Most Wanted for January

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Here are some of the most requested items at the Fairfield Public Library this month.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

The Searcher by Tana French

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

White Ivy by Susie Yang

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

A Time for Mercy by John Grisham

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

Most Wanted Books For November

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Looking for a good book? Here are a few of the most popular books at the Fairfield Public Library this month:

ANXIOUS PEOPLE
Frederik Backman

“Backman again captures the messy essence of being human…It’s clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry.” ~Washington Post

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS
Jodi Picoult

“A thrilling adventure . . . With Picoult’s stories, there is always something new to learn, and The Book of Two Ways is no exception. . . . A fun and interesting read, one that will lead readers to both learn a lot and also ask themselves key questions about how to create happy lives for themselves during the short time we have on earth.” ~Associated Press

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

A TIME FOR MERCY
John Grisham

“Grisham has returned to the place closest to his heart… The trial is riveting…it’s striking how suspenseful the story is…how much we’re gripped by the small details.” ~Sarah Lyall, The New York Times

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

Try an “IndieNext” pick for your next great read.

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MEXICAN GOTHIC: A NOVEL By Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemi Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find–her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemi knows little about the region. Noemi is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemi; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom. Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemi, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemi digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.”

For more information, please click here.

The Adult Summer Reading Code is Staff Picks

Staff Picks

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Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel - Audiobook

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel
by Ruth Hogan

Tilda may be considered unusual by some. She can see ghosts and has particular ways of doing things. When she comes across her late mother’s diary, it’s content questions her entire childhood. Not everything is always as it appears to be. ~ Sharyn, Circulation

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

Title details for News of the World by Paulette Jiles - Available

News of the World
By Paulette Jiles

The American Civil War has ended, and Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels around Texas performing live readings from newspapers. Audiences are anxious for “news of the world” so his readings are always well attended. At one performance, Captain Kidd is offered $50 to transport a young orphan, who had been kidnapped by Kiowa Indians and since rescued, back to her relatives in San Antonio. Their journey back is an exercise in trust and hope. ~ Sue, Circulation

Tom Hanks will play Captain Kidd in the movie version due out in December 2020 from Universal Studios.

For more information, or to place a hold, please click here.

Look Forward to Summer Sun & Fun With These Digital Downloads

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Dreaming of summer days when you can go back to the beach? Why not read about it while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are some of the most popular digital titles, both e-books and audio books, which you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

SECRETS OF A SUMMER NIGHT
By Lisa Kleypas

“Deftly evoking not only the romantic tension between hero and heroine but also the conflicts and challenges of the Victorian era, this superb romance from Kleypas launches her new series centered on the Wallflowers, four young ladies who are sick of being snubbed and overlooked by London’s bachelors and who have banded together to find themselves husbands.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

ONE SUMMER IN PARIS
By Sarah Morgan

“Picture it: you’re eagerly anticipating the trip-of-a-lifetime to Paris with your husband of 25 years when he says he wants a divorce. Would you do what Grace does, steeling her nerves to take the trip alone? In Paris, cautious Grace meets bold 18-year-old Audrey, distraught because she’s essentially been dumped in Paris by a mother who wants to focus on her new husband, and the two make a perfect team.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THIS COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING
By Jill Mansell

“All it takes is one email to end her relationship, get her kicked out of her apartment, and just about ruin her life. Essie Phillips never meant for her private rant about her boss to be sent to everyone in her address book, but as soon as it goes viral, her life as she knows it is over. Solution: move to a new town, find a new job, make new friends. If only it were as simple as that…” ~Amazon.com

For more information, please click here.

