by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian
The adult winter reading program runs until the end of
March, so if you’ve signed up, you still have a couple of weeks to turn in your
book reviews. The mugs are a really
popular prize choice this year. You will
need to read and review three books to get a prize and six to be entered in a
drawing.
One good source for book ideas is BookPage, the book review
magazine we get at the library. It’s
funded by the Friends of the Litchfield Public Library, and many copies are
available at the front desk each month for people to take home. Walter Mosley is on this month’s cover, since
he has a new book out, titled Down the River Unto the Sea.
What else is new in fiction lately? Kristin Hannah has a very popular new book, The Great Alone. In 1974, a former
Vietnam War POW impulsively moves his wife and 13-year-old daughter to Alaska
so that they can live off the grid. But
the family is completely unprepared for the harsh reality of life in the
wilderness. As winter descends, the
father’s mental state deteriorates, and mother and daughter learn just how
alone they are. This one has a bit of a
waiting list, but reviews suggest it’s worth waiting for.
Fifty Fifty is one of James Patterson’s newest, written
with Candice Fox. This is the second
book in the Detective Harriet Blue series.
In this installment, Harriet’s brother has been accused of murder, and
her outburst at his trial gets this Australian detective reassigned to a tiny
town in the Outback. Harry needs to
escape a man holding her hostage to save the people in the town from a mass
murderer and reach a young woman in Sydney who has the information to exonerate
her brother. Thrilling stuff!
The new Girl on the Train is The Woman in the Window by A.J.
Finn. Books with potentially unreliable
narrators have been popular since Gone Girl. The Woman in the Window references Hitchcock movies, with the
agoraphobic main character Anna spending her days watching film noir classics,
drinking wine, and watching her neighbors.
Anna sees something she shouldn’t while spying on the new neighbors, but
is it real or imagined? The book is in
development for a movie version.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones saw a sudden boost in
popularity when Oprah picked it for her latest book club selection. People magazine also named this its book of
the week right before Oprah’s announcement.
Newlyweds in Atlanta are starting on successful careers when husband Roy
is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
His wife struggles alone for five years and takes comfort with an old
friend, and then Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned and he returns to
resume his life with her. Dealing with
issues of race, marriage, and loss, reviewers say Jones has written a complex
and powerful story.
If you liked Me
Before You and After You by Jojo Moyes, you’ll want to read Still Me, the
third in the series. Louisa Clark has
moved from England to New York, taking a job with an extremely rich family and
trying to make a long-distance relationship work. This installment is about Louisa learning to
be herself, and it’s described as funny and charming.
Winter isn’t quite over yet, and March often brings
snowstorms. Pick up a novel or two and
make the best of it.
Happy Pi Day!
