These are stressful times. Many of you are staying home. Whether your stress level has reached a new peak, or you’re just bored and want something to occupy your time, check out these books and more on Hoopla. All of them are available online with a Danville Public Library card. No holds, no wait times, just pick your title and check it out on your phone, tablet, or computer immediately.

 

Share a book with your little one.

Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

 

Celebrate the power of friendship with Frog and Toad. From writing letters to going swimming, telling stories to finding lost buttons, Frog and Toad are always there for each other-just as best friends should be. These five adventurous tales are perfect for Level 2 beginning readers.

 

 

They say laughter is the best medicine, so have a laugh with some bad jokes.

Dad Jokes by Jimmy Niro

The perfect gift for Father’s Day! “Dad, can you put my shoes on?” “No, I don’t think they’ll fit me.” Ah, the dad joke-humor that reminds us of all the lovable, embarrassing dads out there. Be prepared for the obvious, silly, and awkward in this massive collection of the best groan-worthy dad jokes around, including clever quips, overly literal dialogue, and punny one-liners. These jokes may be on porpoise, but they whale definitely make you laugh: I used to hate facial hair, but then it started growing on me. I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down! Q: What’s the hardest thing about learning to ride a bicycle? A: The road. With over 600 knee-slappers, head-shakers, and groan-makers, Dad Jokes is packed with enough witty quips and cheesy-but-grate jokes for you to hold your own against even the most embarrassing of dads. But remember-you don’t have to be a dad to tell dad jokes!

 

Escape into a whole other world with a fantasy favorite.

Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano

12,090 A.D. It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under three hundred years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires-and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves. Every village wants a Hunter-one of the warriors who have pledged their laser guns and their swords to the eradication of the Nobility. But some Hunters are better than others, and some bring their own kind of danger with them… From creator Hideyuki Kikuchi, one of Japan’s leading horror authors with illustrations by renowned Japanese artist, Yoshitaka Amano, best known for his illustrations in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: The Dream Hunters and the Final Fantasy games.

 

Lean in and read about how others handled an epidemic.

A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

The haunting cry of “Bring out your dead!” by a bell-ringing collector of 17th-century plague victims has filled readers across the centuries with cold terror. The chilling cry survives in historical consciousness largely as a result of this classic 1722 account of the epidemic of bubonic plague – known as the Black Death – that ravaged England in 1664–1665. Actually written nearly 60 years later by Daniel Defoe, the Journal is narrated by a Londoner named “H. F.,” who allegedly lived through the devastating effects of the pestilence and produced this eye witness account. Drawing on his considerable talents as both journalist and novelist, Defoe reconstructed events both historically and fictionally, incorporating realistic, memorable details that enable the novel to surpass even firsthand accounts in its air of authenticity. This verisimilitude is all the more remarkable since Defoe was only five years old when the actual events took place. Long a staple of college literature courses, A Journal of the Plague Year will fascinate students, teachers, and general readers alike.

 

If you’re feeling lonely, read a romance book.

The Happy Camper by Melody Carlson

Home is the place to heal, right? At least, that’s what Dillon Michaels is hoping as she leaves her disappointing career and nonstarter love life behind to help her grieving and aging grandfather on his small Oregon farm. The only problem? Her eccentric mother beat her there and has taken over Dillon’s old room. After a few nights sleeping on a sagging sofa, Dillon is ready to give up, until she receives an unlikely gift–her grandfather’s run-down vintage camp trailer, which she quickly resolves to restore with the help of Jordan Atwood, the handsome owner of the local hardware store.

But just when things are finally beginning to run smoothly, Dillon’s noncommittal ex-boyfriend shows up with roses . . . and a ring.

Full of quirky characters, family drama, and sweet romance, The Happy Camper will have you scouring Craigslist for your own diamond-in-the-rough camper to restore and haunting your local hardware store for a handy guy to help your dreams come true.

 

Use the following to ease your stress.

The Stress-Proof Brain by Melanie Greenberg

Modern times are stressful-and it’s killing us. Unfortunately, we can’t avoid the things that stress us out, but we can change how we respond to them. In this breakthrough book, a clinical psychologist and neuroscience expert offers an original approach to help readers harness the power of positive emotions and overcome stress for good. Stress is, unfortunately, a natural part of life-especially in our busy and hectic modern times. But you don’t have to let it get in the way of your health and happiness. Studies show that the key to coping with stress is simpler than you think-it’s all about how you respond to the situations and things that stress you out or threaten to overwhelm you. The Stress-Proof Brain offers powerful, comprehensive tools based in mindfulness, neuroscience, and positive psychology to help you put a stop to unhealthy responses to stress-such as avoidance, tunnel vision, negative thinking, self-criticism, fixed mindset, and fear. Instead, you’ll discover unique exercises that provide a recipe for resilience, empowering you to master your emotional responses, overcome negative thinking, and create a more tolerant, stress-proof brain. This book will help you develop an original and effective program for mastering your emotional brain’s response to stress by harnessing the power of neuroplasticity. By creating a more stress tolerant, resilient brain, you’ll learn to shrug off the small stuff, deal with the big stuff, and live a happier, healthier life.

 

Pick up a new skill.

The Big Book of Hacks by Doug Cantor

The ingenious and hilarious projects in The Big Book of Hacks are perfect for aspiring makers. And it’s all brought to you by the DIY masters at Popular Science magazine. GEEK TOYS. Be the life of any party with rad gaming hacks, amazing pyrotechnics, quirky DIY robots, “wow”-inducing projectiles, and lots of ways to make beer even better. HOME IMPROVEMENTS. Pimp out your pad with a laser-security system, an improvised sous-vide cooker, and a life-sized cardboard display of anyone you want. GADGET UPGRADES. Want to stash a flash drive in an old cassette? Use a DIY stylus on a touchscreen? Improvise a fisheye lens for your camera? With this book, you can. THINGS THAT GO. Give your motorbike a Tron vibe, deck out your car with an action-figure hood ornament, and keep gadgets charged on the go with a solar-powered backpack.

 

And finally, cute animals make everything better.

Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed (And Other Heartwarming Letters From Kitty) by Andrews McMeel

Inside Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed, writer and comedian Jeremy Greenberg presents a collection of laugh-out-loud letters and photographs that offer a cat’s eye view on common feline vs. human cohabitation conundrums. It’s the perfect gift for crazy cat lovers and anyone who appreciates hilarious (and so true!) insights into cat-and human-nature, including:Your cat sits on your laptop not just for warmth or attention, but to prevent you from interacting with the outside world. After all, isn’t the main reason to have a cat so you don’t have to waste time developing normal human relationships? If you spent a third of your life licking yourself, you too would occasionally forget to stick your tongue back in your face. Eating grass has medicinal purposes, and most cats believe grass should be legalized. The cat feels bad about barfing on your bed…because now it must get to up to go sleep on your clean laundry instead.