After surviving a series of devastating traumas, including the loss of both parents and a harrowing act of violence, Bonnie Lincoln wins the lottery in Ashley Hutson’s novel One’s Company. Instead of buying a new house in the traditional sense, she moves to an isolated mountain compound and hires staff to construct an exact replica of the 1980s sit-com Three’s Company set, complete with everyone’s apartment units.
In what she now calls home, Bonnie attempts to live as each of the show’s characters, cycling through their wardrobes, their quirks, their scripted joy. It’s a surreal and (I have to say bizarre!) premise, but Hutson manages it with such clarity that it never feels absurd, even if does seem alarming yet somehow inevitable. There’s something hauntingly familiar about the way Bonnie seeks refuge in nostalgia. In a world that often feels too sharp, too loud, too cruel, Bonnie’s retreat into the sitcom world of Three’s Company feels less like madness and more like a desperate kind of hope.
As a child of the 70s and early 80s who watched and adored Three’s Company during its original prime time run and in reruns, I get it. I have lived there once, in front of the screen. But Bonnie’s journey is a reminder that even though nostalgia can be a balm, it can also be a blade. What makes One’s Company so affecting is its refusal to pathologize Bonnie. Her choices are extreme, even worrisome, but they are also deeply human. Who among us hasn’t longed to disappear into a simpler world, one where problems resolve in 22 minutes and laughter is guaranteed? Bonnie’s obsession is not just escapism, it’s a taking back of control, a rewriting of her own narrative in a world that has repeatedly written over her.
Angie is an Instructor & Research Specialist at Central Branch and is a co-facilitator for Reads of Acceptance, HCLS’ first LGBTQ-focused book club. Her ideal day is reading in her cozy armchair, with her cat Henry next to her.
Author Works: The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb For adults. Register at bit.ly/Author-Slocumb Tue Sep 16 5:30 – 6:30 pm Book Signing 6:30 – 7:30 pm Author Event East Columbia 50+ Center 6610 Cradlerock Way, Columbia (adjacent to library)
His cello made him famous. His father made him a target.
Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy, growing up in the Southeast DC projects with a drug dealer for a father. But through determination and talent, and the loving support of his father’s girlfriend, Larissa, Curtis claws his way out of his challenging circumstances and rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world — even soloing with the New York Philharmonic.
And then, suddenly, his life disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state evidence, implicating his old bosses to the FBI. Now the family, Curtis included, must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means Curtis must give up the very thing he loves most: sharing his extraordinary musical talents with the world. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement to convict them, Curtis, Zippy, and Larissa realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the cartel themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’s musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead. But will it be enough to keep Curtis and his family alive?
A propulsive and moving story about sacrifice, loyalty, and the indomitable human spirit, The Dark Maestro is Slocumb at the height of his powers.
Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, NC, and holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. For more than twenty years he has been a public and private school music educator and has performed with orchestras throughout northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. He is currently based in DC.
Author Works: The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel For adults. Register at bit.ly/Author-Finkel Wed Sep 17 7 – 8 pm online: register to receive a link
Stéphane Bréitwieser is the most prolific art thief of all time. He pulled off more than 200 heists, often in crowded museums in broad daylight. His girlfriend served as his accomplice, and his collection was worth an estimated $2 billion… but he never sold a piece, and instead displayed his stolen art in his attic bedroom.
He felt like a king. Until everything came to a shocking end.
The Art Thief, a spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, Michael Finkel gives us one of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of our times, a riveting story of art, theft, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.
Bauder Adult Battle of the Books is a new Friends & Foundation of HCLS fundraiser event launching as part of the Library’s 85th birthday celebration. It’s an adults-only reading competition where teams of 3–5 people read six preselected books and compete in a trivia challenge held at local restaurants. Proceeds will support some of your favorite Friends’ sponsored initiatives, such as author events, summer reading, Project Literacy graduation, and the youth Battle of the Books.
Run for the Hillsby Kevin Wilson is the story of what might be the weirdest road trip ever conceived. If “found family” is a popular theme in books these days, what do you call it when you actually find your family? As in siblings you never knew existed.