THE HIGH TIDE CLUB
By Mary Kay Andrews

“Perennial bestseller Andrews returns with what’s sure to be a popular beach read. Struggling small-town lawyer and single mom Brooke Trappnell receives a call from 99-year-old Josephine Warrick. Josephine has received a terminal diagnosis and wants to ensure that her family’s island estate, Shellhaven, on wild, beautiful Talisa Island doesn’t become state property. She wants Brooke’s help to make amends for becoming estranged from her oldest and dearest friends, women who called themselves the High Tide Club, by leaving Shellhaven to their remaining families… With a unique setting, mysterious flashbacks, romance, and a surprising twist, this book will not disappoint readers looking for juicy escape.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

THE PERFECT COUPLE
By Elin Hilderbrand

“In this latest novel by Hilderbrand, the wealthy Nantucket-based Winbury family prepares for the wedding of younger son Benji when the maid of honor is discovered dead on the shore the morning of the ceremony…Smooth storyteller Hilderbrand succeeds in creating another domestic drama with a beach setting and a satisfying conclusion that will please a variety of readers.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

BEACH HOUSE REUNION
By Mary Alice Monroe

“Primrose Cottage on the Isle of Palms, SC, has been a constant refuge for the Rutledge women. By 53, Cara Rutledge thought she’d lived a full life, with a good career and a husband she loved. After his death three years earlier, she fled Palms. Now she’s back, with an adopted one-year-old daughter. She’s struggling to adjust to taking care of a baby until her niece Linnea, a recent college graduate, also returns to Primrose. Reunited on the island, the Rutledges will once again walk the beaches together as part of the “turtle team,” and find the strength to break a cycle of family anger and abuse…As much nature- as character-driven, this atmospheric novel depicts a lush sanctuary that draws in the needy and provides heartwarming inspiration.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE SUMMER WIVES
By Beatriz Williams

“In summer 1951, when 18-year-old Miranda Schuyler comes to Winthrop Island in Long Island Sound with her mother and new stepfather, she enters uneasily into the high society there even as she befriends Joseph Vargas, who helps out on his father’s lobster boat. Tension between Joseph and Miranda’s half-sister Isobel results in tragedy, shattering the balance between the island’s have-a-lots and not-so-fortunates, and Miranda does not return for nearly two decades, renowned as an actress and questing for justice. Once again, thoughtful and substantive entertainment from the New York Times best-selling author.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE LEMON SISTERS
By Jill Shalvis

“The Lemon Sisters is full of Shalvis’ signature verve and wit; it touches on sisterhood and forgiveness while also serving up plenty of romance. The perfect beach read for any romance reader.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

NO TIME TO EXPLAIN
By Kate Angell

“In Angell’s latest Barefoot William Beach tale, Joe “Zoo” Zooker, left fielder for the Richmond Rogues, is looking for a good time when he chances on the annual beach bridal event and meets Stevie Reynolds at the garter booth. For him, it’s lust at first sight. Her reaction is one of disgust. She can’t stand his cocky, narcissistic ways. He’s not used to women rejecting him. Quite the contrary, he has his “posse,” an eager bevy of bodacious beauties ready to fulfill his every desire. How could Stevie not be smitten by him? Angell’s sometimes humorous, sometimes serious battle between an entitled professional ballplayer and a no-nonsense woman is a steamy take on the endless war between the sexes.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

SECRETS IN SUMMER
BY Nancy Thayer

“After her marriage into a picture-perfect family ends in an ugly divorce, librarian Darcy Cotterill retreats to her late grandmother’s home on Nantucket, settling into a routine as a year-round resident of the popular vacation spot. She rebuilds her life with new friends, a great job, and a boyfriend, but her past comes back to haunt her when her ex-husband unknowingly rents a nearby house for the summer.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF BAY
By Susan Mallery

“New York Times best-selling author Mallery starts a new series that once again creates an absorbing world in which the challenges of life are made easier with the support of true friends.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Let’s Get Cooking!

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Do you need some new recipes? With everyone spending more time in the kitchen these days, this might be a great time to peruse some cook books while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

DORIE’S COOKIES
By Dorie Greenspan

“Beloved baker Greenspan turns her attention wholly to cookies in her latest book. She estimates that she’s created more than 300 different cookie recipes during her career and has winnowed them down to the best 170 here. Readers will find such classics as chocolate chip cookies, blondies, and brownie cookies as well as savory varieties and fancy treats…Greenspan is one of the names to know in baking, and her charming, thorough writing will be appreciated by novice bakers and experts alike.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

QUICK & EASY PALEO COMFORT FOODS
By Julie and Charles Mayfield

“The wildly popular Paleo movement is going strong, with millions of people enjoying the healthy, fat-trimming benefits that come with eliminating gluten, legumes, and dairy from their diets. In this gorgeous cookbook, Paleo pioneers Julie and Charles Mayfield have gathered an impressive selection of palate-pleasing, timesaving Paleo recipes that are not only nutritious and delicious, but quick and easy to prepare.” ~Amazon.com

For more information, please click here.

DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE
By Sara Perry

“Veteran cookbook author Perry returns with a winning take on everyone’s favorite sweet. Chocolate lovers can start their day off with the indulgent, gooey Chocolate Sticky Buns or Chocolate Dream Scones with Mascarpone Spread before breaking out the Vin Santo and Brioche Chocolate Bread Pudding at brunch and snacking throughout the day on various cookies and bars. Desserts are where chocolate really shines, and Perry doesn’t disappoint with dishes like a Chocolate Gingerbread with Cacao Nib Whipped Cream cake, “Baby Loves,” a chocolate-filled macaroon, as well as Good Ol’ Fudgy Brownies and the “It’s My Party” Birthday Cake…While there are already more than enough cookbooks devoted to the topic, the approachability and breadth of Perry’s sweet, inventive collection make it worth the indulgence.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Better Homes & Gardens 365 30-Minute Meals by Wiley - Available

BETTER HOMES & GARDENS 365 30-MINUTE MEALS
By Better Homes & Gardens

“365 30-Minute Meals is filled with a year’s worth of fast, fresh and fun dinner ideas. With quick, easy-to-prepare recipes offering innovative dinner solutions for everyday staples like meat, poultry, fish, seafood, salads, stews, sandwiches, and more, this book is perfect for busy home cooks who need to get dinner on the table fast. Helpful cooking tips are spread throughout, and substitution suggestions help keep dinner on track even when you lack an ingredient.” ~Amazon.com

For more information, please click here.

THE BOOZY BAKER
By Lucy Baker

“In her first cookbook, appropriately named food writer and contributing columnist for SeriousEats.com Baker gives lovers of desserts and spirits a book that is one part mixology and three parts baking. She includes 25 recipes for drinks alongside 75 recipes for cakes, pies, cookies, and spoon desserts; each is a classic or original dessert that is infused with an alcohol—spirits, liqueurs, wine, or beer. Desserts run the spectrum from rustic (Fig Galette) to sophisticated (Vin Santo-Vanilla Panna Cotta with Apricot Compote) to a combination of the two (Beer Profiteroles with Chocolate-Beer Sauce), and while some will pack a punch, the alcohol content in others is somewhat negligible. In case your bar isn’t well stocked, most recipes include alcohol substitutions.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE WHOLE FAMILY COOKBOOK
By Michelle Stern

“There’s no better way to teach your children to eat fresh, healthy, organic food than with recipes you can cook and eat together! Written by the founder of San Francisco’s premier children’s cooking school and award-winning, green-parenting blogger Michelle Stern, this cookbook gives your family the resources you need to cook delicious, local food in any season including practical advice like how to pick the best of local and natural food without spending too much time or money.” ~Simon & Schuster

For more information, please click here.

SAVEUR: THE NEW COMFORT FOOD
By James Oseland

“The new comfort food from Saveur’s editor-in-chief Oseland (Cradle of Flavor) compiles more than 100 recipes for classic craved foods from around the globe; most come from home cooks or restaurant owners…This is a gorgeous book that reflects the magazine’s global approach to home cooking.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE COMPLETE COOKBOOK FOR YOUNG CHEFS
By America’s Test Kitchen Kids

“The always-reliable America’s Test Kitchen brings their expertise to aspiring foodies with this cookbook designed for kids in the kitchen. Thorough, generously illustrated introductory pages offer tips on cooking jargon; basic skills, such as dicing, folding, cracking eggs, and melting butter; recommended tools, all of which are required at some point or another in the recipes; and common pantry staples. The recipes, all labeled by difficulty, include plentiful, full-color photographs of kids performing the steps, inset boxes with further explanations, suggestions on variations to the recipes, and near-constant mention of asking for adults’ help. The recipes themselves are all kid-friendly and require ingredients easily available at many grocery stores… The inviting, encouraging tone, which never talks down to the audience; emphasis on introducing and reinforcing basic skills; and approachable, simplified recipes make this a notable standout among cookbooks for kids.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

MOSTLY PLANTS
By Tracy Pollan

“Designed for people who are mostly vegetarian but who enjoy meat or fish occasionally, the flexitarian dietary approach is gaining in popularity. This collection by the Pollan family—Lori, Dana, and Tracy are food writer Michael Pollan’s sisters and Corky is his mom—is a creative introduction to the concept, intended to encourage healthy, home-cooked meals for all types of eaters, including vegans and those wanting gluten-free options.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Be Prepared. Read More SciFi.

