Top 10 Best Selling Non-Fiction Books Of All Time

September 8, 2016August 15, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

Since books are so expensive these days, do you wonder what titles people are willing to spend their money on? Amazon has compiled a list of their all time top selling non-fiction books. Luckily for those who don’t want to shell out the money, our library owns most of them.

Strengths Finder 2.0 – Tom Rath (ebook). To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in 2001 which ignited a global conversation and helped millions to discover their top five talents.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption – Laura Hildebrand. Tells the gripping true story of a U.S. airman who was the soul survivor when his bomber crashed into the sea during World War II and had to face thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater.

Who Moved My Cheese – Spencer Johnson. Relates a highly meaningful parable intended to help one deal with change quickly and prevail, offering readers a simple way to progress in their work and lives.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t – Jim Collins. The author uses his research on the Fortune 500 to create a blueprint for turning good companies into spectacular ones.

Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson. Draws on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs, as well as interviews with family members, friends, competitors, and colleagues to offer a look at the co-founder and leading creative force behind the Apple computer company.

The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown. Traces the story of an American rowing team from the University of Washington that defeated elite rivals at Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics, sharing the experiences of such contributors as their enigmatic coach, a visionary boat builder and a homeless teen rower.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo. Presents a guide to cleaning and organizing a living space, discussing best methods for decluttering and the impact that an organized home can have on mood and physical and mental health.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey. A leading management consultant outlines seven organizational rules for improving effectiveness and increasing productivity at work and at home.

American Sniper – Chris Kyle. A member of Navy SEAL Team 3 describes his life as a father and husband, and as the serviceman with the most confirmed sniper kills in the history of the United States military while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell. An introduction to the Tipping Point theory explains how minor changes in ideas and products can increase their popularity and how small adjustments in an individual’s immediate environment can alter group behavior.

The next 10 top selling titles are: Lone Survivor – Marcus Lutrell; Killing Lincoln – Bill O’Reilly; How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie; Proof of Heaven – Eben Alexander; The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls; Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain; Bossypants – Tina Fey; Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell; Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead – Sheryl Sandberg

Flowers Are Blooming

August 15, 2016July 13, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

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Everywhere you look, there are beautiful flowers blooming. Nature’s artwork is a feast for the eyes. Another feast for the eyes, is a good book to read. To continue with the flower theme, here’s a list of fiction books with ‘flower’ in the title. Pick a title, find a beautiful place to sit, and enjoy your reading!

The Language of Flowers – Vanessa Diffenbaugh.
Discovering the symbolic meanings of flowers while languishing in the foster-care system, 18-year-old Victoria is hired by a florist, a situation that leads to a romantic prospect and the confrontation of a painful secret from her past.

All The Flowers Are Dying – Lawrence Block.
Matthew Scudder, with his eye keenly on retirement, unofficially investigates the suspicious online suitor of an acquaintance, and finds his own life in grave danger.

Send No Flowers – Sandra Brown.
Since the death of her husband, Alicia Russell has struggled to take care of her two young sons alone. Now fiercely independent, she is determined to never again depend on another person. But when a sudden storm threatens to ruin a family camping trip, Alicia finds it hard to say no to a stranger offering a night’s refuge–especially when the man playing hero offers much more than shelter from the storm.

A Hundred Flowers – Gail Tsukiyama.
A tale set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution follows the struggles of Kai Ying to safeguard her family when her teacher husband is arrested and sent to a “reeducation” labor camp for criticizing the Communist Party.

The Blood of Flowers – Anita Amirrezani.
After her father dies without leaving her with a dowry, a seventeenth-century Persian teen becomes a servant to her wealthy rug designer uncle in the court of Shah Abbas the Great, where her weaving talents prove both a blessing and curse.

Flowers on Main – Sherryl Woods.
When she abandons Chicago and returns home to open a flower shop, writer Bree O’Brien finds her new life anything but peaceful when her estranged mother arrives and her former lover, Jake Collins, tries to run her out of town.

The War of Flowers – Tad Williams.
When his music career becomes stagnant, thirty-year-old Theo Vilmos seeks solace in a secluded cabin in the woods where he discovers an old book written by his great-uncle that transports him into the terrifying world of Faerie – a strange and dangerous place that holds the key to his destiny.

Queen of the Flowers – Kerry Greenwood.
Chosen Queen of the Flowers for St. Kilda’s first Flower Parade festival, Phryne Fisher finds the glamour of her crown wearing off when one of her attendants vanishes. She launches her own investigation, which is complicated by the disappearance of her adopted daughter Ruth and a not-so-pleasant reunion with an old lover.

All The Flowers in Shanghai – Duncan Jepson.
A young Chinese woman plots revenge after being forced into a cruel arranged marriage in 1930s Shanghai as the entire country begins to become gripped in a growing call for revolution.

The Art of Arranging Flowers – Lynne Branard.
After 20 years as an intuitive florist who has helped her friends, neighbors, and customers with their romances, celebrations, and sympathy gestures, Ruby Jewell looks to the power of that community to heal her floundering spirit after her sister’s death.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa See.
A story of friendship set in nineteenth-century China follows an elderly woman and her companion as they communicate their hopes, dreams, joys, and tragedies through a unique secret language.

