Great reads at the Maricopa Public Library

In recent weeks we’ve lost Erich Segal whose novel “Love Story” made Ali McGraw a star, Robert B. Parker who gave us everyone’s favorite investigator Spenser, JD Salinger, who preferred to live a reclusive life than revel in the literary spotlight, and Dick Francis, whose racing mysteries delighted many for years.

Still, the passion for the written word persists without hesitation.

William Young’s “The Shack” has been on USA Today’s bestseller list for the past 31 weeks. This inspirational novel tells the story of Mackenzie Allen Philips who, while dealing with loss of a child, receives a note from God. Jonathan Lethem, author of “Motherless Brooklyn” and “The Fortress of Solitude,” is back with “Chronic City.”  Set in Manhattan, it tells the story of those individuals who inhabit that exclusive world of money and luxury. In Margaret Atwood’s “The Year of the Flood,” planet earth is left in an altered state after a natural disaster, and those who survived must start over.

Jack McEvoy is a laid off reporter for the LA Times who joins forces with an FBI agent to nab a killer in Michael Connolly’s “The Scarecrow.” In his new crime novel “Nobody Move,” author Denis Johnson gives us a bumbling singer, a thug named Gambol and a lady seeking revenge with the end result—utter madness. The city of New York is the setting for Colum McCann’s “Let the Great World Spin,” winner of the 2009 National Book Award for Fiction. 

Dom DeLillo’s latest is a short work of fiction entitled “Point Omega,” which tells the story of retired war advisor Richard Elster and a filmmaker, Jim Finley, who wants to tell his story. When Elster’s daughter arrives, everything changes. In ancient Rome, Cicero is fighting for his survival in the contentious, often dangerous world of politics in Richard Harris’ second book in the Roman Trilogy, “Conspirata.” The world of marriage highlights Louise Erdrich’s “Shadow Tag.” In this story Irene America learns her husband has been reading her diary, so she starts a second one known as the blue notebook and stores it in a safety deposit box. A dying man’s promise leads a mother and her daughters to come to terms in their relationship in Kristin Hannah’s “Winter Garden.” 

James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge’s new book “Worst Case” tells the story of New York City detective Michael Bennett, who is investigating the kidnappings of some of the city’s wealthiest children; complicating matters—the FBI is involved in the case. 

Four teens witness an occult ritual murder in Madison, Wis. in 1966. Years later when one wishes to write about that night, the eyewitness accounts are all different in Peter Straub’s “A Dark Matter.” Adriana Trigiani, a writer for the Cosby Show, offers readers the second book in her Valentine trilogy “Brava Valentine,” bringing back the shoemaking family, the Roncallis. 

Kathleen O’Neal Gear and her husband W. Michael Gear introduce a new series Contact: The Battle for America. The first in the series is “Coming of the Storm,” which tells the story of what happened after Hernando De Soto visited La Florida in 1539 as seen by two Native Americans. An Iraq war vet gets entangled with drug dealers in the newest work by “Prince of Thieves” author Chuck Hogan in “Devils in Exile.”

There’s always an abundance of fiction for everyone, yet for those who love reading about real things and happenings, the following books are just for you.

Jorge Cruise, who is sometimes featured in USA Today’s Weekend Magazine, is out with “The Belly Fat Diet.” The exercise guru wants to educate readers on the benefits of healthy eating with sound scientific advice. Diabetes is increasing, and, in Dan Hurley’s “Diabetes Rising,” he not only writes about the increase of the disease but also new breakthroughs in curing or improving treatment for those who suffer from it.

Ladies, would you give up everything and move to another country to be with your beau?  Well, Elizabeth Bard did in “Lunch in Paris.” She lets readers in on the struggle, and how she came to love the city and its culture, even including a few recipes.  Now ladies, you’ll have to pardon me but I do have another question. Would you settle for just any man to marry or still hold out hope for the “perfect” one?  In “Marry Him,” Lori Gottlieb talks about the elusive search for prince charming but also makes the case for settling down with someone who just might be the right one indeed.

In Jim Frederick’s “Black Hearts,” he writes about the men of the 101st Airborne Division’s fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment.  These soldiers, stationed in Iraq, were deployed to Iraq’s Triangle of Death and the madness that followed. Living in Damascus, Syria, is explored in Stephanie Saldana’s “The Bread of Angels.” 

Each day, we travel roads that take us to our destinations whether they are work, recreation, school or family.  However, in Ted Conover’s “The Routes of Man–How Roads Are Changing the World the Way We Live Today” he takes readers on a trip to some of the most famous routes in the world. For those who love reading about the history of the West, check out historian and musician Mark Lee Gardner’s “To Hell on a Fast Horse.” The author takes an historic look at Billy the Kid, Pat Garret and the manhunt for that famous criminal of the Old West. 

If I may quote Ms. Manners, “Gentle Readers, I must close for now, but stayed tuned; this space of which I write is not as long as I’d like to share with all of you the wonders of new books.” 

I’ll be back soon with Part II. In the meantime, happy reading!

Roberta Cianciosi heads the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library. She is an avid reader, a published writer and will be offering information on new books available at the library each month.

Photo by Joyce Hollis

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