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Do you feel like you’re living in a SciFi novel?? Now might be a great time to read or listen to some Science Fiction while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

THE TESTAMENTS
By Margaret Atwood

“Atwood’s confident, magnetic sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale details the beginning of the end for Gilead, the authoritarian religion-touting dystopia where fertile single women (handmaids) live in sexual servitude…Atwood’s eminently rewarding sequel revels in the energy of youth, the shrewdness of old age, and the vulnerabilities of repressive regimes..” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE PASSENGERS
By John Marrs

“The future appears to be steering toward autonomous cars, and in Marrs’s story, the implementation of driverless automobiles has become a reality. Nobody drives themselves around anymore. Eight different folks from varying backgrounds are about to start their day by getting into one of these vehicles so they can get to their various destinations. For each one of these people, the doors lock and a voice comes over the computer and tells them they are about to die… No one will want to ride in one of these cars after reading this terrifying thriller…Don’t pass this novel by.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

ROBOPOCALYPSE
By Daniel H. Wilson

“Ever thought that technology was out to get you? In Wilson’s thriller, it happens 20 years from now, when a powerful artificial intelligence called Archos rises up to kill its creator and then takes control of technology worldwide. In a matter of moments every piece of equipment turns against humanity—which ends up united for the first time ever.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE GONE-AWAY WORLD
By Nick Harkaway

“In a postapocalyptic world made so by a weapon whose evil-genius creator didn’t quite think through the complications of actually using it, a man makes a journey of self-discovery that is unlike anything we’ve seen before…at the heart of The Gone-Away World is a meditation on the very nature of what makes us human. Funny, digressive, dark, and possibly optimistic, Harkaway’s debut displays ingredients of Catch-22, Dr. Strangelove, and The Road Warrior with maybe a pinch of Pynchon and a sprinkling of Vonnegut.” ~Booklist
*Staff Favorite

For more information, please click here.

BLACKOUT
By Connie Willis

“Three history researchers, all time travelers from the future, find themselves trapped in England during World War II when they discover that the portals to their own times have disappeared…Willis is a consummate storyteller whose immersive style hooks readers from the start; her latest work, which is being published in two parts (see below), should appeal to a wide readership and be a particular draw for her devoted followers.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

ALL CLEAR
By Connie Willis

“Traveling back in time, from Oxford circa 2060 into the thick of World War II, was a routine excursion for three British historians eager to study firsthand the heroism and horrors of the Dunkirk evacuation and the London Blitz. But getting marooned in war-torn 1940 England has turned Michael Davies, Merope Ward, and Polly Churchill from temporal tourists into besieged citizens struggling to survive Hitler’s devastating onslaught…The thrilling time-tripping adventure that began with Blackout now hurtles to its stunning resolution in All Clear.” ~PRH

For more information, please click here.

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE
By Philip K. Dick

“It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.
This harrowing, Hugo Award–winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.” ~Amazon.com

“The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick’s career.” ~New York Times

For more information, please click here.

ARMADA
By Ernest Cline

“In his second geek-coming-of-age tale, Cline presents Zack Lightman, a teen with anger issues obsessed with his late father, who left behind some rocking mixed tapes and notebooks delineating a wild conspiracy theory about the truth embedded in popular science fiction novels, movies, and videogames. When Zack looks out a school window and sees an alien spacecraft just like those he shoots down so decisively while playing the online alien-invaders videogame, Armada (he’s ranked sixth best player in the world), he fears he’s losing his mind. Readers, however, will feel confident that they’re in for another hard-charging adventure that blasts open the barrier between the actual and the virtual.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

STATION ELEVEN
By Emily St. John Mandel

“Mandel’s ambitious, magnificent fourth novel examines the collapse of civilization after a deadly flu wipes out most of the world’s population…Mandel’s vision is not only achingly beautiful but also startlingly plausible, exposing the fragile beauty of the world we inhabit. In the burgeoning postapocalyptic literary genre, Mandel’s transcendent, haunting novel deserves a place alongside The Road, The Passage, and The Dog Stars.” ~Booklist
*Staff Favorite

For more information, please click here.

