Notable fiction books this year include The Paris Wife - Paula McLain's take on Hemingway's first marriage - and the baseball story The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, along with Julian Barnes's Booker Prize-winning The Sense of an Ending and popular favorites such as The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon and Pictures of the Past by local author Deby Eisenberg. See the full list of Best Fiction of 2011.

Stephen King topped the Best Thrillers of 2011 list with 11/22/63, a gripping tale of a time traveler out to stop the assassination of JFK. S.J. Watson's Before I Go to Sleep and Alice LaPlante's Turn of Mind both featured protagonists grappling with memory loss while under duress.

Newly translated Danish authors join the Scandinavian crime wave on the Best Mysteries of 2011 list - Jussi Adler-Olsen with The Keeper of Lost Causes and Lene Kaarberbol & Agnete Friis with The Boy in the Suitcase. Old hand Lawrence Block delivers an early tale from his popular Matthew Scudder series, A Drop of the Hard Stuff, while Felix Francis continues in his father Dick Francis's footsteps with Gamble.

A Dance with Dragons, the latest entry in George R.R. Martin's series that began with A Game of Thrones, is among the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2011. Fans of space opera will enjoy Leviathan Wakes by James Corey, while urban fantasy lovers have much to choose from including Hounded by Kevin Hearne, Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill, and Ghost Story from the ever-popular Jim Butcher.

Romance readers will find a wide variety of love stories on the Best Romances of 2011 list. Contemporary fare ranges from down-home tales such as Lori Wilde's The Welcome Home Garden Club to fast-paced romantic suspense like Cindy Gerard's With No Remorse. Along with numerous Regency romances, historical fans will find In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks and Texas Blue by Jodi Thomas.

Frankie Pratt is a small town girl who records her 1920s life on her father’s old Smith Corona.  Along with her chronicle, Frankie adds memorabilia from her life and the time period.  The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures  is presented as part-story, part-scrapbook – the narrative is enhanced with vintage photographs and other real ephemera of the day.  The result is a nostalgic and literally colorful story of a young girl’s adventure through life from small town to big city and everywhere in between. The author, a former archivist, uses items she has collected, as well as period photos and ads, to enrich Frankie’s captivating story.   The result is sort of a three-dimensional novel that is a truly unique and enjoyable read.

--- Lori S., Reader Services

Are you a Palahniuk fan? Then this post is for you. In October, good old Chuck released his last book, Damned, and much to his fans’ enjoyment, it seems like a return to form. On the surface, Damned is simply the story of a girl. Madison is a 13-year-old outcast, and an average adolescent – that is, until she wakes up not only dead, but in Hell. Madison decides to solve the mystery of how she ended up in the same place as Adolf Hitler is this quirky and oddly charming story. Full of all the gore and shock that Chuck Palahniuk is known for, Damned is kind of a devilish Breakfast Club type tale. Recommended for fans for Palahniuk's early work or Bret Easton Ellis.

--Leah W.

Every once in awhile, I read a book that brings to mind the word “quirky.”  Whether it be the characters, the plot, or both, the unusual elements of a novel that bring to mind the word “quirky” usually endear it to me.  Such a book is The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson.  The Fangs are a quite a quirky family, though no relation to vampires.  Lead by Caleb and Camille, famous performance artists whose works of art consist of basically creating chaos and documenting it, the Fang family also includes children Annie and Buster or “Child A” and “Child B” as they are known for their roles in their parents’works of live art.  These performances somewhat traumatize the kids, who end up feeling like they are always somehow part of an approaching disaster staged by their parents. Adult Annie and Buster escape their eccentric parents, actually having made successes of themselves initially as actress and author, before starting downward spirals that are disastrous, forcing them to reluctantly return to the family home to regain their footing.  What happens is truly funny and suspenseful, as neither Annie nor Buster realizes that can truly escape the Fang legacy. Quirky and unconventional, The Family Fang is a truly unique family story.

--- Lori S.

Bees are big business. Without bees, you can say goodbye to our plentiful supply of almonds, cherries, and other blooming fruits. But being a beekeeper is heroic and tragic work. Bees, now a completely domesticated species, are prey to viruses and fungi and the mysterious devastation of Colony Collapse Disorder.  Some are calling bees the environmental canary in the coal mine.  Filled with surprising insights into the life cycle of the honey bee, The Beekeeper’s Lament follows a third generation beekeeper through a year of herculean and loving labor to keep his hives alive.

Every couple of months, I join my counterparts from various suburban libraries for a “roundtable” discussion of books and reading.  We all read on a theme, and this past month it was “Fiction Featuring Real People.”  While some novels are fictionalized accounts of a person’s life, others use history as a setting for an original story. We noted that we frequently turn to print or online historical sources to verify how much liberty the author took with what “really” happened. Most of us agreed that although we are willing to forgive literary license in the name of storytelling, accuracy is still important. We dislike obvious anachronisms or blatantly wrong facts that might have been avoided with a little research.  Here is a sampling of the books that we discussed:

The 19^th Wife by David Ebershoff: The history of polygamy in the Mormon Church intertwines with the story of Ann Eliza Young, the nineteenth wife of Brigham Young,

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland: The story of Clara, the woman behind many of Tiffany’s lamp designs.

