December used to be the month when all the media outlets released their best books of the year lists.  Now, we already have a rash of best books of the year so far lists.  It has the advantage of giving readers a head start, and often, books published in the first part of the year get skipped from the fall publishing deluge.  So, you may not see a lot of these titles on the December lists.

           

Both Barnes and Noble and Amazon have released their lists on their websites; so, if you are stuck for something to read this summer, both lists are good places to look.

           

Goodreads offers a list of the most popular books published in 2019, so that is also a good place to browse for choices.  Most of these books are available at the library and almost all are also available online on WVDELI, Axis 360 and some on Hoopla.  So, please check our online resources if you discover something fascinating on these lists.  If you find them in our online catalog, just use the hold button to request them.

           

Certain books are on all the lists.  “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides tops the most popular books published in 2019 on Goodreads.  It is the story of a young woman who allegedly tied her husband to a chair and shot him in the face.  She resides in a forensic facility in North London and has not said a word.  Her doctor uses clues from her diary as he fights to get her to talk.

           

“Ask Again, Yes” by Mary Beth Keane is receiving loads of critical acclaim in its tale about two colleagues in the New York Police Department who are next-door neighbors until a tragic act tears the neighborhood apart.

           

Mary Beth Andrews is known for her summer beach books and her latest is “Sunset Beach” about a woman whose life is a total mess and has to take a job with her estranged father while she deals with the wreck of a beach house left to her by her grandmother.

           

“The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren is a romance with a twist when two enemies get a chance at a spectacular honeymoon when the rest of the wedding party gets a bad case of food poisoning.  Olive and Ethan decide to pretend to be the married couple and enjoy the Hawaiian vacation their friends are too sick to take.  The temporary truce soon turns into something unexpected.

           

“City of Girls” by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of the big books of the summer about 19-year old Vivian Morris who goes to live with an aunt in New York City during World War II.  The party-girl life is just perfect until the realities of what is happening overseas starts to hit home.

           

Just Google best books of the year so far and find lots of possibilities for summer reading.

           

The library is closed for the July 4th holiday.