#Popular Books

[hannahs-quirky-moments]

“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person's character aren't the mistakes we make. It's how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”

— Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Sybil Leek - The Astrological Guide to Beauty - Popular - 1973

[lakecountylibrary]

LCPL WRAPPED 2024

Ok DON'T PANIC, this post is still true - it just broke containment a bit so we don't know how many people saw the original tags and might therefore be a little concerned to see THIS post.

We don't know what you, personally, checked out.

We have to track total circulation stats to make sure we're doing our job correctly and keeping a healthy collection (and to defend our budget), but these stats are anonymous!

Is one person responsible for every single One Piece check out? Is James Patterson artificially inflating his numbers by visiting our library constantly? Who knows! The only thing we know is that kids(?) really, really like Jeff Kinney books.

And so without further ado, here are the most checked-out items of 2024:

Want to compare to 2023? Here's 2023 wrapped

(ID: Images are lists of books; each list is typed out in the post under the image. /ID)

Most Checked-Out Adult Books:

Adult Fiction:

James Patterson was #3 last year, too, though with a different book.

1: The Women by Kristin Hannah 2: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston 3: The #1 Lawyer by James Patterson 4: A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci 5: The Exchange by John Grisham

Adult Nonfiction:

Prince Harry and Matthew Perry dropped a rank from 2023 to make way for Britney!

1: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears 2: Spare by Prince Harry 3: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry 4: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson 5: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Adult eBooks & eAudiobooks:

Format doesn't matter - people were reading The Women however they could!

1: The Women by Kristin Hannah 2: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 3: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros 4: Funny Story by Emily Henry 5: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Most Checked-Out YA Books:

Teen Fiction:

Welcome back reigning champ Suzanne Collins!

1: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 2: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 3: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling 4: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling 5: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Teen eBooks & eAudiobooks:

Major gains from Sarah J. Maas in this format - she didn't make the list with teens last year!

1: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas 2: If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin 3: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 4: Powerless by Lauren Roberts 5: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

Teen Manga:

This is the first year we're sharing the top check-outs in this category!

1: One Piece by Eiichiro Oda 2: Bleach by Tite Kubo 3: Skip Beat! by Yoshiki Nakamura 4: Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto 5: My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi

Most Checked-Out Kids' Books:

Kids' Fiction:

AKA Mr. Kinney's House

1: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney 2: Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney 3: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney 4: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney 5: Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories by Jeff Kinney

Kids' Graphic Novels:

Return of Babymouse! It was popular in 2022 but didn't rank in 2023. (Though, we also didn't separate out kids' graphic novels in 2023.)

1: Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm 2: Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland 3: Dog Man: The Scarlet Shredder by Dav Pilkey 4: Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers by Dav Pilkey 5: Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey

Kids' eBooks & eAudiobooks:

Rick Riordan with the steel chair?? I suspect we have Disney to thank for this revival.

1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan 2: Claudia and the Bad Joke by Ann M. Martin 3: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey 4: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling 5: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney

[bookishlyives]

I’m a TikTok refugee coming back to my roots. For those that need to know: yes I like your shoelaces. I stole mine from the president.

I will be yapping about books so please follow me if you like books.

[thetypedwriter]

Don't Let the Forest In Book Review

Don’t Let the Forest In Book Review by C.G. Drews

I thought I was going to like this book so much. Everything was up my alley: angsty boys pining for each other, a brooding environment at a dark academia-esque location, fairytales and dreams, beautiful writing, the list goes on and on. 

But…I didn’t. 

I seem to be the only one. All the reviews I’ve looked at online have people raving over Andrew and Thomas, their relationship, and the plot, all of which I never felt like I could connect with. 

Don’t Let the Forest In is the second book by C.G. Drews, an author that I have a strange past with. I never read Drews’ first novel, The Boy Who Steals Houses, but I used to love following Drews on instagram.

I was first drawn to them because of their beautiful color-coded library pictures, but then I started reading their book reviews and found myself agreeing with them most of the time. 

This never happens. Reading and rating books is so subjective, but my alignment with C.G. Drews was almost uncanny.

However, I’ve lost track of them the last few years only to see them name stamped on a gorgeous book over at Barnes and Noble and topping the New York Times Bestseller list. 

