Recently at the information desk I spoke with a library patron who loves to read but sometimes has trouble fitting it into her busy schedule.

I have an app for that! Or two! And of course, books!

New to the library this month is “Comics Plus,” a free resource from the library when you download the app and log in with your library card number and PIN. I love reading graphic novels and, while not all graphic novels are a quick read, many can be read in only a few hours or less.

Another one of my favorite ways to read is audiobooks, and with your library card number and PIN you can access the “Libby” by Overdrive app for free eAudiobooks, eBooks and eMagazines. And if Libby can’t keep up with your audiobook appetite, I’m a fan of Libro.fm too, where the audiobook sales go to the independent bookstore of your choice (I’m looking at you, Chapters Books).

Now, if you are looking for a physical book to read that won’t take too long, try looking for novellas, novels in verse, or… reading kid’s books. I know, I know, you aren’t a kid anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy fantastic stories. Here are some of my favorites:

• “Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream” by Tanya Lee Stone
• “Ana on the Edge” by A.J. Sass
• “Because of Winn-Dixie” by Kate DiCamillo
• “The Bletchley Riddle” by Ruta Sepetys and Steven Sheinkin
• “Book Scavenger” by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
• “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson
• “Front Desk” by Kelly Yang
• “Heart of a Shepherd” by Rosanne Parry
• “The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity” by Nicholas Day
• “The Only Road” by Alexandra Diaz
• “The Parker Inheritance” by Varian Johnson
• “Show Me a Sign” by Ann Clare LeZotte
• “Swindle” by Gordon Korman
• “The War that Saved My Life” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown
• “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead

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For over 20 years, Korie Jones Buerkle has served the Newberg Public Library community, first as a children’s librarian and now as the library director. You can reach her at korie.buerkle@newbergoregon.gov.