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Recommendations

Jan
19

Winter Craft Pack: Pickup Begins

9:00am - 10:00am
Age Group: Kids

Winter Craft Pack: Pickup Begins

9:00am - 10:00am
Jan 19, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Kids
Description
Stop by the library and pick up a free pack containing a variety of winter-themed crafts and activities....
Jan
19

Yoga with Julia

12:00pm - 12:45pm
Age Group: Everyone

Yoga with Julia

12:00pm - 12:45pm
Jan 19, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Everyone
Description
On Facebook Live...
Jan
19

Make It with Sheri: Let's Make Snowflakes!

3:30pm - 4:00pm
Age Group: Everyone

Make It with Sheri: Let's Make Snowflakes!

3:30pm - 4:00pm
Jan 19, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Everyone
Description
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 3:30 pm on Facebook Live. Video will remain posted on our Facebook page....
Jan
19

Teen Book Club

6:00pm - 7:00pm
Age Group: Teens
Registration Required

Teen Book Club

6:00pm - 7:00pm
Jan 19, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Teens
Registration Required
Seats Remaining: 20
Description
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 on Zoom. For teens ages 12-18, registration is required....
Jan
19

Zoom Book Club

6:30pm - 7:30pm
Age Group: Adults
Registration Required

Zoom Book Club

6:30pm - 7:30pm
Jan 19, 2021
Main Branch
Age Groups: Adults
Registration Required
Seats Remaining: 9
Description
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 from 6:30-7:30 pm on Zoom. Registration is required....
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Find Your Next Book

Sign up for Next Reads to receive email newsletters with suggestions based on your favorite genres. 

New Materials

Visit our catalog to see the newest items that have been added to our collection. Look for the dropdown box above the cover images. Take a look at the newest books, DVDs, and music at the library and in our library system. You can also view bestseller lists.

Request an Item for Loan or Purchase

Fill out the form here to request an item. We do our best to get the item you want. Our staff will decide if we borrow the item from another library for you or purchase it for our collection.

If you live in Normal, you might check our catalog then Find More Illinois.

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Staff Picks

If you want to try something new or find a different perspective try one of our favorites in our Staff Picks.

New Fiction

  • The Chicken Sisters

    The Chicken Sisters

    K J Dell'Antonia

    For a century two rival chicken shacks in Merinac, Kansas, have been vying to serve the best fried chicken in the state, and a feud between the two families has lasted as long. When Amanda falls in love with a man from the rival chicken shack, she scandalously changes sides and starts working for her family's nemesis. Tired of being stuck in the middle, she recruits her Brooklyn-based sister to move back to Kansas and join her on reality TV show Food Wars to settle the feud.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Lost Boys

    The Lost Boys

    Faye Kellerman

    Faye Kellerman returns with an atmospheric, face-paced mystery set in bucolic upstate New York, full of unexpected twists and turns that build to a shocking and surprising end--the latest thrilling entry in her New York Times bestseller Decker/Lazarus series.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Scorpion's Tail

    The Scorpion's Tail

    Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston

    After a shoot-out FBI agent Corrie Swanson is involved in leaves a senior FBI agent gravely wounded, Corrie finds herself under investigation. As a distraction, she takes on a new case involving a fifty-year-old, mummified corpse discovered in a hidden enclave at High Lonesome, a long-abandoned New Mexico ghost town. Quickly out of her depth, she quickly realizes she needs the help of her foe-turned-ally, archaeologist Nora Kelly, who soon uncovers a startling truth: the deceased had been poisoned, and died clutching a priceless artifact from outside High Lonesome.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Outlawed

    Outlawed

    Anna North

    The Crucible meets True Grit in this riveting adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West.  A selection of "Reese's Book Club."

