Dena
@philabrarian.bsky.social
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Romance Librarian. Big ol' nerd.
Dena's Favorites 2025
June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde. A portrait of a young woman who looks at the world differently, and what happens when her world changes for good.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde. A portrait of a young woman who looks at the world differently, and what happens when her world changes for good.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde. A portrait of a young woman who looks at the world differently, and what happens when her world changes for good.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
June in the Garden by Eleanor Wilde. A portrait of a young woman who looks at the world differently, and what happens when her world changes for good.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Teo's Durumi by Elaine U. Cho. Teo and friends must clear his name in this fast-paced conclusion to Ocean's Godori - a science fiction duology with found family and political intrigue
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio:freelibrary.overdriv...
Teo's Durumi by Elaine U. Cho. Teo and friends must clear his name in this fast-paced conclusion to Ocean's Godori - a science fiction duology with found family and political intrigue
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio:freelibrary.overdriv...
December 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Teo's Durumi by Elaine U. Cho. Teo and friends must clear his name in this fast-paced conclusion to Ocean's Godori - a science fiction duology with found family and political intrigue
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio:freelibrary.overdriv...
Teo's Durumi by Elaine U. Cho. Teo and friends must clear his name in this fast-paced conclusion to Ocean's Godori - a science fiction duology with found family and political intrigue
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio:freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Pagans by Alistair Henry James. In a world where the Norman Invasion never happened, Detectives Aedith and Drustan must put aside their differences to track down a serial killer with a decades-old grudge.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Pagans by Alistair Henry James. In a world where the Norman Invasion never happened, Detectives Aedith and Drustan must put aside their differences to track down a serial killer with a decades-old grudge.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
December 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Pagans by Alistair Henry James. In a world where the Norman Invasion never happened, Detectives Aedith and Drustan must put aside their differences to track down a serial killer with a decades-old grudge.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Pagans by Alistair Henry James. In a world where the Norman Invasion never happened, Detectives Aedith and Drustan must put aside their differences to track down a serial killer with a decades-old grudge.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Dena's Favorites 2025
Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler. Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to a great duology.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler. Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to a great duology.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler. Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to a great duology.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler. Dark Lord Davi rules the kingdom, but she must now break the time loop that binds her in this hilariously bloody conclusion to a great duology.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff. Queer, cozy, and with a touch of eldritch horror, this is a charming love story about a small-town baker, a quick-witted PI, and an ancient evil.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff. Queer, cozy, and with a touch of eldritch horror, this is a charming love story about a small-town baker, a quick-witted PI, and an ancient evil.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff. Queer, cozy, and with a touch of eldritch horror, this is a charming love story about a small-town baker, a quick-witted PI, and an ancient evil.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff. Queer, cozy, and with a touch of eldritch horror, this is a charming love story about a small-town baker, a quick-witted PI, and an ancient evil.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audio: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo. Trapped in the mansion of a sinister magistrate, Chih and Almost Brilliant must learn what happened in Baolin when the famine came to call.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo. Trapped in the mansion of a sinister magistrate, Chih and Almost Brilliant must learn what happened in Baolin when the famine came to call.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 13, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo. Trapped in the mansion of a sinister magistrate, Chih and Almost Brilliant must learn what happened in Baolin when the famine came to call.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo. Trapped in the mansion of a sinister magistrate, Chih and Almost Brilliant must learn what happened in Baolin when the famine came to call.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister. A fake relationship for all the right reasons doesn't play out how these two academic rivals expect.
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister. A fake relationship for all the right reasons doesn't play out how these two academic rivals expect.
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister. A fake relationship for all the right reasons doesn't play out how these two academic rivals expect.
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAllister. A fake relationship for all the right reasons doesn't play out how these two academic rivals expect.
