Looking For Romance? Try One of These Popular Books

Slip into some romantic fiction 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.

MAYBE SOMEDAY
By Colleen Hoover

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.
“Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

COLD-HEARTED RAKE
By Lisa Kleypas

“Kleypas begins a new historical romance series with two damaged characters who might find happiness if they can ever learn to trust themselves and one another. Intricately and elegantly crafted, intensely romantic, and with secondary characters and an epilogue that will leave readers anxiously awaiting more. A gratifying series starter from a not-to-be-missed romance author.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB
By Lyssa Kay Adams

“In this heartfelt romance, a professional baseball player fights to save his failing marriage with the help of some good friends and the inspirational exploits of a fictional nobleman… A strong supporting cast, including Gavin’s book clubmates and his tiny, adorable twin daughters, helps flesh out the Legends community. This earnest charmer is sure to win Adams new fans. ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE BRIDE TEST
By Helen Hoang

“Hoang’s touching second contemporary romance (after The Kiss Quotient) explores what the American dream might mean to a young, mixed-race Vietnamese woman and the autistic Vietnamese-American man she’s matched up with… With serious moments offset by spot-on humor, this romance has broad appeal, and it will find a special place in the hearts of autistic people and those who love them.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

WOULD LIKE TO MEET
By Rachel Winters

Evie Summers has been tasked with the impossible: getting a playboy film mogul with writer’s block to pen a script that he decidedly does not write—one with a happy ending. But with a long overdue promotion within reach, Evie is determined to keep Ezra in the game, showing the cynical author that a Hollywood meet-cute is not only possible, it’s a recipe for falling in love.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

SLEEPLESS IN MANHATTAN
By Sarah Morgan

“Snappy dialogue, well-developed characters, and the details of the three women’s hard work to build their company mix with sweet romantic tension between Paige and Jake. Steamy sex scenes spice up this quick, engaging read.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE WEDDING DATE
By Jasmine Guillory

“This incredibly delicious meet-cute brings two people together who would not have met otherwise, and though it could have become predictable, Guillory keeps this contemporary romance fresh with well-drawn multicultural characters navigating the perils of long-distance relationships.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

RESCUE ME
By Rachel Gibson

“Sizzling sex, dialog peppered with plenty of Texas slang, a setting overflowing with country flavor, and a pair of appealing, emotionally scarred protagonists combine in a big-hearted, touching, and hilarious story you won’t be able to put down.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE WEDDING CHAPEL
By Rachel Hauck

“Hauck has crafted a masterly romance that depicts the truth about real love: it’s hard, messy, and unforgettable. The author’s characters burst from the pages in an emotional journey that will be remembered long after the novel is finished. Hauck fans will savor, and so will readers who believe in true love that lasts a lifetime and beyond. Once again, she proves why she is a master of this genre.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

AN EXTRAORDINARY UNION
By Alyssa Cole

“The first installment in Cole’s (Mixed Signals, 2015, etc.) Loyal League series defies genre stereotypes at every turn. It’s both a romance and a spy novel, with a healthy dose of adventure thrown in, and it offers a nuanced portrayal of Civil War-era racial politics. Any reader who thinks romance novels are pure fluff will be schooled by Cole’s richly drawn characters, who must overcome generations of trauma in order to let themselves love each other. A masterful tale that bodes well for future work from Cole.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A SIXPENCE
By Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, Laura Lee Guhrke, and Stefanie Sloane

Four boarding school friends find everlasting love with the help of a magical coin in this historical-romance anthology that weaves through the popular wedding rhyme, “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue—and a sixpence for your shoe… A fun idea connects four charming stories, though they build to a pinnacle with Quinn’s.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” ~ Jane Goodall

Popular Digital Biographies and Memoirs

Leave a reply

Why not step into someone else’s life for a while by reading or listening to a biography or memoir 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.

