Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The ABC Libraries' Best Books of 2011

All books listed below are recommended by library staff.  Thanks to all the staff members who suggested titles!

Fiction

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch

Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

The Free World by David Bezmozgis

There But For The by Ali Smith

Deathless by Catherynne Valente

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath

Love You More by Lisa Gardner

Fallen by Karin Slaughter

The Bride's House by Sandra Dallas

The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto

Heartless by Gail Carriger

Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami


Children's & Young Adult Fiction


A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The Isle of Blood by William James Henry ; edited by Rick Yancey

Lost & Found: three by Shaun Tan


Nonfiction

It Looked Different on the Model: Epic Tales of Impending Shame and Infamy by Laurie Notaro

Life by Keith Richards, James Fox

View From Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World by Carl Safina

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal

Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan by Jeff Greenfield

Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx

Wicked Bugs: The Louse that Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects by Amy Stewart

The Churchills: In Love & War by Mary Lovell

Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past by Simon Reynolds

Just My Type: A Book about Fonts by Simon Garfield

Blood, Bones, & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton



Here are the ABC Libraries' customers' favorites - or at least the ones that had the highest circulation in November & December.


Top 20 Book Checkouts for ABC Libraries (system-wide)

Fiction
  1. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
  2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  3. The Confession by John Grisham
  4. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
  5. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
  6. Toys by James Patterson
  7. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson
  8. Bel-Air Dead by Stuart Woods
  9. The Reversal by Michael Connelly
  10. Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
  11. Tick Tock by James Patterson
  12. Cross Fire by James Patterson
  13. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  14. Live Wire by Harlan Coben
  15. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
  16. Sixkill by Robert B. Parker
  17. Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman
  18. I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark
  19. Now You See Her by James Patterson
  20. Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson
Non-Fiction

  1. Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
  2. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
  3. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
  4. Cracking the GED
  5. The World Book Encyclopedia
  6. Bossypants by Tina Fey
  7. The Guinness Book of Records
  8. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
  9. Moon Handbooks
  10. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
  11. The Greater Journey by David G. McCullough
  12. Barron's Pass Key to the GED High School Equivalency Exam
  13. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  14. A Stolen Life by Jaycee Lee Dugard
  15. Troublemaker by Janet Evanovich
  16. Kill-A-Watt energy detector
  17. Cracking the SAT
  18. Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff
  19. I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
  20. Cracking the ACT
Just for fun:  check out Stereotyping You by Your Favorite Book of 2011!  If I were to pick my favorite off this list, it would be Bossypants, putting me in the "Hilarious ladies and the ladies who want to be them" category.

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