Library Reads: February 2014

Remember to use the tag Library Reads to pull up past lists.  At this point, we have a few month's worth, so you can start going back to September 2013's list and use the titles there for your readers who just can't figure out what they want. 

List link and then embedded list below.

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February 2014 Library Reads List

Red Rising

by Pierce Brown

Published: 1/28/2014 by Del Rey
ISBN: 9780345539786
“The next great read for those who loved The Hunger Games. This story has so much action, intrigue, social commentary and character development that the reader who never reads science fiction will happily overlook the fact that the story takes place on Mars far in the future. The characters are perfectly flawed, causing the reader to feel compassion and revulsion for both sides. Can’t wait for the next installment!”

Cindy Stevens, Pioneer Library System, Norman, OK

 The Good Luck of Right Now: A Novel

by Matthew Quick

Published: 2/11/2014 by Harper
ISBN: 9780062285539
“Socially-awkward 40-year-old Bartholomew has lived with his mother all his life and has never held a job. When she succumbs to cancer, he channels her favorite actor, Richard Gere, to make her happy during her last days. Funny and sad, with moving, unsentimental prose and a quick, satisfying pace. Highly recommended.”

Michael Colford, Boston Public Library, Boston, MA

 

This Dark Road to Mercy: A Novel

by Wiley Cash

Published: 1/28/2014 by William Morrow
ISBN: 9780062088253
“Cash’s second novel is as good as his first. In this story, we meet Easter and her sister Ruby, who have been shuffled around the foster care system in Gastonia, North Carolina. Then their ne’er-do-well father whisks them away in the middle of the night. I was on the edge of my seat as I followed the girls’ tale and hoping for a safe outcome. Fans of A Land More Kind Than Home will enjoy this book as well.”

Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH

The Martian: A Novel

by Andy Weir

Published: 2/11/2014 by Crown
ISBN: 9780804139021
“An edge-of-your seat debut thriller with laugh-out-loud dialogue mixed in. After a bad storm cuts his team’s Mars mission short, injured astronaut Mark Watley is stranded. Now he’s got to figure out how to survive without air, shelter, food, or water on the harsh Martian landscape until the next manned mission in four years. It’s Science Fiction with a capital S, but Weir does a fabulous job of making it accessible to non-science geeks (like me).”

Dan Brooks, Wake County Public Libraries, Cary, NC

After I’m Gone: A Novel

by Laura Lippman

Published: 2/11/2014 by William Morrow
ISBN: 9780062083395
“So much fun to read. In Lippman’s newest book, bookie Felix Brewer goes missing just before his indictment because he can’t stand the thought of spending years in prison. He leaves behind a wife, three young daughters, a mistress, and Burt, his best friend and attorney. Enter retired police detective Sandy Bayard who works as a consultant on cold cases. A delicious bon bon!”

Anne Lee, Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Ripper: A Novel

by Isabel Allende

Published: 1/28/2014 by Harper
ISBN: 9780062291400
“Allende does an amazing job of developing characters in this taut, suspenseful literary thriller. The story has a lightning-fast denouement, and the mystery is artfully styled to keep the reader guessing.”

Amanda Viana, Norton Public Library, Norton, MA

The Ghost of the Mary Celeste: A Novel

by Valerie Martin

Published: 1/28/2014 by Nan A. Talese
ISBN: 9780385533508

“A cargo ship sailing from New York to Italy is discovered empty and drifting near Gibraltar in the 1870s. The mystery brings grief to two Massachusetts seafaring families and ignites the public’s imagination, including one Arthur Conan Doyle, who authors a fantastical magazine piece that purports to be an account by the ship’s doctor. Crossing time and space, this wide-ranging story proves Martin once again to be a master of the historical novel.”

Margaret Donovan, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA

The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress

by Ariel Lawhon

Published: 1/28/2014 by Doubleday
ISBN: 9780385537629
“A captivating mystery, based on the real-life disappearance of New York Supreme Court Judge Joseph Crater. Told through the voices of the three women closest to Judge Crater–his trophy wife, his beautiful maid, and his Broadway starlet mistress– this is excellent historical fiction, about the era of Prohibition and the culture of 1930s New York City. Riveting characters make for a quick and entertaining read.”

Mary Vernau, Tyler Public Library, Tyler, TX

The Winter People: A Novel

by Jennifer McMahon

Published: 2/11/2014 by Doubleday
ISBN: 9780385538497
“The small Vermont town of West Hall has been the scene of mysterious deaths, disappearances, and ghost sightings. The scattered pages of a turn-of-the-century diary relate the events that lead to a murder and the apparent beginning of all the trouble. Odd and intriguing clues emerge, and the final conclusion is thrilling.”

Nancy Russell, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH

E.E. Cummings: A Life

by Susan Cheever

Published: 2/11/2014 by Pantheon
ISBN: 9780307379979
“Cummings is a pivotal figure in the creation of modern verse, and Cheever conveys his journey with color, warmth, and understanding, especially his imprisonment in France during the First World War, his father’s death and his final reunion with his daughter. She leaves the reader with only one wish: to be a fly on the wall while the poet held forth to his friends.”

Linda Jeffries-Summers, Howard County Library, Columbia, MD