Staff’s Favorite Books of 2013

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One of the great perks of working in a library is access to copious amounts of books to choose from for our reading pleasure.  One of the biggest drawbacks of working in a library is access to copious amounts of books!  The Cheshire Library staff love to read and I thought it would be fun for them to list their favorite books they read or listened to in 2013.  They were very busy readers!  Below is just a sampling of some of the titles our library staff submitted.

Adult Fiction

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

Canada by Richard Ford

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Me Before Youby Jojo Moyes

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

White Dog Fell From the Sky by Eleanor Morse

We Are Water by Wally Lamb

Romance

Bachelor Firemen (series) by Jennifer Bernard

The Bad Boys of Crystal Lake (series) by Julianna Stone

Bad Boys of Red Hook (series) by Robin Kaye

Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves

Free Fall by Catherine Mann

The Sullivan Brothers (series)by Bella Andre

Thrill Rideby Julia Ann Walker

The Way Homeby Cindy Gerard

What She Wants by Sheila Roberts

Whiskey Creek (series)by Brenda Novak

Science Fiction

Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

Mystery

A Book Town Mystery (series) by Lorna Barrett

Killer Librarian by Mary Lou Kirwin

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

A Tea Shop Mystery (series)by Laura Childs

A Witchcraft Mystery (series) by Juliet Blackwell

Christian Fiction

For Every Season by Cindy Woodsmall

The House That Love Built by Beth Wiseman

Pearl In The Sand by Tessa Afshar

Take A Chance On Me by Susan Mary Warren

Adult Non-Fiction

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin

Behind The Beautiful Foreversby Katherine Boo

Drunk Tank Pink by Adam Alter

Lost Empire of Atlantis by Gavin Menzies

The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley

Biography

Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Art Forgerby Ken Perenyi

Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road From Debt to Freedom by Ken Ilgunas

Wild: From Lost to Found in the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Audiobooks

The Good House by Ann Leary – Read by Mary Beth Hurt

The Mermaid of Brooklyn by Amy Shearn – Read by Hillary Huber

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson – Read by Tim Kang, Josiah D. Lee, James Kyson Lee, Adam Johnson

One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson – Read by Bill Bryson

Young Adult

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saena

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Children

Bugs in My Hair! by David Shannon

The Dark by Lemony Snicket

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

I’m A Frog! by Mo Willems

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Amazon Picks Their Top 20 Romance Novels of 2013

best booksEach October, Amazon’s editorial team collects all their favorite books, looks at upcoming 2013 works, and casts ballots for Best Books of the Year.  In the Romance category,  Amazon originally selected J.R. Ward’s Lover At Last: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood as it’s top pick of 2013 so far, but in the end, Nora Robert’s Whiskey Beach beat it out as the best Romance novel of 2013.  Here are the final picks in the Romance category – in best-selling order:

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Rush by Maya Banks

Endless Knight by Kresley Cole

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah Maclean

Fueled by K. Bromberg

Convicted by Aleatha Romig

Heart of Obsidianby Nalini Singh

Three Little Words by Susan Mallery

Destiny’s Surrender by Beverly Jenkins

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

The Best Manby Kristan Higgins

Lover At Last by J.R. Ward

Once Upon A Tower by Eloisa James

Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare

Tangled by Emma Chase

Love Irresistibly Julie James

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan

To see Amazon’s full list of best picks, click here.

Author Janet Dailey Passes Away

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Janet Dailey

Best-selling author Janet Dailey passed away “peacefully” on Saturday December 14, 2013 in her hometown of Branson, MO.  She was 69 years old.   No cause of death was released.

She was born in Iowa, but moved to Branson in 1978 with her husband Bill Dailey, who was instrumental in building Branson into an entertainment mecca.

Dailey’s novels have sold 325 million copies worldwide and include the popular “Calder” series and her “Americana” series – a book for each of the fifty states.  She is credited with writing over 155 titles.  Her first book was published in 1976.  She liked to get up at 4 AM to write, setting a goal of 15 pages per day.  This could take anywhere from 8 hours to 14 hours.

