C-SPL Reader of the Month: Becky Maher-Jacobson

Becky Maher-Jacobson is a part-time Library Aide at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library. She is also a band director in the Western Dubuque Community School District.

 Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?

 A. The best book that I have read in the last year is The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths. A Gothic thriller, this book is about a high school English teacher who starts receiving messages in her personal diary after a fellow teacher is murdered. With an intriguing plot line and relatable characters, this book kept me engaged throughout and I would highly recommend it to any mystery fans, especially those who love classic gothic horror novels. 

Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?

A. My ideal reading environment is wrapped up in a blanket on my old squishy leather arm chair in front of our (unfortunately electric) fireplace. Wood-burning would definitely be preferable. Dressed in cozy sweats and fuzzy socks, I usually like to have some music on in the background, but something calm and relaxing that can fade away while I am reading. Snow or rain outside would be the icing on the cake!

Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting? 

A. The book that I am most excited about reading next is The Searcher by Tana French. Tana French is one of my favorite authors, with stand-out selections in her Dublin Murder Squad series and in her stand-alone novels. I always look forward to new releases from my favorite authors as I usually know that I will like the book in advance, especially if it’s an author whom I’ve read many of their titles. Another novel that will be released in February is a spin-off of The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths that I mentioned was my favorite read of 2020. Griffiths has taken Detective Harbinder Kaur from The Stranger Diaries and given her a new case to solve involving a 90 year old woman’s death that shouldn’t be suspicious given her heart condition, but everything may not be as it seems…. I can’t wait to read it!

Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began? 

A. I do! I remember wanting to learn to read so badly before kindergarten, sitting on the floor of my room and staring at the words and letters, willing them to make sense. I was so excited when it finally started to click. Go Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman was the first book that I learned how to read, but the Harry Potter series really helped fuel my love of reading after my aunt purchased the first three books of the series for my 9th birthday. My parents are both big readers and read to us every night as kids, so they really instilled a love of reading in our family from an early age.

Q. Can you tell us about your reading interests in general?  

A. My belief when it comes to reading is that it should first be enjoyable, but also used to broaden your knowledge and your perspective on the world. I mostly stick to fiction since I consider it more leisurely than nonfiction, but I am honestly willing to read everything and anything, or at least give it a chance. My favorites are mystery and thriller novels (bonus points if they have an interesting twist at the end!), but I have recently been more into sci-fi type mysteries that have a supernatural or fantasy element involved, such as Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series or Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. The most important thing though is to read, so read what you like!

Check out Becky Maher-Jacobson's book list! 

Apply to be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month!

C-SPL Reader of the Month: Anderson-Bricker

Kristin and John Anderson-Bricker moved to Dubuque in 1997. A professor of history at Loras College, Kristin teaches all United States history courses, specializing in race relations, gender history and American reform movements. John is a painter and sculptor who also works as the preparator at the Dubuque Museum of Art. Along with reading, they love hiking, birding, canoeing, gardening and cooking.

(See the past Reader of the Month posts here)

Q. Can you tell us about your reading interests?

A. We share an interest in historical fiction, especially mysteries. We both read non-fiction but choose different topics. Kristin reads history, science, natural history, archaeology and cookbooks. John enjoys art, architecture, design, electronics, technology, science and gardening. We most enjoy reading at the same time in the same room with a cup of coffee or a beer (depending on the time of day). We have time for reading because we do not watch television or use social media. We find that reading relaxes us because it shifts our minds from the everyday to another world. Additionally, we like expanding our knowledge and belief system through the written word.

Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?

JAB – Anna Lee Huber, The Anatomist’s Wife

KAB - Theodora Goss, The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter

Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?

A. We begin every day reading together with our morning coffee before getting ready for work. So, each day we share the hour between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. reading in our living room or in the garden during warmer seasons. When we can find the time we also enjoy reading after work on the sun porch or out in the garden. Because we read many of the same books, the second reader will often initiate conversations over breakfast!

Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?

JAB – I very much enjoy Deanna Raybourn’s series about Veronica Speedwell and her companion Stoker. Looking forward to the next installment of their adventures.