CRYPTONOMICON
By Neal Stephenson

“Computer expert Randy Waterhouse spearheads a movement to create a safe haven for data in a world where information equals power and big business and government seek to control the flow of knowledge. His ambitions collide with a top-secret conspiracy with links to the encryption wars of World War II and his grandfather’s work in preventing the Nazis from discovering that the Allies had cracked their supposedly unbreakable Enigma code…Stephenson’s freewheeling prose and ironic voice lend a sense of familiarity to a story that transcends the genre and demands a wide readership among fans of technothrillers as well as a general audience. Highly recommended.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

SLEEPING GIANTS
By Sylvain Neuvel

“An inventive tale inventively told, Sleeping Giants is designed for people who like to take things apart and put them back together. Its jigsaw-puzzle narrative style works as a mirror for the project at the story’s center: the gathering and assembly of the scattered pieces of a huge and mysterious robot. But the real appeal of the book—the debut novel of Sylvain Neuvel, a Canadian linguist and software engineer—is the way in which putting together the robot tears apart the lives of the people involved. The book, like its namesake, is an elegant blend of technology and biology.” ~BookPage

For more information, please click here.

Short Stories Might Be Just What You Need

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Finding it a little hard to concentrate? Now might be a great time to read or listen to short stories while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

GROWING THINGS AND OTHER STORIES
By Paul Tremblay

“Tremblay’s (The Cabin at the End of the World, 2018) short story collection brilliantly takes ordinary situations—an author reading, an AP history class, a family vacation—and seamlessly sprinkles in a sense of unease that quickly builds to a sense of pure horror.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

FULL THROTTLE
By Joe Hill

“Hill returns to short stories where his terrifying genius most brightly shines. The stories that follow the heartfelt introduction, most of which were first printed elsewhere, including one previously only available on LP, incorporate tropes of psychological suspense, science fiction, dark fantasy, and of course horror… Several stories, including one written with Hill’s father, Stephen King, are in development for TV and Netflix.” ~Booklist
*Staff Favorite!

For more information, please click here.

FLORIDA
By Lauren Groff

“In 11 electric short stories, the gifted Groff unpacks the “dread and heat” of her home state. In her first fiction since President Barack Obama named Fates and Furies his favorite book of the year, Groff collects her singing, stinging stories of foreboding and strangeness in the Sunshine State.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING
By Colum McCann

“This collection by McCann, winner of the National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin, features one novella and three stories depicting people experiencing drastic life changes… McCann’s first story collection in 12 years marks his triumphant return to the genre. Luminescent prose and finely rendered characters create a spell readers will be reluctant to shake.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE
By Siobhan Fallon

“The crucial role of military wives becomes clear in Fallon’s powerful, resonant debut collection, where the women are linked by absence and a pervading fear that they’ll become war widows.” ~Publisher’s Weekly
*Staff Favorite!

For more information, please click here.

THE WONDER GARDEN
By Lauren Acampora

“The dark underside of picture-perfect suburban life is familiar territory in American fiction, but Acampora brings fresh insight to the theme in this debut collection, offering short stories that connect various residents in an upscale Connecticut town.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

DEAR LIFE
By Alice Munro

“Every new collection from the incomparable Munro, winner of the Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work, is cause for celebration. This new volume offers all the more reason to celebrate as it ends with four stories the author claims are the most autobiographical she has written…Read this collection and cherish it for dear life.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

UNCOMMON TYPE
By Tom Hanks

“Academy Award winner Hanks gives readers a wide variety of stories in this first collection. His characters run the gamut; old and young, rich and poor, male and female, serious and funny. He writes like someone who has paid attention to humans in their many guises… Hanks’s stories evoke dreams and flights of imagination that everyone has experienced, making the “what ifs” of life tangible. Highly recommended, and not just for the actor’s many fans.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

True Crime Fan? Try One of These Popular Digital Downloads!

