Adult Non Fiction

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
by Florence Williams

If you are intrigued by the science behind Forest Bathing, this book is for you! While focused on the research, this book excels at being engaging and upbeat. I found the language to be beautiful with exquisitely crafted sentences that begged for second read to savor the words. As you read, you will find yourself longing to spend more time in nature, and now you will have the scientific evidence to convince others to join you! The narrative takes you around the world for a global perspective on how nature is experienced and yearned for. All the senses are evoked as scientific studies around nature scents, bird song, and drinking in scenic nature views are explained without pretension. This is the perfect book to read while relaxing under your favorite tree this fall.

Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-Comic Memoir
by Adam Cayton-Holland

Heartbreakingly eloquent and insightfully jocular, this family memoir honors the life of a beloved sibling while tenderly exploring the new lens on life that exists in the vacuum of acute loss. Cayton-Holland grew up on the sun-dappled streets of Park Hill here in Denver and turned his skills in class clownery at East High School into being a pillar of the Denver Comedy scene and now a rising television star on TruTV with his show Those Who Can’t with fellow Denver comedians Bey Roy and Andrew Overdahl. Mental illness touches all of our lives and this book provides poignant insight into a family’s healing and inspirational journey navigating deep grief, self-forgiveness, and the questions that suicide leaves hauntingly unanswered.

Young Adult Fiction

Kill the Farm Boy
by Delilah Dawson & Kevin Hearne

Quirky beyond belief, this pun-filled fantasy adventure novel features Worstley, a manure shoveling farm boy, who is anointed The Chosen One by a bawdy and disheveled drunken pixie. Equally memorable characters join the band of adventurers including a talking goat, a not-so-dark Dark Lord, a cotton-tailed bard, a pacifist warrior in a chainmail bikini, an assassin profoundly afraid of chickens, and a sand witch. The humor and empowerment spotlighted in this novel keep the pages turning and your heart soaring from start to finish. Perfect for fans of William Goldman, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Tamora Pierce with the flair of Monty Python. This is the first of the Tales of Pell series, so stay tuned for more pun-filled adventures.

Kids Fiction

The Wishtree
by Katherine Applegate,
Charles Santoso (Illustrator)

A Red Oak tree has stood in the same community for over a century and has seen houses grow around her. Every Spring, in the Irish tradition, her branches are strung with wishes, lovingly written scraps of paper tied up with ribbon. When a Muslim refugee family moves to town, an unknown child uses the tree to spread a message of hate. Combined with the tree roots clogging the plumbing, the old tree is in danger of being cut down. Told from the perspective of the aged tree, it is a unique story of friendship, hope, and a community overcoming bias and misconceptions. A great book for a kids book club or a family to read together to discuss.