A MARVELOUS LIFE
By Danny Fingeroth

“In this enthusiastic biography of Stan Lee (1922–2018), Fingeroth, one-time writer and editor at Lee’s longtime employer Marvel Comics, tells the story of the man who helped create comic legends including Spider-Man and Black Panther.”~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

DUTCH GIRL
By Robert Matzen

“A meticulously detailed and researched look at the formative years of an iconic performer; for fans of Hepburn as well as anyone seeking a social history of the Dutch experience of World War II.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

EDISON
By Edmund Morris

“Inspiration and perspiration prodigiously unite in this sweeping biography of one of America’s greatest inventors. Pulitzer-winning biographer Morris tells Thomas Alva Edison’s story backward, opening with the creator of the first long-lasting light bulb, the phonograph, and other electromechanical marvels in lionized, imperious old age and presenting each decade of his life in reverse order, back to his boyhood spells of intense, isolated concentration.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

MAID
By Stephanie Land

“In her heartfelt and powerful debut memoir, Land describes the struggles she faced as a young single mother living in poverty. “My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter,” she writes, before chronicling her difficult circumstances.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

HERO OF THE EMPIRE
By Candice Millard

“Biographer Millard…writes about one of the most famous statesmen of the twentieth century, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Rather than facing the man in full bloom during WWII, she casts dramatic light on the incidents that brought “to the attention of a rapt British public a young Churchill.” In 1899, he was already aware of his future importance in the political world and certain that he would need to show glory on the battlefield during the colonial Boer War in South Africa. The perfect opportunity arose when he was taken prisoner and managed not only to escape but, after great hardship, also return to the fight. Millard’s rendering of the exciting details of Churchill’s heroic exploits result in a magnificently told story.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

IN PIECES
By Sally Field

“Arresting in its dark disclosures, vitality, humor, and grace, Field’s deeply felt and beautifully written memoir illuminates the experiences and emotions on which she draws as an exceptionally charismatic, empathic, and powerful artist.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

WHISKEY IN A TEACUP
By Reese Witherspoon

“Actress and book club host Witherspoon pays tribute to her Southern roots in this charming collection of recipes, how-to’s, and personal stories.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

GRANT
By Ron Chernow

“Acclaimed biographer Chernow, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Washington: A Life, entertains in this informative whopper as he upends the long-held view of Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) as a lumbering general and incompetent president.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

SMALL FRY
By Lisa Brennan-Jobs

“An epic, sharp coming-of-age story from the daughter of Steve Jobs. It’s rare to find a memoir from a celebrity’s child in which the writing is equal to—or exceeds—the parent’s reputation, but that is the case with Brennan-Jobs’ debut. The author engagingly packs in every detail of her life, including her seemingly innocuous conception by Jobs and artist Chrisann Brennan, her father’s paternity denial, their rocky reconciliation, and Jobs’ ultimate rejection and silence.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

A LIFE IN PARTS
By Bryan Cranston

“Cranston fans will delight in the intimate revelations in this substantial memoir from one of Hollywood’s most introspective stars. And anyone interested in acting will devour Cranston’s savvy advice about honing one’s craft and building one’s career.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

EDUCATED
By Tara Westover

“A recent Cambridge University doctorate debuts with a wrenching account of her childhood and youth in a strict Mormon family in a remote region of Idaho… An astonishing account of deprivation, confusion, survival, and success.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

“What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.” ~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

What Are We Reading? Popular Fiction-Digital Downloads.

Leave a reply

Catch up on what your friends and neighbors (and librarians) have been reading, listening to, and loving by downloading one of these popular digital fiction titles 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.

THINGS IN JARS
By Jess Kidd

“Kidd is an expert at setting a supernatural mood perfect for ghosts and merrows, but her human villains make them seem mundane by comparison. With so much detail and so many clever, Dickensian characters, readers might petition Kidd to give Bridie her own series. Creepy, violent, and propulsive; a standout gothic mystery.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE
By Kevin Wilson

“Wilson turns a bizarre premise into a beguiling novel about unexpected motherhood…Wilson captures the wrenching emotions of caring for children in this exceptional, and exceptionally hilarious, novel.” Publisher’s Weekly
*Staff Favorite!

For more information, please click here.