KAB – Andrea Penrose created a likable detective duo in Charlotte Sloane and Lord Wrexford. I am looking forward to the next book and discovering the direction of their developing friendship. We particularly like historical fiction where the main characters develop relationships with one another across the series. We favor nineteenth century English worlds.

Q. What book do you think more people should read, and why do you think they should read it?

KAB – Americans should read David Blight’s Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory because it explains why the Lost Cause narrative gained prominence and became acceptable in our cultural understanding of the Civil War. Because it is a racist ideology that convinces people that Confederate symbols are about heritage, this book is an important corrective that explains how the Confederacy was and is really about hate. 

JAB – Art lovers also concerned with the environment should read Fragile Ecologies: Contemporary Artists’ Interpretations and Solutions, by Barbara Matilsky. This book forces you to examine your own contributions to environmental degradation and the power of art to convey that message.

Q. When do you decide to stop reading a book? In other words, do you read every book to the last page, or is there a moment when you decide to stop?

Books need to be well written for us to read. So, we give a book about two chapters. If the writing is not exceptional, we will put the book aside. We leave many books unfinished because we want more time for the good ones.

Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began?

KAB - As a child, I became a reader of fiction due to my enthusiasm for The Chronicles of Narnia, so I would say that C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the most important fiction book in my life. As a graduate student in 1990 I read In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s by Clayborne Carson and it established the pathway of my career and began my love affair with non-fiction.

JAB – My love of reading began in my twenties after I completed college and I began to read art history for pleasure and professional development. Some of my favorite art history books include Gaudi of Barcelona by Lluis Permanyer, Melba Levick; Earthworks and Beyond by John Beardsley, Time by Andy Goldsworthy, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson by Anne Newlands, and Hopper by Ivo Kranzfelder.

Check out the Anderson-Bricker Favorites book list!

Apply to be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month! 

C-SPL Online Book Club Reads The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

The C-SPL Online Book Club will start discussing The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie on Monday, May 18, 2020. You can use your Facebook account to join the C-SPL Online Book Club found on Carnegie-Stout Public Library's Facebook page.

Until then, here are some spoiler-free background notes about the book and author from www.agathachristie.com and various Wikipedia articles:

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British mystery writer Agatha Christie. Christie (1890-1976) is thought to be the best selling fiction writer of all time. Her 66 mystery novels and 14 short-story collections have sold over two billion copies, and she is one of the world's most translated authors.

Known as the "Queen of Mystery," Christie won the first Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award in 1955, and was voted "best crime writer" by the Crime Writers’ Association in 2013.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles was Christie's first published novel. Her sister Madge dared Christie to try to write a mystery that readers could not solve even though they had all of the same clues as the detective.

Christie wrote the novel in 1916, but it was rejected by 6 publishers before it was finally released in the U.S. in 1920 and the U.K. in 1921. It was also serialized in 18 parts in The Times of London in 1920.

When The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920, The New York Times Book Review said, "Though this may be the first published book of Miss Agatha Christie, she betrays the cunning of an old hand . . . you will be kept guessing at its solution and will most certainly never lay down this most entertaining book."

Besides being Christie's first published novel, this was also the first appearance of the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who would become one of the most famous characters in mystery fiction.

Hercule Poirot (pronounced er-cule pwa-roh) appeared in 33 novels, 2 plays, and more than 50 short stories published between 1920 and 1975. He was the only fictional character to have an obituary published on the front page of The New York Times.

The character of Poirot was inspired by the Belgian refugees who settled in Christie's hometown of Torquay in Devon, England during World War I, where Christie worked at a hospital dispensary while writing her novel, a setting which also appears in the story.

Christie was also influenced by the English novelist Wilkie Collins, and by the popular Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, with Poirot as the eccentric detective, his clueless friend Arthur Hastings as narrator, and a case that even Scotland Yard cannot solve.

An image from "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" from
the Project Gutenberg eBook at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/863/863-h/863-h.htm

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is an early example of a closed circle mystery which features a limited number of suspects who could have credibly committed a crime. The British country house was a classic setting of such mysteries in the 1920s and 1930s, an era known as "The Golden Age of Detective Fiction."