Don’t Let the Forest In is that book. 

Because I respected C.G. Drews so much I thought I would love their novel. We agreed on so many things and yet…Don’t Let the Forest In didn’t do it for me. 

The book revolves around two boys: Andrew and Thomas. Andrew is a melancholy, anxiety-riddled teenager who can only write dark stories and obsess over Thomas. Thomas is a volatile, aggressive artist who is suspected of killing his parents.

The whole book deals with the two boys going into the forest next to their school to kill monsters at night, monsters of their own creation. They must stop these creatures before they come after the boys themselves and innocents at the school. 

I’ll say the first and only thing I liked about this book: the writing. C.G. Drews is a surprisingly talented writer. Their writing was fluid and aching, albeit dark and brooding, but still overall evocative in nature and compelling to read. 

Now I’ll get into everything else. 

First, the characters. Thomas and Andrew were the people who mattered in this story and yet, I couldn’t even remember which one was Thomas and which one was Andrew.

Maybe it’s because I read The Foxhole Court, which includes a short aggressive character also named Andrew. So I kept confusing Drews’ short spitfire (Thomas) with Sakavic’s (Andrew).

Or maybe Thomas and Andrew felt so indistinct to me that I had a hard time distinguishing their names, even if they had different personalities. 

Personalities which mainly included being obsessed with each other, playing the martyr card, and being starving artist sorts. The whole book shows the boys pining for each other, but being too scared to say anything, and getting badly injured in intervals from disturbing beasts in the forest that they concocted themselves. 

Why didn’t they just leave the school, you ask? Especially since they didn’t give a shit about anyone else and were tortured daily by stereotypically cruel bullies and callous teachers?

No idea.

There was no good reason they didn’t and yet…they stay night after night to “protect” the school by going into the forest to kill monsters and get maimed in the process. 

The overall environment of this book was also very…dark. I didn’t realize until later that it is touted as a psychological thriller and horror, which is very apt.

There is also a ton of body horror elements that really disturbed me. I get that this is a personal problem on my end, but I found this book more horrific than the last true adult horror book I read called Home Before Dark by Riley Sager, which was way more cartoonish and entertaining than C.G. Drews’ young adult novel. 

But, if you like horror you may end up really enjoying this book despite its plot holes. I personally couldn’t jive with the forest growing inside of Andrew and all the squeamish detail that entailed. 

Lastly, and most importantly, there is one thing I hate more than anything. My top pet peeve that books sometimes do: ambiguous endings. 

If I am going to read your 300+ page book, I want answers. I want a solid ending that wraps up all the pieces. I don’t want to have to guess or wonder or decide on my own.

And that’s exactly what C.G. Drews did. Did Andrew imagine everything? Is he dead? Is Thomas dead? Are they sharing a heart? I have no freaking clue because she wanted me to be confused…

Sigh. 

Mission accomplished. 

Putting all these pieces together, Don’t Let the Forest In was a book I actively avoided reading. I’m glad that others seem to enjoy it and maybe a younger me would have had my curiosity piqued by two obsessive boys, but I’ve had that particular niche filled by much better books—The Foxhole Court, as previously mentioned, and I saw others compare it to The Wicker King by K. Ancrum and These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever, both books I’ve read and liked more (although I had my issues with both of them as well). 

Recommendation: You’re better off reading the books mentioned above than Don’t Let the Forest In. Save yourself the teen angst and read about (and fall in love with) the OG Andrew instead. 

Score: 4/10

[thebestbrunettee]

cardan x jude pt 1.

so i mentioned in a previous post (here) that cardan is seemingly obsessed with with mortals/mortality in itself or at the very least is fascinated with pretty much anything to do with humans and their world, literature, artifacts, etc. in that post, i mentioned that this could be cardan’s method of escapism considering he despises faerie, lacking virtually any interest in his role in the court or as the high king. but i think this appeal towards mortals could be what led cardan to take notice of jude and eventually fall desperately in love with her.