Reuben Hill drives a rented PT Cruiser and is on a quest to locate his father, who disappeared when he was a child, and his half-siblings who live across the United States. Here’s the catch: the siblings don’t know that each other exists. Rube (nicknames are a thing) hired a private investigator after his mom died to get some answers to his life’s mysteries. He finds Madeline Hill (Mad) working the roadside stand at the organic farm in Tennessee where she and her mom live. From there, they head to Oklahoma to find the next sister (Pep, which is short for Pepper), who plays women’s collegiate basketball at the highest level. Then, on to Utah and finally to California.
It’s a quirky setup, filled with snacks and shared life experiences. Their mutual father (Chip, Chuck, Charlie, Carl Hill) left each of his families, although he still keeps in contact with the moms, as he headed ever further westward. The Hill progeny are all blessed with strong mothers – not perfect, but certainly able single parents. Each child has mostly fond memories of their father, but also justifiable frustration and anger over his abandonment of them. With each new family, Mr. Hill became an expert enthusiast in a different area – from writing to farming to basketball to film.
When the book wraps up at a wealthy wilderness retreat in California, the Hill half-siblings really, truly feel like family to one another. Sometimes exasperated, but always lovingly so, they realize that their connections to each other matter – maybe more so than the relationship to their missing parent. They have each already grieved and processed that fact of life to greater or lesser extents. About that missing parent: I will give author Wilson full credit for NOT redeeming him entirely. While I was left wanting more about this bunch of cool, nerdy, confused but ultimately good-hearted folks, it was a lovely summer read filled with good emotions and hope. There’s nothing weird about that.
Run for the Hills is available from HCLS in print and as an e-book and an e-audiobook from Libby/OverDrive.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).
I’ve never had a live-in tenant, as the thought of living with a stranger — regardless of their glowing references and background checks — seems straight out of an episode of Criminal Minds or Law and Order: SVU. And while I don’t usually fall for hype surrounding “buzzed about” authors, I made an exception for Freida McFadden, in the interest of literary experiment.
I devoured The Tenant, which centers on Blake Porter, a VP of marketing and newly engaged to girlfriend Krista. Blake loses his job, and in order to afford his New York brownstone, he agrees to take in a tenant. But not just any ordinary tenant: The young and beautiful Whitney moves in to help make ends meet for Blake and Krista. Hard-working, charming, smart, and nice, Whitney is the perfect tenant, right? Soon, nothing is right when Blakes discovers dead bodies, family secrets, fruit flies, infidelity, itchy laundry detergent, and plenty of bloodshed. McFadden writes a story dripping with intrigue, one that makes you question how much you can truly trust a stranger living in your home.
There is a reason McFadden’s books are often checked out in our branches. Here, she’s crafted a suspenseful page-turner with twists and turns right up until the epilogue. The Tenant will live rent-free in your thoughts long after the last page.
Carmen J. is a teen instructor at HCLS East Columbia Branch. Among her favorite things are great books, all things 80s, shamelessly watching The Bachelor, gardening, and drinking anything that tastes like coffee.
We’re getting even closer to the start of school. If you enjoyed our last compilation, there’s still a little bit of time left to read and we’re still full of suggestions! Whether you’re looking for a narrative to take with you for Labor Day weekend or a thoughtful novel to share with your book club this autumn, our staff continues to share their recent summer reading recommendations. And remember, readers’ advisory is one of our favorite ways to make connections with readers in the community – so if none of these suit your tastes or your reading goals, please stop by any branch and ask the instructors and research specialists for more reading ideas!
Space horror is my new favorite genre mash-up, and SA Barnes has cemented herself as the queen of this space. Her newest, Cold Eternity,is a creepy story about a woman on the run who takes a job on ghost ship filled with dozens of cryogenically frozen passengers.
Rachel Gillig is back with another decadent and enthralling romantasy after wrapping up her debut duology that began with One Dark Window. In The Knight and the Moth, a priestess must team up with a heretical knight when her fellow priestesses start disappearing.
