2023 Adult Reading Challenge! March

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!    JOIN OUR EXPLORING GENRES BOOK CLUB!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2023! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t need to create a new account.  Visit Beanstack here.

March’s theme is: Back to Nature. Read any book about nature, gardening, animals – your choice on how to explore nature that you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

For an extended recommended list, please click here.

A New Year, a New Challenge!

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!    JOIN OUR EXPLORING GENRES BOOK CLUB!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2023! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t                             need to create a new account.          Visit Beanstack here.

January’s theme is: BLAST FROM THE PAST! Read any historical fiction, history, or biography that you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM
By Marie Benedict

“Benedict paints a shining portrait of a complicated woman who knows the astonishing power of her beauty but longs to be recognized for her sharp intellect. Readers will be enthralled.” ~PW

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

THE NICKEL BOYS
By Colson Whitehead

“Inspired by horrific events that transpired at the real-life Dozier School for Boys, Whitehead’s brilliant examination of America’s history of violence is a stunning novel of impeccable language and startling insight.” ~PW

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

THE ADDRESS
By Fiona Davis

“Davis (The Dollhouse) has folded together two historical eras in this breezy historical novel that jumps between Gilded Age and Reagan-era New York City. ” ~PW

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

AMERICAN MIDNIGHT
By Adam Hochschild

“Meticulously researched, fluidly written, and frequently enraging, this is a timely reminder of the “vigilant respect for civil rights and Constitutional safeguards” needed to protect democracy and forestall authoritarianism.” ~PW

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

THE REVOLUTIONARY: SAMUEL ADAMS
By Stacy Schiff

“Fast-paced and enlightening, this is a must-read for colonial history buffs. ” ~PW

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

 

2022 Adult Reading Challenge! December

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2022! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t need to create a new account.

Visit Beanstack here.

Our theme for December is: DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION. Read any family drama or personal memoir that you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

SEVEN DAYS OF US
By Francesca Hornak

“Hornak lets each member of the dysfunctional Birch ensemble narrate in turn, so the reader gains a full picture of the family dynamics. Alternately tender and razor-sharp, Seven Days of Us will resonate with anyone who regresses the minute they step inside their childhood home.” ~Booklist

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

THE LESS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT US
By Axton Betz-Hamilton

” A poignant and fascinating exploration of identity theft. This book will appeal to those with an interest in family-centered memoirs and crime.” ~LJ

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

THE FAMILY PLOT
By Megan Collins

“This is an entertaining as well as chilling tale of family secrets, lies, and primordial fears.” ~PW

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

 

2022 Adult Reading Challenge! November

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2022! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t need to create a new account.

Visit Beanstack here.

Our theme for November is: GOOD EATS. Read any cookbook, chef memoir, food history, or basically anything yum, that you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

GROUNDS FOR MURDER
By Tara Lush

“Lana’s voyage of self-discovery, along with her new-agey father, quirky hire Erica, and feisty puppy Stanley, portend future fun for readers.” ~ PW

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

RODNEY SCOTT’S WORLD OF BBQ: EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY: A COOKBOOK
By Rodney Scott

“Scott’s intensely flavorful recipes and masterful grill techniques are exceptional. This fired-up collection does not disappoint.” ~PW

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

 

2022 Adult Reading Challenge! September

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2022! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t need to create a new account.

Visit Beanstack here.

Our theme for September is: READ A BANNED BOOK. Read any banned book or any classic that you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

BEARTOWN
By Fredrik Backman

“[It’s] Backman’s rich characters that steal the show, and his deft handling of tragedy and its effects on an insular town. While the story is dark at times, love, sacrifice, and the bonds of friendship and family shine through ultimately offering hope and even redemption.”  ~Publishers Weekly

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

READY PLAYER ONE
By Ernest Cline

“Gorgeously geeky, superbly entertaining, this really is a spectacularly successful debut.”    ~Daily Mail (UK)

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

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
By Harper Lee

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

MAUS: A SURVIVOR’S TALE
By Art Spiegelman

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

Summer Reading 2022 August!

