Looking for Your Next Book?

Kennebunk Free Library staff love helping patrons find their next great read! We invite you to email us or call us at 207-985-2173, and we also welcome you to check out the online forms and resources on this page.

Please visit our New Materials page to learn about items that arrived at the library recently and to find out whether we have this week's New York Times bestsellers available in our various collections (print, large print, audio, ebook, eaudio)? 
 
For information about browsing the catalog and requesting items, please visit our Lending page.
 

Request a Book Stack Customized for You

Would you like to start the new year by borrowing a stack of books handpicked by a librarian? We’d love to choose some books for you! Request a book stack by filling out the Google Form below. If you'd only like a list of titles, rather than an actual book stack, you may request that option on the form. A KFL library card is required. We'll let you know when your book stack is ready to pick up curbside!

Adult/Young Adult Book Stack Request Form
 

Request a Book Stack Customized for Your Child

Would you like a librarian to handpick a stack of books for your child? Request a book stack by filling out the Google Form below. A KFL library card is required. We'll let you know when your book stack is ready to pick up curbside!

Children's Book Stack Request Form
 

Request a Customized DVD Bundle

Want some DVDs, but have no idea what exactly you want to watch? Let the librarians at KFL take care of that! Request a customized DVD Bundle by filling out the Google Form below. A KFL library card is required. We'll let you know when your bundle is ready to pick up curbside!

DVD Bundle Request Form
 

New Books

as seen on our homepage

Click on a title to visit its record in our catalog, where you can place a hold online, or call the library to ask us to place a hold for you.

Fiction:
Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
In the Company of Killers by Bryan Christy
Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi
Under the Wave at Waimea by Paul Theroux
When a Stranger Comes to Town edited by Michael Koryta
The Wild Fox of Yemen: poems by Threa Almontaser
 
Nonfiction:
And Now I Spill the Family Secrets: an illustrated memoir by Margaret Kimball
Permission to Dream by Chris Gardner
Second Changes: a marine, his dog, and finding redemption by Craig Grossi
 

Hot New Releases on Order for May

Click on a title to visit its record in our catalog, where you can place a hold online, or call the library to ask us to place a hold for you.

Staff Picks for May 2021


Kat, Library Assistant:
 
Mend – A Refashioning Manual by Kate Secules As someone that spent a lot of time putting visible patches on jeans in the 1980s and always doing quick repairs on the family’s clothing, I was intrigued by the premise of this book. The author looks into every aspect of the ancient art of extending the life of clothing, as well as how items make it to market, in the past and currently. Fabric was very valuable even as late as the early 1900s. Currently, mending is a very “green” practice. There are chapters on technique, materials, the extensive variety of needles, other supplies and the current trends in visible patching. I particularly enjoyed taking a look into other people’s sewing notion boxes.

Life in the Studio Inspiration and Lessons on Creativity by Frances Palmer This book is a lush, gorgeous shot of creative juices in a great array of pursuits that most of us can relate to. It dives into not only pottery, but photography, cooking, gardening, flower arranging, entertaining, décor and organizing life. The author shares how she deals with deadlines, creative blocks and working from home. I found the whole book to be one delightful page after another.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid Emira Tucker, a 25-year-old Black woman is the babysitter for Alix Chamberlain’s toddler. One evening, Emira and Briar, her 2-year-old charge, are in a grocery store. A customer contacts Security with the suspicion that the white toddler has been kidnapped by a Black woman. The confrontation is video recorded by another customer and the stage is set for drama and a mini study in race relations and misconceptions. This was our book for the Adult Discussion in April. When I started reading it I hated it, thinking it was just a new stereotyping of young women of color. I looked at the reviews again and it got high praise. As I continued reading and the story line and characters developed, the book won me over. It presents a very interesting perspective that I found enlightening. I am really looking forward to our discussion!
 

Jenny, Library Assistant:
 
The Peterson Guide to Bird Identification - in 12 Steps by Steve N. G. Howell & Brian Sullivan is written in a conversational style to teach new birders (or remind more experienced birders) of the important steps, or factors, in identifying birds, including the overlooked basics of location, habitat, and season. The steps build upon each other, and there is a summary chapter that demonstrates the steps in a real-world example. There are also lots of well-captioned, color photographs. As a sort of “advanced beginner” myself, the steps have provided a flexible structure to guide me in improving my birding success.  
 

Denise, Library Assistant:


 

Websites for Readers

An annotated list by KFL library assistant Kyle

General

Perhaps the most famous website for readers, Goodreads is a kind of Facebook for book lovers.  Readers can create different lists, sorting their to read, have read, and current reads into different lists and share those with their Goodreads friends.  It is fun to see what your friends are reading or want to read.  Goodreads also has an immense community of reviewers that provide valuable insight into whether that hot new book is really worth your time reading.  They also have features to connect authors with readers and will sometimes offer giveaways.  Note: Goodreads is owned by Amazon.

LibraryThing is very similar to Goodreads.  If you are looking for a non-Amazon alternative to Goodreads, LibraryThing is for you.

Fantastic Fiction is the ultimate resource for author bibliographies and accurate series information.  If you want to know what order to read a series in or what books a specific author has written, chances are you’ll find it within their database of over 50,000 authors.  The pages are simple, but straightforward.  Fantastic Fiction also keeps running lists of new books being released along with debut authors.  They have recently added book list features similar to Goodreads, but their strength remains in accurate series information.

