June is Audiobook Month: Downloadable Audiobooks

June is Audiobook Month! There are only a few days left to celebrate in 2019, but Carnegie-Stout Public Library's collection of downloadable audiobooks are always available! If you've already installed the OverDrive app or Libby app, you're ready to go, but if you have questions about how to enjoy downloadable audiobooks, library staff are happy to help! To get you started, here are a few downloadable audiobook titles that you might enjoy:


Normal People by Sally Rooney
 Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship. The audiobook is narrated by Aoife McMahon




Shoot for the Moon by James Donovan
For the 50th anniversary, the epic story of Apollo 11 and the astronauts, flight controllers, and engineers who made it happen. Both sweeping and intimate, and based on exhaustive research and dozens of fresh interviews. The audiobook is narrated by Allan Robertson




A Dog's Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron
Lucas Ray is shocked when an adorable puppy jumps out of an abandoned building and into his arms. Though the apartment he shares with his mother, a disabled veteran, doesn't allow dogs, Lucas can't resist taking Bella home. The audiobook is narrated by Ann Marie Lee




Code Name Lise by Larry Loftis
The year is 1942, and World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father's footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and one plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission.. The audiobook is narrated by Kate Reading

Staff Review: Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley

Displacement: A Travelogue is the fourth* book from the autobiographical cartoonist Lucy Knisley, and it is my hands-down favorite.** I've been reading her comics since 2009***, and I've admired the way she's grown and expanded in her skills as an illustrator and as a storyteller. That she focuses her pen on her own life only adds to that sense of growth; inevitably, both she as author and I as reader have gained perspective and maturity over the years.

I've encountered readers who found it difficult to relate to her earlier works because of  her youth. That generational differences are part of the focus for Displacement might add appeal to readers outside of the "Millennial" label, especially those readers who might be hearing of her work for the first time after her recent Eisner nomination.

Click to enlarge

Displacement focuses on Lucy's experience accompanying her 90-something grandparents on a Caribbean cruise. Lucy is adrift in her mid-twenties, facing all the uncertainty of career and personal life, while her grandparents are experiencing the decline and loss of their twilight years. The change in roles and responsibilities in their relationship is an aspect that I found particularly meaningful in my own reading. There's a billboard I pass every time I drive to visit my parents showing a young girl with her parents, and then the same family thirty-forty years in the future with the phrase "Roles Change" and I have to grip the steering wheel a little harder for a mile or two.

My favorite element of the book were the passages Lucy illustrated from the diary her grandfather kept during World War II. This added a depth to the narrative, which, by the nature of a memoir, has the danger of falling too deeply into the author's own experience. These passages created a fuller image of her grandparents by giving us a glimpse into their lives when they were 20-somethings themselves. It certainly contributed to the fact that I was tearing up by the end of the book.

~Sarah, Adult Services


*not counting her self-published titles or anthologies she's contributed to

**to be fair, I'm only halfway through reading her most recent book, Something New

***Full disclosure, Lucy Knisley is part of my sister's extended social circle, to the extent that my sister appeared in a few of Lucy's online comics. We've met once or twice, but this was many years ago.

One of the Best Books I Read in 2015: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr both is and isn’t about World War II.  It is set in the years leading up to and during the war, but it’s as much about each character’s intense longing for the people and things they are most passionate about.  There are two main characters, a German boy and a blind French girl.  Marie-Laure is blind since early childhood, and her father loves her so much he builds her an intricate scale model of their Paris neighborhood to help her learn it.  She perceives the world in vivid detail, “seeing” colors everywhere.  With the Germans on their way to Paris, her father tries to take her away to safety.

Werner is an orphan in a German mining town with nothing to hope for but a life in the mines.  He is exceptionally gifted with technology and builds a radio out of scraps.  He wants more than anything to learn science, and the Nazi regime offers him this opportunity.  Will his love for his sister be enough to keep him grounded as he becomes a German soldier?  How will these two stories become connected?

As soon as you open this book, you’ll feel the danger, and the love, in these people’s lives.  There are hints of the more horrifying aspects of Nazi Germany, as well as caring and tenderness from the most unexpected people.

~Laura, Circulation

Patron Picks: What Dubuque is Reading

Summer is in full swing, and there's nothing nicer than to curl up with a good book in the shade with some iced tea or lemonade or whatever your favorite summertime drink might be! As much as we enjoy sharing our favorite books with you, we love to hear about the books you're enjoying even more!

Today we're sharing some of the book reviews you've written on our Pinterest board or on a Patron Picks review bookmark. You can stop in to the library and flip through the Patron Picks binder or visit Pinterest for even more reviews. And if you have a book you enjoyed, feel free to share in the comments here, on Pinterest, or on a bookmark!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
5 stars. "Romance, magic & mystery. This book keeps you guessing right to the end! You won't be disapointed!"
4 stars. "Definitely a slow start. I forced myself to trudge through the first 200 pages which seemed to be mostly narration. Right at the 50% mark it picked up and I couldn't put it down. This book will push the limits of your imagination. The romance element was the most enticing, and could have been developed even more. Overall, nothing like I've read before. A good read."
Still not convinced? Check out Andrew's staff review too!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
5 stars. "What a lovely surprise this book was... that is if you like things that are slightly odd. I wouldn't say this is a horror, but discovery of the, for lack of better word, peculiar. I'd absolutely recommend this book and believe it would be a fascinating film!" 