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks:  Brooks’ latest work of historical fiction is based on the life of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir: Weir paints a portrait of the life of Elizabeth I before she became queen.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin: Mid-nineteenth-century little person Mercy Levinia Warren Bump comes of age in the antebellum south before being invited to join the P. T. Barnum circus.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain: The author recreates Hadley Hemingway’s tumultuous relationship with husband Ernest in 1920s Paris.

 -- Lori S., Reader Services

With all the hype surrounding the film release of The Help this week, it made me wonder what other books will be released as movies within the next year.  Here are a few, in case you want to check out the books before seeing the films (click on the book title to check availability at NPL):

We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, A Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever  is author Benjamin Mee's story of buying and running a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside.  The movie version, starring Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon, shifts the setting to the U.S. and opens December 23.

Another upcoming film that switches from the book location of the U.K. to the setting of the U.S. is I Don’t Know How She Does It, based on the novel by Allison Pearson.  It stars Sarah Jessica Parker as Kate Reddy, who juggles her career, motherhood and being the happily married wife of an out-of-work architect, played by Greg Kinnear. The movie opens September 16.

Michael Lewis’ bestseller, Moneyball, hits the big screen on September 23. It’s the true story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players. Brad Pitt stars as Beane with a supporting cast that includes Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

A few others of note: Tinker, Tailor Soldier Spy (11/18), We Need to Talk About Kevin (9/28), and the American film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (12/21).  Happy reading…and viewing!

 Lori Siegel, Reader Services

The summer reading logs are pouring in, as are reviews from our patrons and staff.  Here are a few:

Actress and author Fannie Flagg is a popular favorite for those who love Southern fiction filled with colorful characters. Remember Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café?  Flagg’s latest, I Still Dream About You, follows Maggie Fortenberry, an aging former Miss Alabama, now real-estate agent, who always tries to appear happy, but is buckling under the weight of disappointments.  In fact, she's come up with 16 "perfectly good reasons to jump in the river" and only two reasons not to. Of course, there is hope to be found even in Maggie's darkest hours. Patron Michele B. loved how the author combined humor with sadness.

Veteran writer Frederick Forsyth’s latest political thriller, The Cobra is full of intrigue and suspense.  Cobra is a master spy and ex-CIA agent called out of retirement by the President to combat the world cocaine trade. Having unlimited funds and use of the military, Cobra and his accomplices engage in a tense battle with a nasty drug cartel.  Patron Sandra B. thought it was a great mystery and found it hard to put down.

In addition to a fantastic staff, the Northbrook Public Library is lucky to have a fleet of devoted volunteers who give their time to help with various tasks.  One such volunteer in the Reader Services Department is Marilyn T., a former library employee and avid reader.  Marilyn recommends The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai.  The main character, Lucy Hull is a children’s librarian who helps her favorite patron, a book-loving ten-year-old, run away from overbearing parents who force him to attend anti-gay classes with a celebrity pastor.  As Lucy flees with the boy, she discovers that they are being pursued by an anonymous adversary. Marilyn comments that The Borrower is “a very special book; anyone who loves books and loves libraries will find this book wonderful.”

Thanks to our patrons and staff for reviews, keep ‘em coming!

Lori Siegel, Reader Services

Kids don’t get to have all the fun this summer – adults have their own reading club.  Sign up at the 3^rd floor Reader Services Desk (be among the first and receive a tote bag).  As you fill out your reading log, bring it in after 5 books for free library DVD rental coupons and be entered to win a grand prize at the end of the event in September.  Our theme this year is “First Novels.”   This means that we encourage you to read a first novel by an author as a part of your summer selections.  Not sure what to choose? We have loads of suggestions for every taste and genre.  Click here to access lists. 

One of the perks of being a librarian is that often you get ARC’s, Advance Reading Copies, of forthcoming books from pubishers.  These copies are sent to reviewers and librarians around the country in hopes that they will read and recommend the work.  I just finished  Before I Go to Sleep, due to become available this month.  Before I Go to Sleep  is British author S.J. Watson’s first work.  This unique psychological thriller centers around Christine, a woman suffering from amnesia that erases her memories daily.  Each day she wakes up and is shocked to be lying next to her husband Ben, a man she does not recognize. When Christine looks in the mirror, she is 20 years older than her faint traces of memory recall.  While her husband Ben patiently puts up with her, Christine secretly visits a doctor to help her unlock her past and cure her condition.  As her past starts to become clearer, Christine learns that things are not as they seem.  Building to a suspenseful conclusion, and already optioned for a movie, Before I Go to Sleep is a hot summer read. Click here to check availability and reserve.   

-- Lori S., Reader Services