Shelf Awareness is a book review website that offers a twice weekly email newsletter with their reviews, author interviews, and other book related goodness.  They review fiction and non-fiction books of all genres, along with young adult and children’s books.

Kirkus is a well known and established book review magazine.  They review all genres of fiction and nonfiction, along with young adult and children’s books.  All of their detailed reviews are available for free on their website.  It’s a great way to see how good the latest bestsellers are and also discover other books and authors that are highly reviewed.

Book Riot is an extensive book review and recommendation website.  They present their information in more of a “news” story form that the traditional book lists and review format of other sites.  Some will find it more engaging.  They also have several very popular book related podcasts.

Book Marks describes itself as a “Rotten Tomatoes'' for books.  Their editors scour the internet for book reviews from credible, known sources.  Once a book has at least three reviews, they categorize those reviews as pan, mixed, positive, or rave giving readers a quick way to see what is being said about the hottest new releases.  Excerpts of the reviews are also provided so you can decide for yourself.

LoveReading is your standard book reviewing website: it provides listings of new and recommended books, along with providing a short review of each book.  They have an excellent and extensive themed book list section.  While the site is UK based, most books are published simultaneously or nearly these days.

Any New Books is a service that provides weekly emails with lists of new books in genres or topics that you can customize.  With 42 different fiction and nonfiction genres it’s easy to get specific about your own personal loves.  Want to know the latest computer programming, political, and history books each week?  Done.  This service tends to be stronger with its nonfiction coverage than fiction.  Also they will include self-published and books from lesser known publishers which may be of varying quality.
 

Historical Fiction  

If you are searching for your next historical fiction novel to read, head over to Historical Novels.  They list over 5,000 novels grouped by both time period and geographic location.  Their listing includes both straight historical fiction and also historical mystery fiction.  Reviews are included for some of the titles.  This isn’t the best site for keeping track of what is hot off the press, it has amazing listings of older historical fiction from the 2000s, 1990s, and beyond.  Perfect for when you want to get a book without a long waiting list.

Historical Novel Society has been reading and reviewing historical fiction since 1997 -- over 15,000 books.  While not all of those are listed on their website, there are still plenty of books to choose from.  They do keep up with the latest publications and have extensive reviews of recent releases.

Historical Fiction Online is a good old fashioned internet message board.  It is an online forum for lovers of historical fiction to post book reviews, reading logs, and have general discussions about all things historical fiction.  It is easy to go down into the rabbit hold on this site, but there is good information on books to be found here.
 


Mystery

Stop, You’re Killing Me is a massive resource for mystery lovers.  It tracks the latest releases by month for hardcover, paperback, large print, and audio formats.  You can also browse new and older titles grouped by location, job of the main character, historical time period, ethnic group of the main character, and subgenre (ie cozy, thriller, paranormal).  It’s easy to find some great mysteries perfectly suited to your tastes using these indexes.  They also have book reviews and book award listings.  What more could a mystery read want?

From the folks who bring you the general reading website “Book Marks”, Crime Reads is a website devoted to all things mystery from novels to true crime.  They present their book lists and recommendations in essay format as opposed to just straight lists.  This is a great resource to follow for their insightful posts on new and little known mystery writing.

The “Golden Age” of mystery novels -- Agatha Christie comes first to mind for many but there are so many other great mystery novels with shady looking characters in trench coats being followed by the hero detective (usually also wearing a trench coat) on the cover.  The blog In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel highlights those great classic mysteries of the 1920s-1950s, while also giving reviews of recently published books.  If you’re looking for a new mystery but especially if you’re looking for an old mystery, check this site out for some great ideas.

If you are a fan of the cozy mystery subgenre, then you need to spend some time on this website. Cozy Mystery List keeps up on the newest releases, along with directories of cozy mysteries by theme, time period, and author.  With loads of book reviews and recommendations, this site will quickly fill up your to-read list.
 


Science Fiction & Fantasy

SFBook is a straightforward book review blog.  They post a copious amount of book reviews specific to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre.  There are book reviews the scroll through for days while seeking your next great space or fantasy adventure.

Locus Magazine is a monthly print magazine that covers all things news in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, along with author and other interviews, book releases and reviews.  Many of their book reviews are also published on their website for free access.

Den of Geek is a website devoted to all things ‘geek’ culture from movies to games to comics to books.  Their book section features roundups on the latest monthly releases along with individual reviews and news.  This is especially a great place to keep up with all the books crossing over to tv and movie streaming services.
 


Romance

If you need any ideas for what romance book to read next, visit She Reads Romance Books!  It has dozens of reading lists by topic, subgenre, along with lists of what to read/what to skip for each month’s new book releases.  There are also a good number of book reviews to give you a little more information about a book, recommendation lists, and more.  It even has a quiz to help you “discover your next book boyfriend”!

Romance Junkies has an extensive list of book reviews for new releases and classics.  Their site is organized so that it makes it very easy to find reviews for romance sub-genres such as contemporary, romantic suspense, paranormal/futuristic, and historical romance.

All About Romance (or AAR as they call themselves) has tons of romance book reviews, along with industry news, author interviews and commentary.  Their website has a section devoted to the reviews (which are searchable), along with a blog with news, plus forums for you to get in touch with other romance book lovers.
 


Thrillers

Best Thrillers is a comprehensive book review site just for the genre of thriller.  But the best part is how they break down the thriller genre so that it’s easy to find the specific type of thriller books you’re looking for, whether that is apocalypse, historical, medical, military, political, spy, or many other sub-genres.  A great place for anyone looking for a little adrenaline in their reads.