
Brown Bags & Books
Join us at the library on the fourth Wednesday of the month at noon for Brown Bags & Books. Bring a sack lunch or enjoy our light refreshments as you listen to a book review.
January 25/Resheduled for February 8 Roger Lyons
Forgetting and the Forgotten: A Thousand Years of Contested Histories in the Heartland by Michael Batinski
February 22 Kelly Phelps
Dracula by Bram Stoker
**CANCELED March 22 Bruce Cline CANCELED**
April 26 Paul Cummins
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
May 24 Deborah Burris
A Woman Called Murn by Deborah Burris
June 28 Sam Stearns
War is a Racket: The Anti-War Classic by America’s Most Decorated Soldier by Smedley Butler
July 26 Mike Chervinko
Prehistoric & Natural Wonders of Southern Illinois by Mike Chervinko, Steve Boles, and Mark Motsinger
August 23 Janet Jones
Betty Crocker Best 100: Favorite Recipes from America’s Most Trusted Cook
September 27 Jeff Campbell
Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World’s Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro
October 25 Gillum Ferguson
The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig
Cloud Library
The 3M Cloud Library app is available for Harrisburg District Library patrons to download e-books and e-audiobooks for free! All you need is your Harrisburg District Library card number and 4-digit PIN. The app is available for free download to iOS and Android devices. The Cloud Library has fiction and non-fiction for kids, teens, and adults.
https://www.yourcloudlibrary.com/
*Choose Illinois Heartland Library System when prompted to “Find Your Local Library.”
Hoopla
The Hoopla app is available for Harrisburg District Library patrons to download e-books, e-audiobooks, movies, TV shows, and music for free! All you need is your Harrisburg District Library card number and 4-digit PIN. The app is available for free download to iOS and Android devices. There are items available for all ages, with no wait times. Download the item immediately for easy access or stream online.
*Sign up with an email and password, choose your library, accept the terms and conditions, then enter your library card number and 4 digit PIN
Goodreads
Keep track of the books you’ve read and the books you want to read! See what your friends are reading and be a part of the world’s largest community of readers!
Fantastic Fiction
A great website where you can search for your favorite authors and easily see all of the books they have written. Plus, find all of your favorite series in order! https://www.fantasticfiction.com/
Explore More Illinois
“Explore More Illinois” is a free service offered to Harrisburg Public Library District cardholders to access discount offers from museums, cultural centers, and other attractions. Click on the following link “Explore More Illinois” to log in- choose our library and enter your library card number and PIN. Choose the attraction and date of your planned visit and submit your request. You will receive an email confirmation with details specific to the attraction. Current offers include Buy One, Get One Free admission from the Discovery Center in Rockford; $2.00 off regular adult admission from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield; Buy One, Get One Free admission to Edwards Place in Springfield; 25% off your gift store purchase at Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum in Oak Park; and more! Partnerships with other attractions are pending so check back periodically.
Sherry’s Pick of the Month
Bloody Illinois by Troy Taylor
Available at our library in print. (364.309 TAY)
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
Join author Troy Taylor as his “Dead Men Do Tell Tales” Series continues with a terrifying and blood-soaked look at Illinois crime, mystery and tales of hauntings from all over the state – many of which have never appeared in any book before! In this volume, Taylor unlocks files of rare, seldom-told and favorite stories from both the cities and rural areas of the Prairie State, revealing true accounts of violence, murder, bloodshed and ghosts. Journey back into Illinois’ past and discover tales of bandits, thieves, pirates and killers from the early days of the state; haunted prisons, jails and police stations; bloody vendettas; Illinois hangings; unsolved murders; ruthless murderesses; Charlie Birger, the Shelton Gang and War in Illinois; Pat Quinlan, the Devil’s Apprentice; the Herrin Massacre; the Hundley Murders; the famous Coliseum Ballroom; the Battle of Barrington; Hell Hollow; the Lake Club; Fred Vannuci’s “One-way Ride”; the Starved Rock Murders; Ghosts of the old Cook County Jail & the Joliet Penitentiary; and dozens more! You don’t want to miss this collection of uncut and uncensored tales from the pen of Troy Taylor. It’s a chilling book that is not for the faint of heart!
Krys’ Pick of the Month
The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
Available at our library in print (MCM)
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don’t simply move into a haunted house–they build one . . .
In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate have abandoned the comforts of suburbia to take up residence on forty-four acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams.
When they discover that this beautiful property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the local legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago.
With her passion for artifacts, Helen finds special materials to incorporate into the house–a beam from an old schoolroom, bricks from a mill, a mantel from a farmhouse–objects that draw her deeper into the story of Hattie and her descendants, three generations of Breckenridge women, each of whom died suspiciously.
As the building project progresses, the house will become a place of menace and unfinished business: a new home, now haunted, that beckons its owners and their neighbors toward unimaginable danger.
Emily’s Pick of the Month
The Last Word by Taylor Adams
Available at our library in print (NEW ADA) and as an audiobook on the Cloud Library app.
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.
After posting a negative book review, a woman living in a remote location begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy—or very, very dangerous—in this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense and terror from the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and Hairpin Bridge.
Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.
One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?
As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?
Ray’s Pick of the Month
Code Red by Vince Flynn
Available at our library in print. (NEW FLY #22 MITCH RAP)
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below:
Mitch Rapp returns to make a mortal enemy of Russia in this high-octane and up-to-the-minute installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from “one of the best thriller writers on the planet” ( The Real Book Spy ).
Mitch Rapp hates owing anyone a favor—especially when it’s the world’s most powerful crime lord. But when Damian Losa calls, Mitch is honor-bound to answer.
The Syrian government appears to have created a highly addictive new narcotic that it plans to distribute throughout Europe. It’s a major threat to Losa’s business and he’s determined to send someone to keep him on top by any means necessary.
Rapp is the perfect choice for the mission. Not only does he have extensive experience operating in the Middle East, but he’s also entirely expendable.
As he crosses into war-torn Syria, Rapp quickly discovers a shocking truth. The new drug isn’t being produced by Damascus to prop up the government’s collapsing finances. Instead, it was created by Russia’s asymmetrical warfare unit, not for profit but as a weapon against the West.
With far more than Damian Losa’s interests at stake, Rapp devises a desperate plan that forces him and his team onto a battlefield where the United States is virtually powerless and allegiances shift almost hourly. Further, if Russia uncovers their plot, it will set off a confrontation between the two countries that could change the course of human history.
Evan’s Pick of the Month
The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
Available at our library in print. (NEW OSM #4 THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB)
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
Shocking news reaches the Thursday Murder Club.
An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.
As the gang springs into action they encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers, as well as heartache close to home.
With the body count rising, the package still missing and trouble firmly on their tail, has their luck finally run out? And who will be the last devil to die?
Lisa’s Pick of the Month
In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
Available at our library in print. (NEW YAR)
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to go home, she isn’t expecting much. It’s the usual holiday travel experience: busy, crowded, stressful.
Then she spots her seatmate, who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now.
Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River.
Their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right.
Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life.
He’ll do anything to keep her safe. And everything to win her heart.
Hadleigh’s Pick of the Month
Holly by Stephen King
Available at our library in print (NEW KIN #3 HOLLY GIBNEY) and as an eBook on the Cloud Library app.
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES
Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.
When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.
Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.
Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.
Jordan’s Pick of the Month
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Available as both an eBook and audiobook on the Hoopla app and an eBook on the Cloud Library app.
Check out the synopsis from Goodreads below.
A fresh take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.
They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster.
The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.
When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge–on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.
Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon…
In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman–injured by a powerful man–is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa’s story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.