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2024 Adult Reading Challenge! April

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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.

April’s genre is The Gilded Age – focus on books set in the late 1800’s. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

LAST DAYS OF NIGHT by Graham Moore

“A thought-provoking, suspenseful novel, surprising in its focus, like Matthew Pearl’s The Technologists (2012); illuminative of character, like Bernadette Pajer’s The Edison Effect (2014); and displaying the keen biographical insights of Vladimir Pištalo’s Tesla: A Portrait with Masks (2015).” ~Booklist

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

THE SOCIAL GRACES by Renee Rosen

“After Park Avenue Summer (2019), a tale set in 1960s New York, Rosen presents an engaging novel of 1870s high-society foibles that will please book clubs and fans of glittering frock flicks.” ~Booklist

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

AMERICAN EVE : EVELYN NESBIT, STANFORD WHITE, THE BIRTH OF THE “IT” GIRL, AND THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY  by Paula Uruburu

“All the decadent details revealed at the trial were devoured by a public just as hungry to see young, beautiful, and successful women crash and burn as they are today. Uruburu draws some valid comparisons between then and now in this tell-all biography of one of the first in a long line of tarnished “It Girls.” ~Booklist

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

MURDER AT THE BREAKERS by Alyssa Maxwell

“Maxwell’s portrait of Gilded Age mores, with a little leeway for romantic attachments, provides an opportunity for readers to consider how wealth and status can be as restrictive as it is empowering. This is a promising start to an engaging mystery series filled with smart observations.” ~Library Journal

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

ASTOR : THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN FORTUNE by Anderson Cooper

“*Starred Review* This history of the Astor family, one of America’s richest and most influential dynasties, serves as a worthy companion to superstar journalist Cooper and novelist Howe’s best-selling account of Cooper’s own family, Vanderbilt (2021).” ~Booklist

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

 

2024 Adult Reading Challenge! March

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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

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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

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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! May

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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.

May’s theme is: MUSIC IN MAY! Read any book about music, bands, musicians or singers.. that you haven’t yet read. Here are a few titles to get you started:

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

STARRED REVIEW: “This is a fast-paced ride, firmly rooted in the pulp horror tradition, but with thought-provoking social criticism and a sense of fear that rises from the terrifying implication that we are all willing to sell our souls on the cheap. Hendrix’s darkest novel yet will leave readers begging for an encore.” ~Booklist

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

The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

“Paired with his sparkling wit, this humility is what makes Grohl’s soulful story a cut above typical rock memoirs. There isn’t a dull moment here.” ~PW

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

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

STARRED REVIEW: “Framed as a tell-all biography compiled through interviews and articles, Reid’s (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, 2017) novel so resembles a memoir of a real band and conjures such true-to-life images of the seventies music scene that readers will think they’re listening to Fleetwood Mac or Led Zeppelin. Reid is unsurpassed in her ability to create complex characters working through emotions that will make your toes curl.” ~Booklist

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.