TUESDAY MOONEY TALKS TO GHOSTS
By Kate Racculia

“A motley crew of Bostonians seeks an eccentric millionaire’s fortune in an epic, citywide treasure hunt that kicks off after his untimely death…The result is thrilling, romantic, and charming as all get out, a love letter to former witchy girls and compulsive dreamers that will make readers reassess what—and who—they value. Spooky, witty, and observant, Racculia’s novel of friendship and bigger-than-life aspirations is a treasure.” ~Kirkus
*Staff Favorite!

For more information, please click here.

THE SATURDAY NIGHT GHOST CLUB
By Craig Davidson

A coming-of-age narrative about ghosts, friendship, and family secrets… Through the intensity of his characters’ experiences, Davidson reconnects us to our own memories of growing up.” ~Kirkus
*Staff Favorite!

For more information, please click here.

RED AT THE BONE
By Jacqueline Woodson

“Woodson’s beautifully imagined novel explores the ways an unplanned pregnancy changes two families…Woodson’s nuanced voice evokes the complexities of race, class, religion, and sexuality in fluid prose and a series of telling details. This is a wise, powerful, and compassionate novel.” ~Publisher’s Weekly
*Staff Favorite!

For more information, please click here.

THE NICKEL BOYS
By Colson Whitehead

The acclaimed author of The Underground Railroad (2016) follows up with a leaner, meaner saga of Deep South captivity set in the mid-20th century and fraught with horrors more chilling for being based on true-life atrocities.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO
By Christy Lefteri

“Lefteri (A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible) tells a haunting and resonant story of Syrian war refugees undertaking a treacherous journey to possible safety…Lefteri perceptively and powerfully documents the horrors of the Syrian civil war and the suffering of innocent civilians. Readers will find this deeply affecting for both its psychological intensity and emotional acuity.” ~Publisher’s Weekly
*Staff Favorite

For more information, please click here.

THE BOOKSHOP OF THE BROKEN HEARTED
By Robert Hillman

“Hillman’s novel is an impressive, riveting tale of how two disparate and well-drawn people recover from soul-wrenching grief and allow themselves to truly love again.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

HOLLOW KINGDOM
By Kira Jane Buxton

“A foul-mouthed, Cheetos-loving crow named S.T. goes on an adventure to save humanity from doom.” ~BookPage
“Buxton spins a fresh, alarming apocalypse from the perspectives of intelligent, communicative animals in her hilarious debut.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

GOOD GIRL, BAD GIRL
By Michael Robotham

“Two major cases preoccupy forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven, the hero of this haunting psychological thriller from Edgar finalist Robotham. First, the Nottingham, England, police have enlisted him in their effort to catch the killer of 15-year-old Jodie Sheehan, British junior figure skating champion. Second, Cyrus has to assess the fitness of a troubled but achingly vulnerable teenage girl for release from a high-security children’s home… Robotham expertly raises the tension as the action hurtles toward the devastating climax. Readers will hope the complex Cyrus will return for an encore.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE CHELSEA GIRLS
By Fiona Davis

“Davis brings to life another New York City landmark through the story of two midcentury women…This novel in three acts brings to vivid life the McCarthy era and its impact on the entertainment industry in a heartbreaking tale of the friendship of two brave women.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE GIFTED SCHOOL
By Bruce Holsinger

“In this sharply entertaining novel from Holsinger, Crystal, Colo., is an affluent community where a new gifted magnet school for grades six through 12 will soon open. With limited spaces available, the competition among parents to get their offspring into the school, called the “Stuyvesant of the Rockies,” turns ruthless.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

DISAPPEARING EARTH
Julia Phillips

“In the opening chapter of Phillips’s exceptional and suspenseful debut, two sisters—Sofia, 8, and Alyona, 11—vanish from a beach on the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia, and their disappearance sends ripples throughout the close-knit community. The subsequent 12 chapters, taking place during the months over the following year, chart the impact of the potential kidnapping—and the destructive effect of longing and loss—and play out in a series of interconnected and equally riveting stories about others in the surrounding area.” ~Publisher’s Weekly
*Staff Favorite

For more information, please click here.

