The Library Book by Susan Orlean Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks that reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. It is also a master journalist’s reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever. (goodreads.com)

December 2019

All Booked Up Windsor Library’s Newsletter for Readers

Coming soon to a bookshelf near you: (Place your hold today!)

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No, But I Read the Book

Listen Up

First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen Ryan Gosling stars in the adaptation of First Man, the riveting story of NASA's mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. Both book and movie were well received, "showing how and why Armstrong has entered the history books," according to Kirkus Review.

A haunting, richly atmospheric, and deeply suspenseful novel from the acclaimed author of The Enchanted about an investigator who must use her unique insights to find a missing little girl. Told in the alternating voices of Naomi and a deeply imaginative child, The Child Finder is a breathtaking, exquisitely rendered literary listen about redemption, the line between reality and memories and dreams, and the human capacity to survive. (goodreads.com) The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld Length: 8.5 Hours

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A Top Pick of 2019

Windsor Library Reading Challenge: Read a Book with a Number in the Title

America's First Daughter: A Novel by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie

As Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter, Patsy becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother's death. She travels with him when he becomes American minister to France. It is in Paris that Patsy learns about her father's liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love with her father's protege; William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Her choices will follow her in the years to come, and as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father's reputation.

1st to Die by James Patterson (Women's Murder Club Series)

Imagine a killer who thinks, "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" -- and then goes far beyond it! Four women who come to call themselves the Women's Murder Club -- a police detective, an assistant D.A., a reporter, and a medical examiner -- have the mettle to follow the leads to an impossibly heart-stopping conclusion, tracking and confronting the most terrifying serial killer ever imagined.

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

If you have, or if you haven't, read paranormal romance before, this excellent series by Darynda Jones is highly recommended. A principled, funny, caring & clever main character with a bottomless heart (Charley Davidson), added to fast-paced, seamless plots and crackling humor, will keep you reading into the wee hours. If you're a fan of Janet Evanovitch's Stephanie Plum series, you will love Charley Davidson. The series wrapped up this year with #13.

The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-Boats by William Geroux This "vividly drawn and emotionally gripping" story is about one of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson

From the New York Times-bestselling author, a new look at the power and legacy of great ideas. In this illustrated volume, Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation over centuries, tracing facets of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, and eyeglass lenses, to name a few) from their creation by hobbyists, amateurs, and entrepreneurs to their unintended historical consequences. How We Got to Now investigates the secret history behind the everyday objects of contemporary life.

419 by Will Ferguson

"Please be informed that as Head of the Administrative and Legal Reconciliation Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, I have approved for immediate payment the sum of $US 35,600,000 (THIRTY FIVE MILLION SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND) into your account ... within 24 (TWENTY-FOUR) hours ..."

A Canadian father dies in a car accident on a lonely road. His daughter, lonely copy-editor Laura Curtis, struggles to understand how her father could have lost the family home to an Internet scam. Far more than just a story of an accident investigation and a daughter's grief, 419 also tells the tale of the scammers in Nigeria, deftly weaving together historical and international context and the

threads of each character's life. Author Ferguson develops all characters fully, accomplishing the amazing feat of evoking sympathy even for the criminal scammers.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series)

A New Jersey bounty hunter with attitude, bail-bonds apprehension agent Stephanie Plum pursues a former vice cop, now on the run, with whom she shares a sordid history and a powerful chemistry.

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