ICPL on KXIC's Your Town

Did you catch Beth's and my appearance on KXIC's Your Town program this morning? If not, you can listen to the segment here.

I love doing the radio show. Yes, it's early (hence the large cup of coffee on my desk right now), but it's always fun to talk about what's happening at the Library. The toughest thing about the show, in my opinion, is the last question Jay Capron always asks: "What book(s) have you read lately?"

2015 is my year of I-Started-A-Lot-Of-Books, Didn't-Finish-All-Of-Them. Sometimes a book just doesn't click. Maybe it will at a later time, maybe not. I've learned not to feel guilty if I don't finish a book. Life is too short and my Books-to-Read list too long to force myself to read something I don't want to. That being said, here are the books Beth, Jay, Kara (last minute drop-in) and I recommend you try and yes, I did finish every book I talked about on the show.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. Every story has two sides. In this novel, Gross examines one marriage, as seen through the eyes of husband and wife. I wasn't sure I liked this book when I finished it. I believe I gave it three stars on GoodReads, but I can't stop thinking about it. There's a lot of buzz around this book. It's worth checking out.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. This science fiction book was released in 2011. It's The Scarlet Letter meets The Handmaid's Tale. It's slightly dystopian, taking place some undisclosed time in America's future where the skin of a criminal is dyed a color depending on their crime. The story begins with Hannah Payne wakes up as a red after being found guilty of murder following an abortion.

Beth recommended her first-ever Jodi Picoult book, Leaving Time. Told in alternating voices with flashback, this is the story about Jenna Metcalf's mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Jenna refuses to believe her mother would abandon her, so she enlists the help of Serenity Jones, a psychic, and Virgil Stanhope, the jaded detective who originally investigated Alice's case, to finally learn the truth. (I told Beth she should read The Storyteller next. That's my favorite Jodi Picoult book.)

Beth said she picked up Leaving Time because the story involves an elephant sanctuary. Alice was studying grief among elephants when she disappeared. That little tidbit led to Jay's recommendation of When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy, and Kara's suggestions of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Philosophy Made Simple by Robert Hellenga, which introduces readers to Rudy Harrington, a man ready for a new life who ends up taking care of an elephant named Norma Jean. Of course, we couldn't talk about elephant-themes books without mentioning Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books.

Are there any elephant titles we missed?