Monroe County Public Library - Florida Keys

Each week, staff from the Library recommend a book from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers. This week's recommendation of "The Searcher" by Tana French comes from Community Affairs Manager Nancy Klingener:

"When Tana French moved on from her Dublin Murder Squad books, I was sad. I loved the characters and the setting – the city and its police department contained so many layers. But her trilogy set in the country has won me over.'“The Searcher' is the first, and you should read them in order. Cal Hooper is a divorced, retired Chicago cop who decides to move to a rural Irish village where he is befriended by a girl who wants help finding her missing older brother. The setting is not some picturesque idyll – some people are up to no good up in the hills and the townspeople have long grudges and longer memories. Encountering this place and these people from an outsider’s perspective works perfectly as we, through Cal, start understanding some of the factors that drive people’s actions. The Library also has the other two books in the trilogy, 'The Hunter' and 'The Keeper,' which was just published in March of this year. But don’t worry – these books don’t end on cliffhangers."

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You can borrow this as a regular or large print book, eBook or eAudiobook. To find out how and to see previous Shelf Help recommendations go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help.

All branches of the Monroe County Public Library will be closed on Monday, May 25, in observance of Memorial Day.

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, May 26.

To get books, movies, music, and more any time from the Library, go to keyslibraries.org/online.

Each week, Library staff recommend favorites from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers.

This week's recommendation of "Shield of Sparrows" by Devney Perry comes from Kaleila Freeman, senior library assistant at the Big Pine Key Library branch:

"Attention all romantasy readers! If you enjoy slow-burn romance, witty banter, magic and monsters, and plenty of plot twists, you will devour this book. I was completely captivated by the dark, dangerous world, the slow-burn romance (which is fantastic), and the creepy monsters hiding around every corner. The last few chapters had me screaming into the pages! This book truly sweeps you away into another world, leaving you longing for more when it ends. Fortunately, you're in luck because the next installment in the series, 'Rites of the Starling,' has just been released! Happy reading!!"

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You can borrow this as a regular or large print book, eBook or eAudiobook from the Monroe County Public Library system.

To learn how, and to see previous recommendations, go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help.

Each week, library staff recommend favorites from the collection for the Reel Recs feature in Keys Weekly.

This week's recommendation of "Election" comes from Community Affairs Manager Nancy Klingener:

"You know it’s a good movie when a character becomes common cultural shorthand for a type of person. In this case, that’s Tracy Flick – played by a young Reese Witherspoon – as the bossy, ambitious, frequently frightening high school student who will let nothing stand in her way of becoming the student government president. Her foil is the hapless social studies teacher who’s running the election, played by Matthew Broderick. This film was relatively early in the career of director Alexander Payne, who went on to make movies like 'Sideways, 'The Descendants,' and 'The Holdovers,' but shows his talent for humor and humanity co-existing in an entertaining movie. If you want to check out the source material, Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name is also available to borrow from the library, as a print book, e-book or e-audiobook."

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To find out how to view movies from the Library or to see previous Reel Recs, go to keyslibraries.org/post/reel-recs.

Each week, staff from the Library recommend favorites from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers.

This week's recommendation of "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown comes from Lockwood Ray, library assistant at the Islamorada Library branch:

"'I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.'

"Darrow’s desire for revenge and revolution propel this epic like rocket fuel. Born as a Red, the lowest in a color-based caste system, he and his people are forced to mine beneath the surface of Mars to make it habitable. At the top sit the Golds, who tell the lower colors that sacrifice is a virtue. One tragic day, Darrow learns that his people labor and die for a far less noble reason, and it lights a fire in him. It continues to burn as he agrees to a dangerous mission: He will infiltrate The Institute, where young Golds compete and prepare to become the next great tyrants of The Society. He will destroy them from within.

"Brown’s prose is introspective, emotional, action packed, and super quotable! Red Rising also has one of the coolest friendships I’ve ever read in a series. If none of this convinces you, imagine mixing 'Game of Thrones,' 'Hunger Games,' and your favorite science fiction together. You’ll understand why the hype is at 110% for the final book in the trilogy this year."

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You can borrow this as a print book, eBook or eAudiobook.

For more information about how, or to see previous recommendations, go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help.

Whether you're into cozy mysteries, hard-edged thrillers, romantic suspense, or espionage, we have options for you on page and screen. Explore Mystery Month in May with us!

Mystery Month in May Do you love a good mystery, on page or screen? Whether your tastes run to cozy or thrillers, fiction or true crime, we have options on Kanopy, Libby and our entire collection.

Each week, staff from the Library recommend favorites from the collection for the Reel Recs feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers. This week's recommendation, of "Wolf Hall: The Complete Series," comes from Nancy Klingener, community affairs manager:

"Hilary Mantel’s magnificent trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell totals almost 2,000 pages. Distilling that to 12 hours of television sounds absurd, but somehow this two-season series pulls it off. Mark Rylance is wonderful as the unflappable Cromwell, as is Damian Lewis as an increasingly unhinged Henry VIII and Jonathan Pryce as Cromwell’s mentor Cardinal Wolsey, both in corporeal and, later, ghostly form. Both Wolsey and Cromwell were baseborn men who became the closest advisers to the King; both eventually paid the inevitable price for service to a tyrannical master. Come for the excellent acting and the gorgeous sets and costumes; stay for a fascinating, if sobering, lesson in Tudor history. If you really get into it, all three books in the trilogy are also available from the Library."

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You can borrow this series as a DVD. To find out how, and to see previous Reel Recs, go to keyslibraries.org/post/reel-recs

Each week, staff from the Library recommend favorites from the collection for the Shelf Help feature in the Keys Weekly newspapers. This week's recommendation, of Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage, comes from Riona Campbell, acting branch manager of the Big Pine Key Library branch:

"This is the third book in Sage’s Rebel Blue Ranch series, but the first book by her that I’ve read. I quickly devoured the rest of the series. Sage deftly blends tried-and-true romance tropes (enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity) with small town gossip, nosy family members, and the eternal struggle to find one’s place in the world. Teddy Anderson is feeling adrift, stuck helping her best friend’s infuriating older brother, and taking care of her father. Gus Ryder is overwhelmed as he oversees the family ranch and co-parents his precocious daughter. Dust off your cowboy boots and ride off into the sunset with this steamy romp!"

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You can borrow this as an eBook or eAudiobook from the Library.

To find out how, and to see previous Shelf Help recommendations, go to keyslibraries.org/post/shelf-help