Murder at Ford's Theatre by Margaret Truman
5 stars. "An interesting storyline that had a lot of twists & turns. Surprising ending."
You may also enjoy reading the athors in our political mysteries post. 


A Higher Call by Adam Makos
5 stars. "Great read, do NOT want to put it down! Insight into German life during WWII."

Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
4 stars. "Great followup to Killing Lincoln, although not as compelling since living the 1963 experience."
Want to read more about President Kennedy? Check out these best seller read alike posts for Killing Kennedy.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
4 stars. "I have to admit that the similarities between this and Hunger Games is more than off-putting. The ceremony where they choose, the ranking/elimination, the training, even the bird tattoo.It's not easy to put down. A plus for this book vs. HG, they seem to be developing the romantic angle more, which I wanted from HG. Definitely captivating, I couldn't put it down. It wasn't the most unique or unpredictable, but still a good read."
Be sure to check out our read alike suggestions for The Hunger Games.

Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge
4 stars. "This is the true story of a young boy whose father leaves when he was a baby and his mother has mental illness... When he is seven his mother's mental illness finally overtakes her, and Andrew is placed in foster care for the next 11 years. This is a story of courage, survival, and a boy's unending love for his mother who he never really knew. My only wish is that he had written more about his adult life as a survivor. Very poignant and touching."

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris
3 stars. "Wraps up the series nicely. Wasn't very exciting like the previous books. Wish there was more from the vamps."

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
4 stars. "Starts a little slow, but at the end I couldn't stop reading this book."
Sarah also reviewed this book for our blog, and several of us in the adult services department agree that Rowell's second novel, Eleanor & Park, is even better.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
5 stars. "So AMAZING. Quick read, good for all ages. Love, loss, growth & change."

Lexicon by Max Barry
1 star. "Violent/confusing."
I admit that I was so intrigued by this one star review that I had to check this out. I'd read Barry's Jennifer Government years ago and enjoyed it, and wasn't disappointed by Lexicon. It is violent, the plot is complicated, and there's quite a bit of swearing to boot, so I can see why it isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy a fast-paced story about a secret society with supernatural powers who run the world with just a dash of romance, you'll like this book too! -Sarah, Adult Services

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

I don’t read a lot of non-fiction and when I do it is usually because I chose the book for the Let’s Talk Books discussion group here at C-SPL.  Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience,and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 112 weeks and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to read more non-fiction so I was bound to get to this book sooner or later.  

Unbroken is the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who became an airman during World War II.  On a May afternoon in 1943, Louis’ bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared.  Louis and two other crew members survive the crash and subsequently drift nearly 2,000 miles over the course of 47 days before being pulled out of the water.  Forty-seven days on a life raft with no food or water is not the worst thing that actually happens to Louis.  The worst thing is the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps he is held in until the end of the war in August 1945. 

Some of the reasons I don’t like to read non-fiction are that I usually find it dry, slow moving and it fails to hold my interest.  Unbroken succeeded in proving me wrong on all accounts.  Hillenbrand’s book had the potential to get mired down in details but she masterfully moves the story forward without compromising the story.  Unbroken begins, well, at the beginning.  The reader meets Louis as a fearless, incorrigible toddler and follows him as he becomes a defiant teenager who fights, steals and is generally not very likeable.  What saves Louis is his older brother’s determination to get Louis into running.   Running leads Louis to the 1936 Olympics in Germany where he reportedly catches the eye of Hitler and gets away with some youthful antics that could have gotten him into a lot of trouble.  Five years later, with future Olympics put on hold due to the war in Europe, Louis has earned a commission as a second lieutenant and enlists in the United States Air Force. 

When I started this book and read about Louis as a teenager I really wondered why Hillenbrand included so much about Louis’ upbringing.  As the story progresses it became abundantly clear that Louis was a survivor.  The fighting, stealing and running he engaged in as a youth probably helped him to survive the absolute hell he had to endure as a POW. 

Unbroken also opened my eyes about an aspect of World War II history that I didn’t know much about.   I think that so much of WWII history is about Germany and the genocide of the Jews, that the horrors going on in Japan are overlooked.  I had no idea just how horrible the Japanese POW camps were and how atrociously the prisoners were treated.  I realize a prisoner camp isn’t a luxury summer camp, but these men were physically, emotionally, and mentally abused while being starved to death.  That any of them survived is a testament the strength of the human spirit.   After finishing Unbroken I started reading up on WWII history, specifically the war fought against the Japanese. 

If you are in a book club and haven’t discussed Unbroken, I highly recommend this book.  At just under 400 pages it really packs a punch.  The Let’s Talk Books group discussion covered many topics that came up, from Louis and his life to the decision to drop the atomic bombs.  With the summary I gave above it is pretty clear what is considered survival and resilience.  To find out what the redemption part is all about you will just have to read the book.  Louis Zamperini will turn 96 on January 26, yes, he is still alive.  After reading about his experiences during World War II the fact that he is still alive makes him even more remarkable.  Keep an eye out for a movie based on Unbroken, it is in development and I truly hope Hollywood can do the story justice. 

~Amy, Adult Services

P.S. The next Let's Talk Books meeting is on March 12 at 7 P.M. in the 3rd floor Aigler Auditorium.  We will be discussing The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.