In We Do Not Part, Han Kang, now crowned with the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, continues to unravel the raw sinews of the human spirit with her trademark elegance, restraint, and haunting brutality. If you’ve read The Vegetarian or Human Acts, you already know that she is not here to comfort you. She is here to disarm you, to offer silence as indictment of past sins, and pain as a kind of testimony.

This latest novel is perhaps her most distilled expression of sorrow and connection yet. It is a story soaked in grief, not just personal grief, but historical and national grief, a grief that simmers beneath the skin, unnamed and yet entirely felt. Her language is stripped down to the bone, almost surgical in its precision, leaving vast, aching white space between sentences like unspoken truths hanging in the air.

At its core, We Do Not Part is about the relationship between two friends. But it’s also about war, memory, intimacy, and the ways violence echoes through generations like a haunting melody. The lines between presence and absence, love and loss, flesh and memory blur.

Han Kang does not offer resolution. She never has. But what she does offer is something far more rare: an invitation to sit in discomfort, to witness the beauty in fracture, and to confront the quiet devastation of history without blinking.

It is no surprise that the Nobel committee recognized her. Han writes not with ink but with absence, making you feel the ghosts between the words. We Do Not Part is not just a novel, it is a requiem for everything we cannot hold on to, and a prayer for what lingers anyway.

A devastating, masterful work. Read it, but don’t expect to emerge unchanged. Her books are always a favorite of mine even though they leave me devastated, and this did not disappoint. 

Check it out at the library.

Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

​The Devil in the White City surprised me in the best way. I picked it up for the serial killer. Let’s be real here: H.H. Holmes is what drew me in. The whole idea of a charming murderer building a hotel of horrors during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair? Creepy and fascinating. I was ready for the true crime vibes.

But then, unexpectedly, I got completely sucked into the other half of the book—the part about the actual building of the fair. I didn’t think I’d care much about architecture or city planning or a bunch of guys arguing over blueprints, but Erik Larson somehow made it all feel epic. The stakes were weirdly high, and you start rooting for these stressed-out designers like they're action heroes in a race against time.

The pacing flips between Holmes’s sinister antics and the overwhelming, awe-inspiring task of creating the fair from scratch and the contrast makes both parts even better. By the end, I was just as obsessed with the Ferris wheel as I was with the murder castle. Who knew?

Definitely recommend it if you like your history with a side of murder and unexpected emotional investment in urban landscaping.

Erik Larson has this wild talent for taking what should be a dry history lesson and turning it into something you tear through like a thriller. The Devil in the White City isn’t just a book about a fair and a murderer, it’s a masterclass in how to make nonfiction feel downright cinematic. When is Leo's movie coming? Never? Argh!!!

Larson doesn’t just dump facts on you, he builds them, scene by scene, with so much tension and atmosphere that you forget you’re technically learning. He writes like a novelist but sticks to the historical record, which somehow makes it even more gripping. He’ll set a scene with the creak of wood, the stink of mud, the overwhelming pressure of deadlines, and then cut to Holmes luring another victim with eerie calm. The contrast is genius. One side is a mad dash to build a utopia; the other is slow, calculated evil unfolding behind closed doors.

What makes it obscenely entertaining is how he casts real people like characters in a prestige drama. Daniel Burnham, the architect trying to hold the fair together, becomes this tortured, ambitious protagonist. Holmes, of course, is chilling, but never a cartoonish villain. Larson lets the creepiness unfold subtly, which makes it even worse (in a good way). Even side characters feel alive and distinct. It’s like history woke up, got dressed, and said, “Let me tell you a wild story.” This was easily as entertaining as any crime novel.

Give his books a try, this is a great one to start with. Larson doesn’t just recount events, he resurrects them. And somehow, he makes the bureaucratic nightmare of planning a world’s fair feel just as suspenseful as tracking a serial killer. That’s a magic trick not many writers can pull off.

Check the book out at the library, or we have the audiobook on CDs. You can also download the eBook or audiobook directly to your device with the Libby app with your SPL card.

Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

​Watchmen isn’t your typical comic, it’s a gritty, dark ride that flipped the superhero genre upside down and gave it a good shake. Written by Alan Moore and paired with Dave Gibbons' incredibly detailed artwork, this graphic novel set the bar ridiculously high, showing comics could dive into heavy stuff and still be seriously entertaining.

Set in an alternate 1980s America, superheroes exist, but they're pretty far from perfect. Instead of saving the world with a flourish and a smile, they're complicated, messed-up characters who often make things worse. Moore packs the pages with hidden meanings and clever symbolism, sprinkling in politics, history, and existential dread along the way. Every time you reread it, there's something new to uncover. And believe me, you will reread it to find what you missed.

Watchmen didn't just impress comic fans, it got some serious recognition. It snagged a Hugo Award in 1988—the only graphic novel ever to do so, and picked up multiple Eisner Awards. People still regularly name-drop it as one of the greatest comics ever made.

The real magic, though, is in Moore's hidden layers. Characters like Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan aren't just cool antiheroes; they're symbols for deeper ideas like Cold War fears, identity crises, and the messy struggle of finding meaning in a crazy world.

Watchmen is way more than just superheroes, it's a dark, smart, and twisted story you'll keep thinking about long after you put it down.

Get the book at the library or the eBook on Libby. We have the also 2009 movie directed by Zack Snyder based on the comic, as well as the HBO Miniseries, which takes place years after the events in the graphic novel. I enjoyed the movie, but the TV show was amazing.

​Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

This book is a heartfelt, emotional story that weaves together history, love, and loss in a really touching way. Set in Seattle, it follows Henry Lee, a Chinese American man who, in 1986, comes across a piece of his past when he learns about belongings found in the old Panama Hotel, items left behind by Japanese American families sent to internment camps during World War II. This discovery brings back memories of his childhood, especially his friendship (and first love) with Keiko, a Japanese American girl.

The story jumps between the 1940s and the 1980s, showing young Henry dealing with racism, family pressure, and the heartbreak of being separated from Keiko. At the same time, older Henry is trying to come to terms with his past and figure out what it all meant. The writing is simple but really effective, and Ford does a great job of making you feel the emotions of the characters.
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While some parts of the story are predictable, the book has a lot of heart. It’s bittersweet, just like the title suggests, and it sticks with you long after you finish. If you like historical fiction with strong emotional depth, this is definitely worth a read.

Get the book at the library! Or if you prefer, download the eBook or audiobook with your SPL card.

​Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

The United States of Absurdity is an absolutely ridiculous, yet strangely informative, deep dive into some of the most bizarre moments in American history. Written by Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds, the comedic duo behind The Dollop (one of my favorite podcasts), this book brings their signature mix of humor and historical research to the page in a way that makes you laugh, cringe, and question how half of these events even happened.

The book is packed with short, punchy chapters covering everything from disastrous medical experiments to inexplicably bad decisions by U.S. politicians, all presented in a way that makes history feel less like a dry lecture and more like a fever dream. The writing is snappy, irreverent, and full of the kind of banter that fans of The Dollop will immediately recognize.

Some standout moments include the story of Elmer McCurdy, the outlaw whose mummified body ended up as a carnival attraction, and the absolutely deranged antics of medical quack John Brinkley, who made a fortune implanting goat testicles into men as a cure for impotence. There’s also a healthy dose of absurd sports stories, mind-boggling government missteps, and the kind of historical figures who make Florida Man look like an amateur. My personal favorite was the story of Major League pitcher Rube Waddell.
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If you like your history unfiltered, hilarious, and just a little bit horrifying, The United States of Absurdity is a must-read. It’s perfect for fans of weird trivia, dark humor, and anyone who enjoys learning about the most ridiculous corners of American history.

Reserve the book at the library!

Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

​Iris Chang’s The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve put it down. It covers the horrifying events of the Nanking Massacre in 1937, when Japanese forces invaded the city and carried out brutal killings, mass rape, and unimaginable violence against civilians and prisoners. This isn’t an easy book to read, but it’s an important one.

Chang does an incredible job of making sure this piece of history isn’t forgotten. She breaks it down into three perspectives, the victims, the Japanese soldiers who committed these atrocities, and the foreigners who tried to help. This structure makes the book even more powerful, showing not just what happened but also how it was later covered up or denied.

The book has faced some controversy, particularly from those who deny or downplay the massacre, and it has even been banned in some schools. Some argue it's too graphic or politically sensitive, but honestly, history should make us uncomfortable, especially when it involves crimes like this. Banning books like this only makes it easier for history to be forgotten or rewritten.

That said, some historians have pointed out a few factual errors, and the book has been criticized for emotional intensity over academic neutrality. But that’s part of what makes it so impactful, Chang doesn’t just present facts; she makes you feel the weight of what happened.
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This is a tough but necessary read. If you care about history, justice, and making sure tragedies like this aren’t erased, it’s worth picking up. Just be prepared, it’s not something you can breeze through.

Download the eBook with your SPL card. If you prefer a hard copy, talk to us about interlibrary loan.

​Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

Midnight in Chernobyl is one of those books that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. Adam Higginbotham does an incredible job of breaking down the Chernobyl disaster, not just as a nuclear accident but as a story of human error, government failure, and Soviet secrecy gone horribly wrong.

What makes this book stand out is how it focuses on the people involved, the engineers, scientists, and officials who were at the center of it all. Some were heroes, some were just trying to do their jobs, and some made terrible decisions that made everything worse. Higginbotham’s writing makes it all feel immediate and real, like you’re right there in the control room as things start to go south.

Even though it covers a lot of technical and historical details, it never feels boring or overly complicated. Higginbotham explains things in a way that’s easy to understand, and the story moves fast, almost like a thriller. The way the Soviet government tried to cover things up is just as fascinating (and infuriating) as the disaster itself.

If you’re into history, science, or just love a gripping true story, this book is a must-read. It’s intense, well-researched, and honestly hard to put down.

Reserve the book at the library or get the eBook or audiobook with your SPL card.

Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

After we broke away from Great Britain, the Articles of Confederation were supposed to run the show, but they just didn't work. So, the same folks who led the revolution and got the government started got together again to fix things. That's where our Constitution came from. Now, if you want to understand why they set things up the way they did, like checks and balances and separation of powers, you've got to read The Federalist Papers. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote them to explain exactly why this new Constitution was so important. They cover everything, from why we need a strong federal government to how to protect our rights, and honestly, it's all still relevant today.

The Federalist Papers are available to reserve at the library and always available as an eBook download. 

​Aimee Clark, IT Librarian

Night by Elie Wiesel is a gut-wrenching, raw glimpse into one of history's darkest periods. In this memoir, Wiesel pulls no punches as he recounts his harrowing experiences during the Holocaust, making the reader feel every moment of despair, shock, and lingering disbelief. The narrative is both sparse and powerful, reflecting the stark reality of life in the concentration camps without ever drifting into unnecessary embellishment. Despite its brevity, the book packs an emotional punch, urging you to reflect on humanity, the loss of innocence, and the capacity for both cruelty and resilience. It’s a tough, unforgettable read that stays with you long after you’ve finished it.

Would you like to read this? Click here to reserve! With your SPL card, the eBook and audioboook are also available to reserve.

Aimee Clark, IT Librarian