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman. A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on the world in this satire of The Twelve Huntsmen.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman. A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on the world in this satire of The Twelve Huntsmen.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman. A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on the world in this satire of The Twelve Huntsmen.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman. A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on the world in this satire of The Twelve Huntsmen.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
What is Wrong With You? by Paul Rudnick. A chaotic destination wedding on a private island brings together an eccentric group of characters seeking love and causing mayhem.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
What is Wrong With You? by Paul Rudnick. A chaotic destination wedding on a private island brings together an eccentric group of characters seeking love and causing mayhem.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
What is Wrong With You? by Paul Rudnick. A chaotic destination wedding on a private island brings together an eccentric group of characters seeking love and causing mayhem.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
What is Wrong With You? by Paul Rudnick. A chaotic destination wedding on a private island brings together an eccentric group of characters seeking love and causing mayhem.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire. A heroine of the Decameron is reimagined in a delightfully deranged world of talking plants, walking corpses, and shape-shifting sorcerers.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire. A heroine of the Decameron is reimagined in a delightfully deranged world of talking plants, walking corpses, and shape-shifting sorcerers.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire. A heroine of the Decameron is reimagined in a delightfully deranged world of talking plants, walking corpses, and shape-shifting sorcerers.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire. A heroine of the Decameron is reimagined in a delightfully deranged world of talking plants, walking corpses, and shape-shifting sorcerers.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Next Time Will be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Next Time Will be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Next Time Will be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Next Time Will be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Stretching across decades and continents, Magnolia's star-crossed love story reveals how life can take unexpected turns.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood. A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood. A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood. A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood. A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton. Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton. Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton. Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton. Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Sing to Me by Jesse Browner. After the fall of Troy, young Hani embarks on an epic quest – assisted by his brilliant donkey – to find his lost sister in the ruins of the city
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Sing to Me by Jesse Browner. After the fall of Troy, young Hani embarks on an epic quest – assisted by his brilliant donkey – to find his lost sister in the ruins of the city
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Sing to Me by Jesse Browner. After the fall of Troy, young Hani embarks on an epic quest – assisted by his brilliant donkey – to find his lost sister in the ruins of the city
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Sing to Me by Jesse Browner. After the fall of Troy, young Hani embarks on an epic quest – assisted by his brilliant donkey – to find his lost sister in the ruins of the city
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception. SF meets classic horror B-movies.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception. SF meets classic horror B-movies.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception. SF meets classic horror B-movies.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge—but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception. SF meets classic horror B-movies.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. Samantha and Xavier are perfect for each other, but neither of them are in a place where togetherness is possible. And yet…
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. Samantha and Xavier are perfect for each other, but neither of them are in a place where togetherness is possible. And yet…
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 3, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. Samantha and Xavier are perfect for each other, but neither of them are in a place where togetherness is possible. And yet…
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. Samantha and Xavier are perfect for each other, but neither of them are in a place where togetherness is possible. And yet…
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own restaurant.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own restaurant.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own restaurant.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own restaurant.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Dena's Favorites 2025
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman. A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman. A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
December 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Dena's Favorites 2025
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman. A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman. A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison.
Print: catalog.freelibrary....
Ebook: freelibrary.overdriv...
Downloadable Audiobook: freelibrary.overdriv...
It's time for the countdown to the 14th Annual list of Dena's favorite books of the year.
Check back every day in December to see a new book. At the end of the month they'll all be presented on the Free Library of Philadelphia website.
You can see all the past lists here: shorturl.at/jg8Bz
Check back every day in December to see a new book. At the end of the month they'll all be presented on the Free Library of Philadelphia website.
You can see all the past lists here: shorturl.at/jg8Bz
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
It's time for the countdown to the 14th Annual list of Dena's favorite books of the year.
Check back every day in December to see a new book. At the end of the month they'll all be presented on the Free Library of Philadelphia website.
You can see all the past lists here: shorturl.at/jg8Bz
Check back every day in December to see a new book. At the end of the month they'll all be presented on the Free Library of Philadelphia website.
You can see all the past lists here: shorturl.at/jg8Bz
I’m listening to Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time and just got to this line: “If there were rules then they applied to everyone… otherwise they were merely tyranny”
Sigh.
Sigh.
August 4, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I’m listening to Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time and just got to this line: “If there were rules then they applied to everyone… otherwise they were merely tyranny”
Sigh.
Sigh.
I just started My Friends by Fredrik Backman last night and I should have expected to have my heart ripped out of my chest in the first chapter but I did not. I'm 25% through and the book is so beautiful and sad and funny.
May 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
I just started My Friends by Fredrik Backman last night and I should have expected to have my heart ripped out of my chest in the first chapter but I did not. I'm 25% through and the book is so beautiful and sad and funny.
Today my Buy Nothing group held a free “yardsale”. Over 50 houses signed up to put things out free for the taking and a member made a Google treasure map and I spent the morning walking around with friends. We all got some amazing stuff and met neighbours and the world can be a good place sometimes!
May 18, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Today my Buy Nothing group held a free “yardsale”. Over 50 houses signed up to put things out free for the taking and a member made a Google treasure map and I spent the morning walking around with friends. We all got some amazing stuff and met neighbours and the world can be a good place sometimes!
I loved Honey and Spice by @beebabs.bsky.social a few years ago, so I’m super excited to be reading the ARC for Sweet Heat this weekend!! (Also, this is a fantastic cover)
April 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I loved Honey and Spice by @beebabs.bsky.social a few years ago, so I’m super excited to be reading the ARC for Sweet Heat this weekend!! (Also, this is a fantastic cover)
I just had a couple come in with an empty suitcase and fill it up with books they checked out. #librarygoals
March 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I just had a couple come in with an empty suitcase and fill it up with books they checked out. #librarygoals