Book Reviews by Jeana Gockley
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/weekend.jpeg)
The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
Hopefully the idea of summer reading brings to mind getting outside,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/romantic-comedy.jpeg)
ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld
In ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld, Sally Milz is a sketch…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Staff-Books-for-2023-Facebook-Video-495x400.png)
JEANA’S FAVORITE READS OF 2023
Happy New Year and welcome to 2024! As with past years I like…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Award-Winners-1-495x400.jpg)
Congratulations to JPL Staff!
Joplin Public Library (JPL) was recently announced as the winner…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/lady-tan.jpg)
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
The setting for Lisa See’s latest New York Times bestselling…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Celebrants-331x400.jpg)
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
In April, the Library hosted bestselling author Shelby Van Pelt. …
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Happy-Place-495x400.webp)
Happy Place by Emily Henry
With summer on the way, it is a good time to start thinking about…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Tomorrow-and-tomorrow-397x400.jpg)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Sam Mazur and Sadie Green first met, at age 11, in a hospital…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dog-man-270x400.jpg)
Jeana’s Favorite Reads of 2022
Welcome to 2023! As we kick off a brand new year, I like to reflect…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/This-time-tomorrow-331x400.jpg)
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
As Alice Stern approaches her fortieth birthday she feels unsatisfied…
![Wish You Were Here book cover](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Wish-you-were-here-328x400.jpg)
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
Diana O’Toole has her life completely mapped out - educational…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Knock-at-midnight.jpg)
A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K Barnett
I had the pleasure of getting to hear lawyer, criminal justice…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Ready-Set-Cook.jpg)
Ready, Set, Cook: How to Make Good Food with What’s on Hand by Dawn Perry
I usually leave reviewing cookbooks to the talented Lisa Brown,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Meet-Me-in-Paradise-333x400.jpg)
Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher
Marin Cole is not a risk taker. When she was seventeen the…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/This-is-how-it-always-is-326x400.jpg)
Favorite Reads of 2021
As we kick off a new year, I like to reflect on what I have read…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Pachinko-326x400.jpg)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Have you ever gotten a book recommendation that was so good you…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Project-hail-mary-495x400.jpg)
Project Hail Mary by Anthony Weir
“PROJECT HAIL MARY‘s” main character Ryland Grace is on…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/art-of-gathering-333x400.jpg)
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
”THE ART OF GATHERING” is PRIYA PARKER‘s gift to those…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Chicken-Sisters-333x400.jpg)
The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell’Antonia
When I heard of this book — “THE CHICKEN SISTERS” by KJ…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Moxie.jpg)
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
A couple of months ago I saw a Netflix trailer for a movie called…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/WhereCrawdadsSing-BookClubKit-v2.jpg)
Jeana Gockley: JPL director shares her favorite reads of 2020
Goodbye 2020, hello 2021.
As the previous year is wrapped…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Bromance-book-Club-495x400.jpeg)
Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams & Beach Read by Emily Henry
As of late, I have been on a romance reading kick. If you would…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/untamed-313x400.jpg)
Untamed by Glennon Doyle & Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
I have been on a nonfiction reading kick of late, with autobiographies…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Becoming-329x400.jpg)
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Before reading “BECOMING,” I knew little about MICHELLE OBAMA.
I…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/In-Five-Year.png)
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Meet Dannie Kohan. Numbers are important to her.
Here are…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MrsEverything_final1.jpg)
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
When I saw this title come out a year ago, I was hyped. JENNIFER…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/renegades-495x400.jpg)
Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Around the holidays I kept seeing the same book for sale everywhere…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/51nUBgjDqAL._SCLZZZZZZZ_-332x400.jpg)
Counting your read books — how many will you read in 2020? by Jeana Gockley
The end of the year and the start of a new one is typically…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Evvie-Drake-330x400.jpg)
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
Librarian Seeks Book - Needed quick! Great book to read. Looking…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dog-man-270x400.jpg)
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey (and other graphic novels)
One of my favorite things about being a librarian is that I get…