~ Alex H., Teen Instructor and Research Specialist, Glenwood Branch
During the summer of 1996, awkward teens Frankie and Zeke create a mysterious poster and plaster it all around their town, leading to chaos and mass hysteria. The teens go their separate ways after that fateful summer, now known as The Coalfield Panic of 1996, and their secret exists only between them until a journalist begins poking around 20+ years later. The characters feel fully-realized as does the setting. This is the first book I’ve read by Kevin Wilson and I can’t wait to read more!
A sudden zombie outbreak sends sheltered teen Sophie on an action-packed road trip across the Midwest in search of her twin brother, who was sent away to a conversion camp by their ultra-religious parents. A coming-of-age story filled with horror, heartbreak, and gore — think The Last of Us with a dash of religious trauma.
~ Emily B., Adult Instructor and Research Specialist, Central Branch
Love a good puzzle do you? Well, what if your entire life… was a puzzle?
Meet Clayton Stumper—found as a baby with nothing but a cryptic note and raised by a secret British society of puzzle geniuses. When Clayton turns 25, his mysterious past decides it’s time to be solved. This debut is a heartwarming, brain-tickling mystery packed with eccentric characters, emotional twists, and riddles. It’s reads as if The Da Vinci Code put the kettle on, got all warm and cozy, and joined a Sudoku club in the Cotswolds. If you like your fiction with clues, codes, and a dash of emotional catharsis—add this one to your TBR pile!
What happens when a picture-perfect, ‘nice neighborhood’ life gets a little… kidnapped? Meet the Fletchers: wealthy, neurotic, self destructive, greatly traumatized — and that’s before the father is abducted from their own driveway! In Long Island Compromise, the American Dream gets duct-taped, stuffed in a van, and ransomed back to you — but somehow, the cost is even more than before. It’s equal parts hilarious, devastating, and deeply Jewish, yet somehow makes existential despair and generational trauma feel kind of warm and fuzzy.
~ Wendy C., Adult Instructor and Research Specialist, Central Branch
Wives and mothers of a certain age can completely relate to Anne Tyler’s heroine, Delia Grinstead, who suddenly flips a switch while on family vacation at the beach. Delia, frustrated and feeling isolated, just walks away, finding a new life in a small rural town; as she says to her mother-in-law, “because I just like the thought of beginning again from scratch” (139).
But is Delia just re-enacting her suburban life and hoping for a different outcome? When her daughter, Susie, invites her home for Susie’s wedding, we’re all waiting to discover the answer – and, I have to say, I had no idea what would happen, even just a few pages from the end. With her delightful sprinkles of local color and her deep, deep understanding of human nature, Ladder of Years truly is near-perfection.
This is narrative nonfiction that reads in many places like the screenplay for an action/adventure movie, in only the best sense. Author Macintyre puts us right in the thick of the action in North Africa during World War II, as the newly-minted Special Air Service trains in the desert and embarks on daring behind-the-lines raids to destroy German supplies and equipment, particularly planes in their airfields.
Despite some resistance from the upper brass, the men who led and trained the group, David Stirling and Paddy Mayne, end up making a huge difference in the fate of the fight against Rommel, and they inspire feats of bravery and moments of true courage among their ruffian-like band of recruits. The author makes clear that the SAS were innovative game-changers who did things others couldn’t or wouldn’t even attempt. A really great story, told well.
~ Julie F., Adult Instructor and Research Specialist, Miller Branch
The Bob’s Burgers Movie throws the lovable and zany Belcher family onto the big screen with all the charm, chaos, and condiment-fueled comedy fans adore. Between Tina’s erotic friend-fiction fantasies, Gene’s musical ambitions (this time with a burger-themed rock opera, obviously), and Louise’s pink-ear-capped schemes, the Belchers are beefier than ever. Toss in a murder mystery, some off-key original songs, and the eternal struggle to pay rent, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for delicious dysfunction.
