownstone
by Samuel Teer
Graphic novel

Left alone with her Guatemalan father for the summer while her mom goes on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, Almudena struggles to adjust to this new reality by getting to know the residents of his Latin American neighborhood while helping his dad fix his broken-down brownstone — and their relationship.

CHILDREN'S Library
Picture Books & Easy Readers

The bear out there
by Jess Hannigan
Ages 4 and up
 
The signs are clear--there's a BEAR OUT THERE! You're lucky to be safe in this cabin in the woods, with a host who is levelheaded, trustworthy, and smart about bear safety. There's certainly no need to worry about any dark shadows or sneaky schemes in this book...RIGHT?
Who meows?: a book of animal sounds
by Robin Page
Ages 4 and up

A full-color portrait of an animal's face fills the left-hand page, while a handful of words appear on the right. An unseen narrator asks the titular question. A page turn reveals the answer. The final question -- "Who giggles?" -- is accompanied by an image of a tan-skinned, dark-haired child: "You giggle! And giggle and giggle and giggle.


The great dinosaur sleepover
by Linda Bailey
Ages 3 and up

Jake wants a dinosaur sleepover for his birthday. But when the day of the party arrives his friends all come down with the flu, and the party seems to be on the edge of extinction. When Jake investigates a strange noise at night he finds that the dinos have invited themselves in to make sure Jake has a birthday he'll never forget
The beach day: three-and-a-half stories
by Ame Dyckman
Ages 4 and up
 
After gathering their beach gear -- Bat has a hat, Cat carries piles of books, and pack rat Rat is laden down with several bulging bags and a kite -- they miss their bus. Finally arriving at their destination, Bat offers food to hungry seagulls and almost ends up as the greedy birds' snack of choice. When Rat's kite goes missing, Bat's kind offer to be a stand-in is an idea that soars.

Chapter Books and Graphic Novels

 
Growing home
by Beth Ferry
Ages 6 and up

A motley crew of talkative plants, a curious spider, and a grumpy goldfish use their newfound magical abilities to defend their family from a greedy human.
Reel life
by Kane Lynch
Graphic novel 
Ages 8 and up

When Galen's parents reveal that they're splitting up, his life is thrown into chaos. Galen and his best friend, Luna, decide to make a documentary movie all about his parents' divorce. But will the reel life of filmmaking help Galen face his real life? 


House of horrors: a Minecraft novel
by Angel Luis Colâon
Ages 10 and up.

Marc is always leaving their village to look for excitement. Amy discovers her brother has gone off alone in search of someplace called Glory's Haven, a haunted house deep in the forests where (supposedly) the greatest adventurer their town has ever seen stashed a ton of loot. With nobody else to turn to, Amy and her cat mount a solo rescue mission for her lost brother despite the zombies, mazes and monsters.
Misfits of magic
by Matthew Dow Smith
Graphic novel
Ages 8 and up

Middle-graders Ricki Jones and her fellow-orphan-turned-adopted-brother Ross attend summer camp at the town library where Zatanna Zatara teaches the magical kids of the DC Universe as they investigate mysterious and strange events.


We hope to see you at the library soon!
 
Sincerely, 
 
Your friends at Driftwood Public Library
 
Driftwood Public Library
801 SW Hwy 101, Second Floor
Lincoln City, OR 97367
Phone: 541-996-2277
Email: librarian@lincolncity.org
www.driftwoodlib.org
 
Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM
Sunday: 1 PM - 5 PM