THE EDITOR
By Steven Rowley

“Rowley’s second novel (after Lily and the Octopus) is an insightful look into the world of publishing and the relationships we forge at work and at home. His imagining of the everyday life of the very private Jacqueline Onassis will appeal to readers who admire the former First Lady.” ~Library Journal
*Staff Favorite

For more information, please click here.

“Adversity is like a strong wind. It…tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be.”
~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

Settle In With These Digital Thrillers

Leave a reply

Looking for some thrillers to read or listen to 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.

PLEASE SEE US
By Caitlin Mullen

“At last, a “woman in peril” thriller that doesn’t involve a handsome, psychopathic husband or a seemingly sympathetic but ultimately homicidal neighborhood kid. What Mullen’s debut gives readers is a wrenchingly detailed, utterly credible story of women whose peril comes from poverty, either a slow slide or a sudden slip.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

JUST WATCH ME
By Jeff Lindsay

“This terrific series launch from bestseller Lindsay (Darkly Dreaming Dexter) opens with master thief Riley Wolfe, an antihero Dexter fans will relish, using a helicopter to steal a 12-ton statue in broad daylight during its installation ceremony in Chicago.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

DARLING ROSE GOLD
By Stephanie Wrobel

“Propulsive pacing, a claustrophobic setting, and vividly sketched characters who are equal parts victim and villain conspire to create an anxious, unsettling narrative. Psychological suspense fans will be well satisfied.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE WHISPER MAN
By Alex North

“North’s first novel explores the life of a father raising his young son after the tragic death of his wife mixed with a town in turmoil owing to kidnappings in the area… The terrifying villain and characters who seem authentic only add to the horror. Lyrical writing also helps make the story truly haunting.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

THE SUN DOWN MOTEL
By Simone St. James

“In this engrossing supernatural thriller from St. James (The Broken Girls), 20-year-old Carly Kirk sets out from her Illinois hometown determined to find some answers 35 years after her aunt Viv Delaney vanished while working the night shift at a seedy upstate New York motel.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

THE POACHER’S SON
By Paul Doiron

“Doiron’s debut crime novel is set on the coast and in the North Woods of Maine, the home of rookie game warden Mike Bowditch. As tensions rise across the state with the impending sale of huge tracts of paper-company forest land to an out-of-state developer, Mike receives a strange message from his father, left on the same night the paper company rep and a state trooper are shot and killed after a heated town meeting… One hopes this fine novel is the first in a series starring Warden Bowditch, who could quickly become the East Coast version of C. J. Box’s game-warden hero Joe Pickett, who patrols the range in Wyoming.” ~Booklist
*This is the first in a staff favorite series. Sure to please mystery, suspense and thriller lovers.

For more information, please click here.

THOSE PEOPLE
By Louise Candlish

“This fiendishly twisty and suspenseful tale of secrets, lies, jealousy, and intrigue keeps readers guessing until the very end. Fans of Celeste Ng and Leila Slimani will be pleased with this contemporary take on families and violence.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

DECEPTION COVE
By Owen Laukkanen

“Deception Cove, Wash., “a rainy-day kind of place” that’s the atmospheric setting of this superior standalone from Thriller Award finalist Laukkanen…
a crackerjack plot enhances the moving portrayals of the leads’ inner lives. Laukkanen has never been better.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
~C.S. Lewis

Interested in History? Try One of These Popular Digital Titles!

Leave a reply

Interested in history? 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.

JEFFERSON’S DAUGHTERS
By Catherine Kerrison

“Kerrison contrasts the privileged upbringing of Thomas Jefferson’s two acknowledged daughters with wife Martha—Martha Jefferson Randolph (the eldest and favored daughter), and Maria Jefferson Eppes—and the shadowy life of daughter Harriet Hemings, born to Sally Hemings, his mistress and slave.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

MADAME FOURCADE’S SECRET WAR
By Lynne Olson

“This masterfully told true story reads like fiction and will appeal to readers who devour WWII thrillers à la Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