Whether you’re a long-time fan or a first-time fryer, this film is a celebration of awkward family love, small business spirit, and burger puns that never quit. It’s heartfelt, hilarious, and just weird enough to make you wonder if your food might burst into song. In a season five episode of Bob’s Burgers, Tina (the eldest of the Belcher children and one of the most lovelorn characters to ever appear in animation) is righteously upset when a friend of hers mentions the girl he likes is way “out of his league.” The scene takes place in a bowling alley (again, the smart writing!) and Tina yells, “Damn it, there are no leagues!” The intercom interrupts to call forth bowling leagues that are entered in a contest. Well, okay, Tina continues, there are bowling leagues, “but there should be no people leagues.”
Bob’s Burgers pulls me in like no other comedy. I absolutely want to live in BB’s world, I want to know all of the characters and walk down the streets of their town and visit their shops and their boardwalk. I want to go to karaoke with Linda, talk about life with Tina and get into hijinks with Louise and Gene. Never have I known a show to be both wholesome and provocative, to be sweet and subversive. Best of all, Bob’s Burgers holds on to kindness, even in the middle of chaos. One of my favorite quotes from the show, from any show really, is this:
Maybe we all have a little bully inside of us. Maybe when we think people are being mean to us it can make us mean. But even if people are difficult we have to resist, we have to try to be nice. Maybe it will bring out the nice in other people.
Angie is an Instructor & Research Specialist at Central Branch and is a co-facilitator for Reads of Acceptance, HCLS’ first LGBTQ-focused book club. Her ideal day is reading in her cozy armchair, with her cat Henry next to her.
Music has been an integral part of my life, and I consider it almost like a second language full of nuance and strange etymology. From cello and bass lessons in middle and high school, exploring other strings and voice in college, to finding a new prog band, music has always been a mainstay for me. Making a habit of falling down musical “rabbit holes” exposes me to all kinds of new musical vocab, including some really inventive genre bends and blends. Fun stuff like modern metal mixed with Japanese instrumentation , or EDM with classical samples. Much like how books can transport you to another place and time and travel abroad can expose you to more of humanity, I think that a widely cast net of musical experiences can benefit the listener in similar ways.
The universal nature of music is one of the many facets that we will explore in Musical Mondays, HCLS’ new music-centric book club. If you’ve ever had a song give you goosebumps, wondered how music affects the brain, or thought about expanding your own musical vocabulary, then come to Musical Mondays! Whether you are a professional musician, avid car singer, or just enraptured by music like so many of us are, I can’t wait to hear your experiences. Bring song recommendations as well!
Musical Mondays meets the second Monday of each month, from 6-7 pm at HCLS Miller Branch. We will read both nonfiction and fiction titles, the first of which is How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy. Tweedy is best known as the lead singer/songwriter of Wilco and has written several books about music and the creative process. You can pick up copies of the book at the branch.
Sep 8: How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy, lead singer and songwriter of hit band Wilco Oct 13: The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb Nov 10: Anatomy of a Song by Marc Myers
Tony is an Instructor and Research Specialist at HCLS Miller Branch. He has a degree in history, started playing cello in third grade, and enjoys reading science fiction and fantasy.
The fourth of July may seem like a distant memory and school is revving up again soon – perhaps too soon for some! – but summer reading at Howard County Library System is still in full swing. If you’re a teen or an adult in search of a book full of fun, fantasy, or escape, summer reading is for you, too! Check out this list of recommendations from our instructors and complete your summer reading adventure, now through August 31.
Lisa Cheese is a unicorn girl who finds herself drawn into a battle between an evil burger corporation and a mom-and-pop restaurant. This quirky graphic novel is perfect for fans of vintage comics, 90s pop rock and grunge, and anyone looking for a delightfully zany story that’ll keep them guessing until the last page.
Stiefvater’s adult debut blends history with a touch of magic to bring you a glamorous hotel in the mountains of West Virginia that is forced to house dozens of Axis diplomats during World War II. Plus, there are dachshunds! -Alex H., Teen Instructor and Research Specialist, Glenwood Branch
The deliciously dark tale of a deranged, psychopathic governess named Winifred. She’s just arrived at Ensor House to tutor Drusilla and Andrew, but how long will she be able to keep her violent impulses at bay? This snarky and dark gothic tale is a fabulous entry in the historical horror subgenre.
