Category Archives: Popular

2023 Adult Reading Challenge! September

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.

September’s theme is: READ A CHALLENGED BOOK! Read any challenged/banned book or any classic you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman

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

 

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison

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

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

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

A New Year, a New Challenge!

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.

 

Summer Reading 2022 August!

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.

 

2022 Adult Reading Challenge! April

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.

2022 Adult Reading Challenge!

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.

January’s theme is NEW YEAR, NEW YOU. Here are a few suggested titles to get you started:

HEALTH & BODY

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

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

SELF HELP

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

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

CRAFTING

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

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

 

 

 

 

Discover a New Author This Summer

The whole family can participate in Summer Reading at the Fairfield Public Library. You can register here.

This week’s featured author is Eric Jerome Dickey, who sadly passed away on January 3, 2021 at the age of 59. An obituary in The New York Times described Dickey as “one of the most successful Black authors of the last quarter-century”. Here are just a few of the titles available at the Fairfield Library.

THE SON OF MR. SULEMAN

“This book is a powerhouse. It is impossible not to become fully absorbed in every scene, the vibrant, dynamic characters drawing you in again and again… All in all, the world through Pi Suleman’s eyes is dark, complex, and endlessly compelling.” ~Associated Press

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

THE BUSINESS OF LOVERS

“In this sensual road trip across LA there are deep conversations, adult situations, and a sweet love story at every turn.” ~Kirkus Reviews

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

NAUGHTIER THAN NICE

“Another white-hot Christmas….Romantic dramas and sexy secrets make for sultry seasonal reading.” ~BookPage

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

AN ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR

“Once again, Eric Jerome Dickey has written a genre bending…story that is chalk full of danger, intrigue, mysterious characters with shady motives, murder, intrigue…and obsession. Oh, and there’s sex. Lots of graphic, erotic, steamy, sweaty, climactic earth-quaking sex…the reader is forewarned: you are in for a hardboiled, fast ride.” ~Seattle-Post Intelligencer

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

A WANTED WOMAN

“A wild, thrilling ride.” ~Ebony

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

 

Popular Books For July

The whole family can participate in Summer Reading at the Fairfield Public Library. You can register here.

Here are the book your friends and neighbors are reading and loving this month.

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME By Laura Dave

“For readers who like a resilient, resourceful heroine and a compelling domestic suspense story.” ~Library Journal

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

LAST SUMMER AT THE GOLDEN HOTEL By Elyssa Friedland

“Written with Friedland’s signature wit and sharp dialogue, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel is an incisive novel that touches on family legacies, nostalgia, and multigenerational dynamics. Readers not content with armchair immersion will want to book their Catskill getaway immediately.” ~Booklist

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

THE GUNCLE by Steven Rowley   **STAFF FAVORITE

“Rowley’s depth and humor will warm even the most jaded hearts.” ~Washington Post

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

THE CELLIST By Daniel Silva

“This book has a twist that is sure to give you chills.” ~Today Show

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

 

Summer Reading is Here!

Sign up for summer reading fun for the whole family at the Fairfield Public Library. You can register here.

This week’s featured author is Paul Doiron, whose Mike Bowditch series is a staff and patron favorite.

THE POACHER’S SON

First in the series, the Down East Editor-in-Chief received great reviews for his debut:        “Equally a story of relationships and an outdoor adventure, this evocative thriller is sure to put Doiron on several 2010 must-read lists.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

TRESPASSER

“Doiron’s plot is heart-pounding, filled with startling twists and turns. The main characters, some lovable and others despicable, are all multidimensional. And the stylish prose is pitch-perfect, especially in its evocative descriptions of the beauty, and occasionally the ugliness, of coastal Maine in early spring. The story’s slam-bang ending leaves Mike’s life in tatters, and the reader anxious to know what the author has in store for him next.”~Associated Press

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

BAD LITTLE FALLS

“A high-stakes, high-tension yarn in which you keep wishing everything would turn out fine for the deeply flawed, deeply sympathetic hero even though you know it won’t.” ~Kirkus

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

MASSACRE POND

Booklist starred review: “This series follows Bowditch from the start of his warden career, and his evolution creates a constantly fresh perspective, nicely paired with solid procedural details and an outdoors education. Massacre Pond, arguably the best yet, boasts fair-minded exploration of Maine’s conflicting environmental and economic interests and marks a turning point for Bowditch, who questions his fit with a career that constantly requires suppressing his instincts.” ~Booklist

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

THE BONE ORCHARD

Massacre Pond is a tough act to follow, but Doiron avoids series stagnancy by placing Bowditch outside of the law-enforcement circle he once loved and treating readers to another round of top-notch outdoors-Maine description. Highly recommended for fans of C.J. Box and Craig Johnson.” ~Booklist