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is always available to check out as an eBook from Overdrive/Libby collection with your City of Dubuque library card. The eBook is also available for free without a library card at Project Gutenberg.

Carnegie-Stout Public Library’s discussion of The Mysterious Affair at Styles will start on May 18 on Facebook. We hope you will join us for the discussion!

~Mike, Adult Services

There's a Snake on My Book!

Librarians spend a lot of their time with books. Reading about books, organizing books, purchasing books, thinking about books. When you spend that much time with books you start to notice patterns. Similar titles, similar stories, similar covers.

Lately, I've been noticing snakes.

• The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Soderberg
• Boy, Snow Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
• Dark Age by Pierce Brown
• Deviation by Luce D'Eramo
• The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
• Famous in Cedarville by Erica Wright
• Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
• Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
• The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman
• Trinity Sight by Jennifer Givhan
• The Water Museum by Luis Alberto Urrea

~Sarah, adult services

Mystery Puns That Will Sleigh You

Dark, cold winter evenings, the stress of holiday gatherings and the crowds of shoppers, it's no wonder that cozy mystery authors find murderous inspiration in the Christmas season.

Below find a list of recent mysteries with a Christmas pun twist:

 'Twas the Knife Before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost
The second book in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series. When a body turns up in the dumpster behind Caroline’s Cupcakes, Holly White is horrified to learn her best friend Caroline is the main suspect.

Murder With All the Trimmings by Shawn Simmons
The sixth book in the Red Carpet Catering Mysteries series. Penelope Sutherland is catering her first documentary, a history of the Vitrine Theater and the Big Apple Dancers, who put on the world-famous Christmas Extravaganza. When one of the dancers mysteriously disappears then turns up dead right before opening night, it looks like Christmas might be cancelled.

Six Cats a Slayin' by Miranda James
The tenth book in the Cat in the Stacks series. Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, are busy decking the halls for the holidays when an unexpected delivery and a shocking murder conspire to shake up the season.

A Cup of Holiday Fear by Ellie Alexander
The tenth book in the Bakeshop Mystery series. To cap off the merry season, Jules and Helen host their annual staff party at the historic Winchester Inn’s Dickens Feast. Just as the dessert course is about to be served the power goes out and Jules finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Her only wish this Christmas is to catch a killer.

Dachshund Through the Snow by David Rosenfelt
The twentieth book in the Andy Carpenter series. This Christmas, lawyer Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, can't say no to helping young Danny and his dachshund, Murphy.

Owl Be Home for Christmas by Donna Andrews
The twenty-sixth book in the Meg Langslow series. It's a few days before Christmas, and Meg's grandfather is hosting a scientific conference on owls at the Caerphilly Inn. An unexpectedly severe snow storm traps the conference-goers in the hotel, and one of the visiting ornithologists is murdered.

Silent Knit, Deadly Knit by Peggy Erhart
The fourth book in A Knit & Nibble Mystery series. When murder silences the Christmas cheer in charming Arborville, New Jersey, Pamela and her Knit and Nibble pals must unravel the most bone-chilling mystery this side of the North Pole . . .

Deliciously Punny Mysteries

What's even better than a cozy mystery with a puntastic title? A food-themed cozy mystery with a puntastic title! Assuming you aren't still full from your Thanksgiving feast, that is!

Below is a list of a few recent and deliciously clever titles:

Pie Hard by Kirsten Weiss
The third book in the Pie Town Mystery series. Business at the bakery may have slowed down, but Val Harris isn't about to eat humble pie--not until a reality cooking show decides to whip the struggling Pie Town into shape.

Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle
The eighteenth book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series. When coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi awakens on a bench in Washington Square Park, she has no idea she's been missing for the past week, or that her friends and family have been frantic with worry.

Scone Cold Dead by Karen MacInerney
The ninth book in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series. Innkeeper Natalie Barnes is living her dream life, creating scrumptious scone recipes and relishing cool summer days on quaint Cranberry Island, Maine… until she stumbles across a dead body tucked under the blueberry bushes.

