Book Buzz: Contentious Divorces, Tribal Elections, Obituary Writers, Science Fiction Espionage Thrillers, Tiger Castles, Gangsters, the Cherokee, and Rogers

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For November, we’re looking at rich people behaving badly, a heated tribal election on a Anishinaabe reservation, the humorous tale of an obituary writer falsely declared deceased, new science fiction and fantasy releases, a novel on audiobook about the infamous Virginia Hill, a history of the Cherokee Nation, and nonfiction about Rogers, Arkansas, just the next county over.

Continue reading “Book Buzz: Contentious Divorces, Tribal Elections, Obituary Writers, Science Fiction Espionage Thrillers, Tiger Castles, Gangsters, the Cherokee, and Rogers”

Book Buzz: Horror, Historical Fiction, Eleanor Roosevelt, Picasso, Montana, An Experimental Thriller, The Prairie, Hawaii, Spinach, and a Safari Gone Wrong

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For October, we’re looking at vampire horror, historical fiction spanning the 1800s and 1900s, literary fiction, a twisty new thriller with an unusual premise, ecologically themed nonfiction, a story of a spinach empire, and an audiobook about a safari that takes a murderous turn.

Continue reading “Book Buzz: Horror, Historical Fiction, Eleanor Roosevelt, Picasso, Montana, An Experimental Thriller, The Prairie, Hawaii, Spinach, and a Safari Gone Wrong”

Book Buzz: Espionage, Curses, Romance, Surreal Historical Mystery Sequels, Contemporary Mystery Debuts, Audiobooks, and Healthy Nonfiction Reads

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For September, we’re looking at a new-ish contemporary espionage thriller series, this year’s If All Arkansas Read the Same Book pick, romances and mysteries–both historical and contemporary, audiobooks in a range of genres, and nonfiction on healthy living.

Continue reading “Book Buzz: Espionage, Curses, Romance, Surreal Historical Mystery Sequels, Contemporary Mystery Debuts, Audiobooks, and Healthy Nonfiction Reads”

Book Buzz: Local True Crime

Usually the Book Buzz posts are a round-up of new-ish books in the library, but today we’re doing something a little different!

A couple of weeks ago, Jason Harmon reached out to our library system to let us know he would be appearing on the new Ozarks-themed podcast Ozarkian Folk Chronicles.

Back in 2003, he worked with David McElyea on his memoir When Money Grew on Trees: The True Tale of a Marijuana Moonshiner and the Outlaw Sheriff of Madison County, Arkansas. Written under the pen name of David Mac, the book recounts how McElyea grew an illegal marijuana farm in Madison County in the 1980s and 1990s under the protection of the then-sheriff Ralph Baker. It recounts both McElyea’s and Baker’s rise and fall, and it is a perennial favorite with patrons in our library system.

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Book Buzz: Summer 2025 Book Tasting Edition

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For July, we’re looking at the book menus used for yesterday’s book tasting, and filling in the gaps of what hasn’t already been covered on the blog.

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Book Buzz: Beach and Summer Reads

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For June, we’re looking at the perfect read for summer, whether you’ll be at the beach or on a staycation.

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Book Buzz: Familiar Stories in New Settings, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Dark Academia Fantasy, Family Sagas, DIY Podcasts and Sourdough, and Fishing

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For May, we’re looking at new twists on classic literature, a novel about the realities of living with bipolar disorder, a standalone fantasy book, a plethora of family sagas, how-to books on starting your own podcast and baking sourdough, and a meditation on the joys of fishing.

Continue reading “Book Buzz: Familiar Stories in New Settings, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Dark Academia Fantasy, Family Sagas, DIY Podcasts and Sourdough, and Fishing”

Doubleheader True Crime Review: Valerie Bauerlein’s The Devil at His Elbow and Abbott Kahler’s Eden Undone

Thanks so much to Julie for ordering both of these books for the collection! I was intrigued by both of them when I first heard about them, and they’re excellent reads that are very different from each other but pair well together.

Continue reading “Doubleheader True Crime Review: Valerie Bauerlein’s The Devil at His Elbow and Abbott Kahler’s Eden Undone”

Book Buzz: Tennis Spies, Dracula Retellings, Flowers, Ninevah Tales, Wind Farms, and New England True Crime

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at historical fiction that depicts a fascinating little known WWII story, horror that sets Dracula in the present from Mina’s point of view, a heartwarming tale of grief and flowers and Titanic on audiobook, as well as historical fiction that weaves an epic tale of the city of Ninevah on audio, and nonfiction about environmental battles in Montana and true crime in 19th century New England.

Continue reading “Book Buzz: Tennis Spies, Dracula Retellings, Flowers, Ninevah Tales, Wind Farms, and New England True Crime”

Book Buzz: Reissued Classics, Roman Mythological Fiction, Island Fiction, Science Fiction Metafiction, Vermont Mysteries, Historic Flights, The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and Monarch Butterfly Migrations

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For March, we’re looking at a re-release of Shogun, a retelling of the founding of Rome, two different novels set on remote islands, a unique science fiction novel about a science fiction novel, a new historical mystery series set in 1960s Vermont, an audiobook about a race to fly across the Pacific in the 1920s, Western true crime about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and a chronicle of following the over 10,000-mile annual monarch butterfly migration on a bicycle.

Continue reading “Book Buzz: Reissued Classics, Roman Mythological Fiction, Island Fiction, Science Fiction Metafiction, Vermont Mysteries, Historic Flights, The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and Monarch Butterfly Migrations”