What’s Trending at Cheshire Public Library

August 6, 2016July 13, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

what's trending

It’s not only the newest titles that are popular among our patrons. Here are the top ten older fiction books trending at the library.

The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy.
In 1969 in Kerala, India, Rahel and her twin brother, Estha, struggle to forge a childhood for themselves amid the destruction of their family life, as they discover that the entire world can be transformed in a single moment.

The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt.
Taken in by a wealthy family friend after surviving an accident that killed his mother, thirteen-year-old Theo Decker tries to adjust to life on Park Avenue.

Orphan Train -Christina Baker Kline.
Close to aging out of the foster care system, Molly Ayer takes a position helping an elderly woman named Vivian and discovers that they are more alike than different as she helps Vivian solve a mystery from her past.

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn.
When a woman goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her marriage, while her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred.

The Girl On The Train – Paula Hawkins.
Obsessively watching a breakfasting couple every day to escape the pain of her losses, Rachel witnesses a shocking event that inextricably entangles her in the lives of strangers.

The Kitchen House – Kathleen Grissom.
Working as an indentured servant alongside slaves on a tobacco plantation, Lavinia, a seven-year-old Irish orphan with no memory of her past, finds her light skin and situation placing her between two very different worlds that test her loyalties.

Big Little Lies – Laine Moriarty.
Follows three mothers, each at a crossroads, and their potential involvement in a riot at a school trivia night that leaves one parent dead in what appears to be a tragic accident, but the evidence shows it might have been premeditated.

The Invention of Wings – Sue Monk Kidd.
Traces more than three decades in the lives of a wealthy Charleston debutante who longs to break free from the strictures of her household and pursue a meaningful life, and the urban slave, Handful, who is placed in her charge as a child before finding courage and a sense of self.

One Plus One – JoJo Moyes.
A single mom trying to raise a bullied stepson and a mathlete daughter finds an unexpected rescue in the form of an obnoxious tech millionaire named Geeky Ed.

Winter Garden – Kristin Hannah.
Reunited when their beloved father falls ill, sisters Meredith and Nina find themselves under the shadow of their disapproving mother, whose painful history is hidden behind her rendition of a Russian fairy tale told to the sisters in childhood.

Looking For Some Hot Romance to Read?

August 3, 2016June 28, 2016 / Linda / 1 Comment

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We’re into the hot and steamy summer. Here’s a new author with a hot romance series to help you feel the burn.

Chanel Cleeton is the author of the new series Wild Aces. It’s about a group of F-16 fighter pilots who fly fast, love hard, and live dangerously. The stories are sexy, funny, emotional, and heart wrenching. These are the very realistic portrayals of relationships between military and non-military couples – touching on the struggles and triumphs of loving a military person.

The first book in the series is Fly With Me. While partying in Las Vegas, clothing boutique owner Jordan Callahan takes a gamble on U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Noah Miller, but when the dangers of his job become all too real, she must decide whether or not she is ready to risk everything for love.

Having the story told from both Jordan’s and Noah’s point of view in vivid detail was an added bonus. The author nailed the dynamics between them – the reader feels their frustration, their happiness, their love, their wild ride of emotions. The characters are in their 30’s or older, so there is a bit of maturity about the story. The secondary characters prove to be just as interesting as the main couple and you’ll be eager to read about them in upcoming books.

Being in love is hard. Being in the military adds a whole other dimension to it. This is a beautifully written story that let’s you inside the emotional journey.

Book two is Into the Blue . Eric Jansen—call sign Thor—loves nothing more than pushing his F-16 to the limit. Returning home to South Carolina after a tragic loss, he hopes to fix the mistake he made long ago, when he chose the Air Force over his fiancée. Becca Madison isn’t quick to welcome Thor back. She can’t forget how he shattered her heart. But Thor won’t give up once he’s set his sights on what he wants—and he wants Becca. Thor shows Becca that he’s no longer the impulsive boy he used to be, and Becca finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. But will Thor be able to walk away from his dream of flying the F-16 for their love or does his heart belong to the sky?

About The Author

chanel Originally a Florida girl, Chanel moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure. She started out with publishing e-books and has now graduated to paperback novels.

Caution: This series may be too sexually explicit for some readers. (But you can do what I do, skip over the explicit parts. These books are too good to pass up!)

New Cozy Mysteries For Summer Reading

July 25, 2016July 13, 2016 / Linda / Leave a comment

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The latest selection of cozy mysteries are ready for your summer reading!

Murder at Fontainebleau (An Elizabethan Mystery) – Amanda Carmack. Sent by Queen Elizabeth to the court of Mary Queen of Scots as a spy, Kate Haywood must navigate the unfamiliar French court where glittering balls and banquets disguise poisonous ambition and murder.

