Libraries! We love ‘em so why not offer up some fictional and historical fiction titles which feature a special library and/or librarian? Today’s staff picks do just that. We hope you find something to enjoy in our reading suggestions.
Lisa recommends . . . 
The Midnight Library (2020)
by Matt Haig
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you had taken a different job or moved to a different city? In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed gets a chance to find out. At the end of a very, very bad day, Nora finds herself in a library with an infinite number of books, each one telling the story of another reality. Would her life have been better if she’d stayed in her band and become a global rock star? Or what if she’d lived out her childhood dream and become a glaciologist? Nora slips in and out of these alternate lives, hoping to find where she really belongs. Could it be that she was right where she should have been all along? Or is her perfect fit still out there waiting for her?
Find The Midnight Library in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Axis 360 eBook
Read more about the author Here
Bretagne suggests . . . 
The Strange Library (2014)
by Haruki Murakami
This is a strange story about a nightmarish library and the journey of a boy, girl, and sheep man trying to escape. Get ready for a real strange ride full of imagination.
Available through interlibrary loan
Read more about the author Here
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (2019)
Kim Michele Richardson
This tale of historical fiction takes the reader up and down the mountains of eastern Kentucky as Bluet, the WPA packhorse librarian delivers much needed literature to hill folk and navigates deep prejudice because of the color of her skin. Listen to this one if you get a chance!
Find The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Hoopla eBook and eAudiobook
Read more about the author Here
Beth suggests . . . 
The Paris Library (2021)
Janet Skeslien Charles
This historical fiction novel focuses on Odile Souchet, a young Parisian woman who is hired to work at the American Library in Paris just before the start of WWII. Odile and her colleagues at the library go to extraordinary lengths to keep the library open and serving its patrons during the Nazi occupation of their city. Parts of the novel are also set in the small community of Froid, Montana during the 1980s. Odile has become a lonely, estranged widow who captures the interests of a Lily, a teenage girl who is also in need of a friend. Lily learns to speak French from Odile as she also learns about Odile's mysterious past. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys relationships stories and has a fondness for libraries and the power of books to bring people together. Also, as a side note, I enjoyed the frequent references to the Dewey Decimal System.
Find The Paris Library in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Axis 360 eBook
Read more about the author Here
Check out the historical timeline of the book and see copies of actual documents used by the author Here
The Personal Librarian (2021)
by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
J.P. Morgan, one of the most powerful bankers and businessmen of his era, hires Bella da Costa Greene to help him create an amazing personal library of rare manuscripts, antique books and valuable artwork. Bella has a secret about her identity which, despite her intelligence and many talents, would ruin her chances of success if this secret were to get out. To explain her darker complexion, Bella tells her employer that she is partially of Portuguese descent, however, that is not true. She is actually the daughter of the first black man to graduate from Harvard college. To be honest, there were times when I thought I would not finish reading The Personal Librarian, but I'm so glad I stuck with it and completed it. This is an important book which speaks strongly about the history of racial injustice and also to the value of creating special libraries. I also appreciate the authors' notes at the end of the book which shed light on their joint writing venture.
Find The Personal Librarian in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Read more about the authors Marie Benedict Here
and Victoria Christopher Murray Here
Want more book recommendations by Lewis & Clark Library staffers? Check out our well-stocked Staff Picks book display on the second floor of the library..