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Books Set on Islands

JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.

Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 116

We’re halfway through the Summer Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge, and this episode, we discuss books set on islands.

Island settings are about more than sipping cocktails on the beach. Sometimes, as with Agatha Christie’s classic mystery And Then There Were None, the primary goal is to get off the island while you still can.

Whether you’re into thrillers, horror, historical fiction, or romance, you’ll find the island of your dreams—or nightmares—with our picks. Listen below!

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The Island book cover

Jacqueline’s Pick

The Island by Natasha Preston

This YA thriller is filled with greed, secrets, and a mystery waiting to unfold. Millionaire Malcolm Wyatt invites six teen social media influencers, Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley, to his new private island getaway.

But when one of the teens goes missing, their sunny island beach adventure turns into a gothic setting complete with stormy weather, eerie surroundings, and mounting suspense.

Pairing: Funnel Cake with Blueberry Sauce

The Troop book cover

Michael’s Pick

The Troop by Nick Cutter

This horror novel follows a boy scout troop camping for the weekend on a remote, uninhabited island off the coast of Prince Edward Island.

When the Scoutmaster, who’s also the local town doctor, discovers a mysterious, skeletal man stumbling through their campsite, he takes the man into their cabin.

He quickly finds that he’s in way over his head when he discovers the horror that has made its home inside the man.

Once the Scoutmaster becomes infected, the weekend devolves into a bloody nightmare for the troop of boys who must try to find a way off the island without becoming infected.

Pairing: Dark ‘n Stormy Rum Cocktail

Whale Fall book cover

Carrie’s Picks

Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor

This coming-of-age novel opens in September 1938 when a whale washes ashore on a tiny island off the coast of Wales. It’s home to 18-year-old Manod, who lives with her lobsterman father and younger sister, Llinos.

When ethnographers Joan and Edward arrive from Oxford to study the Welsh-speaking island’s culture, they hire Manod as their assistant and translator. To Manod, it feels like a way out of the harsh island life that’s expected of her.

Pairing: Welsh Cakes

The Name Game book cover

The Name Game by Beth O’Leary

This contemporary romance is set on another tiny British island, this time the fictional Ormer in the English Channel.

The island farm shop has just hired someone named Charlie Jones as manager, but on Charlie’s first work day, not one but two people named Charlie Jones show up: a grieving woman who wants to start a family, and a newly sober man just off a big break up.

Since no one at the shop seems to know who the job was actually meant for, the Charlies agree to a trial period of sharing the position—and living quarters. Naturally, shenanigans ensue.

Pairing: Not-too-fancy farm shop coffee

Prompt to Page with Mandi Fugate Sheffel

A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.

Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Listen to Episode 58

Author Mandi Fugate Sheffel has always kept a journal, which she thought of “as this internal thing, a summary of my thoughts and feelings for the day.”

She had to learn to pay more attention to sensory details. “What you recognize in a moment is significant as a writer,” she says, because “that’s where voice comes from.”

On this episode, Mandi shares several writing prompts, including one that will help you become a better observer.

She also discusses why she opened a bookstore in Eastern Kentucky and the joys of attending the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop. Listen below!

more: Prompt to Page with Mandi Fugate Sheffel

Reads for America 250

JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.

Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 115

This episode, we mark the 250th anniversary of the United States with books about American history, one of the prompts on the Summer Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge.

Carrie and Michael share nonfiction about people and events that are often left out of the historical record, while Jacqueline discusses a teen novel about the more recent past. Listen below!

more: Reads for America 250

Prompt to Page with Lucy Oquaye

A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.

Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Listen to Episode 57

Do you feel too distracted to write? Poet and nonfiction writer Lucy Oquaye believes prompts can help. “What’s most beneficial about using prompts,” she says, “is really that you’re just taking time to write.”

Lucy says that writing for 20 minutes in a notebook—without phones or computers—has transformed her college students’ writing. She notes, “ That kind of focus is really beneficial to anyone’s writing practice.”

So grab a pen and paper and try Lucy’s favorite writing exercise. Listen below!

more: Prompt to Page with Lucy Oquaye

Hit the Road with Our Book Club Pick

JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.

Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 114

On this episode, Carrie, Michael, and guest-host Charlotte discuss So Far Gone by Jess Walter, one of the prompts on the Spring Books & Bites Bingo reading challenge.

This witty, suspenseful, and timely novel follows a reclusive journalist who goes on a quest to rescue his kidnapped grandchildren. It not only features a road trip, the audiobook makes a great pick for a road trip thanks to Eduardo Ballerini’s narration.

more: Hit the Road with Our Book Club Pick

Prompt to Page with Eugenia Johnson-Smith

A JCPL librarian interviews published writers about their favorite writing prompts. These exercises can help inspire, focus, and improve your creative writing.

Brought to you in partnership with the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Listen to Episode 56

 Author Eugenia Johnson-Smith believes writers should focus on getting their thoughts down in a first draft and worry about grammar and style later.  ”Don’t be too critical,” she says, “because you’ve got to get the words on the page.”

Eugenia shares some of the prompts that help her and her students write without pressure or judgment. She also discusses the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative, including her new role there. Listen below!

more: Prompt to Page with Eugenia Johnson-Smith

Learn About the 2026 Kentucky Primary Midterm Candidates

The Kentucky midterm primary is on May 19, with voters deciding who will advance to the November midterms.

Kentucky voters will decide their party’s candidates for the U.S. Senate race to replace Senator Mitch McConnell. Voters in the 6th U.S. House district, which includes Jessamine County, will decide their party’s candidates for the U.S. House.

Jessamine County and Nicholasville will also vote on several local and state races. To see the complete list of races, download the Jessamine County sample ballot.

Find your precinct, districts, and polling place at the Kentucky Voter Information Center.

more: Learn About the 2026 Kentucky Primary Midterm Candidates