The Black Cat Knocks On Wood (A Bad Luck Cat Mystery) – Kay Finch.
When a local business owner is found dead right after a black cat was seen in her office, mystery novelist Sabrina Tate and her cat, Hitchcock, while dealing with her Aunt Rowe who has signed up for the upcoming Texas Hill Country Senior Pro Rodeo, must rope in a killer before he strikes again.

Dead End Street (A Museum Mystery) – Sheila Connolly.
When a member of a neighborhood rescue program is killed while showing her an abandoned row house in a rundown area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society president Nell Pratt is determined to find the truth before she herself becomes history.

Diva Serves High Tea (A Domestic Diva Mystery) – Krista Davis.
After the new owner of the antique store is poisoned after attending a literacy fundraiser at the new tea shop, domestic diva Sophie Winston gets into hot water when she decides to investigate the crime on her own.

Elcair And Present Danger (An Emergency Dessert Squad Murder) – Laura Bradford.
When her elderly neighbor, a widower named Bart, is found dead, smothered by a pillow, bakery owner Winnie Johnson, while comforting her frightened and grieving neighbors with baked goods, decides to stir things up to catch a killer who preys on the helpless.

The Calamity Cafe (A Down South Cafe Mystery) – Gayle Leeson.
When Lou Lou, her former employer—and bully of a boss—is found dead, Amy Flowers, who was about to purchase the restaurant from Lou Lou and open the café of her dreams, must clear her name of the crime by serving up the real killer.

Wedding Bel Blues (A Belfast McGrath Mystery) – Maggie McConnon.
When her cousin Caleigh’s last one-night stand before her wedding plunges to his death during the reception, Belfast McGrath, thinking that this was no accident, teams up with Detective Kevin Hanson, her long-ago love, to find the truth while avoiding a cold-hearted killer.

A Premonition of Murder (A Dream Club Mystery) – Mary Kennedy.
When Abigail Marchand, a reclusive heiress who had come to them about a dream foretelling her death, meets her demise down a flight of stairs, the Dream Club, along with Detective Sam Stiles, must catch a killer before another victim is laid to rest.

Grace Sees Red (A Manor House Mystery) – Julie Hyzy – When her assistant, Frances, is accused of murdering an elderly resident of an upscale assisted-living facility, Grace Wheaton, curator and manager of Marshfield Manor, must clear her name and find the real killer before another resident checks out before their time.

Cracked to Death (A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery) – Cheryl Hollon – When a treasure hunt leads to deadly plunder, it’s up to glass shop owner Savannah Webb and her trusty investigative posse to map out the true motives of a killer.

Somethings’ Knot Kosher (A Quilting Mystery) – Mary Marks – Funerals can be patchy affairs for Martha Rose and her close-knit circle of friends–especially in the case of a missing body.

Final Fondue (A Five-Ingredient Mystery) – Maya Corrigan – Val Deniston certainly has her plate full running a café, dabbling with recipes, and helping her grandfather prepare for the town’s upcoming tri-centennial celebration, but she’s grown fond of her new life in the Chesapeake Bay town of Bayport.

Engaged in Death (A Wedding Planner Mystery) – Stephanie Blackmoore –
All appears peaceful in sleepy Port Quincy, Pennsylvania–but in this small town, old grudges die hard.

Take the Monkey and Run (Call of the Wilde Mystery) – Laura Morrigan – On her first “real” case, animal telepath Grace Wilde arrives in New Orleans, where she, while attempting to communicate with her client’s cat, gets distracted by a mysterious monkey who warns her that her client isn’t what she seems, forcing her to separate fact from fiction to find the truth.

Read to Death (Read ‘Em and Eat Mystery) – Terrie Farley Moran – When driver Oscar Frieland, who is known for his colorful stories and his love of their café’s fruit tartlets, is found dead in his van after taking their book club on a day trip, best friends Sassy and Bridgy must solve this puzzling crime before one of their members gets the book thrown at her.

Toasting Up Trouble (A Dinner Club Mystery) – Linda Wiken – When the hotshot caterer for the Italian princess party she is organizing for the 21-year-old daughter of a high-tech millionaire is murdered—and she becomes a suspect—event planner Jennifer Tanner must turn the tables on the real killer with the help of her Culinary Capers Dinner Club.

Gone With The Wool (A Yarn Retreat Mystery) – Betty Hechtman – During the annual butterfly festival at California’s Monterey Peninsula, Casey Feldstein, while setting up a yarn retreat, baking and helping out, must unravel the clues to catch a killer when a former butterfly queen is found with a knife in her back.

Dressed to Kilt (A Scottish Highlands Mystery) – Hannah Reed – When her date with Leith Cameron in Scotland takes a deadly turn, resulting in the discovery of a dead woman floating in a vat of alcohol, aspiring romance author Eden Elliott steps in as a Special Constable to help solve the case, only to discover that the killer could be connected to her own Scottish heritage.

A Toxic Trousseau (A Witchcraft Mystery) – Juliet Blackwell – When rival clothier Autumn Jennings, the woman whom her potbellied pig Oscar head-butted, winds up dead, Lily searches for a way to clear her name and discovers a cursed trousseau with a treacherous past among Autumn’s recently acquired inventory.