Off the Shelf

What are Countway staff reading, watching, and listening to this summer?

Looking for your next book, film, or podcast? Our Off the Shelf series features recommendations from our very own Countway staff! We’ll be adding new picks all summer long - check back often for fresh inspiration!


Root of EvilPodcast: Root of Evil

Recommended by: MJ Grein, Administrative Operations Lead

Why they liked it: This podcast is dark, horrific and strangely healing. It’s based on the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia murder in Hollywood. There are 8 episodes and I was truly captivated by the story, the craziness and the aftermath / healing of this family. It’s a wild story, it’s not for the faint at heart. If you are into crime investigation stories, this one is for you!

Where to find it: Root of Evil is available on Spotify


Everything is TuberculosisBook: Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

Recommended by: Charlotte Lellman, MS, Collections Services Archivist

Why they liked it: This short and straightforward book is a holistic look at tuberculosis in today's world. Green (most famous for his young adult fiction) explores everything from historical medical and social understandings of the disease to the geopolitics and economics that result in its ongoing devastation in some parts of the world. The through-line is the moving story of a young man in Sierra Leone who is fighting drug-resistant TB. 

Where to find it: Everything is Tuberculosis is available in HOLLIS


My Cousin RachelBook: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

Recommended by: Charlotte Lellman, MS, Collections Services Archivist

Why they liked it: I recently read and enjoyed Du Maurier's best known work, Rebecca. This novel shares Rebecca's careful plotting and sense of foreboding and mystery, but the deep and confusing relationships between the main characters are even more emotionally intense.  

Where to find it: My Cousin Rachel is available in HOLLIS


The Usual Desire to Kill book coverBook: The Usual Desire to Kill by Camilla Barnes

Recommended by: Charlotte Lellman, MS, Collections Services Archivist

Why they liked it: It's rare that I literally laugh out loud while reading, but Barnes's wry and observant novel about a pair of aging parents and their adult daughters made me do it.  

Where to find it: The Usual Desire to Kill is available in HOLLIS