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Summer 2022 is all about Fairfield! What do you love about your town? How can you share your story? Learn something new, get creative, and have fun while earning points toward our community goal! We challenge Fairfielders of all ages to reach 1 million points together by the end of the summer. Express yourself, attend events, write book reviews, complete bonus activities, and of course READ to earn points and help reach our goal this year! Your story begins at home!

Sign in or register for summer reading fun for the whole family here.

Here are a few books that will help you earn points this month in both the year-long Adult Reading Challenge AND the Summer Adult Reading Challenge. Let the reading begin!

RIVER OF THE GODS
By Candice Millard

“Millard’s lushly detailed adventure story keeps a steady eye on the racial power dynamics involved in this imperialist endeavor and brilliantly illuminates the characters of Burton, Speke, and Bombay. Readers will be riveted.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

A FLICKER IN THE DARK
By Stacy Willingham

“Willingham skillfully intercuts Chloe’s anxious first-person narration in the present with flashbacks to her childhood, ratcheting up the tension. Atmospheric prose and abundant red herrings amplify the tale’s intensity. Willingham is a writer to watch.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

BILLY SUMMERS
By Stephen King

“This is another outstanding outing from a writer who consistently delivers more than his readers expect.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

THE CHANGE
By Kirsten Miller

“Miller’s book is that rare treat: a suspenseful story with great pacing, memorable characters, and an engaging voice. Fantastic in every way, this fierce anthem against misogyny is a smash.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

THE LIONESS
By Chris Bohjalian

“Stark and dark, violent and vivid, this may be versatile Bohjalian’s most harrowing work since Skeletons of the Feast (2008). Intimately researched, the Serengeti’s beauty and brutality are vibrantly infused in every scene, a grounding counterpoint to the competing dynamics of human cruelty and compassion.” ~Booklist

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

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BENNETTS
By Lisa Scottoline

“A high-octane thriller whose hero is tossed into one impossible situation after another. Best started early in the morning.” ~Kirkus

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

 

Summer Reading 2022 July!

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Summer 2022 is all about Fairfield! What do you love about your town? How can you share your story? Learn something new, get creative, and have fun while earning points toward our community goal! We challenge Fairfielders of all ages to reach 1 million points together by the end of the summer. Express yourself, attend events, write book reviews, complete bonus activities, and of course READ to earn points and help reach our goal this year! Your story begins at home!

Sign in or register for summer reading fun for the whole family here.

Here are a few books that will help you earn points this month in both the year-long Adult Reading Challenge AND the Summer Adult Reading Challenge. Let the reading begin!

BOOK LOVERS
By Emily Henry

“Truly a book for book lovers and a romance for romance lovers, this novel will delight Henry’s fans, as well as readers of smart, sexy, and funny romances with emotional depth and storylines featuring family dynamics.” ~Library Journal

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

EVERY SUMMER AFTER
By Carley Fortune

“Centered on redemption and forgiveness, this sweeping, heartfelt romance proves impossible to put down.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

UNDER THE SKY WE MAKE
By Kimberly Nicholas, PHD

“Some of the author’s recommendations have been voiced by other climate activists, but she writes with welcome clarity and little partisan cheerleading. Readers looking to save the world—and humanity—should take an interest in this harm-reducing program.” ~Kirkus

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

HOW TO AVOID A CLIMATE DISASTER
By Bill Gates

“Though Gates doesn’t shy away from acknowledging the daunting challenges ahead, his narrative contains enough confidence—and hard science and economics—to convince many readers that his blueprint is one of the most viable yet. A supremely authoritative and accessible plan for how we can avoid a climate catastrophe.” ~Kirkus

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

 

 

Summer Reading 2022!

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Summer 2022 is all about Fairfield! What do you love about your town? How can you share your story? Learn something new, get creative, and have fun while earning points toward our community goal! We challenge Fairfielders of all ages to reach 1 million points together by the end of the summer. Express yourself, attend events, write book reviews, complete bonus activities, and of course READ to earn points and help reach our goal this year! Your story begins at home!

Sign in or register for summer reading fun for the whole family here.

Here are a few books that will help you earn points this month in both the year-long Adult Reading Challenge AND the Summer Adult Reading Challenge. Let the reading begin!

THE DIAMOND EYE
By Kate Quinn

“Quinn (The Rose Code) draws on a historical female sharpshooter from WWII in her exciting latest…Historical fiction fans will be riveted.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

BOOTH
By Karen Joy Fowler

“Ostensibly about the family of Shakespearean actors best known for their connection to Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, Fowler’s novel explores tensions surrounding race, politics, and culture in 19th-century America.” ~Kirkus

“Throughout, the nuanced plot is both historically rigorous and richly imagined. This is a winner.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

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

THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE
By Matthew Pearl

“This is a stimulating read which honors the complexity of the events described. History buffs will eat it up.” ~Library Journal

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

“Davis’s grit and determination are moving, and her unflinching reckoning with the “racism and misogyny” she faced in Hollywood makes her story of overcoming all the more effective. Fans will be utterly enthralled.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

FINDING ME
By Viola Davis

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

 

 

2022 Adult Reading Challenge! May

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2022! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t need to create a new account.

Visit Beanstack here..

Our theme for May is MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU. Choose from science-fiction or fantasy. Do it or do not, there is no try. Here are a few titles to get you started:

KLARA AND THE SUN
by Kazuo Ishiguro

“Nobel laureate Ishiguro takes readers to a vaguely futuristic, technologically advanced setting reminiscent of his Never Let Me Go for a surprising parable about love, humanity, and science…This dazzling genre-bending work is a delight.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

THE ECHO WIFE
by Sarah Gailey

“Gailey’s expertise with suspense and their success in presenting the reader with impossible choices about the ethics of cloning, biological programming and editing, and of Evelyn’s specific, difficult situation, will leave the reader thinking about the novel long after the final page.” ~Booklist

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

NOOR
by Nnedi Okorafor

“Okorafor packs swift action and harsh emotions into this slim novella, showing her strengths once again as a speculative fiction writer.” ~Library Journal

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

DARK MATTER
by Blake Crouch

“With a finale that satisfies while leaving the reader with much to reflect on, Dark Matter is a brilliant beacon in the landscape of speculative thrillers.” ~Book Page

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

GOLIATH
by Tochi Onyebuchi

“Onyebuchi’s novel is a full sensory experience of language and imagery, set in a near-future world where race, class, and gentrification still drive conflict, both on Earth and in the stars.” ~Library Journal

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

2022 Adult Reading Challenge! April

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DISCOVER DIFFERENT GENRES!    FIND NEW AUTHORS!    WIN PRIZES!

Join us for a fun book challenge throughout 2022! Sign up and keep track via Beanstack. If you’ve participated in any of our recent summer or winter reading challenges, you’re all set to go and don’t need to create a new account.

Visit Beanstack here.

Our theme for April is CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. Choose from travel memoirs, natural disasters, and survival stories. Here are a few titles to get you started:

FROM SCRATCH: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, SICILY, AND FINDING HOME
By Tembi Locke

“Readers will not want to put Locke’s memoir down, so compellingly does she describe her unique experiences and the universal ups and downs of life.” ~Booklist

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

THE LONGEST WAY HOME : ONE MAN’S QUEST FOR THE COURAGE TO SETTLE DOWN                         By Andrew McCarthy

“Though most recognizable as a member of the group of actors known in the 1980s as the Brat Pack, actor and travel journalist McCarthy (editor-at-large, National Geographic Traveler) shows off his writing chops in this memoir of his gradual resolution of the major conflicts in his life: to wander or to settle, to commit or to be free, to be lonely or to be sociable.” ~Library Journal

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

ISAAC’S STORM: A MAN, A TIME, AND THE DEADLIEST HURRICANE IN HISTORY
By Erik Larson

“Poignant details and sweeping narrative create a book that is hard to put down even though the outcome is a well-known historical fact: more than 6000 dead and an entire city devastated. At the same time, Larson chronicles a critical period of history for the National Weather Bureau. The blatant errors in judgment led to changes within that federal agency. More than anything, this is a gripping and heartbreaking story of what happens when arrogance meets the immutable forces of nature.” ~SLJ

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

IN HARM’S WAY : THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS AND THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF ITS SURVIVORS
By Doug Stanton

“A crisp, well-executed reconstruction of naval warfare’s darkest chapter: the sinking and abandonment of the USS Indianapolis.” ~Kirkus

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