We can get through this pandemic together if we muster the strength to be optimistic and have a hopeful attitude. Let us help you stay positive by offering lighthearted books and movies for all ages that will make you smile. We can’t wait to see those pearly whites again soon! In the meantime, find out more about how to pick up your items via curbside, by reviewing our contactless pickup instructions.
Adult Fiction
The Music Shop
By Rachel Joyce
A story about good, ordinary people who take on forces too big for them. It’s about falling in love and how hard it can be. And it’s about music – how it can bring us together when we are divided and save us when all seems lost.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
By Alan Bradley
A series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia’s family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. Now Flavia begins a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself. Of this much the girl is sure: her father is innocent of murder – but protecting her and her sisters from something even worse.
Crazy Rich Asians
By Kevin Kwan
Envisioning a summer vacation in the humble Singapore home of a boy she hopes to marry, Chinese American Rachel Chu is unexpectedly introduced to a rich and scheming clan that strongly opposes their son’s relationship with an American girl.
Good Omens
By Neil Gaiman
The world is preparing to come to an end according to the Divine Plan recorded in the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (recorded 1655). Meanwhile, a fussy angel and a fast-living demon have grown fond of living among the earth’s mortals for many millennia and are not looking forward to the apocalypse. If Crowley and Aziraphale are going to stop it from happening, they must find and kill the Antichrist.
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
by Kathleen Rooney
Lillian Boxfish took 1930s New York by storm, working her way up writing copy to become the highest paid advertising woman in the country. Now it’s the last night of 1984 and Lillian, 85 years old but just as sharp and savvy as ever, is on her way to a party. Manhattan is grittier now, but the quick-tongued poetess has never been one to scare easily. On a walk that takes her over 10 miles around the city, she meets bartenders, bodega clerks, security guards, criminals, children, parents, and parents-to-be, while reviewing a life of excitement and adversity, passion and heartbreak, illuminating all the ways New York has changed– and has not.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.
Beautiful Ruins
By Jess Walter, Jess
The story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962…and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.
The Rosie Project
By Simsion, Graeme
Don Tillman, a professor of genetics, sets up a project designed to find him the perfect wife, starting with a questionnaire that has to be adjusted a little as he goes along. Then he meets Rosie, who is everything he’s not looking for in a wife, but she ends up his friend as he helps her try and find her biological father.
Adulthood is a Myth (Graphic Novel)
By Sarah Andersen
From the agony of holding hands with a gorgeous guy to the yawning pit of hell that is the wifi gone down to the eye-watering pain of eating too-hot pizza because one cannot stand to wait for it to cool down, Sarah fearlessly documents it all. Sarah’s total frankness on extremely personal issues such as body image, self-consciousness, introversion, relationships, and bra-washing makes her comics highly relatable and consistently hilarious.
Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like that. And Cats. (Graphic Novel)
By Jim Benton
From wry observations about the absurdities of life and acerbic comments to poetic musings, from cats and dogs to humans, and from one style to another, this compendium will astound readers as it exposes them to the breadth of Benton’s seemingly inexhaustible talent for humor.
Adult Nonfiction
The Happiness Project: Or why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle, and generally have more fun
By Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
The Last Black Unicorn
By Tiffany Haddish
Stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish writes a hilarious, edgy, and heart-wrenching collection of autobiographical essays that will leave you laughing through tears. But The Last Black Unicorn is so much more than a side-splittingly hilarious collection of essays–it’s a memoir of the struggles of one woman who came from nothing and nowhere. A woman who was able to achieve her dreams by reveling in her pain and awkwardness, showing the world who she really is, and inspiring others through the power of laughter.
Think Like a Monk: Train your mind for peace and purpose every day
By Jay Shetty
Instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, Shetty headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for four to eight hours, and devote his life to helping others. After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk’s path to share his experience and wisdom with others. Moving back home to north London, Shetty found his old friends were experiencing tremendous stress, pressure, and unhappiness. He began coaching them on well-being, purpose, and mindfulness. Here he shows readers how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power.
The Antidote: Happiness for people who can’t stand positive thinking
by Oliver Burkeman
Exploring the dark side of the theories put forth by such icons as Norman Vincent Peale and Eckhart Tolle by looking to both ancient philosophy and current business theory, Burkeman offers up the counterintuitive idea that only by embracing and examining failure and loss and unhappiness will we become free of it.
