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Summer Reading Book Bingo for Adults! Complete any five of the Bingo squares below and show us your Bingo card to be entered to WIN GREAT PRIZES this summer! Get an extra entry if you get five in a row! Check out 3 or more Read a book books & while on speak to staff vacation to be entered to win prizes
Read a book from a different genre or category
Read a book by a North Carolina author
Attend a library program for adults
Read any nonfiction book
Guess how many items are in our guessing jar
Listen to an audio book from the library
Check out a “Lucky Day� book from a regional library
Post a selfie with our library mascot Flat Brian
Attend a library book discussion at any regional library
Read a thriller/ suspense novel
Request a Meet Your Librarian appointment
Read a compelling biography or memoir
Check out any magazine from the library
Visit more than one Wake County Public Library
Check out an eBook from the library
Like or follow @wcplonline on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter
Re-read one of your favorite books
Ask us about requesting a Custom Book List
Read a romance novel or love story
Read a mystery novel
Read a fantasy, science fiction, or horror novel
Read any of the books in this booklet
orld Introduction Welcome to our annual booklet filled with great summer reads! This year’s theme is Build a Better World and our librarians have selected some of their favorites for you! From classics to modern novels, and from genres such as mystery and fantasy to history and biographies, we read a wide a variety and you’re sure to find some great summer reads to love in these pages!
Reading Tools, Services & Programs for Adults! WCPL has great tools for finding books on our reading page: www.wakegov.com/libraries/reading Our librarians offer individualized professional services such as, assistance with downloading ebooks/eaudio books, scheduling & selecting book club kits, advice on cover letters, resumes, & job searches, and custom book lists just for you! For information and registration see www.wakegov.com/libraries/services/adults We offer a variety of adult programs and book discussions at our regional libraries. From live music to monthly crafts, from small business expertise to author visits – we have programs to suit your interests! For information and registration see www.wakegov.com/libraries/events
Have a great summer!
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City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong Mystery ARMSTRONG Casey has been on the run most of her life due to a secret that continues to haunt her. Her friend Diana is running from the abusive ex-husband who almost killed her. When Diana is contacted by her ex, they know it’s time to find a safe place to hide. Diana hears about a town called Rockton, where you shed your past life and are required to live off the grid. Once there, they find that this new place is not as ideal as it seems. ~ Rita B. Fortune’s Pawn by Rachel Bach Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror BACH Devi Morris has big career plans. She wants to be a mercenary for the queen, and the best way to get there is to take a security job on a spaceship. But the Glorious Fool isn’t any spaceship. Its captain and crew have secrets they aren’t willing to share; secrets that can cause a world of trouble. Devi may have bitten off more than she can chew. ~ Amy R. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror BACIGALU Set in a dystopian Thailand, The Windup Girl provides a vision of the future where global warming has caused sea levels to rise drastically, carbon energy sources have been depleted, and massive corporations have full control of the world’s crops. Energy in all forms is controlled, bought, and sold in a constant struggle for power and survival. We follow the intertwining lives of various characters as they battle for a place in this ruthless society. ~ Kate H.
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The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald Fiction BIVALD In this book about books, Sara Lindqvist journeys from Sweden to Broken Wheel, Iowa on the strength of a pen pal friendship with fellow book lover Amy. Arriving to find she is just in time for Amy’s funeral, Sara is the quintessential stranger in a strange land, bewildered by the kind and welcoming folk of Broken Wheel, who encourage her to stay despite the circumstance. To thank them, she shares books – and in the process, herself – with the town. ~ Amy F. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Fiction BURTON An atmospheric and suspenseful story set in 17th century Amsterdam. As a wedding gift Nella’s husband gives her a cabinet that is a replica of her own new home. Nella enlists the help of a talented, but elusive miniaturist to fill the cabinet. Soon, dolls that resemble household members and other unasked for items that seem to precede events yet to happen, are delivered along with cryptic messages. Fans of Girl With a Pearl Earring will enjoy this gripping novel. ~ Lisa L. Between the World and Me by Ta-nehsi Coates Nonfiction 305.8 COATE In an effort to prepare him for the world, Coates artfully explores the history of race and oppression in America through candid and poignant letters to his son. A combination of personal anecdote, history, and facts enlightens the reader in hopes of a better world. ~ Amy W.
