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Fall into a great story with these staff picks from the Shelburne Public Library

September 24, 2026   ·   0 Comments

The Correspondent by Virgina Evans – recommended by Shannon

I loved this story. It is not easy to pull off an epistolary novel (written as a series of letters), and to discover that this was Virginia Evan’s debut made it that much sweeter. 

Seventy-three-year-old retired lawyer Sybil Van Antwerp is miserable and spends her days writing letters to family, friends, famous people, and one special person for whom she writes the most personal letters but never sends. Through these letters, we learn about Sybil – the mistakes she’s made, the relationships fractured and forged, the life she lived and the life she wants to live.

This is a beautiful and tragic story of one woman’s journey of self-reflection. At first, you might dislike her, but you will likely grow fond of her, and you might even see yourself in her.

The Book of Small by Emily Carr – recommended by Brittany

“The legendary Emily Carr was primarily a painter, but she first gained recognition as an author. She wrote seven popular, critically acclaimed books about her journeys to remote Indigenous communities and about her life as an artist — as well as her life as a small child in Victoria at the turn of the last century,” writes Goodreads.

“The Book of Small is a collection of 36 short stories about a childhood in a town that still had vestiges of its pioneer past. With an uncanny skill at bringing people to life, Emily Carr tells stories about her family, neighbours, friends and strangers as well as an array of beloved pets. All are observed through the sharp eyes and ears of a young, ever-curious and irrepressible girl, and Carr’s writing is a disarming combination of charm and devastating frankness.”

I find this book particularly important this month as it clearly portrays the values and prejudices that children were being taught in the 1870s. As always, reading historical books is valuable as long as you recognize historical flaws without approving them.

I have always been obsessed with pioneer women in Canada, wilderness adventure, and recently have been loving short stories –– Emily Carr’s books tick all of those boxes. 

It’s fascinating to dive inside the mind of someone so linked to Canada’s culture and past. From the stories of a little girl, all the way up to a woman adventuring on her own. You need to read one of her memoirs.

Whistler by Ann Patchett – recommended by Trudy

Ann Patchett is an acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author, but I chose this book because of the cover painting by artist Noah Saterstrom. I was captivated from the first page, although contemporary fiction is not my usual genre. Patchett’s writing style is graceful and compassionate, with complex characters.

Set in New York City, the story begins at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Whistler probes the profound and bittersweet relationship between Daphne and the man who was briefly her stepfather when she was nine, and their chance meeting years later. Haunted by past traumas, the characters are intriguing and complicated.

There is a wonderful quiet humour throughout the book that sustained me when other heartbreaking subjects became the essence of this story. I found Whistler insightful and thought provoking on many topics that are of interest to me.

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves – recommended by Amy

Travis is death in the modern world. His job is to visit people in their final moments of life, offering them small comforts before dutifully shepherding them into whatever happens next. But something new starts to unfold when Travis finds himself enmeshed in the lives of his neighbour, Dalia, and her spirited eight-year-old daughter.

This book is a powerful reminder of how beautiful life is, in all its mundane moments, and how precious our time here really is. The writing is so lyrical and astute that I found myself pausing to re-reading many passages, letting the words and images soak in more deeply. 

If you are looking for a poignant, life-affirming read, this is it.

“Here we are, doing small things, nothing really, just talking, watching television. And yet, in the nothingness there is a life more real than any wedding or christening or birthday party. In these tiny moments, when the spectacle is stripped away, when there is no reason for the day, what’s left appears to be something true, something fundamental to being a person.”

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