Great reads at the Maricopa Public Library

School is back in session, summer vacations are over and fall is just around the corner. It has been a swell time for readers savoring some great reads in fiction and non-fiction to beat the summer heat. However, we can take solace in knowing that a good book is easy to find at the Maricopa Public Library.

Sherrilyn Kenyon’s new book in her Chronicles of Nick series is “Infinity.” Our hero Nick is saved by warriors who just happen to be immortal vampires called Dark-Hunters.  They’re not your ordinary vampires looking for blood; they are intent on saving humanity. As Nick learns the ways of this new world he’s entered, he must fight off his classmates who just happen to be zombies with Nick as the next victim on their list.

Interest in vampire stories continues with Stephanie Meyer’s “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.” This is a Twilight spinoff, featuring Bree whom readers met in “Eclipse.”  Bree and the new army take on Bella Swan and the Cullens. St. Louis is the destination in Laurell K. Hamilton’s “Bullet,” book 19 in the Anita Blake series. Anita has to fight off assassins in this latest thriller.

It’s hard for me to believe, but Luke Skywalker is a dad. The last time I remember seeing our man Luke he was fighting off the bad guys with Hans Solo in the original Star Wars movie. Luke and his son Ben join forces with the Siths to face the ultimate enemy in Christie Golden’s “Star Wars Fate of the Jedi: Allies.” Vampires and space heroes aside, there are some readers who like a little romance.

“Orchard Valley Grooms” is the newest from bestselling author Debbie Macomber.  Valerie and Stephanie rush home to Orchard Valley, Oregon, to be with their dad who has taken ill. For Valerie and Stephanie finding love is the last thing on their minds.  Nora Roberts is re-issuing two original stories from a few years back. The first is “Untamed,” originally on bookshelves in 1983 as a Silhouette Romance, tells the story of Joviette Wilder who just happens to be attracted to her boss. “Dual Image,” published in 1985 as a Silhouette Intimate Moment, features soap star Ariel Kirkwood who finds the perfect script written by Booth Dewitt. Can Ariel help Booth believe in love again? 

Many readers enjoy well-written suspense novels, and here are a few that you may want to read. First, “Junkyard Dogs” is book six in Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire’s series.  Big money developers want a junkyard removed that’s not far from one of their sites.  A severed thumb is found, and conflicts soon follow which bring Walt Longmire and friends back for a new adventure. Lincoln Rhyme has a new adventure in “The Burning Wire” by Jeffrey Deaver. Electricity is the weapon, and the residents of New York City are living in fear. Lincoln is also on the hunt for the elusive “watchmaker,” who is in Mexico; complicating matters, Lincoln has health issues to deal with as well.

Bourne is back in Eric Van Lustbader’s “The Bourne Objective.” Bourne fakes his death to seek the person out to kill him. Meanwhile, Soraya Moore is investigating the explosion of an American passenger plane by an Iranian bomb. Was it an accident or was it something more? When both investigations lead to each other, Bourne and Soraya are on the chase. The year is 1908; an American gun boat designer is thought to have committed suicide, but his daughter says otherwise. More murders follow, leading our hero to Hull 44 and a grave threat to America. To find out more, read Clive Barker and Justin Scott’s “The Spy.”

Fox’s Glenn Beck, whose recent works have all been on the non-fiction bestseller lists, is well on his way to becoming a successful fiction writer with “The Overton Window.”  For Noah Gardner life is just the way he likes it, and he takes much of it for granted.  However, an attack on United States soil changes everything. Paul Madriani and Joselyn Cole face the old Weatherman and a new foe seeking to destroy our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., in Steve Martini’s “The Rule of Nine.” 

The Ivy League’s Princeton University is the setting for murder in “Murder on Lexington Avenue” by Victoria Thompson. Finally, if you love to read and knit, you will enjoy “Skein of the Crime” by Maggie Sefton. Kelly Flynn is a knitting teacher at the House of Lambspun in Fort Connor, Colorado. When one of her students is murdered, she’s on the case. Keep this in mind if you choose to read Sefton’s book: she includes recipes and patterns for those who love to knit and cook.