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

THE PRECIPICE

“Doiron brings his gift for making the Maine woods live and breathe to a taut whodunit in his stellar sixth novel featuring game warden Mike Bowditch…Multidimensional characters and a high level of suspense help make this a winner.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

WIDOWMAKER

“A violent, suspenseful, fast-paced tale written in Doiron’s customary tight, vivid prose, with his keen eye for both idiosyncratic Maine characters and the beauty of the natural landscape.” ~Associated Press

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

KNIFE CREEK

“Doiron maintains a high level of suspense while adding new insights into the character of his complex lead.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

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

STAY HIDDEN

“Doiron captures the stark beauty of his setting without averting his eyes from the sick and starving wildlife, the rancorous feuds among the lobstermen or the homicidal impulses that push islanders off the deep end.” ~New York Times Book Review

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

ALMOST MIDNIGHT

Almost Midnight twists between two crises like a braid being drawn ever tighter…each storyline reveals deeper truths about Bowditch and what ties him to people and things he loves…Doiron’s storycraft is razor sharp.” ~Maine Sunday Telegram

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

ONE LAST LIE

“Before you read this book, clear your schedule. It’s the kind of story best read in one gulp…[Doiron] keeps getting better.”  ~New York Journal of Books

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

DEAD BY DAWN

“Brilliant characterizations and a compelling narrative…this series just keeps getting better.” ~Booklist (starred review).

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

 

 

 

 

Summer Reading Fun!

Sign up for summer reading fun for the whole family at the Fairfield Public Library. You can register here.

This week’s featured author is Jill Shalvis and her Wildstone series. These are perfect beach reads.

LOST AND FOUND SISTERS

“Shalvis has crafted a wonderful summer read that will fit right in with beach blankets, flip-flops, and maybe a little moonshine.” ~ Library Journal (starred review)

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

RAINY DAY FRIENDS

“With a fast pace and a lovely mix of romance and self-discovery, Shalvis’s novel is chock-full of magnetic characters and seamless storytelling, rich with emotions, and impossible to put down.” ~ Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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

THE LEMON SISTERS

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, or to place a hold, please click here.

ALMOST JUST FRIENDS

“Tender … Believable, realistic characters are at the heart of this novel. Shalvis will immediately grab the reader’s attention with a strong heroine and caring connection between two wounded souls.” ~ Publishers Weekly

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

THE SUMMER DEAL

“Readers will find it easy to root for Shalvis’s stubborn, vulnerable heroines to recognize both the decency and compassion of the sexy men who love them and their own worthiness to be loved. This heartfelt tale is thoroughly satisfying.” ~Publishers Weekly

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

THE FOREVER GIRL

“Shalvis capably weaves the complex, intertwining relationships into an appealing story of second chances. This is sure to satisfy.”  ~ Publishers Weekly

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

LOVE FOR BEGINNERS

“The novel whizzes by. Shalvis’s fans will be pleased with the message that everyone deserves a second chance.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

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

Popular Titles For June

What your friends and neighbors are reading this month:

THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME  by Laura Dave

“Dave pulls off something that feels both new and familiar: a novel of domestic suspense that unnerves, then reassures. This is the antithesis of the way novels like Gone Girl or My Lovely Wife are constructed; in The Last Thing He Told Me, the surface is ugly, the situation disturbing, but almost everyone involved is basically good underneath it all. Dave has given readers what many people crave right now—a thoroughly engrossing yet comforting distraction.”~  BookPage

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

GOLDEN GIRL by Elin Hilderbrand

“This sweeping love story is Hilderbrand’s best ever. . . Her stories are relatable in an aspirational way, but her attention to detail is what makes her characters feel like living, breathing people you want to know. They would never skimp on citronella candles; they would save the least creaky rocking chair for you.”~ Elisabeth EganNew York Times Book Review

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

MALIBU RISING by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“It’s 1983 in Malibu, and the famous Riva siblings are hosting their annual end-of-summer party—a legendary affair. By morning, the house is in flames, a blaze fueled by smoldering secrets and long-simmering drama. [Taylor Jenkins] Reid has once again crafted a fast-paced, engaging novel that smoothly transports readers between decades and story lines.” ~The Washington Post

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

HOUR OF THE WITCH by Chris Bohjalian

“Bohjalian blends historical fiction with a thrilling courtroom drama. . . A fascinating and immersive read… What makes this novel remarkable and compulsively readable is Bohjalian’s uncanny ability to capture the Puritan perspective… Hour of the Witch is at once brilliantly idiosyncratic while also recognizable. This genre-defying thriller is sure to become a staple of book clubs and a favorite of historical mystery fans.
~BookPage

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