Set in Provence, Cay Rademacher has penned a novel with Captaine Roger Blanc as the main protagonist. Working in Paris on an anti-corruption squad, after successfully solving a case the capitaine finds himself transferred to a small town in Provence. Blanc’s enthusiasm was not appreciated in the Parisian political arena, thus the need to bury him far away in the south of France. His marriage breaks up at the same time, so he moves into an old abandoned house that was left to him in his new location. Blanc and his partner Tonon, a tired older lieutenant, are handed what appears to be a routine murder case. However, after another murder is committed, Blanc becomes suspicious and uses his investigative skills to delve further into solving the case. A primer into French procedural techniques for the interested.
Month: December 2017
Top 5 Library Trends
According to a blog by Demco, the 5 top library trends that they have seen include the following:
- Light and airy open spaces. This is achieved by employing larger window spaces and lower shelving.
- Unfixed flexible spaces. Examples of this include mobile furniture, library shelving and service points.
- Power… everywhere. Due to emerging technologies, more outlets are now necessary, so having “powered ” tables and lounge furniture, and more charging stations would fulfill this need.
- Collaboration and study spaces. Libraries can use movable screens and partitions to help section rooms for more private spaces.
- Furniture trends. These include study carrels, high backed lounge seating and flip-top tables.
Top Check Outs of the Year
The end of a year means end-of-the-year Tops lists. Living near The City, I took a look at the NY Public Library lists of their top checked out books of 2017. For those of you who sneak looks at what people are reading on subways and in waiting rooms, here is what was popular in NYC in 2017:
Top 10 Books Systemwide
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Underground Railroad: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
- Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
- The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Commonwealth: A Novel by Ann Patchett
Top 10 Books in Manhattan
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Sellout by Paul Beatty
- The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
To take a look at the top check outs in the Bronx and Staten Island, click on the NYPL lion logo. Happy reading in 2018!
Finding Audrey
Finding Audrey is a Young Adult book by bestselling adult author Sophie Kinsella.
The book is about Audrey, a teenage girl who cannot leave her house. Something bad happened to Audrey at her last school, so now she wanders around the house aimlessly wearing sunglasses and unable to have much contact with the outside world. Her doctor tells her to make a video documenting her life, family, recovery, which helps her interact with others and herself. Of course, her brother’s cute best friend Linus showing up and taking an interest in Audrey terrifies her (but also sort of pushes her along). It seems a little bit too-good-to-be-true, but it is a nice story nevertheless.
Kinsella has created some lovely, humorous, chaotic family members for Audrey and that is what saves
this book. You will laugh out loud and if that doesn’t make a good book then I’m not sure what does!
Ex Libris Anonymous
Another great source of book-related gift ideas is the Oregon-based company, Ex Libris Anonymous. They create notebooks by upcycling old books. Customers can choose from their stock or special order a particular title. The store has an extensive inventory of Little Golden Books, cookbooks, Nancy Drews and other vintage titles. Visit: http://bookjournals.com/ to take a look. Happy Holidays!
Palisades Free Library Blog 