Introducing Find It at Fondulac: A Fondulac District Library Podcast!
The library is excited to launch our new podcast: Find It at Fondulac! Hosted by our Reference Assistant Jeremy, this monthly podcast will cover library news and updates for patrons about our services, programing, and other points of interest for the East Peoria community. Jeremy will also discuss books, services, and programs with other library staff and special guests each episode – plus more surprises! In the first episode, Jeremy interviews Katie, FDL’s Teen Specialist, about Teen Tuesdays, video games, and vampires! Take a listen below!
Find It at Fondulac is currently available on Spotify, Amazon Music, and RadioPublic, so be sure to stay tuned, and follow or subscribe for future episodes! (You can also find our podcast page under the ‘At the Library’ tab and listen to it there.)
Cozy Vibes: 2023 Winter Reading Program
Reading is the best way to brighten up a cold and snowy winter, and getting comfy with blankets, warm drinks, and a few books creates the ultimate cozy vibe! Get cozy and kick off your reading goals with our winter reading program: Cozy Vibes! Patrons ages 13+ are invited to read/listen to 4 books (or 3 books & 5 magazines) checked out from FDL (or attend a library program) January 3 through February 28 to enter the prize drawing. Pick up a reading log from the library or register and track your progress with the Beanstack app or online at fondulaclibrary.beanstack.org!
#FDL: For Fans of Colleen Hoover
Throughout 2022, Colleen Hoover has topped the bestselling charts with novels like Verity and It Ends With Us. She’s all over BookTok and social media. Her books are so in demand that we can’t keep them on our shelves! If you are waiting to get your hands on a CoHo book or if you have read everything she has published so far, give one of these similar authors a try.
Courtney Cole: High drama, relationship dilemmas, flawed characters, steamy romance
Christina Lauren: Contemporary romance, love/hate relationships, new adult fiction
Sorensen, Jessica: New adult fiction, contemporary romance, drama, steamy relationships
K.A. Tucker: Conflicted characters, some suspense, obstacles in relationships, drama, contemporary romance, new adult fiction
Rebecca Serle: Character-driven, romance, relationships, engaging, love triangles
Penelope Douglas: Romance, opposites attract, new adult, high drama, moody
Helen Hoang: Complex characters, steamy romance, difficult relationships, secrets
Anna Todd: New adult fiction, contemporary romance, high drama, engaging storylines, love triangles
Also, check our small collection of Colleen Hoover titles available now on Hoopla with your Fondulac District Library card. There’s no wait time on these!
– Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
FDL Reads: The Christie Affair
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
Reviewed by: Becky Houghton, Circulation Assistant
Genre: Historical fiction
What is this book about? This book is a fictionalized account of what happened in 1926 when mystery writer, Agatha Christie, disappeared mysteriously for 11 days. For years many have speculated about this time, but Christie remained totally silent and never revealed where she was or what she did during her absence. De Gramont has woven an intriguing tale of love, marriage, grief and loss, and more in her mysterious and moving account of these “lost” days in Christie’s life.
My review: This was a fascinating book that I had to keep reminding myself was a fictional account, not a true story. Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance has fascinated readers of her sixty six mystery books for years and apparently continues to do so. For eleven days in 1926, no one, including her husband Archie or her publicist, knew where she was. She just vanished leaving no trace which prompted an extensive search throughout Great Britain. In this book, Nina de Gramont weaves an account written by Archie Christie’s mistress, Nan O’Dea which has flashbacks to Nan’s youth, early romance and troubled life, with the missing days of Agatha. It reveals an elaborate, long-term plot for Nan to insinuate herself into Archie and Agatha’s life and to orchestrate and conceal Agatha during her absence from her home. This story has many unexpected twists and turns combined with the switching from the 1926 timeframe to events in the past. If I have any criticism of this book, it would be that the reader must be constantly vigilant to the dates that events occur. Written beautifully, I recommend this book to mystery fans, especially those readers who love Agatha Christie’s extensive collection of mystery stories, plays and books.
Three words that describe this book: Chilling, Intriguing, Complex
Give this a try if you like: Agatha Christie’s books or The Mystery of Mrs. Christy by Marie Benedict
Rating: 4.5/5
FDL Reads: When Women Were Dragons
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist
Genre: Speculative Fiction, Fantasy
Suggested Age: Adults, Teens
What is the Book About?: Young Alex is an obedient child growing up in 1950s Wisconsin with a protective mother and a cruelly indifferent father. Societal expectations are well-understood, until the Mass Dragoning of 1955 leaves communities and families without the hundreds of thousands of women who transformed into dragons and flew off into the unknown. Even Alex’s independent Aunt Marla dragoned, leaving behind her baby Beatrice and so many questions, but now no one’s allowed to talk about Marla or the dragons. Through rage, loss, and many other challenges, Alex is forced to seek her own answers, forge her own family, and push the boundaries of who and what she can become.
My Review: I enjoyed this book a lot, although it didn’t quite live up to the thrill of its premise – women responding to oppression with rage that physically transforms and takes up formidable space. It felt like experiencing the story through Alex’s viewpoint was a bit limiting at times. I appreciated the scientific and political interjections from Dr. Gantz, and I’ll always love a story with a ballsy librarian, but I definitely wanted to know more about the dragons (their adventures and why they came back). Some readers might be disappointed with the tone of second- wave feminism, but it feels authentic to the time and Barnhill does include mentions of minorities, the Civil Rights movement, and nonbinary individuals. The story is woven with themes of transformation, feminism, community, LGTBQ romance, memory, female rage, gender identity, patriarchy, familial trauma – maybe there was just too much to explore within each of these to flesh them out fully through the dragon allegory, but it opens the door for further discussion. Overall, it’s a solid and sometimes funny and moving story, and repurposing dragons as a vehicle for modern social commentary makes for an undeniably interesting read.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Clever, Relevant, Fantastical
Give This a Try if You Like… Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Rating: 4/5
FDL Reads: Good Omens
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Genre: Fantasy
Suggested Age: Adult, Teen
What is the book about? In this newly-released (2021), unabridged, full-cast recording of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s quirky fantasy, the angel Aziraphale, and the demon Crowley like living among the humans so much they were only half-heartedly helping to bring about Armageddon. Now that the end is near, Crowley and Aziraphale have decided to try to thwart the Apocalypse. With all of Heaven and Hell eagerly anticipating the final battle, no one seems to know where the 11-year-old Antichrist ended up after he was given to Crowley as a baby. Agnes Nutter saw all of this hundreds of years ago and wrote it all down for her descendants to be prepared. Aziraphale finds Agnes’ “nice and accurate prophecies” that help locate the child, but the angel accidentally loses his body and winds up in Heaven before he can tell anyone. How can Aziraphale tell Crowley where the child is? Can Crowley escape the clutches of his enraged fellow-demons who want him to pay for messing up so egregiously? How can they stop the final destruction once the Four Horsemen meet up with the Antichrist? It’s all a delightfully, silly mess!
My Review: I listened to the Playaway version of this newly-recorded audiobook and enjoyed it immensely. The irreverent humor and absurd situations are par for the course with these two authors. If you like either Gaiman or Pratchett, you’ll like this one too. I recently watched the Netflix series, so that helped. The story is told in a non-linear style with quite a few characters to keep track of, so the full cast definitely works well here. The main characters in this audiobook are performed by the same actors in the series which made it even better. I can’t endorse this audiobook enough…especially if you enjoy silly, British humor.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Quirky, Entertaining, Funny
Give This a Try if You Like…Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett, Stardust by Neil Gaiman, and Space Opera by Catherynne Valente
Rating: 5/5