DVDs
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Ferris takes a (not) very low-key day off school.
Princess Bride
A hilariously epic adventure.
Singing in the Rain
What a glorious feeling!
Amelie
A sweet girl with an unusual childhood grows up.
The School of Rock
A band member turns teacher.
Legally Blonde
The blonde sorority queen goes to law school.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
This is your chance to join a big, happy family.
Pitch Perfect
A-capella, mash ups and comedy. Yes.
Bob Ross Art Instruction
Everything in art is a happy little accident.
Sweat & Shout
Who doesn’t love Richard Simmons?
Books for Teens
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
by Ben Philippe
Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas. Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs.
Heretics Anonymous
by Katie Henry
Michael is an atheist. So as he walks through the doors at St. Clare’s—a strict Catholic school—sporting a plaid tie, things can’t get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow nonbeliever at that. Only this girl, Lucy, is not just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.
Will Grayson Will Grayson
by John Green and David Levithan
It’s not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, these two Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old – including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire – Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most awesome high school musical.
When Dimple Met Rishi
by Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right? Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.
The Way You Make Me Feel
by Maurene Goo
Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck, the KoBra, alongside her uptight classmate Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy named Hamlet (yes, Hamlet) crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind?
Pumpkinheads (Graphic Novel)
by Rainbow Rowell
Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1. But this Halloween is different―Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye. Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if―instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut―they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .
The Magic Fish (Graphic Novel)
by Trung Le Nguyen
Real life isn’t a fairytale. But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through? Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?
I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives
by Caitlin Alifirenka
It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin’s class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but when Caitlin saw Zimbabwe written on the board, it sounded like the most exotic place she had ever heard of–so she chose it. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives. In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends –and better people–through letters.
Kid’s Chapter Books
Because of Mr. Terupt
by Rob Buyea
It’s the start of a new year at Snow Hill School, and seven students find themselves thrown together in Mr. Terupt’s fifth grade class. They don’t have much in common, and they’ve never gotten along. Not until a certain new teacher arrives and helps them to find strength inside themselves—and in each other. But when Mr. Terupt suffers a terrible accident, will his students be able to remember the lessons he taught them? Or will their lives go back to the way they were before—before fifth grade and before Mr. Terupt?
The One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Wonder
by R.J. Palacio
August Pullman is a 10-year-old boy who likes Star Wars and Xbox, ordinary except for his jarring facial anomalies. Homeschooled all his life, August heads to public school for fifth grade and he is not the only one changed by the experience–something we learn about first-hand through the narratives of those who orbit his world. August’s internal dialogue and interactions with students and family ring true, and though remarkably courageous he comes across as a sweet, funny boy who wants the same things others want: friendship, understanding, and the freedom to be himself.
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child.
Fish in a Tree
by Lynda Mulally Hunt
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
by Dusti Bowling
Aven Green didn’t really lose her arms in a wrestling match, but when her parents move the family halfway across the country to manage a run-down theme park, she’d rather tell them tall tales than the truth—she was born without them. It’s not until she meets a new friend with another kind of disability that she learns to accept people’s differences, including her own.
Kid’s Picture Books
I Believe I Can
by Grace Byers
An empowering follow-up to the award winning I Am Enough that celebrates every child’s limitless potential. An affirmation for boys and girls of every background to love and believe in themselves.
Dear Girl
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Through Amy and Paris’s charming text and Holly Hatam’s stunning illustrations, any girl reading this book will feel that she’s great just the way she is—whether she enjoys jumping in a muddy puddle, has a face full of freckles, or dances on table tops.
Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Peña
Follows the story of CJ, who rides the city bus with his grandma and wonders aloud why they don’t have a car, why he has no iPod, and why their stop isn’t in the pretty part of town. Rather than be embarrassed or make excuses, CJ’s grandmother helps him see the beauty in their routine and the true wealth of a life full of love.
Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael López’s dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.
Kindness Book
by Dave Parr
With his trademark bright colors and bold lines, Todd Parr takes on a topic more important than ever: being kind to each other. No matter what other people choose to do, you can always choose to be kind — and what a wonderful thing to be!
Pass it On
by Sophy Henn
Here’s a fun idea: When you laugh or smile–pass it on! A story about giving, sharing, and joy. When you see something terrific, smile a smile and pass it on! If you chance upon a chuckle, hee hee hee and pass it on. Should you spot a thing of wonder, jump for joy and pass it on!