Cozy Mysteries – February 2015

bookA great assortment of new cozy mysteries have arrived!

Meet Your Baker (A Bakeshop Mystery) – Ellie Alexander

Murder at the Book Group (A Book Group Mystery) – Maggie King

Snow Way Out (A Snow Globe Shop Mystery) – Christine Husom

For Whom the Bluebell Tolls (A Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery) – Beverly Allen

Diners, Drive-ins, and Death (A Comfort Food Mystery) – Christine Wenger

Twisted Threads (A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery) – Lea Wait

Fry Me A Liver (A Deadly Deli Mystery) – Delia Rosen

A Seamless Murder ((A Magical Dressmaking Mystery) – Melissa Bourbon

All The President’s Menus (A White House Chef Mystery) – Julie Hyzy

In Hot Water (A Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery) – J.J. Cook

Criminal Confections (A Chocolate Whisperer Mystery) – Colette London

Town In A Pickle (A Candy Holliday Murder Mystery) – B.B. Haywood

Gilt By Association (A Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery) – Karen Rose Smith

An Early Wake (A County Cork Mystery) – Sheila Connolly

Played By The Book ((A Novel Idea Mystery) – Lucy Arlington

Mrs. Jeffries And The One Who G0t Away (A Victorian Mystery) – Emily Brightwell

As Gouda As Dead (A Cheese Shop Mystery) – Avery Aames

This Old Homicide (A Fixer-Upper Mystery) – Kate Carlisle

At The Drop of a Hat (A Hat Shop Mystery) – Jenn McKinlay

Fry Another Day (A Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery) – J.J. Cook

License to Dill (A Pickled & Preserved Mystery) – Mary Ellen Hughes

A Root Awakening (A Flower Shop Mystery) – Kate Collins

 

 

Our Patrons Pick Their Favorite Books of 2014

IMG_6798-0For the last several years, The Department of Human Services of Cheshire has had a mitten tree in the library’s lobby, requesting the public to donate holiday gifts for needy girls and boys.  Our patrons have always been very generous and we thank you very much!

This year, after the gifts were gathered up to be delivered, we turned the mitten tree into ‘what was your favorite book of 2014′ tree.

Here’s what you said:

Children:

bestof2014kids

 

Adult:

bestof2014adult

 If you don’t see your title here, there were a few mittens that we could not decipher.

 

 

The Wait Is Almost Over – Fifty Shades of Grey

The movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, based on the books by E. L. James, is scheduled to be released to movie theaters on February 13th.  If you haven’t read the books, or you read them and want to refresh your memory, now’s the time to do it! We own the trilogy in multiple formats:

greyFifty Shades of Grey – When Anastasia Steele, a young literature student, interviews wealthy young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, their initial meeting introduces Anastasia to an exciting new world that will change them both forever.darker Book. Large Print. Audiobook. Ebook. Eaudio.

Fifty Shades Darker – After a brief break-up, Anastasia and Christian change their arrangement and both wrestle with their inner demons, as Anastasia tries to make an important decision. Book. Large Print. Audiobook. Ebook. Eaudio.

freedFifty Shades Freed – Even though Christian and Anastasia are now a proper couple, they still have many obstacles to overcome, including Christian’s past coming back to haunt Anastasia. Book. Large Print. Audiobook. Ebook.

 

 

 

Book Club Picks – Historical Fiction

bookCold winter nights are perfect for settling into a great historical fiction book!

perfumeThe Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro –  After receiving a large inheritance from a complete stranger, London socialite and newlywed Grace Monroe searches for the identity of her mysterious benefactor and uncovers the story of a unique woman who inspired one of Paris’ greatest perfumers, which transforms her own life.ordinary

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger – Looking back at a tragic event that occurred during his thirteenth year, Frank Drum explores how a complicated web of secrets, adultery, and betrayal shattered his Methodist family and their small 1961 Minnesota community.

doveThe Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman – A tale inspired by the tragic first-century massacre of hundreds of Jewish people at Masada presents the stories of a hated daughter, a baker’s wife, a girl disguised as a warrior, and a medicine woman who keep doves and secrets while Roman soldiers draw near.last

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell – Captured and raised by Danes in the ninth century, dispossessed nobleman Uhtred witnesses the unexpected defeat of his adoptive Viking clan by Alfred of Wessex and longs to recover his father’s land.

houseThe House Girl by Tara Conklin – A novel of love, family, and justice follows Lina Sparrow, an ambitious first-year associate in a Manhattan law firm, as she searches for the “perfect plaintiff” to lead a historic class-action lawsuit worth trillions of dollars in reparations for descendants of American slaves.

O, The Oprah Magazine Picks Top Ten Books of 2014

top2

The editors of O, The Oprah Magazine have come up with their list of the top ten books of 2014.  How many did you read?

boneThe Bone Clocks by David Mitchell – A vast, intricate novel that weaves six narratives and spans from 1984 to the 2030s about a secret war between a cult of soul-decanters and a small group of vigilantes called the Night Shift who try to take them down. An up-all-night story that fluentlymixes the super-natural, sci-fi, horror, social satire, and hearbreaking realism.thunder

Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken – A collection of stories navigates the fragile space between love and loneliness, including the title story in which a family finds their lives irrevocably changed by their teenage daughter’s risky behavior.

shortThe Short & Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs – Presents the life of Robert Peace, an African American who became a brillant biochemistry student at Yale University, but after graduation lived as drug dealer and was brutally murdered at the age of thirty.station

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – The sudden death of a Hollywood actor during a production of “King Lear” marks the beginning of the world’s dissolution in a story told at various past and future times from the perspectives of the actor and four of his associates.

empathyThe Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison –  A collection of essays explores empathy, using topics ranging from street violence and incarceration to reality television and literary sentimentality to ask questions about people’s understanding of and relationships with others.boy

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi – A reimagining of the Snow White story set in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.

can'tCan’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast – A graphic memoir by a long-time New Yorker cartoonist celebrates the final years of her aging parents’ lives through four-color cartoons, family photos and documents that reflect the artist’s struggles with caregiver challenges.lucky

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom – Forging a life together after being abandoned by their parents, half sisters Eva and Iris share decades in and out of the spotlight in golden-era Hollywood and mid-twentieth-century Long Island.

beingBeing Mortal by Atul Gawande – A prominent surgeon argues against modern medical practices that extend life at the expense of quality of life while isolating the dying, outlining suggestions for freer, more fulfilling approaches to death that enable more dignified and comfortable choices.bad

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay – A cultural examination of the ways in which the media influences self-perception, and discusses how society still needs to do better.