Enjoy this compilation of recommended titles from past Speed Dating with a Book programs in 2022-2023. The next Speed Dating with with a Book will be Friday, June 30 at 7:00 p.m. Registration required and begins May 30.

Nonfiction
027.009 PET
The library : a fragile history / Andrew Pettegree and Arthur Der Weduwen The dramatic and contested history of the library, from the ancient world to the digital age. For booklovers, collectors, and anyone who’s ever been blissfully lost in the stacks.

158.1 SHL
24/6: the power of unplugging one day a week / Tiffany Shlain
This “wise, wonderful work” demonstrates how turning off screens one day a week can work wonders on your brain, body and soul.

302.231 MCC
Because internet : understanding the new rules of language / Gretchen McCulloch
For anyone who’s ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text or where memes come from. The perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language.

363.1 SIN
There are no accidents : the deadly rise of injury and disaster–who profits and who pays the price / Jessie Singer
More than a synonym for a traffic crash or a surprise pregnancy. “accident” is a euphemism for “nothing to see here.” Poignant and pithy nonfiction, energized with love and rage.

364.1523 LAR
The devil in the white city : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America / Erik Larson
This creative non-fiction narrative is crafted perfectly for lovers of mystery, history and true crime!

364.1532 MCN
I’ll be gone in the dark : one woman’s obsessive search for the Golden State Killer / Michelle McNamaraThis book has it all: true crime, DNA tech, cold cases, FBI profiling, an intro by author Gillian Flynn, and it’s all terrifyingly real.

613.0424 RAP
The gospel of wellness / Rina Raphael
Wellness promises women the one thing they desire: control. Is that why they’re opening up their wallets like never before?

641.5 ADL
An everlasting meal : cooking with economy and grace / Tamar Adler
A cookbook and guidebook with a realistic approach to our current environment of inflation, backyard gardens, and simple living. I reread it once a year and always glean new ideas.

808 RON
Transfer of qualities / Martha Ronk
A collection of essays focusing on the ordinary objects in the world and how they exert influence on the people around them.

814.54 SED
Let’s explore diabetes with owls / David Sedaris
A collection of essays and short stories. They cover a range of contemporary politics and daily absurdities with themes of love, family, enduring life with a light heart.

973 SIX
The 1619 Project : a new origin story / Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman, and Jack Silverstein
Part of the ongoing initiative from NYT magazine reimagines if our national narrative actually started in August of 1619, when a ship arrived in Jamestown bearing enslaved people from Africa.

977.4 HAM
Mysterious Michigan : the lonely ghost of Minnie Quay, the marvelous manifestations of Farmer Riley, the devil in Detroit & more / Amberrose Hammond
Enigmatic mediums, murders, monsters, and more are all part of Michigan’s mysterious and sometimes supernatural history.

FICTION BLACKETT
The very nice box / Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman
An office romcom meets a slowburn thriller as Ava tries to navigate the highs and lows of a workplace romance. A big-hearted account of grief, friendship, and trust.

FICTION BOHJALIAN
Hour of the witch / Chris Bohjalian
For readers who love historical fiction, thrillers, and horror. The beautiful prose and rich historical context creates an incredibly immersive reading experience.

FICTION CHA
If I had your face / Frances Cha
Four women in a Korean apartment complex fight to maintain their lives and happiness as the world tries to tear them down.

FICTION EMEZI
You made a fool of death with your beauty / Akwaeke Emezi
A literary romance on the struggles of starting over after tragedy. Feyi fights to live her life fully and decide how far she’s willing to go for another chance at love.

FICTION HENDRIX
Horrorstör / Grady Hendrix
Your standard haunted house story inside a Swedish furniture emporium. They may put arrows on the floor but make sure you don’t lose your way, or your life.

FICTION HOWARD
The Nothing Man / Catherine Ryan Howard
A man reading a memoir about a serial killer realizes how close they are to catching the killer- HIM! Can he stay one step ahead?

FICTION JONES
The only good Indians / Stephen Graham Jones
Four American Indian men find themselves in a desperate struggle for their lives, against an entity that wants to exact revenge for what they did at an elk hunt ten years ago.

FICTION KLUNE
Under the whispering door / TJ Klune
A cozy and safe discussion of death and the afterlife, with a found family of bright amazing characters finding peace with each other at the end of it all. Don’t miss this.

FICTION PARKER
She who became the sun / Shelley Parker-Chan
A young Chinese girl attempts to assume her brother’s life and deceive the eyes of Heaven, taking his destiny of greatness for herself.

FICTION RIO
If we were villians / M.L. Rio
A rich, intricate study of a group of thespians and friends putting on the show of their lives to convince the cop they’re not the killer.

FICTION SOLOMON
The deep / Rivers Solomon
The mermaid responsible for holding the memories of the African women lost at sea runs away to escape the pain, and discovers a world they abandoned long ago.

FICTION TOEWS
Women talking / Miriam Toews
Eight Mennonite women meet in a barn loft to decide what happens next, after they discover the abuse they’ve been suffering for years was at the hands of men they knew.

FICTION WHITEHEAD
Harlem shuffle / Colson Whitehead
It’s a wildly entertaining literary crime story highlighting a colorful cast of characters in early 1960s Harlem. The second entry of the trilogy, Crook Manifesto, arrives July 2023.

MYSTERY POPP
Magic, lies, and deadly pies / Misha Popp
In this cozy mystery, Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men.

SCIENCE FICTION BALDREE
Legends and lattes / Travis Baldree
This has been on my TBR for so long and has been so hyped up, and it fully surpassed the hype. Warm, cozy, and simply lovely.

SCIENCE FICTION MANDANNA
The very secret society of irregular witches / Sangu Mandanna
What do three rebellious witch children need to grow and learn control? A witch nanny who needs saving just as much as they do.

SCIENCE FICTION MCGUIRE
Every heart a doorway / Seanan McGuire
A school for children who are back on Earth after traveling to new lands is threatened by one of their own. Can these chosen children save the day one more time?

GRAPHIC NOVEL AVENGERS
This beachhead earth / Roy Thomas
An Avengers epic collection feat. the origin of the Black Panther, the debut of the Lady Liberators, the return of Squadron Sinister and the all-time classic Kree/Skrull War!

DH: May 2023