in tcp, cardan’s favorite book is alice in wonderland, a story where a regular human girl is thrown into this magical and dangerous world so very different from her own. it’s there that she relies on her wits and own strengths to survive. is this not what happened to jude and taryn? so it makes sense that this could be another reason cardan takes interest in jude. (see this post)

also in tcp, it’s mentioned that one of the first things cardan noticed about jude were her ears and their roundness, how different they were from cardan and his friends’. i highlight this specifically because what jude sees as a massive insecurity, cardan is intrigued by and even takes a liking to.

part of the reason i think jude is so alluring to cardan is that she has the one thing cardan can never know, mortality. see, in faerie, cardan can have anything he wants, and if it isn’t already given to him he takes it. this is not the the case with mortality. cardan can never have it no matter how hard he tries, so in a way couldn’t he be partly jealous of jude? in tcp, cardan views her as a weakling, dirt. he and his friends called them the circle of worms- and even that isn’t a low enough ranking in his eyes. however, it’s later revealed that cardan would free the mortal servants at hollow hall and would even take beatings for protecting them. so could cardan’s initial hatred for jude stem from the fact that she is born with something over him? maybe he begins to hate her (i mean before she starts to stand up to him) because she has something he might deep down long to become familiar with.

[madebytaylorursula]

I have been rebinding books for the last six months or so as a hobby, and as much as I love doing it - I don’t actually collect books myself. I’m trying my hand at selling some of my rebinds on Etsy! I’m not sure how successful it will be (rebinding is so time consuming and pricey to start out in, so finished products are fairly expensive due to the time, practice, and energy that has to go into them) but I at least wanted to give it a go! This is one of many I have finished in the last couple of months that I am going to put on my Etsy shop. I’ll be adding more as I make them, and I am very open to custom orders, if by chance someone is interested in one ☺️ I’m just starting all of these pages out, so they are pretty bare bones for now

[books-and-strawberry-tea]

Holiday Book Haul✨ This is everything I got. This will be my last haul for a while. I have a lot of physical books to read now. And once I read them all I want to sell some that I didn’t like, or give them away, maybe donate them. There’s a library near me, but I’ve never donated before so I’m going to sus that out for my own knowledge.

꒰ა ˚₊ ✧・┈・╴﹕꒰ ᐢ｡- ༝ -｡ᐢ ꒱﹕╴・┈・𐑺 ‧₊˚໒꒱

[your-mommy-ems]

Kenji: Self care is actually getting in fist fights with randoms in dark alleys.

Juliette: No, self care is stuff like taking a bubble bath, or putting on a lot of makeup if you like it, or taking a nice warm nap!

Aaron: Self care is the burning heat when rage washes over you!! Self care is when you feel the bones crack under your powerful fists!! Self care is the fear in your enemies’ eyes!!!

Nazeera: Lmao self care is taking your birthday cake just so I can eat the frosting.

Kenji : If you touch my birthday cake I’ll make you eat your hands.

[wakingupnexttoyou]

[jealousorchid]

Compromises that say, there will be a you-shaped space in my heart, and if your shape changes, I will adapt.

-Emily Henry, Book Lovers

[shy-tidal-waves]

"Isn’t it awfully convenient,” Harry added, “that when men make the rules, the one thing that’s looked down on the most is the one thing that would bear them the greatest threat? Imagine if every single woman on the planet wanted something in exchange when she gave up her body. You’d all be ruling the place. An armed populace. Only men like me would stand a chance against you. And that’s the last thing those assholes want, a world run by people like you and me."

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid

[ismahanescorner]

The Apothecary Diaries | Gush!! 🩷

heya!! so i’ll prolly be doing more of these gush-y review-esque posts about stories that i’m consuming in multiple media formats!

if you’ve been following along with my wrap-ups, you’d know that i binged the apothecary diaries manga in december (i’m currently waiting on vol. 11 to be released). i’m also watching the anime weekly (i can’t wait for temple rescue coming up!!). i also have the light novel on hold from my library so i can read ahead!! 😅

the story isn’t all that new or innovative if you’re an avid enjoyer of historical chinese (east asian) court dramas. however, it is very compelling and intriguing, and the pacing of reveals is pretty good as well!

the characters are instantly loveable and are the reason for my current -tiny- hyperfixation with the story. i just adore maomao and jinshi!!! 😍😍😍

if you’re in the same camp of being swept by your overwhelming love for these two idiots, please let me know so we can gush together!! 🤭🤍

🖼️ collage by me! 😊

[fairy-peculiar]

It hit me pretty hard. How there’s no kind of sad in this world that will stop it turning. People will keep on wanting what they want and you’re on your own.

