August, already? Darn. Best get all those projects I had planned for the year started. Listening to our patrons that come in, I’m not the only one that feels the year is slipping by.

I don’t often order books just by looking at the New York Times Bestseller lists, but I did look it up today to see what was there, and what I had ordered using other review sources that were on this list. Our collection had a pretty good hit rate on the fiction side, including books by the stable of bestselling authors, Stephen King, Stuart Woods, James Patterson and the like. But, I missed some intriguing books that I have just rush ordered, including a debut novel by Julia Pierpont titled “Among the Ten Thousand Things”—a novel about the bonds of family life after a secret life is revealed as well as “Little Paris Bookshop” by Nina George in which the main character uses books to help his clients heal from life’s troubles but can’t help himself.

I also looked at the hardback non-fiction NYT Bestseller list. Of course we had the latest from David McCullough and his “Wright Brothers” and Erik Larson’s “Dead Wake” about the Lusitania, but I was pleased to see several that I had pre-ordered early on that were on the list—Rinker Buck’s “The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey”, Jimmy Carter’s “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety” and Joseph Ellis’ “The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution 1783-1789.” A few titles I will add to the collection after reading the reviews from the list include Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me” illuminating his views on race as set in letters to his son, and “Elon Musk: Tesla SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance.

It is interesting to me how long some books last on the bestseller list, and others if you blink, you’ve missed the title. Beyond the hardback fiction and non-fiction, NYT also runs a list of bestselling advice or how-to books, and we will have in our collection “Get What’s Yours: The Secrets of Maxing Out Your Social Security”, “The Gift of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You Are Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are”, Tony Robbins’ latest financial tome titled “MONEY Master the Game: Seven Simple Steps to Financial Freedom”, and “Brain Maker: the Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain”, just to name a few.

As always, I am open to suggestions of titles or subjects—I appreciate input and hope that you find our eclectic collection interesting, useful and entertaining.

For the very young “readers”, we are starting a new program at the Russellville Branch Library. Storytime for Toddlers, two and three years old, is being held 11 a.m. Thursday. Join us for stories, songs and crafts. Questions? Call the Russellville Library at 937-377-2700.

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By Alison Gibson

Director, Ripley Library