Puddin' on the Blitz by Tamar Myers
The twenty-first book in the Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery series.  The success of Magdalena Yoder's new Amish-Asian restaurant is threatened by murder.

Live and Let Pie by Ellie Alexander
The ninth book in the Bakeshop Mystery series. Life is sweet once you step into Torte, everybody's favorite small-town bakeshop. But what happens when it becomes the scene of a crime?

Tart of Darkness by Denise Swanson
The first book in the Chef-to-Go Mystery series. Dani opens Chef-to-Go, preparing delicious, ready-made meals for hungry students attending the nearby university, as well as providing personal chef services and catering events for the local community. But just as Dani is relishing her sweet new life, the friend of one of her boarders is murdered, and Dani becomes one of the primary suspects!

Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien
The fourth book in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. The Asian community is kicking off summer with the return of its popular Cleveland Night Market festivities, and Lana Lee is excited to represent the Ho-Lee Noodle House booth when an explosion involving a nearby food truck, Wonton on Wheels, kills one of the proprietors and injures several others.

An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox
the second book in the Literary Pub Mystery series. The Winter Carnival always brings holiday cheer, Christmas joy—and tourists with cash—to picturesque Shady Creek, Vermont. Faster than she can fling a Huckleberry Gin, booklover and pub owner Sadie Coleman finds herself racing to make sure the police don’t arrest the wrong suspect.

It's all Pun and Games (and murder too!)

If you're a fan of puns and puzzles, you might enjoy cozy mysteries. A cozy mystery novel features a less violent murder and generally includes quirky characters, humor, and sometimes a touch of romance. Not all cozy mysteries have puns in their titles, but my favorites do!

Here's a short list of recent mystery novels with particularly clever puns in their titles:

Deja Moo by Kirsten Weiss
The third book in the Proper Paranormal Museum series. A holiday tradition turns deadly, but is the paranormal museum to blame?

Buried in the Stacks by Allison Brook
the third book in the Haunted Library Mysteries series. Librarian Carrie Singleotn is building a haven, but one of her neighbors is misbehavin'. Can resident spirit Evelyn help Carrie catch the culprit who made her a ghost?

Sell Low, Sweet Harriet by Sherry Harris
The eighth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery series. Sarah Winston's garage sale business has a new client: the daughter of a couple who recently died in a tragic accident while away on a trip to Africa.

Hounds of the Basket Stitch by Anne Canadeo
The eleventh book in the Black Sheep Knitting Mysteries series. The Black Sheep Knitters come ot the aid of two sisters - one a victim and one a suspect...

Thread and Buried by Lea Wait
The ninth book in the Mainely Needlepoint series. Haven Harbor is an authentic coastal Maine town--which makes it the perfect location for a new film production. But now it's become the scene of a crime...

No Escape Claws by Sofie Ryan
The sixth book in the Second Chance Cat Mystery series. Haven Harbor is an authentic coastal Maine town--which makes it the perfect location for a new film production. But now it's become the scene of a crime . . .

Crewel and Unusual by Molly MacRae
The sixth book in the Haunted yarn Shop Mystery series. Yarn shop owner Kath Rutledge is looking forward to the grand opening of the Blue Plum Vault, a co-op of small shops on Main Street until rumors of an unpleasant rivalry start spreading...

Ruff Justice by Laurien Berenson
The twenty-second book in the Melanie Travis series. As owner of prize-winning Poodles, Melanie Travis knows how to handle fierce competition. But when a conformation show turns deadly, it’ll take every trick in the book to outsmart a murderer who refuses to lose...

Better Than Nun by Alice Loweecey
The sixth book in the Giulia Driscoll series. Giulia Driscoll used to say running a detective agency was the busiest job she’d ever had. Then the ghosts showed up, and she figured now she’s the busiest ever.

June is Audiobook Month: Mysteries

June is Audiobook Month! To celebrate, borrow a Mystery audiobook from Carnegie-Stout Public Library's collection. Here are a few titles of mystery and suspense that you might enjoy:

Last Breath by Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is known for her fast-paced suspenseful mysteries and psychological thrillers. Try Last Breath, in which defense attorney Charlie Quinn’s newest client is a teen girl who reminds Charlie of her own difficult past. Narrator Kathleen Early maintains a quick pace while capturing the nuances of the characters.