THE FIRST CONSPIRACY
By Brad Meltzer

“Best-selling novelist and television-host Meltzer (The Escape Artist, 2018) and documentarian Mensch bring the fast pace and sensibility of a thriller to the Hickey Plot, a failed 1776 scheme to kidnap and possibly murder George Washington. They vividly evoke the world of occupied New York City in which the scheme unfolded, describing the tensions within the overcrowded wartime community and the webs of relationships linking powerful backstage plotters with the greedy, desperate, or committed ordinary people designated to carry it out… Readers who like their histories full of twists, turns, and cliff-hangers will enjoy this romp through the Revolution.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

THE RADIUM GIRLS
By Kate Moore

“Moore details the tragic stories of dozens of young women employed as dial painters during World War I. Often the daughters of immigrants, these women were lured to these prestigious and well-paying jobs unaware of the dangers of the radioactive paint present in their workplace—which caused their bodies and clothes to glow, even outside of work…A must-read for anyone interested in American and women’s history, as well as topics of law, health, and industrial safety.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

VALIANT AMBITION: GEORGE WASHINGTON, BENEDICT ARNOLD, AND THE FATE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
By Nathaniel Philbrick

“Best-selling author Philbrick (Bunker Hill; The Mayflower) recounts details of Revolutionary War battles in the context of Gen. Benedict Arnold’s character traits as well as his relationships with George Washington and others that affected his successes and downfalls and ultimately led to his defection from the Continental to the British Army.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

For those interested in Connecticut history, try one of the following. There are more where these came from!

THE HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE
By Michael Skidgell

For more information, please click here.

CONNECTICUT WITCH TRIALS
By Cynthia Wolfe Boynton

For more information, please click here.

LIGHTHOUSES AND LIFESAVING ALONG THE CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND COAST
By James Claflin

For more information, please click here.

CONNECTICUT FAMILIES OF THE REVOLUTION
By Mark Allen Baker

For more information, please click here.

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ~Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Humorous Fiction-Digital Downloads

Leave a reply

Looking for some humorous fiction to read or listen to 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.

CLASS MOM
By Laurie Gelman

“Gelman’s debut is a literary stand-up routine, and you might as well just give in: this woman is going to get a laugh out of you.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

LAST COUPLE STANDING
By Matthew Norman

“Charmingly realistic and clear-eyed about the peaks and pitfalls of modern relationships, Last Couple Standing explores the vulnerability required to make a marriage work”. ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

AN ACCIDENTAL BEAUTY QUEEN
By Teri Wilson

“A happily nerdy elementary school librarian ends up competing in a beauty pageant in this fun and frothy read.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

NO SUNSCREEN FOR THE DEAD
By Tim Dorsey

“In their latest outing, cheerful Florida psychopath Serge Storms and his permanently stoned sidekick Coleman come to the aid of the residents of a retirement community.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

THE HATING GAME
By Sally Thorne

“From Lucy’s hilarious inner dialogue to Joshua’s sharp retorts, the chemistry between them is irresistibly adorable—and smokin’ hot… this one’s a real winner.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

CARNEGIE HILL
By Jonathan Vatner

“Vatner’s debut novel is absorbing and comforting in its omniscient perspective and delicate handling of its carousel of characters. A good old-fashioned read on the venerable theme of marriage.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

“We need never be hopeless because we can never be irreparably broken.”
~John Green, Looking For Alaska

Cozy Mysteries-Digital Downloads

Leave a reply

Looking for a cozy mystery to read or listen to 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.

MURDER CUTS THE MUSTARD
By Jessica Ellicott

“Witty prose, distinctive characters, and an enchanting setting all make for a winner.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS
By Victoria Gilbert

“Gilbert’s series kickoff offers an intricate mystery, an interesting look at the past, and a clever and determined heroine.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

THE CRACKED SPINE
By Paige Shelton

“This spotlessly clean, fun-filled read takes plenty of twists and turns on the way to the satisfying ending.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

MURDER IN MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS
By Victoria Thompson

“A fantastic historical with a wonderfully plucky amateur female sleuth.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
By Julie Hyzy

“Launching the Manor of Murder series with plenty of thrills and laughs, Hyzy creates the well-researched and believable estate of Marshfield Manor, part mansion and part museum.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
~Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