The castle grounds were gleaming in the sunlight as though freshly painted; the cloudless sky smiled at itself in the smoothly sparkling lake, the satin-green lawns rippled occasionally in a gentle breeze: June had arrived.
~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Pot ter and the Order of the Phoenix
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This is Not My Beautiful Life: A Memoir by Victoria Fedden Biography B FEDDEN Fedden is the cool toddler mom in your kid’s playgroup. She is not judging you because she knows you are doing the best you can. Only you don’t know the half of it. Fedden started writing in South Florida when she had five estranged brothers and sisters in Delaware and her parents were on trial in New York for penny stock fraud - bizarre circumstances that she writes about with honesty and humor. If you miss her company at the end of the book, don’t fret! She has a blog. ~ Melissa K. The Whole Town’s Talking by Fannie Flagg Fiction FLAGG Swedish immigrant, Lordor Nordstrom settles in Missouri in 1880, starts a dairy farm and builds a town complete with a hilltop cemetery. Lordor advertises for young farmers to join him and eventually sends for a mail-order bride. The town grows and friendships develop, generations are born, live, love and die in the town of Elmwood Springs. And all are mystically reunited in the magical still meadows cemetery to continue the conversation. Another great whimsical story by Fannie Flagg. ~ Sandy A. Rescue Ink: How Ten Guys Saved Countless Dogs and Cats, Twelve Horses, Five Pigs, One Duck, and a Few Turtles by Denise Flaim Nonfiction 179 FLAIM Meet Rescue Ink, a group of tattooed bikers who have saved countless animals from life-or-death situations in the NYC metropolitan area. Rescue Ink acts on tips from concerned citizens and goes straight to the abuser, playing on their stereotypical appearance to persuade the abuser to either change their ways or surrender the animal. This nonprofit animal rescue organization also teaches students how to treat animals and help end animal cruelty. ~ Jen B.
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Leave Me by Gayle Forman Fiction FORMAN Sometimes to make the world a better place you have to start with yourself. Having a health crisis at age 44 leads Maribeth Klein to examine her life. Her job is stressful, her family is demanding, and her friendships are strained. Her solution? Run away from it all to search for her birth mother. On her own in an unfamiliar city, and relying on the kindness of strangers, Maribeth comes to terms with her history and herself. ~ Lisa W. One Second After by Willian Forstchen Fiction FORSTCHE One man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war - in one second. One second is all it takes to send Americans back to the dark ages. Such is the devastation wrought by an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP), a weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies. ~ Tara B. Purity by Jonathan Franzen Fiction FRANZEN This darkly humorous, sweeping novel’s protagonist is Purity “Pip” Tyler, an underemployed recent college graduate saddled with student loan debt. An internship in South America with The Sunlight Project, a WikiLeaks-esque group, affords Pip a temporary respite from her dead end job and codependent relationship with her hypochondriac mother. Even more enticing is the promise from the group’s enigmatic leader that he can help Pip discover her father’s identity, a secret which her mother adamantly refuses to reveal. ~ Carrie L. And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
~ F. Scot t Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith Mystery GALBRAIT When a supermodel falls from her penthouse balcony, the police rule it a suicide. Her brother isn’t so sure. Enter Cormoran Strike, a down-on-his-luck private investigator whose intimidating appearance and craggy demeanor are at odds with the glitzy world of celebrities that he’s thrust into during this high-profile investigation. His resourceful new secretary, Robin Ellacott, joyfully comes along for the ride. A fun, well-written detective story filled with great characters and dark secrets. ~ Elizabeth D. The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror HAIG After a nuclear holocaust has devastated Earth, a genetic mutation causes all births to be twins. The Alpha is perfect while the Omega is physically or psychically different and banished. Cass is an Omega born as a seer, while her Alpha twin, Zach, has risen high in the elites. Cass is imprisoned but escapes, searching for an island she has only seen in her visions: a haven for Omegas and a hotbed of rebellion against an oppressive government. ~ Edward W. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi Biography B KALANITH Super-achiever and physician Paul Kalanithi upon learning of his terminal disease, put pen to paper writing this powerful book. He teaches us not what it is like to die; but what we need to live. His words live on as insightful commentary and reflections on a life as a driven-doctor-turned patient. ~ Heidi R.
One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by.
