Socorro Public Library October book picks resemble a fall day in New Mexico. Stories that start chilly end up having stretches of warmth strewn throughout them. If you are looking for something as cool as an autumn morning, but also with a hint of desert heat, these book picks are for you!

The Turnout by Megan Abbott is a gritty look at the lives of ballet dancers. Dara and Marie were born with the world of ballet running through their veins. After a tragic accident, the women inherit the impressive Durant School of Dance. The sisters, along with Dara’s husband Charlie, run the business strictly with many clients. The three of them grew up together and have a strong bond. Everything is going well until a strange accident happens and brings Derek into their lives. Derek is the contractor working on the ballet studio and begins to integrate himself into the Durant’s lives and threatens the very balance that keeps their dance going. A thriller with boiling tension that will ignite a fire within your imagination.

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer is a book for all the wanderlust lovers out there. A unique travel book that takes you off the beaten path. With over 600 of the most curious places to see in the world, this second edition has over 100 new places, and dozens of new photographs. Atlas Obscura provides the locations of the overlooked, bizarre and unexpected travel curiosities throughout the globe. One of the destinations I would like to visit is Mafra Palace Library located in Portugal. This historic library holds 36,000 leather-bound volumes dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Book-eating pests pose a threat to these volumes and the library has a unique way of protecting the collection. Bats patrol the library at night and tuck themselves behind book shelves or in the palace garden during the day. Atlas Obscura contains a bizarre and fun destination recommendation for all travel enthusiasts.

If It Bleeds by Stephen King is a collection of four unique fictional stories; Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, If It Bleeds, and Rat. King opens with a novella that will chill you to the bone, but the vivid design of the characters will warm your heart. An unlikely friendship between a young boy Craig, living in a small town, and a reclusive billionaire, Mr. Harrigan leads to an unexpected phone call from the grave. The Life of Chuck is an interesting look at people approaching the end of their lives.  If It Bleeds is the mini-sequel to The Outsider. Holly follows the trail of a horrific school bombing. Lastly, Rat follows a writer who makes a bargain with a rat to write a complete novel. King does not disappoint!

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie is a debut coming-of-age novel about a young woman’s quest for family acceptance. In Kyoto, Japan after World War II, Noriko Kamiza “Nori” the illegitimate child of her affluent Japanese mother and her African American GI father is abandoned. Her grandparents take her in to ensure the family name is untainted. Locked away in the attic, Nori is beaten by her grandmother and forced to take chemical baths. Her only escape is found in books and staring out her window to the garden. Unexpectedly, Nori meets her half-brother and is swept away by his musical talent and his ability to love her. In a hauntingly cold childhood emerges a love that can burn all racial and cultural barriers to the ground.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle is the third memoir following her books Love Warrior and Carry On, Warrior. Doyle carves this memoir with an intimate look at divorce and creating a new family. She chronicles her experience leaving her husband for a woman. Her story provides the reader with a unique path to find one’s true self. Doyle’s writing will empower people to look at their lives and decide if they are truly living the life they were meant to live. This memoir reads a lot like a personal diary and a little like a self-help book. This is the current SPL Book Club choice. The next meeting is Thursday November 4, at 3 p.m. Join us!

Library hours Monday – Thursday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday 9 a.m-5 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

 

Chelsea Jones, Socorro Public Library