GUP aka Gay Uncle Patrick takes in his niece and nephew for a summer in Palm Springs after their mother, and his college best friend, Sara, passes away from cancer. Though it deals with heavy topics like grief, addiction, and the loss of a parent, Rowley balances the heaviness with humor. Packed with fun pop culture references, this one is sweet with substance! -Emily B., Adult Instructor and Research Specialist, Central Branch
Ever wonder how the one-percenters live? Where toddlers have gluten-free meal plans, and certain celebs skip the school pickup line? Stephanie Kiser serves up a hilariously sharp—and deeply human memoir, about life behind the velvet stroller ropes. Think The Nanny Diaries meets The Devil Wears Pull-Ups!
With wit, grit, and just the right dose of heartbreak, Kiser lifts the curtain on what it means to chase the American Dream. It’s a tale of diaper duty meets social disparity—of love for children in a world that treats its caregivers like invisible help. Take a peek into a world of privilege, parenting, and personal revelations. Bittersweet and brutally honest.
Imagine you’re juggling grief, secrets, and enough emotional baggage to fill Heathrow airport and still manage to look fabulous! That’s the vibe in this Nigerian-English, very loose retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, but with teeth and a much bigger bite. It’s scandals, secrets, ambition, and betrayal—woven into a tapestry of identity and belonging. Jane Austen’s decorum meets generational trauma, and the result? An emotional and messy exploration of what happens when home isn’t where the heart is, but where the hurt was.
If you like tons of family drama, fierce women, and a plot that hits you harder than your auntie’s side-eye at the dinner table, this one’s for you! -Wendy C., Adult Instructor and Research Specialist, Central Branch
The Hebridean island setting of Eilean Eadar is atmospheric and gloomy, foreboding in its isolation. Mysterious disappearances from the local lighthouse took place a century ago and the current residents are a curious mix of standoffish yet welcoming. The islanders don’t want the presumed suicide of a young man to be investigated by Glasgow detectives Georgina “George” Lennox and Richie Stewart. The author carefully juggles characters and subplots to keep the reader guessing what happened to him (and also to the missing lighthouse keepers from 1919). Fans of folk-horror will be intrigued and unable to put it down!
When the decaying flats at Shelley House are scheduled for demolition, the secrets of the residents start to unravel, and one of them is the victim of a crime. Prickly, 25-year-old Kat, a loner and a bit of a stray waif, and 77-year-old Dorothy, a meddling, nosy woman who has lived there longer than anyone, become unlikely allies as they try to figure out what happened to kind, gentle Joseph, a dog owner who has sublet a room in his flat to Kat. A delightful mix of cozy mystery and found-family story, with just a hint of romance. You will root for the characters despite their quirks, and as their stories are revealed, they become closer to one another and form a true community. -Julie F., Adult Instructor and Research Specialist, Miller Branch
Booker reads Owls by Gail Gibbons in celebration of National Book Lovers Day.
by Brandon B.
Summer reading pairs perfectly with National Book Lovers Day – like flip-flops and a beach towel! On August 9, you have an opportunity to celebrate literature, national best-selling books, and your favorite reads at any HCLS branch.
Cream, sugar, and fruit make for perfect ice cream — what ingredients make a terrific book for you? You may be looking for old-fashioned sass and wry truth in a children’s book by Judy Blume. Maybe you have a taste for a modern, poetic, and fun teen book by Jason Reynolds, one that even adults can enjoy. Some readers may prefer a spicy romantic thriller by Freida McFadden, or an impactful, savory nonfiction book by Tony Robbins. Whatever your taste in books, the library has something for you, free of charge and free of any sort of judgment.