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Are You a True Crime Fan? Now might be a great time to read or listen to a book while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

THE TRIAL OF LIZZIE BORDEN
By Cara Robertson

“Readers are given every bit of evidence available and will be hard-pressed to reach a verdict; it’s fun trying, though. Fans of crime novels will love it.”~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY
By Paul Collins

“Collins, the literary detective often featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, has constructed a gripping work of narrative nonfiction. He revisits 1897 New York, where the discovery in the East River of a male torso with arms was first dismissed as a medical-student prank. But other findings of body parts soon convinced experts that a grisly murder had been committed.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY
By Erik Larson

“Larson’s ambitious, engrossing tale of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 focuses primarily on two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect who was the driving force behind the fair, and Henry H. Holmes, a sadistic serial killer working under the cover of the busy fair.” ~Booklist
This title is definitely a staff favorite. Erik Larson is a master of narrative non-fiction. Try any of his other titles and you will not be disappointed! ~ Sue, Circulation

For more information, please click here.

THE BLACK HAND
By Stephan Talty

“Talty (Black Irish) spins a gripping tale in this true crime account of one man’s crusade to combat organized crime in early-20th-century New York City. His hero is Joseph Petrosino, one of the first Italian-Americans hired by the New York Police Department, who ultimately sacrificed his life in an effort to defeat the Black Hand, an Italian organized crime group that terrorized the city through its kidnappings of children, extortions, and murders.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
By Michelle McNamara

“The Golden State Killer is once again in the headlines after finally being caught. This book about the search for him is sure to catch—and keep—readers’ attention…An exemplary true-crime book, and with an HBO adaptation in the works, this book will be enjoyed by any reader with an interest in human nature, crime, puzzles, and investigative dramas.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

AMERICAN HEIRESS
By Jeffrey Toobin

Toobin, a New Yorker staff writer and CNN senior legal analyst, provides another definitive and nuanced look at a notorious crime case—this time, the 1974 abduction of heiress Patty Hearst in San Francisco by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and its sensational aftermath… His thorough research, careful parsing of all the evidence, and superior prose make the book read like a summertime thriller.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Escape Into a Fantasy With a Digital Book

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Escape into a Fantasy novel while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are some of the most popular digital titles, both e-books and audio books, which you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

THE CITY OF BRASS
By S. A. Chakraborty

“This lyrical historical fantasy debut brings to vivid life the ancient mythological traditions of an Islamic world unfamiliar to most American readers. Chakraborty’s grasp of Middle Eastern history, folklore, and culture inspires a swiftly moving plot, richly drawn characters, and a beautifully constructed world that will entrance fantasy aficionados.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE GIRL IN RED
By Christina Henry

“Henry’s sharp, unsettling rendition of “Little Red Riding Hood” explores whether a healthy sense of paranoia and extensive knowledge of horror fiction rules will increase Red’s chances of post-pandemic survival, especially given her increased vulnerability due to her gender and prosthetic leg…Henry (Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook) satisfyingly upends the familiar tale of a clever girl, a dangerous wolf, and a brave savior, and folklore fans will enjoy this bloody near-future variation on a familiar theme.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

KILL THE FARM BOY
By Kevin Hearne & Delilah S. Dawson

Dawson and Hearne topple the tropes of the young man’s adventure quest and the fairy tale in this joyous, hilarious tale. While preparing to deal with his daily barnyard drudgery shoveling the dung of assorted animals, a farm boy named Worstley is anointed the Chosen One by a filthy, foul-mouthed, drunken pixie. Soon Worstley is off to find his destiny, accompanied by a smart-aleck talking goat named Gustave…This one is for readers who enjoy farcical fairy tales, rollicking good times, and plenty of groan-worthy puns and literary references.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

SPINNING SILVER
By Naomi Novik

“This gorgeous, complex, and magical novel, grounded in Germanic, Russian, and Jewish folklore but richly overlaid with a cohesive, creative story of its own, rises well above a mere modern re- imagining of classic tales… This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT
By Simon R. Green