Rounding out fiction is Jenna Blum’s “The Stormchasers.” Karenna is on the search to find her brother Charles whom she hasn’t seen for 20 years. If you enjoy historical fiction, C.W. Gortner’s “The Confessions of Catherine de Medici” may be just for you.  This novel is based on the life of one of history’s most talked about woman. “Naamah’s Curse” by Jacqueline Carey finds Moirin searching for Bao, the Ch’in fighter who possesses the missing half of her diadh-anam, the soul of her mother’s people. 

Sarah Prineas has a new book entitled “Found” in the “Magic Thief” series. Conn has just escaped from prison; he’s living in exile, but his city Wellmet is in danger. Though he is ready to fight, he is swept up by an incredible shadow, and a new adventure awaits him.  “Early to Death, Early to Rise” is the newest Madison Avery novel by Kim Harrison. Madison is now a timekeeper and forms a group of reapers who don’t exactly follow the rules.

For children and young adults, Jessica Day George writes a humorous take on the fairy tale “Cinderella” with “Princess of Glass.” This is the companion novel to the “Princess of the Midnight Ball.” Despite her objections, Princess Poppy agrees to take part in a royal exchange program to improve political alliances, knowing full well it may lead to a possible marriage. All goes well until an evil fairy godmother tricks a young servant named Eleanor, causing Princess Poppy grief.

Jesse and Daisy’s dragon, Emmy, is becoming a grouch, and they seek help from Professor Anderson, but he’s been kidnapped by the girlfriend of St. George the Dragon Slayer in Kate Kilmo’s “The Dragon in the Library.” Pinkalicious is going into business selling lemonade, but first she needs to know how to make it pink in “Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink,” by Victoria Kann. Whew! So much to offer with regard to fiction, both children and young adult’s. However, I haven’t forgotten those who savor a great work of non-fiction, and here are a few titles you may want to read.

The world of music takes center stage in three new books by those who hit it big. Pat Benatar, in “Between a Heart and a Rock Place,” writes about her life and rise up the charts as one of the 1980s first solo female rockers. Part memoir, part biography, the life of Ray Charles and his son Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. are detailed in Mary Jane Ross’ “You Don’t Know Me.” Fans of Bob Marley will want to read “Bob Marley, The Untold Story” by Chris Salewicz. This is a biography of the singer whose music still resonates with fans many years after his death.

If Nellie Olsen was your favorite character on “Little House on the Prairie,” then you’ll want to read Allison Arngrim’s “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch.” In her memoir readers will get all the dish about life on the set of one of America’s favorite shows. She made numerous movies for Lifetime television, starred on 90210 and in recent months put her private life in front of the cameras, but that hasn’t stopped Tori Spelling. Once again, she’s back on the bestseller lists with “Uncharted TerriTORI.” 

The Family Circus cartoons have entertained many for years, and a new collection of them are available in “Family Circus Library, Volume Two” by Bill Keane. Video games are quite popular, but one author takes a serious look at them by sharing with readers why he plays them, his thoughts and opinions, too, in “Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter” by Tom Bissell. Life and relationships are at the heart of essays written by Sloane Crosley in “How Did You Get This Number.” This book takes a look at life in New York and the author’s travels to Paris and Portugal.

Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you lost the use of one of your five senses? Well, Bonnie Blodgett lost her sense of smell, and she details it all in her memoir “Remembering Smell.” Employment, whether you are seeking it or considering a career change, you may want to read the latest from the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Occupational Handbook 2010-2011.” This edition features 300 job descriptions and gives news on the nature of work, the working environment and what lies ahead through 2018. Also included is information on training, education, earnings and related occupations.

Oh, my, time to take a breather. So many new titles in fiction and non-fiction; take your pick. More is headed your way in the next installment of Great Reads.  
 
Roberta Cianciosi, an avid reader and a published writer, will be offering information on new books available at the library each month.

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