Adventure Pass Ending in 2025

Due to circumstances outside of our control, the Des Moines Public Library’s Iowa Adventure Pass service will no longer be available in 2025. Any reservation already made for 2025 will be honored, but we encourage anyone with a current reservation to print those passes immediately. Customers can make new reservations for passes that must be used by December 31, 2024. We hope to reintroduce the service at a later time, and we apologize for the inconvenience. 

10 Books to Read: Sign Up for Our Monthly Email

The Des Moines Public Library is your oasis for books, and we're making it easier than ever to navigate the stacks and find a new book to read. Our new monthly email will feature a selection of books chosen by our librarians, delivered straight to your inbox. These are new and recently released titles that have the literary world buzzing. Below is an example of what you'll be receiving on a monthly basis. This month, we're highlighting Louise Penny's latest mystery, an anticipated fiction debut from Oyinkan Braithwaite, and more. If you're interested in receiving this monthly list, sign up for our email.

 

Kingdom-of-the-blind

Kingdom of the Blind

AUTHOR: Louise Penny
GENRE: Mystery
PAGES: 389

The six-time Agatha Award-winning author of such best-sellers as Still Life and The Cruelest Month presents the latest entry in her popular Chief Inspector Gamache series.

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tonys-wife

Tony's Wife

AUTHOR: Adriana Trigiani
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PAGES: 320

Love, ambition, and the consequences of both lie at the heart of this spellbinding epic of two working-class kids who become a successful singing act during the big band era of the 1940s.

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the-adults

The Adults

AUTHOR: Caroline Hulse
GENRE: Fiction
PAGES: 365

A couple (now separated), plus their daughter, plus their new partners, all on an epic Christmas vacation. What could go wrong? This razor-sharp novel puts a darkly comic twist on seasonal favorites like Love Actually and The Holiday

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evening-in-paradise

Evening in Paradise

AUTHOR: Lucia Berlin
GENRE: Short Stories
PAGES: 244

A follow-up to the award-winning A Manual for Cleaning Women features 22 previously uncompiled selections from the late author's remaining story collection.

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thanks-a-thousand

Thanks a Thousand

AUTHOR: A.J. Jacobs
GENRE: Nonfiction
PAGES: 137

A New York Times best-selling author describes a journey of gratitude as he attempts to thank every person involved in producing his morning cup of coffee, from Minnesota coal miners to farmers in Columbia and the marketers on Madison Avenue.

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sister-serial-killer

My Sister the Serial Killer

AUTHOR: Oyinkan Braithwaite
GENRE: Fiction
PAGES: 226

A short, darkly funny, hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

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feral-detective

Feral Detective

AUTHOR: Jonathan Lethem
GENRE: Mystery
PAGES: 326

Nearly two decades after his last mystery, Motherless Brooklyn​, the accomplished author delivers a stunning tale about a New York woman tracking her friend's missing daughter to the outskirts of California's Inland Empire.

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north-of-dawn

North of Dawn

AUTHOR: Nuruddin Farah
GENRE: Fiction
PAGES: 384

From Somalia's most celebrated novelist comes this bold story about a couple whose life abroad is irrevocably transformed by the arrival of their son's widow and children.

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how-long-til-black

How Long 'Til Black Future Month?

AUTHOR: N.K. Jemisin
GENRE: Short Stories/Sci-Fi
PAGES: 400

This first short story collection from the celebrated speculative fiction author features her signature blend of sharply observed, provocative tales of magic steeped in realism and social commentary.

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once-upon-river

Once Upon a River
AUTHOR: Diane Setterfield
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PAGES: 480

In the celebrated author's latest novel, when the seemingly dead body of a child reanimates hours after arriving at an ancient inn on the Thames, three families try to claim her.
 

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Published on December 05, 2018
Last Modified November 22, 2024