Category Archives: Themed Book Lists

Booklist: Quarantine & Pandemic Fiction

Have you found that the current global health crisis has triggered an urge to read about fictional outbreaks? Dig into one of these stories about pandemic and quarantine. For help downloading, visit JMRL’s eLibrary or ask a Librarian for help. Don’t have a library card? Sign up online for a temporary card for instant access to ebooks, audiobooks, databases, and more.

Booklist: Thrillers

Land locked and sea parched? Feeling like a lone protagonist hiding out from multiple unseen enemies? Needing a little escape from solitary confinement, or just a good method for turning your extra TP rolls into homemade silencers? Then chill out with these pulse-pounding thrillers. For help downloading, visit JMRL’s eLibrary or ask a Librarian. Don’t have a library card? Sign up online for a temporary card for instant access to ebooks, audiobooks, databases, and more.

Want to keep up with what’s happening in the world of mysteries and thrillers? Check out Bookriot’s Read or Dead Podcast for bi-weekly recommendations.

Booklist: Gardening

Social distancing is important, but it can be a little rough! Numerous studies have shown that even just a little time around green things and outside does great things for our mental health and wellbeing (you can read more about that here, if you’re interested). With the weather looking up, now is a great time to get a little fresh air, or even just spend some quality time with a potted plant. Here are some wonderful digital books and materials to get you started. For help downloading, visit JMRL’s eLibrary or ask a Librarian for help. Don’t have a library card? Sign up online for a temporary card for instant access to ebooks, audiobooks, databases, and more.

  • Easy Growing by Gayla Trail Overdrive eBook
  • Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older by Sydney Eddison Freading
  • Hellstrip Gardening: Create a Paradise Between the Sidewalk and the Curb by Evelyn Hadden Freading
  • Rock Gardening by Joseph Tychonievich Freading
  • One Magic Square Vegetable Gardening by Lolo Houbein Freading
  • Apartment Gardening by Amy Pennington Overdrive eBook
  • Self-Sufficiency: A Complete Guide by Abigail Gehring Freading
  • Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell Freading
  • Organic Gardening the Natural No-Dig Way by Charles Dowding Freading
  • Indoor Kitchen Gardening by Elizabeth Millard Overdrive eBook
  • How to Grow Fruits, Vegetables and Houseplants Without Soil by Richard Helwig Freading
  • Kids Container Gardening by Cindy Krezel Freading
  • Square Foot Gardening with Kids by Mel Bartholomew Overdrive eBook
  • Tips for Dirt Cheap Gardening by Rhonda Hart Freading
  • Vegetable Gardening Wisdom by Kelly Smith Trimble Freading
  • High-Yield Vegetable Gardening by Colin McCrate and Brad Halm Overdrive eBook Freading
  • Gardening Under Lights by Leslie F. Halleck Freading
  • Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell Freading
  • Chesapeake Gardening and Landscaping by Barbara W. Ellis Overdrive eBook
  • Water Gardening in Containers by Ken Walter Freading
  • The Everything Small-Space Gardening Book by Catherine Abbott Overdrive eBook
  • Gardening to Attract Birds by Shelby Clark Freading
  • The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan Overdrive Audiobook
  • The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Deborah L Martin Freading
  • Grow Cook Eat by Willi Galloway Overdrive eBook
  • The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs by Judy Burris Overdrive eBook
  • Weedless Gardening: The Hassle-Free, All-Organic System by Lee Reich Freading
  • Little House in the Suburbs by Deanna Caswell Overdrive eBook
  • The Magical World of Moss Gardening by Annie Martin Freading 
  • Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education by Michael Pollan Overdrive eBook
  • Backyard Birding: Using Natural Gardening to Attract Birds by Julie Zickefoose Freading
  • Garden Spells: A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen Overdrive eBook
  • The Complete Houseplant Survival Guide by Barbara Pleasant Freading
  • Vertical Vegetables and Fruit by Rhonda Hart Freading

Also, we have several outdoor-related materials available for free through RBdigital, such as Audubon, Field & Stream, Grit, Garden Gate, Mother Earth News, National Geographic, Outdoor Life, and Outside.

Don’t forget to check out the wonderful local resources available through our very own Piedmont Master Gardeners, especially their fantastic newsletter, and their monthly gardening tips.

Want to listen to something? Check out the On The Ledge Podcast, about keeping indoor plants. Or how about In Defense of Plants Podcast, which covers topics from all over the botanical world.