Hopes, wishes and intrigue

Socorro Public Library November book picks will encourage you to envision a better future. Real world naturalists, romantics and fictitious spies will provoke the optimistic side of even the most negative of readers. The imagination to form brighter perspectives and a stronger connection to hope can be discovered in each of these books.

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams

This instant best seller sheds much needed light on a brighter future. There is hope for a future in spite of current unprecedented events. Two brilliant minds of our times, Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams, answer the significant question of our time: Is there really hope for our world? In this book, Goodall focuses on her four reasons for hope: the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people, and the indomitable human spirit. The resilience of nature resonates in customary Jane Goodall fashion. When questioned about the resilience of nature with the worsening climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity Goodall responds, “I truly believe nature has a fantastic ability to restore itself after being destroyed, whether by us or by natural disasters. Sometimes it restores itself slowly, over time. But now, because of the terrible harm we are causing on a daily basis, we often need to step in and help in the restoration.” Decades of Goodall’s work fighting for our future will inspire you to do better and be better. Reading this book will help you understand the nature of hope and how to cultivate respect for nature in our children to improve the future.

The Wish by Nicholas Sparks

For all the Lifetime Christmas movie junkies out there, you will definitely love this story. Maggie Dawes is in her teens when she is sent to stay with her aunt in the small village of Ocracoke, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Maggie is struggling with leaving behind her friends and family, when her aunt introduces her to Bryce Trickett. Bryce is handsome, genuine, and one of the only other teens in the village. Bryce shows her how to love the remote locations of the Outer Banks. He introduces her to photography and Maggie forms a passion that will define her life. Fast forward to 2019 Maggie is a successful travel photographer with gallery space in New York. She finds herself stuck in New York over the Christmas holiday and struggling with an unfortunate medical diagnosis. A diagnosis that makes her increasingly dependent on her young man assistant. Spending the holiday together, she tells him the story of another Christmas decades earlier. The dual timeline will resonate with diehard Sparks fans and possibly convert more readers into fans. Reading Maggie’s story culminating around Christmas about her first love and her current love is an emotional experience. Keep a box of Kleenex handy, true to Sparks design; this book will tear at your heart strings, but simultaneously evoke hope for true love and connection.

 Silverview by John Le Carré

The last published work by Le Carré proves to be a fast-paced novel. It starts with a young lady, Lily, and her young son, delivering a secretive envelope that requires an oral reply. Le Carré immediately transports you to the seaside town of East Anglia, introducing Julian. A successful city trader who recently left his career to open a bookshop. Julian meets an elderly white-haired man, and is taken by his eccentricities. You discover Edward is married to Deborah and they live in a mansion; Silverview. Deborah is high up in the Intelligence Service and Lily is their daughter. This traditional spy story will keep you speculating and piecing together possible interconnections. Silverview is a story with vivid character portraits. These characters will force you to reflect on your inner self and who you portray to the world.

Silverview is the current SPL Book Club choice. The next meeting is Thursday Dec. 2, 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.