What's popular this summer at the Ste. Anne Library

Sometimes, a book just grabs your attention and speaks to your heart. 

That would sum up an experience for one of the librarians at the Ste. Anne library, as she recently read the book ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens. 

Although the book has been on shelves since 2018, Shannon Lenton did not start reading it until recently, and she now understands why readers have been drawn to this fictional story. 

The main character is a resourceful young girl, and the story is set in the 1950s. 

“The community judged her as the marsh girl, and judged her as a weirdo, or basically marsh trash, things like that,” says Lenton. “And here she was, she was abandoned by her family, her mom, her dad her brothers, and she grew up in the marsh. And she met a young fellow and he taught her how to read.” 

The story follows the girls' journey through trials and triumphs. 

“I cried and I laughed,” says Lenton. 

The book has sold millions of copies, and now the story has been adapted to film and was released in movie theatres on Friday, July 15. 

“Two of my other girlfriends had read it and we're all going to go as a date night, and we're going to go and watch the movie. That is one that's really exciting right now.” 

Lenton has also noticed new books by authors Norah Roberts, Nightwork, and John Grisham, Sparring Partners, to be quite popular. She notes that younger readers seem to be drawn to stories about dragons and kindness.

With the addition of new books and the start of the summer reading program, Lenton says the library is a busy and fun place to be during the summer months. 

She notes that some people prefer to come into the library and pick up physical copies of books, while others prefer the E-library. 

“It’s really convenient for people that travel,” she explains. “If you're going out to the cabin for the summer, instead of bringing two big bags of books, you can just download the Libby App onto your phone and connect to your E libraries and it's all free.” 

By reading books through E-library, there is no risk of returning books after the due date and that eliminates late fees. 

To learn more about the summer reading program or the E-library, call or visit the Ste. Anne Library.