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon

Murder in G Major is the first book in Alexia Gordon’s cozy mystery series featuring Gethsemane Brown, a professional violinist turned music teacher and amateur sleuth. Gethsemane didn’t come to Ireland from America for her dream job, but the picturesque cliff-side cottage is a great perk – aside from the sarcastic ghost who needs her help! British narrator Jessica Carroll is particularly skilled with accent work.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

Sandie Jones’s debut novel was a selection for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. The Other Woman is a compelling work of psychological fiction about a young woman who meets the man of her dreams, and his nightmare of a mother. Narrator Clare Corbett’s voice work captures the characters’ personalities.

What My Body Remembers by Agnete Friis

A standalone mystery from the Danish co-author of the Nina Borg series, What My Body Remembers is a complex, character-driven work of psychological fiction. Ella has suffered from panic attacks since the night her father murdered her mother, and now stands to lose custody of her son. Susan Boyce narrates the audiobook with distinct voices and care for Danish vocabulary.

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly

This is the first book in Kelly’s engaging Magical Cats Mystery series about a small-town Minnesota librarian who adopts two cats with special powers. The audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Campbell who brings life to the likeable characters. This is an amusing series sure to appeal to fans of cozy mysteries.

C-SPL Reader of the Month: Heather Gudenkauf

With the release of her new book, Before She Was Found in April, and her approaching book talk at the library on Tuesday May 21, there's no better time to get to know the reading habits of local Dubuque bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf. Heather graciously agreed to be C-SPL Reader of the month for May, and in what follows, we get a glimpse of what influenced the Gudenkauf style.

Heather's Reading Philosophy

“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” 
― Anna Quindlen, How Reading Changed My Life

This quote by Anna Quindlen perfectly sums up my personal reading philosophy. I’m a dedicated homebody but love to travel through books. I will read just about any genre but a few of my favorites are mystery/thriller, biographies – especially featuring historical figures, and historical fiction. If you were to knock at my door, chances are I would answer it with a book in my hand. Reading has always been an escape for me.

Q & A with Heather Gudenkauf 

 

Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)? 

A. My Ántonia by Willa Cather – My all-time favorite book by my all-time favorite author. Cather’s writing is just beautiful. I love the way that she could describe the setting in a novel and it actually seemed to become a character within the story. I reread My Ántonia and O Pioneers every year.

Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?

A. I can read just about anywhere but my ideal spot is in bed with my dog Lolo sitting next to me.

Q. What book are you most excited about reading next and what about it is most exciting?

A. I’m excited about starting The Friend by Sigrid Nunez. I’m looking forward to this National Book Award Winner because Sue Davis from River Lights Books recommended it and because it features a dog (of course).

Q. What book do you think more people should read and why do you think they should read it?

 A. I love the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series by Louise Penny about the tiny fictional town of Three Pines just south of Montreal and its inhabitants. I tell anyone who will listen: After reading the first book in the series, Still Life, you will be happy to have met the characters, after the second book you will want to visit Three Pines, and after the third book you will want to pack up and move there. This is how enchanting Penny’s writing is! I’m anxiously awaiting the newest installment ~ A Better Man. I can’t wait!

Q. When do you decide to stop reading a book? (In other words, do you read every book to the last page, or is there a moment when you decide to stop?) 

A. I used to be in the camp of if you start a book you should finish it. That’s changed over the years, if a book isn’t connecting with me I’ll set it aside. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a fabulous book, it just means that the story isn’t resonating with me at this particular moment in time.

Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began?

A. I was around six years old when we learned I had a profound hearing loss so learning to read was really hard for me. I was not a fan! After I was fitted with hearing aids the world opened up for me and I slowly started catching on. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when the print on the page began to make sense but I do remember that once it did, I was rarely without a book.

Looking for something to read? Check out Heather Gudenkauf's Favorite Books in the library catalog.