What are you reading? Every month at our Open Book Hour at Mid-Manhattan Library at 42nd Street, readers meet to exchange fiction and nonfiction book recommendations. Open Book Hour meets the second Friday of each month at 1 PM, at Mid-Manhattan Library, in the alcove outside the Program Room (room 78).

Next up for Open Book Hour, Friday, November 8 at 1 PM: Winter is coming, along with holidays that typically involve eating and baking. We’d love to hear your ideas for cookie recipes that would pair well with books. Join us! 

At our October session, Open Book Hour readers selected their spookiest stories, sharing their favorite books that go bump in the night. Along with the recommendations below, you can also check out upcoming Open Book Hour themes and see our past reading lists. (All summaries below adapted from the publisher.)

Book Recommendations from October Open Book Hour

Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine #1)  by David Baldacci

Ever since her twin sister was abducted by a notorious serial killer at age five, Atlee has spent her life hunting down those who hurt others. And she’s the best at it. She could be one of the Bureau’s top criminal profilers if she didn’t prefer catching criminals in the vast wilderness of the West to climbing the career ladder in the D.C. office. Her chosen mission is a lonesome one—but that suits her just fine.




 

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu

In this second volume of Monstress, collecting issues 7-12, Maika's quest takes her to the pirate-controlled city of Thyria and across the sea to the mysterious Isle of Bones. It is a journey that will force Maika to reevaluate her past, present, and future, and contemplate whether there's anyone, or anything, she can truly trust—including her own body.





 

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch

In 1776, an elite group of soldiers were handpicked to serve as George Washington’s bodyguards. Washington trusted them, relied on them. But unbeknownst to Washington, some of them were part of a treasonous plan.

In the months leading up to the Revolutionary War, these traitorous soldiers, along with the Governor of New York, William Tryon, and Mayor David Mathews, launched a deadly plot against the most important member of the military: George Washington himself.

 

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Louis has recently moved from Chicago to Ludlow with his wife Rachel, their children, and pet cat. Near their house, local children have created a cemetery for the dogs and cats killed by the steady stream of transports on the busy highway. Deeper in the woods lies another graveyard, whose sinister properties Louis discovers when the family cat is killed.

 

 

 

 

Carrie by Stephen King

The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most barrier-breaking and shocking novels of all time.







 

The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

The world we knew is gone. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibility.

 

 

 

 

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

 

 

 

 

Wayward Son (Simon Snow #2) by Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after…

 

 

 

 

Assassin's Creed: Assassins Vol.1: Trial by Fire by Anthony Del Col

Based on the popular game series, this graphic novel follows a fresh inductee into the modern-day Assassin Brotherhood as they uncover a conspiracy in their DNA that stretches back hundreds of years! Contains the first five issues of the Assassin's Creed comic.

 

 

 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year but, by the morning, is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.