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Breaker

    The Breaker

    Nick Petrie

    Peter Ash tangles with dangerous enemies and terrifying technology in the newest thriller from bestselling author Petrie.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Children's Blizzard

    The Children's Blizzard

    Melanie Benjamin

    "They came on boats, on trains, great unceasing waves of them-the poor, the disenfranchised, the seekers, the dreamers. Second and third generations of farmers eking out an existence on scraps of farms divided up among too many sons. Political agitators no longer welcome in their homelands.  Bachelors from towns with few women. The poor in tenements with air so stifling and foul there was no room to breathe, let alone dream. Come to Nebraska! Dakota Territory! Minnesota! Come to the Great Plains of America!"--

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Robert B. Parker's Someone to Watch Over Me

    Robert B. Parker's Someone to Watch Over Me

    Ace Atkins

    In the latest thriller featuring the legendary Boston PI, Spenser and his young protégé Mattie Sullivan take on billionaire money manager running a network of underaged girls for his rich and powerful clients.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Spin

    Spin

    Patricia Cornwell

    Captain Calli Chase returns in a page-turning thriller from international bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Lovecraft Country [movie Tie-In]

    Lovecraft Country

    Matt Ruff

    A new HBO(R) series from J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele is based on this brilliant and imaginative novel by critically acclaimed author Matt Ruff. A blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism--the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today. --Charlie Jane Anders, The Amazon Book Review

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Neighbors

    Neighbors

    Danielle Steel

    A reclusive woman opens up her home to her neighbors in the wake of a devastating earthquake, setting off events that reveal secrets, break relationships apart, and bring strangers together.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Twenty

    Twenty

    James Grippando

    Jack Swyteck and his family are caught in the crossfire after a deadly school shooting claims twenty casualties--Florida's fifth mass shooting in as many years--in this provocative and timely thriller from Harper Lee Prize-winner James Grippando.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Fool Me Twice

    Fool Me Twice

    Jeff Lindsay

    "A masterful thief plots an impossible crime in Book 2 of the Riley Wolfe series"--

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Dark Tides

    Dark Tides

    Philippa Gregory

    Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy man hoping to find the lover he deserted twenty-one years before.The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Missionaries

    Missionaries

    Phil Klay

    Neither Mason, a U.S. Army Special Forces medic, nor Lisette, a foreign correspondent, has emerged from America's long post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan unscathed. Yet war also exerts a terrible draw that neither can shake--the noble calling, the camaraderie, the life-and-death stakes. Where else in the world can such a person go? All roads lead to Colombia, where the US, with its patented fusion of intelligence dominance and quick-striking special operators, has partnered with local government to stamp out a vicious civil war and keep the predatory narco gangs at bay. 

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • How to Raise an Elephant

    How to Raise an Elephant

    Alexander McCall Smith

    The next book in the perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series sees Precious Ramotswe calling upon all her maternal instincts when she's faced with a two-ton case. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but can Mma Ramotswe and the rest of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency come together to raise a pipsqueak pachyderm? 

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>

New Non-Fiction

  • Tom Seaver

    Tom Seaver

    Bill Madden

    He was called Tom Terrific for a reason. Author Bill Madden began following Seaver’s baseball career in the 1980s.  Drawing in part on their long relationship, Madden offers a deeply personal and fascinating portrait of one of the greatest and most admired players of all time.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Together in a Sudden Strangeness

    Together in a Sudden Strangeness

    Alice Quinn

    In this urgent outpouring of American voices, our poets speak to us as they shelter in place, addressing our collective fear, grief, and hope from eloquent and diverse individual perspectives. As the novel coronavirus and its devastating effects began to spread in the United States and around the world, Alice Quinn reached out to poets across the country to see if, and what, they were writing under quarantine.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • How to Attract Birds to Your Garden

    How to Attract Birds to Your Garden

    Dan Rouse

    How to Attract Birds to Your Garden shows you how to optimize your outdoor space for birds. Discover the best plants to grow for food and shelter, which birdfeeders, feed, and nest boxes to buy and how to make them predator-proof, as well as how to encourage diversity and a broad range of bird species. No need to be an expert gardener already, or to break the bank - many of the most beneficial features can be installed easily and cheaply, and many you can build yourself or upcycle to be eco-friendly.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Last Queen