~ Jeanet te Walls, The Glass Castle
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The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King Mystery KING Mary Russell is a 15-year-old orphan rebelling against her guardian aunt’s strictures in post WWI England when she meets Sherlock Holmes while wandering Sussex Downs. As Russell impresses the sleuth with her intelligence and wit, the two quickly become enmeshed in the kidnapping of an American senator’s daughter. Holmes soon realizes that Russell’s brilliant intellect, caustic wit, egotistical personality, and gift for detail rival his own, in this first mystery in a muchloved series. Sherlockians and feminists alike, rejoice! ~ Erin D. Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies by Ross King 759.4 KING French painter Claude Monet was never happier than when he was in his gardens in Giverny with his canvases and paints. Through World War I, the death of family and friends, and in the end, failing eye sight, Monet persevered into his eighties to complete his large scale Water Lilies series known as the “Grandes Decorations”. Engaging, with interesting photographs throughout, this well researched book provides an in-depth account of one of Impressionism’s greatest masters. ~ Ashlyn B. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver Nonfiction 641.097 KINGS Fiction author Barbara Kingsolver delves into nonfiction in her informative and often humorous book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. She moves her family to Appalachia with the goal of changing their focus on eating to homegrown and local foods. During their transition to their new lifestyle, her family encounters unexpected adventures and insights. My favorite section is Barbara’s experiences with her young daughter exploring the process of raising chickens. An inspirational and provocative read! ~ Janet M.
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Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer Nonfiction 153.3 LEHRE What does it really mean to “think outside the box?” Sometimes looking at things outside your area of expertise and your comfort zone can result in new insights. Creativity is a process that can be cultivated by anyone and our world can be made better by those who look at our complex world in new and inventive ways. ~ Cathy P. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror LYNCH Locke grows up an orphan thief in the island city of Camorr. His quick wit and scheming mind lead him to greater and longer cons, eventually becoming the leader of the group known as “the gentlemen bastards.” They present themselves as petty robbers, while they actually pull long cons on the city’s ruling elite. That is, until a newcomer, known as the Grey King, starts killing off his rivals, and Locke and his friends are his next target! Think Robin Hood meets Ocean’s Eleven. ~ Dan B. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham Fiction MAUGHAM In 1920s China, Kitty’s husband, a scientist she married for all the wrong reasons, discovers that she’s cheating on him. As punishment, he forces her to come with him as he volunteers to help treat victims of a cholera epidemic. Through her experiences during the epidemic, Kitty learns about herself and about her place in the world. ~ Sue S.
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The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride Biography B MCBRIDE Rachel McBride Jordan left the south and raised her twelve kids in New York City. Unfortunately, life wasn’t easy for her; she encountered loss, racism and financial hardships, but she refused to be a victim of her circumstances. Rachel worked hard and was a stickler about education and religion, especially with her children. James McBride shares his mother’s intriguing story with us, one that he and his siblings didn’t learn until adulthood. ~ Carla P. The Road by Cormac McCarthy Fiction MCCARTHY A man and a boy, father and son, walk a road in the ashes of the ruined world. Cities have been destroyed, the sun is hidden by smoke, and it is winter. With every scrap of food looted, many of the living have turned to cannibalism. The man and the boy plod toward the sea. Though the focus never leaves the two travelers, they carry our humanity, and perhaps the world hangs in the balance of their hopeless quest. ~ Gordon J. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror NEUVEL Years after waking up dozens of feet below the ground, on the palm of what seems to be a mysterious giant metal hand, a top-level physicist leads a team of people to discover the nature of the hand, where it came from and what it portends for humanity. ~ Tess A.
There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs. ~ Henry
Ward Beecher
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True Grit by Charles Portis Fiction PORTIS After her father’s ruthless murder, feisty 14-yearold Mattie Ross is determined to avenge his death. With her wits and unwavering mind, she hires the meanest man available, US Marshal Rooster Cogburn (who is also a drunk). They team up with bounty-hunting Texas Ranger Laboeuf in pursuit of justice. The unlikely trio bicker and gradually form respect for each other while venturing into hostile Indian Territory. True Grit is a fast-paced old west classic. ~ Celia G. Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes Biography B RHIMES After being called out by a family member for always saying “no” to everything, Rhimes embarks on a year of only saying “yes” to unexpected invitations. This laugh out loud book chronicles her journey to push herself out of her comfort zone, embrace a love for herself, and become someone much happier, confident and proud. Her inspiring and descriptive writing is fun, relatable, and can be read in short segments. Say “yes” and read this book! ~ Astrid H. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes Nonfiction 623.4 RHODE The story told by this classic work reaches beyond The Manhattan Project. From the seismic advances in physics of the early 20th century, to Nazism’s impact on Europe’s scientific community, to the mathematical and geopolitical calculations leading to trinity—and to Hiroshima & Nagasaki—Rhodes employs accessible, powerful writing to richly illuminate the bomb’s historical and scientific context. Essential reading for understanding this turning point in humanity’s selfdestructive capacity and for seeking paths to a world free from nuclear fear. ~ Daniel S.
