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Best Books of 2016

by muffy

Let's start with probably the most anticipated - New York Time's 100 Notable Books of 2016 and the just released The 10 Best Books of 2016.

Well-chosen are The Washington Post's list of this year's best of the best, and I am astounded how similar the 2 lists are.

NPR’s Book Concierge Guide To 2016’s Great Reads lists over 300 titles that the NPR staff and critics loved this year, many of them award-winners.

Speaking of winners, look no further than the ">2016 Goodreads Choice Awards in 20 categories. I should mention that they are the only major book awards decided by readers.

For the fiction reader among us, check out The Huffington Post's the 18 Best Fiction Books of the year; and the Library Journal's best in Genre Fiction (in categories of African American Fiction, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance, SF/Fantasy, Thrillers, and Women's FIction), as well as Graphic Novels.

Publishers' Weekly Best Books 0f 2016 is notable for a list of the Best Children's and YA Books 2016.

Among specific subject lists, check out The Smithsonian's picks for The Best Books About Science of 2016.

Happy Reading.

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Blog Post

Lois Lowry's Photographed Life

by mansii

Youth author Lois Lowry has been a long-standing beloved household name for a number of her Newberry winning books, not the least of which are The Giver and Number the Stars. The Giver many might know from its 2014 movie rendition including star actors such as Meryl Streep. Lowry has always been one to write stories that not only capture the imagination but challenge her readers to question, and to hang tight to all the goodness they can find. They are insightful and provocative for both the young and old.

Her newly updated and expanded autobiographical work retains this legacy. Looking Back: A Book of Memories reads like an album. The reader flips through glossy page after glossy page of photographs paired with a short, page-long reminiscence. Each glimpse of Lowrian history is also joined with a quote from one of her books, so we can trace her inspiration for characters and passages. Lowry traces the lines where her personhood is inextricably linked to the stories she has crafted.

In a simple style aimed towards the middle grade audience her novels have been written for, Lowry uses these pages to welcome us into her own family. She points out details and gives backstory, shares personal responses and humorous anecdotes, much like one might pass down stories to a grandchild. She conveys not only her own life, but includes photographs of her parents, children, grandchildren, and even some friends, showing the web through which we form our identity.

Looking Back is not entitled a “Book of Memories” for nothing; Lowry gently asks many questions about the nature of memory throughout these pages, a theme readily seen in The Giver as well. When we see a face but cannot remember a name, what does that do to a person’s identity? Does time’s inevitable morphing of names and details mean that our memories become false? How is our memory influenced by the fleeting moments captured by the camera, even when these moments would be seen differently in light of a bigger picture? One thing becomes clear: memory is a gift, and the small moments of our lives make history.

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Blog Post

Must-reads for Stephen King fans or newcomers

by eapearce

End of Watch, Stephen King’s spectacular conclusion to the mystery trilogy that began with the Edgar Award Winning Mr. Mercedes, was released earlier this year, shooting to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List. King has revealed that he’s hard at work on his next book, titled Sleeping Beauties, which will be released sometime in 2017, but for King fans who don’t want to wait that long, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of his best earlier works.

Stephen King is one of the most versatile and prolific authors alive today. Although he is best known for his horror writing—stories like Carrie, Christine, Cujo, The Shining and It—are familiar to almost everyone, even if they haven’t read the books, he’s also written general fiction, science fiction and mysteries, including some under pen names. If you’re a long-time King fan looking to reread, or a first timer delving into the often twisted world of King’s work, the following titles will have you turning pages faster than you ever thought you could!:

The idea for 11/22/63 first came to King in the 1970s, but the book wasn’t published until 2011. It tells the riveting story of Jake Epping, a Maine schoolteacher who discovers a “time bubble” that transports him back to 1958. Convinced by his friend that he must attempt to stop the JFK assassination and thus alter the history of the world for the better, Jake embarks on a five-year quest to do just that. But, time is obdurate—as King emphasizes frequently in the book—and stopping the assassination is no easy feat. Part time travel adventure, part love story, part historical fiction, part thriller, 11/22/63 is the ultimate definition of a page turner.