Any of these books count toward completing HCLS’ summer reading challenge. If you haven’t already, pick up an Adult Reading Challenge booklet at any of our branches. The 14 challenges guide you through a year’s worth of reading, with summer being a great time to get started with your first three titles. Once you complete three challenges, come back to the library for a small gift (while supplies last) and entry into a bigger prize drawing.
For National Book Lovers Day, it seems appropriate to take a look at the the adult summer reading booklet. One challenge called “Reading is Magic.” After all, it’s what the day celebrates! Books may have their own special magic, but the challenge is more literal, asking you to choose a title with supernatural or magical elements (see the Chapter Chats review for one of the suggested titles, Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs).
No matter how you love to read – on the page, on the screen, or by listening to an audiobook – National Book Lovers Day is for you! Stop by the library in person or via the catalog to find a new or favorite title, and keep reading all year with your booklet of reading adventures.
Brandon is a Customer Service Specialist at HCLS Central Branch who loves reading, football, and taking nice long walks around his neighborhood.
My book club (Books on Tap) left for our August summer break on something of an odd note. At a previous meeting, we had a discussion about adapting books to TV shows and movies. I had recently read glowing reviews of the Netflix adaption of One Hundred Years of Solitude, and I proposed reading the Latin American classic. Everyone agreed that it had been awhile since we tackled something, perhaps, weightier, and – per usual for this great group of people – they were game to try.
I had read and loved this book in college, when I was in the practice of reading complicated, challenging material. While I still enjoyed the book this time around, I definitely found it more difficult to read decades later. The full immersion into the Buendia family and the village of Macondo remained the same, enchantingly so. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is credited with inventing modern magical realism, where the odd and inexplicable are part of every day life.
The family was trickier this time around, with the generations sharing names and attributes. I – and my book club folks – got too caught up in trying to keep everyone straight. In talking about it, though, we realized that’s one of the joys of this inter-generational story. It’s as though your grandma or some other older relative is telling you the family history, with asides and doubling back and other random diversions before actually getting to the point. It’s not really necessary that you keep the Aurelianos, Jose Arcadios, and Ursulas straight because the novel moves in circular patterns more than as a linear “and then” plot. We were less thrilled with a rather dated assumption that the patriarchy meant that men could marry whomever they pleased, even barely adolescent girls and despite mistresses.
The particular smaller stories, though, share in all of humanity’s troubles and joys, often humorously so – the insomnia plague, the visiting gypsies who bring the miracles of magnets and ice to Macondo, the coming of the railroad and banana company, the feuds, and the love affairs. All of it mixed into a sort of memory soup filled with revolution, politics, and the destructive nature of colonialism and classism. It’s been called the Great Novel of the Americas, and I would agree with that assessment. There’s something quintessentially Latin American about the story, and absolutely universal about the way it is told. I was reminded of the spider from my family’s camping trip with Scouts that gets a little bit bigger every time the story is recounted, or the number of pies my grandmother would bake during the summer, or any other number of embellishments to tried-and-true chestnuts of familial tales.
If, however, the book doesn’t suit your current reading tastes – as many people found at book club – Netflix recently released the first half of an almost perfect adaptation of the book, with the second season coming soon, hopefully in 2026. Being able to see Macondo and its inhabitants helps keep it all straight, without losing any of the wonder or weirdness of the book. The voiceover of descriptions and commentary are taken directly from the original text, and it’s a perfect way to meld the classic novel with the new medium. The cast does a perfect job of inhabiting the characters and their often exasperated relationships. While the show’s original language is Spanish, the dubbing was not distracting. It’s also a rather frankly spicy (would be R-rated) depiction of various lovers and marriages. I hope it becomes available on DVD or via Kanopy soon, as it’s the perfect complement to the book.
Re-examining classics is always worthwhile to me, because the books may not change but we do as readers. I had memories of enjoying One Hundred of Solitude but couldn’t remember why. The town of Macondo, isolated in the jungle, and the Buendia family once again live in my imagination, and I am glad for it – if for different reasons than when I was in college.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is available in translation to English in print and as an e-audiobook. It is also available in Spanish.
Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball (but not all at the same time).
CHAPTER CHATS 