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Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin Nonfiction 158.1 RUBIN Believe it or not, we are all “creatures of habit”, good and not-so-good. Gretchen Rubin explains how to uncover personal traits that block or support change. With lots of examples and humor, she shows how we can assess our habits, explore how to change them, and change our lives. ~ Kathe R. A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror SCHWAB Kell is one of the last travelers who can visit multiple Londons described as red, grey, white, and black. Officially, Kell is an ambassador for an empire. Unofficially, he is a smuggler providing services to people from another world they will never see. When he encounters Delilah Bard in grey London, perilous magic and treachery lurk at every turn. In order for them to save all the worlds, they will need to stay alive first. ~ Thad M. Most Wanted by Lisa Scottoline Fiction SCOTTOLINE Christine and Marcus are happily married, but unable to conceive. Desperate to have a child after countless unsuccessful efforts and visits to specialists, they turn to a sperm bank. They become the happiest parentsto-be when Christine becomes pregnant, but their happiness is short-lived when Christine discovers devastating news about a young man who strikingly resembles their donor. Torn between Marcus’ selfesteem and fear of her life, Christine must uncover the truth. ~ Mary A. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman Graphic Novels 940.53 SPIEG Cartoonist Art Spiegelman tells the story of how his father, Vladek Spiegelman survived the rise of the Nazis and ensuing Holocaust as a Polish Jew, and Art’s struggle to come to terms with his father’s story and history itself. This poignant graphic novel won both the Pulitzer Prize and Eisner Award. ~ Morgan P.
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Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples Graphic Novels SAGA Marko and Alana were soldiers on opposite sides of a perpetual galactic war until they fell in love, went on the run and had a baby. Can this young family survive in a universe filled with unspeakable terrors and thoughtless destruction? This magnificent, accessible comic features Fiona Staples’ gorgeous, innovative art and Brian K. Vaughn’s trademark brilliant dialogue and endless imagination. ~ Rob C.
The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner Nonfiction 910.4 WEINE A touch more happiness around would certainly help to build a better world. But are some places inherently happier than others? Self-proclaimed “grump” Eric Weiner tackles that question as he travels the world in search of the happiest location on earth. With a little trivia, a little psychology, and a whole lot of humor, it’s hard not to be a little bit happier just by reading it. Perhaps this book will connect you with your next (and happiest!) Summer vacation. ~ Joy J. The Lost Girls by Heather Young Fiction YOUNG The disappearance of six year old Emily Evans at her family’s lake house leaves both family and community shaken. Present day, Justine, a grandniece, and her daughters have inherited the lake house and they relocate there to escape Justine’s manipulative boyfriend. Soon secrets surrounding the night Emily disappeared are found and the investigation begins again – this time by Justine’s troubled oldest daughter. Soon, Justine must overcome the past and present in order to save herself and her family. ~ Crystal M.
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Regional Libraries and Hours of Operation
Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Cameron Village Regional Library 919-856-6710 1930 Clark Ave., Raleigh, NC 27605
East Regional Library 919-217-5300 946 Steeple Square Ct., Knightdale, NC 27545 Eva Perry Regional Library 919-387-2100 2100 Shepherd’s Vineyard Dr., Apex, NC 27502 North Regional Library 919-870-4000 7009 Harps Mill Rd., Raleigh, NC 27615 Northeast Regional Library 919-570-7166 14401 Green Elm Ln., Raleigh, NC 27614 Southeast Regional Library 919-662-2250 908 7th Ave., Garner, NC 27529 West Regional Library 919-463-8500 4000 Louis Stephens Dr., Cary, NC 27519 From live music to monthly crafts, and from small business expertise to author visits, we have services and programs to suit your interests! Visit one of our seven regional libraries.
Fill out a short form online and we’ll create a custom book list just for you, grab you three books in a ready to go bag, or teach you how to download eBooks & eAudio from the library! CUSTOM
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