Her career hit a rough patch in 1997 when she was sued for copyright infringement by author Nora Roberts.  Dailey admitted that she took passages from Roberts’ works to write AspenGold in 1991 and Notoriousin 1996.  She apologized in 1997, saying the plagiarism occurred when her husband was undergoing cancer surgery and she was under immense stress. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 1998 for an undisclosed sum.

Her latest books, Merry Christmas, Cowboy and Bannon Brothers:  Triumphare available at the Cheshire Library.

 

2013 Goodread’s Choice Award Winners

Every year Goodreads lets its users nominate and vote on their favorite books of the year. This is the only major book award that I know of which is decided by the public rather than publishing and the media. I will admit to being a member of Goodreads, and having voted for my favorites in a number of categories. I am happy to say that I voted for a few of the winners. Here is a list of the best books of 2013 according to Goodreads and its membership.

Fiction: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Mystery & Thriller: Inferno (Robert Langdon #4) by Dan Brown

Historical Fiction: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Fantasy: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Niel Gaiman

Paranormal Fantasy: Cold Days (The Dresden Files #14) by Jim Butcher

Science Fiction: MaddAddam (MaddAddam Trilogy #3) by Margaret Atwood

Romance: Lover At Last (Black Dagger Brotherhood #11) by J.R. Ward

Horror: Doctor Sleep (The Shining #2) by Stephen King

Memoir & Autobiography: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

History & Biography: Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones
Nonfiction: The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin and Richard Panek

Food & Cookbooks: Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle ; illustrated by Lauren Mortimer

Humor: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh

Graphic Novels & Comics: Beautiful Creatures: The Manga by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; adaptation and illustration by Cassandra Jean and lettering by Abigail Blackman

Poetry: The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Christopher Tolkien

Debut Goodreads Author: Tangled (Tangled, #1) by Emma Chase

Young Adult Fiction: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Young Adult Fantasy: Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth

Middle Grade & Children’s: The House of Hades (The Heroes of Olympus, #4) by Rick Riordan

Picture Books: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, with pictures by Oliver Jeffers

On Our Shelves: New Romance

heartHere are a few hot new romances to warm up those cold nights!

Welcome Back to Apple Grove by C.H. Admirand – Grace Mulcahy thought she’d finally gotten Apple Grove, Ohio, out of her system. Then she’s lured back for a family barbecue and spies a broad-shouldered hottie hanging out at the grill. He somehow seems utterly at ease, whether flipping burgers or horsing around with her hellion nephews. Why didn’t her brother-in-law tell her he had such gorgeous friends? Suddenly her mouth is watering for more than her best friend’s famous pie.

When firefighter Pat Garahan sees Grace, it’s like a five-alarm bell goes off and he’s the one ablaze. She says she wants to leave Apple Grove, but he will do whatever it takes to keep her around. The life of a firefighter isn’t an easy one though, and he’ll have to prove their immediate spark can have a lasting chance at love..

Take Over at Midnight by M.L. Buchman – Nothing sticks to “Crazy” Tim Maloney, until he falls hard for a tall Creole beauty with a haunted past and a penchant for reckless flying. Lola LaRue never thought she’d be susceptible to a man’s desire, but even with Tim igniting her deepest passions, it may be too late now…With the nation under an imminent threat of biological warfare, Tim and Lola are the only ones who can stop the madness–and to do that, they’re going to have to trust each other way beyond their limits…

Hot Pursuit by Jo Davis – Taylor is a laid-back, smart-aleck kind of lawman. He’s also a man’s man, as well as every woman’s private fantasy. But years ago, he was part of a botched hostage situation that ended with him being hailed as a tough-as-nails hero—even though the pain, fear, and shame from that terrible day still haunt his every moment.

Cara Evans couldn’t care less about Taylor’s pain. In the moment he became a so-called hero, she lost someone she dearly loved. Yet neither of them is prepared for the instant, undeniable attraction that flares between them—or the danger that’s soon hot on their heels.

Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye – Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey’s tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome–pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He’s left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander’s daughter. Loyalty won’t let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn’t expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge…