Category Archives: Popular

2024 Adult Reading Challenge! March

Adults! Welcome to year 3 of our year-long reading challenge. Explore different genres, discover new authors and be entered to win prizes. To complete the challenge, read just one book in each category by midnight on December 31st, 2024. Earn bigger prizes by reading more!

To register, or to sign in, please click here.

March’s genre is College Town – focus on books that involve colleges, campuses, or college students. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt

” Entertaining, evocative first novel; 12 weeks on PW ‘s bestseller list.” ~PW

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

MOO by Jane Smiley

“Effortlessly switching gears after the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Thousand Acres, Smiley delivers a surprising tour de force, a satire of university life that leaves no aspect of contemporary academia unscathed.” ~PW

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

ADMISSION by Jean Hanff Korelitz

“Korelitz’s fourth novel (after The White Rose) vividly brings to life the incredible stress borne by admissions workers. Readers will experience the challenge of the admissions process at an Ivy League school, where every applicant tends toward the extraordinary. This engaging and surprisingly suspenseful novel is highly recommended” ~LJ

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

THE INCENDIARIES by R.O. Kwon

“Written in dazzling, spare prose, Kwon’s debut tells the fractured story of three young people looking for something to believe in while attending the prestigious Edwards University.” ~PW

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

2024 Adult Reading Challenge! February

Adults! Welcome to year 3 of our year-long reading challenge. Explore different genres, discover new authors and be entered to win prizes. To complete the challenge, read just one book in each category by midnight on December 31st, 2024. Earn bigger prizes by reading more!

To register, or to sign in, please click here.

February’s genre is Authentic Voices – focus on Indigenous and BIPOC authors and topics. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones

“…Jones’ skillfully constructed narrative feels all too timely. It’s at once a powerful portrayal of marriage and a shrewd exploration of America’s justice system. ” ~BookPage Reviews

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

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN by Louise Erdrich

“National Book Award winner Erdrich once again calls upon her considerable storytelling skills to elucidate the struggles of generations of Native people to retain their cultural identity and their connection to the land.”~ Library Journal

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

CASTE: THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENTS by Isabel Wilkerson

“Similar to her previous book, the latest by Wilkerson is destined to become a classic, and is urgent, essential reading for all.” ~Library Journal

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

RUN ME TO EARTH by Paul Yoon

“Essential reading as Americans continue to grapple with its Asian adventure and for anyone interested in top-drawer literature.” ~Library Journal

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

 

New Year, New Challenge! Adult Reading Genre Book Challenge 2024

Adults! Welcome to year 3 of our year-long reading challenge. Explore different genres, discover new authors and be entered to win prizes. To complete the challenge, read just one book in each category by midnight on December 31st, 2024. Earn bigger prizes by reading more!

To register, or to sign in, please click here.

Let’s start the year with Award Winners – If it won an award somewhere, it counts! Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

THE HOUSEKEEPERS by Alex Hay

“This wonderfully inventive story paints an authentic portrait of London society in the early 1900s and is full of shocking secrets, suspense, hidden identities, flamboyant characters, and subtle humor; there’s even an unexpectedly satisfying ending. Fans of historical fiction, strong female characters, and twisty, pacy thrillers will love it.” ~Booklist

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

MAAME by Jessica George

“In this pitch-perfect debut, George captures the uncertainty, freedom, and anxiety of a London woman’s mid-20s.” Publisher’s Weekly

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

HUNGRY GHOSTS by Kevin Jared Hosein

“A highly recommended story of family and class divides that will break readers’ hearts.” ~ Library Journal

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

THE GOLDEN SPOON by Jessa Maxwell

“A delectable tour de force of baking and mayhem, Maxwell’s debut mystery is one to savor…With meticulous plotting and the grand backdrop of a country home, this is a thoroughly entertaining, well-crafted read.” ~Library Journal

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

 

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.