Needful Things, one of King’s slightly lesser-known books, is set in Castle Rock, Maine, where several of his stories take place (The poor residents of Castle Rock have been through a lot). A new shop opens up in town, selling a wide variety of curiosities. In fact, anyone can go into the store and find whatever it is that their heart desires most. But buyer beware—although nothing in the store costs money, there’s a high price to pay for “purchasing” your deepest wants.

The Stand is one of King’s most epic works—the full version clocks in at 1153 pages. The riveting story opens with a patient who escapes from a biological testing facility unknowingly carrying a strain of super-flu that ultimately wipes out 99% of the world’s population in just a few weeks. The few that remain are terrified and in need of someone to lead them. The two leaders that do emerge are polar opposites: one an elderly woman who urges the survivors to create a peaceful community in the American West and the other the mysterious “Dark Man” who has evil intentions and delights in chaos. As both leaders begin to gather power, everyone left on earth will have to choose who follow—and that decision in turn will determine the fate of all of humanity. Although reading The Stand is no easy feat, if for nothing else than the sheer length of it, as the New York Times Book Review says, it has everything: “Adventure. Romance. Prophecy. Allegory. Satire. Fantasy. Realism. Apocalypse. Great!”

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Blog Post

Why Read Romance

by CeliaM

Let's be honest. Romance novels tend to get a bad rap. They get dissed and dismissed by people who don't read them. But try telling the readers who make up the billion dollar a year industry that romances aren't good and you'll have a lot of angry fans on your hands. In my experience romance readers are a loyal group, ready to defend their genre and their beloved authors.

Over the years numerous authors, bloggers, and industry professionals have stood up for the genre in pieces about who reads romance and why. One of my personal favorites is an article from historical romance author Sarah MacLean. She talks about the reactions she gets when she tells people what she writes:

"'When are you going to write a real book?'

Ah, Old Reliable. This one trots out at family gatherings, cocktail parties, reunions with old coworkers, drinks with other writers, playdates with other moms. It’s the most innocuous of the three, for sure—no one who asks it means to offend—but it’s loaded with insidious meaning.

These questions and their myriad brethren used to put me right on the defensive. I’d feel required to pontificate on the value of the genre, of its long history (Pride and Prejudice was a romance, didn’t you know?), of the value of books as entertainment, of the way romance builds literacy and community among readers, and the idea that the books are powerful feminist texts—written by, for and about women. In romance, after all, the heroine plays the role of the hero. And she wins. Always." (Sarah MacLean, 2016).

I read romance for all of these reasons and more. The plots, the characters, the sheer number of dukes in regency England and cowboys in Montana. I read them for the dialogue, the tropes, the humor (intended or not), the happily ever afters.

Stay tuned for more from the romance world. Favorites, classics, brand new picks, more!

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Blog Post

News of the World: an exquisite, morally challenging Western

by eapearce

News of the World, the brand new novel by Paulette Jiles, is a riveting, complex story of the Old West that features two unlikely characters. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels across North Texas reading the news to paying audiences hungry for news of the end of the war and the world in general. He enjoys his itinerant, solitary existence, and is torn when he’s offered $50 in Wichita Falls to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. The ten-year-old girl was kidnapped by a band of Kiowa raiders when she was just four years old. Although they killed the rest of her family, they spared the little girl and raised her as one of their own. Now, being torn away from the only “family” she remembers and having forgotten the English language entirely, Joanna presents a unique challenge to Captain Kidd. As the two embark on a 400-mile journey south to San Antonio, the two lonely survivors—both used to only themselves for company—gradually develop trust in one another. And when they reach San Antonio and realize that the “relatives” Joanna is to be delivered to are a cruel aunt and uncle who want nothing to do with her, both the Captain and the young girl have a terrible choice to make.

News of the World is a beautifully written story that asks readers tough moral questions and goes far beyond the scope of a typical Western. This is a great read even for those who do not typically read historical fiction.