“This is Green’s most recent novel of the Nightside, a hidden part of London populated by creatures who never see the light of day. John Taylor is a Nightside PI who specializes in finding things. But something has just found him: Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur himself… With plenty of action packed in from London to Glastonbury, fun characters, and outrageous villains, A Hard Day’s Knight should definitely please fantasy action fans.” ~Booklist

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THE GHOST BRIDE
By Yangsze Choo

Choo’s remarkably strong and arresting first novel explores the concept of Chinese spirit marriages in late-nineteenth-century Malaya through the eyes of the highly relatable Li Lan, a poor but spunky young woman, who is approached by the wealthy family of a dead man to become his bride… With its gripping tangles of plot and engaging characters, this truly compelling read is sure to garner much well-deserved attention.” ~Booklist Will appeal to historical fiction lovers, too! ~Sue, Circulation

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THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA
By Scott Lynch

On a distant world, orphan Locke Lamora is sold into a crew of thieves and con artists. Soon his natural gifts make him an underworld celebrity, leader of the flamboyantly larcenous Gentleman Bandits. But there is someone who covets Locke’s talents, his success, his very life, forcing him to put everything on the line to protect himself… Fans of lavishly appointed fantasy will be in seventh heaven here, but it will be nearly as popular with readers of literary crime fiction. This is a true genre bender, at home on almost any kind of fiction shelf.” ~Booklist

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OUTLANDER
By Diana Gabaldon

“Time-travel stories that combine swashbuckling adventure, romance, and vivid historical details don’t get any better than Gabaldon’s now classic debut…With vividly drawn, relatable characters and a respectful, loving eye for the history of the Scottish Highlands, Gabaldon’s Outlander series launch is a lush, romantic epic.” ~ Library Journal

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER
By Seth Grahame-Smith

“From the man who brought you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: a tale of Lincoln, who discovered that his mother was chewed to death by the local vampire. Hence his secret agenda to rid the world of bloodsuckers. Undoubtedly, there will be protests, and, undoubtedly, this will be huge.” ~Library Journal

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THE BONE SEASON
By Samantha Shannon

“We are the minority the world does not accept,” Paige Mahoney tells us, referring to the struggles of clairvoyants, from soothsayers and mediums to her own high standing as a dreamwalker…An energetic, multifaceted print and online campaign, including viral teaser trailers, will launch this exciting debut, the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer.” ~Kirkus

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WARDS OF FAERIE
By Terry Brooks

“Researching magic in the books and scrolls housed below the palace, young Elven Druid Aphenglow Elessedil discovers a diary that recounts a forbidden romance between an Elven girl and a Darkling boy and hints at the fate of the long-vanished Elfstones. As troubled times return to the Four Lands and a tyrannical human-centered Federation seeks to dominate the other Races, Aphenglow sets herself a dangerous task—to follow the clues left in the diary and uncover magic that might save her people and her world.” ~Library Journal

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THE FIREBIRD
By Susanna Kearsley

“Nicola Marter’s Russian grandfather was tortured for his gift of psychometry, so she’s hidden her own talent for years, but she may have to risk sharing it to help another… Kearsley blends history, romance and a bit of the supernatural into a glittering, bewitching tale.” ~Kirkus

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“Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” ~ E.B. White

The Right Book at the Right Time

Fairfield Public Library Reader’s Advisory – Recommendations, Reviews and More

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Staff Picks

Look Forward to Summer Sun & Fun With These Digital Downloads

Dreaming of summer days when you can go back to the beach? Why not read about it while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are some of the most popular digital titles, both e-books and audio books, which you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Let’s Get Cooking!

Do you need some new recipes? With everyone spending more time in the kitchen these days, this might be a great time to peruse some cook books while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Be Prepared. Read More SciFi.

Do you feel like you’re living in a SciFi novel?? Now might be a great time to read or listen to some Science Fiction while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Short Stories Might Be Just What You Need

Finding it a little hard to concentrate? Now might be a great time to read or listen to short stories while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

True Crime Fan? Try One of These Popular Digital Downloads!

Are You a True Crime Fan? Now might be a great time to read or listen to a book while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Escape Into a Fantasy With a Digital Book

Escape into a Fantasy novel while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are some of the most popular digital titles, both e-books and audio books, which you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.