Chevy Chase
Neighborhood Library

Riordan Readalikes

What to Read After Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase, and Everything Else Rick Riordan Has Written

There’s no denying that Rick Riordan’s books are popular. But the man can only write so fast, so sooner or later you’re going to have to look somewhere else to get your fill of kids interacting with ancient gods and saving the world from destruction. Luckily, the library’s shelves are full of entertaining and action-packed stories that will absolutely meet your needs.

Fiction by Non-Indigenous African Writers

Novels Authored by White Africans

I “invested” in this as a thematic reading list for recommended reading before I realized what is available in library collections. This list is comprised of four of five authors born in South Africa and is the result of my refusal to move on to another theme. Also, I wanted to stay away from Karen Blixen and Joseph Conrad because they are already widely read. South Africans Nadine Gordimer and Alan Paton were both anti-Apartheid activists and their fellow countryman, Andre Brink, opposed Apartheid and wrote his novels in Afrikaans.

Early Feminist Literature

Plus One

Apparently, when details of Mary Wollstonecraft’s “unconventional” life choices were made public after her death by publication of a memoir by her surviving partner, father of Mary Shelly, Wollstonecraft’s feminist writings, were discounted because of her ‘immoral’ lifestyle for more than 100 years until second-wave feminists began to read her seminal work on feminist theory,

A. Cheney

Disease and Pestilence Pay a Visit

2018 was the centennial of the signing of the Armistice Agreement to end WWI and unquestionably, people who were living at that time were relieved that the war was over. After the war ended, however, there was another global threat—the Spanish Flu pandemic. Pre-Covid 19, I had assembled a couple of titles for a possible list of books that take place at the end of “the great war,” and coincided with the flu pandemic. Instead, I have here a list of five novels with a mix of health crises.

Listen Up!

Outstanding Audiobook Performances

I just began listening to audiobooks a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed those early experiences with listening to fiction rather than reading it. I have listened to each of the titles on this list and they are among the best audio performances that I have encountered. This list is entirely subjective and gives no concern to the reputation of the individual who narrated these stories or whether or not these performances were nominated for awards. The titles on this list stood out among the audio books that I have listened to.

Chunky Books Need Love Too!

Voluminous books inspire dread and fear even among avowed book worms and other voracious readers because of their size. I am here to tell you, in the hands of a writer with a gift for storytelling, the reading of a “chunky” book can be pleasurable. This list includes no unfamiliar of obscure titles. Four of the five books I would say are in the back of the minds of many readers to make time to read Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas Pere, Victor Hugo, and of course Leo Tolstoy. I also added Ivanhoe as well by Sir Walter Scott as well.

Image of Don't Let My Baby Do Rodeo book cover

Speaking in Tongues

Exophonic Writers

The definition of exophony is the practice of (normally creative) writing in a language that is not one’s mother tongue. Allow this to be your introduction to writings such as Lolita by Russian émigré’ author, Vladimir Nabokov and my deep admiration for the quality of the writing sans astonishment that English was not the mother tongue of the author. Enjoy!

A. Cheney

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Home Improvement

for when you can't go anywhere else

If you are going to be stuck at home, you might as well make the best of it. Here are some books to help you organize, decorate and declutter your home office, home school and the various other places of business that now exist in your living room. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Mending Clothes & Ourselves

Inspirational and Instructional Books on Mending

As Elizabeth Cline explores in Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, our overconsumption of textiles is ecologically disastrous, contributes to labor and human rights abuses, and is bad for our souls.

The Homesteader's Natural Chicken Keeping Handbook

Egg-cellent Backyard Chickens

Highly Recommended Books on Raising Chickens

Interest in chicken-keeping and sales of chicks have risen dramatically since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you too dream of raising chickens or just want to learn more about what is involved in such an endeavor, the books below can assist and inspire you. One day you may delight in freshly laid eggs, enjoy the company of feathered friends, and achieve greater self-sufficiency.

Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library