Newton Patch has the list. What have you read and what do you recommend?
The 10 most-read Newton Free Library books of 2019
by Village 14 | Jan 15, 2020 | Newton | 8 comments
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
drivers man be like
Newton Patch has the list. What have you read and what do you recommend?
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
drivers man be like
4 of the overall top 10 are Manga, which maps to the teen list. I’d be curious to know if the new teen room boosted checkouts by teens overall.
The top three adult books, are some of the best books I’ve read lately.
“Educated: A Memoir,” by Tara Westover,
“Little Fires Everywhere,” by Celeste Ng,
“Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens,
I would add:
“Winter Garden,” Kristan Hannah (really any of her books)
“Beneath a Scarlet Sky,” Mark Sullivan – based on a true story
“Before We were Yours,” Lisa Wingate – based on one of America’s most notorious scandals
“Ordinary Grace,” William Kent Krueger
“Imagine Me Gone,” Adam Haslet
The Gibson Vaughn Series, Matthew Fitzsimmons – a good mystery series
I highly recommend Mary Robinette Kowal’s “The Calculating Stars” (winner of Nebula, Hugo, & Locus awards), sequel “The Fated Skies”, and soon-to-be-released “The Relentless Moon” (takes place parallel to Fated Skies – I was a beta reader and it’s great). A reminder of the social climate of the 1950s & 1960s, as well as gripping story telling.
“On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.
Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.”
https://smile.amazon.com/Calculating-Stars-Lady-Astronaut-Novel/dp/0765378388/
Interesting to note that two of the top 10 adult check-outs are actually DVDs — I can’t fault the choice of “Foyle’s War,” a quite absorbing and fascinating series — and a compilation of “Peanuts” (ah, nostalgia).
I tend to be all over the place with my reading habits, but off the top of the head, a few recommendations:
*”Seabiscuit,” Laura Hillenbrand
*”The Burning Girl,” Claire Messud
*”Another Day in the Death of America,” Gary Younge
*”Bears in the Street: Three Journeys Across a Changing Russia,” Lisa Dickey
*”City of Bohane,” Kevin Barry
*”The Tender Bar,” J.R. Moehringer
*”Bottom of the 33rd,” Dan Barry
*”A Great Improvisation,” Stacy Schiff
David Wallace Wells “Uninhabitable Earth-Life After Warming.” I’m surprised this didn’t make the list. I’ve read my share of great works on climate change and the concomitant environmental and ecological threats that are the direct result of man’s inability to live in harmony with this planet. “Uninhabitable Earth-Life After Warming” is simply the best of the best.
Wells brings home how it all happened and the full scope of this horrific challenge. There are no sweet words about how it is going to be turned around. Just a passionate acknowledgement that we are in deep trouble and that half measures will avail us nothing.
I was fully aware of how bad the effects of climate change would likely be when I was at EPA during the mid 80’s. Just that it’s coming faster and with more devastating effects than we thought it would at the time. Wells nails it.
The best book I expect to read in 2020 isn’t even available just yet: “The Mirror and the Light,” the final piece of Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” trilogy, will be out in March. Get your names down on the waiting lists now. For bookworms this is Very Big News.
I don’t know if this top 10 list is just of books physically checked out, or if it includes the digital library (which is all I use) but here is my top ten from 2019 in no particular order:
“The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead
“Artemis” by Andy Weir
“The Overstory” by Richard Powers
“These Truths” and “This America” by Jill Lepore
“At the Wolf’s Table” by Rosella Postorino
“Disappearing Earth” by Julia Phillips
“Chances Are…” by Richard Russo
“The Weight of Ink” by Rachel Kadish
“And After the Fall” by Lauren Belfer
Good on you, Max, for including “The Underground Railroad.” I’ll be interested to see how the upcoming TV adaptation is received (unfortunately it’s on Amazon, so I won’t be able to watch).