Demon Copperhead / Barbara Kingsolver

[thetypedwriter]

The Grandest Game Book Review

The Grandest Game Book Review by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I feel like I’m writing about Jennifer Lynn Barnes constantly. 

Thankfully, this is not a case of diminishing returns. 

In fact, this might be Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ best novel yet, which is astounding to me. 

The Grandest Game is now the…fifth book in the Inheritance Games series which is insane, but it’s also the first installment in a spinoff series.

So related but not a direct sequel, although you would be lacking in a significant amount of understanding if you had not read the first four books of the Inheritance Games.

At this point, Jennifer Lynn Barnes is becoming the new Cassandra Clare.

But back to The Grandest Game, one of the key differences is instead of focusing on Avery and the Hawthorne brothers, this novel focuses on other players that have either been invited to play or won themselves a nomination. 

The Grandest Game itself is not that noteworthy, but the plot essentially boils down to this: Avery has set up a competition game where the prize money is $26 million.

Most of the game includes the players getting involuntarily put into teams and trying to solve a series of riddles and puzzles while attempting escape-room antics. 

Avery and the Hawthrone brothers are in the novel, but they’re in the periphery and largely unimportant other than the history they have with the players and the fact that they have masterminded the game. 

However, I can not emphasize enough how much better the book is by not focusing on them. Avery was never much more than a Mary-Sue from the get go and the Hawthorne brothers were all largely one-dimensional cliches.

The side characters who take center stage in this novel are a huge improvement, personality and interest wise. 

Rohan we know from the last book, The Brother Hawthorne, and his POV is fascinating. I’ve always had a soft spot for characters who are selfish and conniving, two characteristics Rohan has in droves. 

However, he also has a good motivation for playing the Grandest Game—getting money to take over the Devil’s Mercy, a secret club that he’s been a part of since he was a child. His penchant for winning always makes his POV fun to read. 

His relationship with Savannah, while predictable, was also really charming. I love relationships that are fierce and fiery, have cat-and-mouse banter, and are between two very stubborn people who don’t want to admit defeat. Every chapter with them working as a team was titillating. 

The POV I enjoyed the most was Gigi’s. Her fun, bubbly personality and bright way of connecting with people and seeing the world was fresh, fun, and authentic.

Her interactions with Knox and Brady were hilarious, but also strangely deep and intriguing, as they were both new characters with a sordid and complicated past with each other. 

Gigi’s intellect shone through while others constantly underestimated her, a plot point that never got old. Gigi trying to piece together what happened with Knox and Brady, while at the same time learning she’s bugged and trying to untangle the larger mystery of who’s on the island, was the most riveting part of the story for me. 

The last POV was for a character named Lyra Kane. Essentially, she’s Avery 2.0. I disliked her POV the most, especially as her motivation to win–saving her childhood home—while nice, was boring.

She also had the hackneyed story arc of being attracted to Grayson Hawthorne while incessantly telling herself to stay away from him (without success). 

The most interesting part of this POV was Grayson’s and Lyra’s interaction with their third teammate, Odette, an older woman who was once involved with Tobias Hawthorne.

I liked Odette’s backstory and the diversity of having an older character, but she was too cryptic throughout the whole novel and then decided to give up her spot at the end, a choice that riddled me with frustration and made her character dip in the favorite department. 

That being said, these three POV’s were still a huge improvement from the banality of Avery’s mind and the vapid love triangle she found herself in of the previous books. 

Instead, we have two interesting perspectives (plus Lyra) to carry this new spinoff series forward, a journey I am wholeheartedly ready to embark on.

Plus, all the riddles are a lot of fun to try and piece together as a reader. It may not be the most complicated of plots, but it’s entertaining and the characters propel it forward with their intersecting relationships and personal motivations. 

Recommendation: The best Jennifer Lynn Barnes novel yet. Read it and try to solve as many of the puzzles as you can (I got two of them!).

Score: 8/10

[classicbooks101]

This life soon be over, I say. Heaven last all ways.

The Color Purple, Alice Walker