    The Last Queen

    Clive Irving

    A timely and revelatory new biography of Queen Elizabeth (and her family) exploring how the Windsors have evolved and thrived, as the modern world has changed around them. The Last Queen is not a conventional biography—and the book is therefore not limited by the traditions of that genre. Instead, it follows Elizabeth and her family’s struggle to survive in the face of unprecedented changes in our attitudes towards the royal family, with the critical eye of an investigative reporter who is present and involved on a highly personal level.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Frontier Follies

    Frontier Follies

    Ree Drummond

    A warm, hilarious collection of stories and reflections on motherhood from the #1 New York Times bestselling author, photographer, businesswoman, and star of the Food Network show The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Over the years she's learned a few things about balancing motherhood with a million other things, and now she offers the wisdom of her experiences--the ups, the downs, the bumps in the road, the laughter and the tears--in stories brimming with her relatable wit and humor.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Long Time Coming

    Long Time Coming

    Michael Eric Dyson

    The night of May 25, 2020 changed America. George Floyd, a 43-year-old Black man, was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis when a white cop suffocated him. The video of that night’s events went viral, sparking the largest protests in the nation’s history and the sort of social unrest we have not seen since the sixties. While Floyd’s death was certainly the catalyst, (heightened by the fact that it occurred during a pandemic whose victims were disproportionately of color) it was in truth the fuse that lit an ever-filling powder keg.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Incredible Archaeology

    Incredible Archaeology

    Paul Bahn

    Incredible Archaeology offers a journey through the best archaeological sites the world has to offer. With stunning photography, it serves as both a dazzling spectacle and travel inspiration, making it perfect for armchair travelers and world adventurers alike! Archaeological sites tell a story spanning thousands of years, and the ones in this book range from the well-known to hidden gems, handpicked for their desirability as destinations.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Answer Is . . .

    The Answer Is . . .

    Alex Trebek

    Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career. The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy!, with each chapter title in the form of a question, and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years. This wise, charming, and inspiring book is further evidence why Trebek has long been considered one of the most beloved and respected figures in entertainment.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Book Collectors

    The Book Collectors

    Delphine Minoui

    Award-winning journalist Delphine Minoui recounts the true story of a band of young rebels in a besieged Syrian town, who find hope and connection making an underground library from the rubble of war.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • The Last Days of John Lennon

    The Last Days of John Lennon

    James Patterson

    John Lennon was one of the world's most influential people. Mark David Chapman was one of the most invisible. Chapman, himself a tragic nowhere man, ultimately achieved the notoriety he craved by actualizing the target on Lennon -- single-handedly wounding the spirit of a generation.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Bag Man

    Bag Man

    Rachel Maddow, Michael Yarvitz

    Based on the award-winning hit podcast, Bag Man expands and deepens the story of Spiro Agnew's scandal and its lasting influence on our politics, our media, and our understanding of what it takes to confront a criminal in the White House.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • A Walk Around the Block

    A Walk Around the Block

    Spike Carlsen

    A simple walk around the block set Spike Carlsen off on an investigative journey to discover everything he could about every thing we take for granted in our everyday life. Leading readers on a spirited tour of his hometown, and a few other environs, he teaches us how to best appreciate and make the best use of the world's most useful things with illuminating narrative tales about the hidden world outside and underneath our front door.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Stuff You Should Know

    Stuff You Should Know

    Josh Clark, Chuck Bryant

    From the duo behind the massively successful and award-winning podcast Stuff You Should Know comes an unexpected look at things you thought you knew. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious—curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Loving Sports When They Don't Love You Back

    Loving Sports When They Don't Love You Back

    Jessica Luther, Kavitha Davidson

    Triumphant wins, gut-wrenching losses, last-second shots, underdogs, competition, and loyalty—it’s fun to be a fan. But when a football player takes a hit to the head after yet another study has warned of the dangers of CTE, or when a team whose mascot was born in an era of racism and bigotry takes the field, or when a relief pitcher accused of domestic violence saves the game, how is one to cheer? Welcome to the club for sports fans who care too much.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>
  • Greenlights

    Greenlights

    Matthew McConaughey

    Drawing on the Academy Award-winning actor's journals and diaries from the last 40 years, this book presents a uniquely McConaughey approach to achieving success and satisfaction.

    View Catalog EntryView Details >>

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