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Blog Post

The Princess Diarist: Carrie Fisher rediscovers her diaries from the sets of the Star Wars films

by eapearce

In her new memoir The Princess Diarist pop culture icon Carrie Fisher revisits the wild days of filming the first Star Wars trilogy. Fisher, who, of course, plays Princess Leia in the movies (and is currently reprising her role in the latest trilogy), recently rediscovered her diaries from the time period when she was filming the original trilogy. She writes that she was astonished to see what her writing had preserved: not only the angst of her own early adulthood, but open and honest musings about the era, love poems she’d written while curled up on set, and intimate recollections of what happened behind the scenes of the blockbuster movies.

Beyond revisiting her younger years, Fisher also contemplates larger issues in The Princess Diarist. She writes about the joys and struggles of celebrity, her struggles with addiction, and the absurdity of being born to Hollywood royalty (she’s the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher). Star Wars fans will certainly enjoy the juicy details that Fisher shares about her life on set and her interactions with her costars (hint: she and Harrison Ford did more than “interact”), but even readers who aren’t fans of the movies or who aren’t as familiar with them will enjoy her insightful viewpoints on celebrity and pop culture as a whole.

Fisher is also the author of the memoirs Wishful Drinking and Shockaholic and of four novels, including Postcard From the Edge.

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Blog Post

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!

by PizzaPuppy

Calling all Harry Potter fans! The newest movie in the popular series hits theaters this weekend!

We'll be celebrating at the Downtown Library on Sunday, November 20th from 3:30-5 PM. Join us for a variety of Harry Potter-themed crafts and activities, including live owl presentations. Costumes are encouraged!

Obsessed with the new movie already? Satisfy your Fantastic Beasts craving with some of our brand new books. Learn about how the film was made with Inside the Magic: the Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. See the amazing concept art that helped shape the movie's aesthetic in Art of the Film, or maybe consult the movie's handbooks here and here. We even have the original screenplay for you to check out.

Looking for more Harry Potter fun? Catch up with the original series by reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Read about the artifacts, creatures and characters of the Harry Potter series in these specialty books. Or check out the beautiful illustrations in the newly released Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Illustrated Edition.

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Blog Post

Are We There Yet?

by manz

Long car rides can be downright boring. Especially for the kids in the backseat calling out “are we there yet?” The picture book, Are We There Yet? is by Caldecott medalist Dan Santat (The Adventures of Beekle) and is a funny look at one family’s road trip adventure. The beautiful illustrations set the backdrop for a looooong ride to Grandma’s house that's filled with imagination. The book has you turning it round and round, upside down and backwards to follow the adventure, in a way that won’t make you carsick. The moral of the story is, you never know where life may take you, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

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Blog Post

Election Day Reads for Kids

by evelyn

Want to talk to your kids about election day and civic engagement? Look no further than your library!

For a basic primer on voting and democracy, check out Every Vote Matters or School House Rocks: Election Collection.

Help your little ones learn about the people who fought for the right to vote with these great titles. I especially recommend the beautiful and moving book Lillian’s Right to Vote, which is about the Voting Rights Act of 1965. With lovely illustrations and stirring text, this book will help kids learn understand how hard citizens have worked to earn the vote.

For even more books on voting and democracy, take a look at this list!

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Blog Post

Reflections on Advent and Wild Creatures of the Woodlands

by mansii

As the air is getting crisp and the branches falling bare, the season of Advent is close upon us; a time to cozy ourselves away and reflect in the quietness of hope and waiting. This year Advent begins on Nov 27th, a few short weeks away, and a beautiful new seasonal resource to AADL's collection is All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings by Michigan author Gayle Boss.

For each day of the month-long anticipation of Christmas, All Creation Waits offers a lovely account of the winter habits of wild creatures of the Northern Hemisphere. As we walk with these creatures through their months of dark and cold, we also catch glimpses of the new beginnings that their waiting usher in. The encouragement to our own lives is more felt than said, with a subtlety that matches the behind-the-scenes magic of winter itself.

Each short daily reflection is paired with a woodcut illustration by artist David Klein. The deep blacks and brilliant whites of the full-page illustrations tell stories in themselves.

Welcoming you into the spirit of the season, don't miss the author talk and book signing for this lovely volume THIS SATURDAY Nov. 12th. Click here for more information on this event.

For additional AADL resources for the Advent season, click here.