The Fire and the Darkness: the Bombing of Dresden, 1945

Leave a reply

THE FIRE AND THE DARKNESS: THE BOMBING OF DRESDEN, 1945

by Sinclair McKay

February 13, 2020 marked the 75^th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden, Germany by British and American bombers. Carried out in 3 raids, it was one of the most devastating attacks of World War II. The first raid, beginning at 10:03 p.m. by British bombers, destroyed buildings, roads, and shelters. The second, again by the British, was an incendiary attack that rained fire from the sky to create a fire hurricane which destroyed everything in its path and suffocated those trapped in collapsed buildings and shelters. With the power lines being destroyed in the first raid there were no air-raid sirens to warn of the second raid, leaving many of those who ventured out to help the wounded caught off guard and out in the open. The third raid, carried out the next day by American bombers, destroyed what was left.

A portrait of the city before, during, and after the devastating raids, this is a story told from all points of view: the residents, the bombers, and the city itself. Those living in Dresden believed they would be spared from such an attack because they were seen as an intellectual and cultural city with very little of their manufacturing aiding the war effort. Dresden was not, however, all innocence. Atrocities were carried out every day in the city with the remaining Jews in Dresden getting their “relocation” letter just days before the raid. As much to devastate the city as to devastate morale, the bombing of Dresden remains one the most controversial decisions of World War II. ~ Sue, Circulation

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

The Splendid and the Vile

Leave a reply

THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE

by Erik Larson

Erik Larson is always my go-to author for narrative non-fiction. His newest, THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE, focuses on Winston Churchill, and those around him, during the Blitz. There has been plenty written about the courage and stoicism of the British citizens during World War II, especially during the terror of the Blitz, but Larson delves deeper. His descriptions of the night raids- from the air raid sirens, to the different kinds of bombs, to the fiery destruction left behind, is enthralling. Churchill’s reaction to the air raid sirens (he ran to the roof as everyone else ran for the underground shelters) illustrates his strong and defiant personality. Readers will gain a new respect for this leader and his ability to convince his countrymen, and the world, that they would persevere even as fire literally rained down from the sky. Anyone interested in WWII history, Churchill, or just a great recounting of a seminal event in history will be captivated. ~ Sue, Circulation

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

Check Out These New True Crime Books!

Leave a reply

THE THIRD RAINBOW GIRL by Emma Copley Eisenberg

“Two young women, Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were murdered on June 25, 1980 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Three girls were on their way to a gathering called the Rainbow Festival, and two were murdered en route. What happened to the third? Emma Copley Eisenberg was living in West Virginia when she first came across the story of the murders, and her time spent in the state helps get the texture and nuance right. The result is dazzling.” ~Lisa Levy, CrimeReads contributing editor

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

Kidnapped By a Client by Sharon R. Muse, JD

“Attorney Sharon Muse experienced every defense attorney’s worst nightmare when a former client of hers escalated a pattern of harassment to the point of kidnapping her. After escaping by the skin of her teeth, Muse soon realized her path to justice—and safety—would be long and arduous. This powerful new memoir details her long journey to justice and healing.” ~CrimeReads

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

The Right Book at the Right Time

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

Looking For Romance? Try One of These Popular Books

Slip into some romantic fiction 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.

Popular Digital Biographies and Memoirs

Why not step into someone else’s life for a while by reading or listening to a biography or memoir 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.

What Are We Reading? Popular Fiction-Digital Downloads.

Settle In With These Digital Thrillers

Looking for some thrillers to read or listen to 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.

Interested in History? Try One of These Popular Digital Titles!

Interested in history? 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.

For those interested in Connecticut history, try one of the following. There are more where these came from!

Humorous Fiction-Digital Downloads

Looking for some humorous fiction to read or listen to 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.

Cozy Mysteries-Digital Downloads

Looking for a cozy mystery to read or listen to 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 Fire and the Darkness: the Bombing of Dresden, 1945

The Splendid and the Vile

THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE

by Erik Larson

Check Out These New True Crime Books!