Middletown Thrall Library Invites You to Hop... BEYOND THE BESTSELLERS: Your Personal Guide to Interesting Books Not Necessarily Found on Bestseller Lists: Winter 2008 Edition

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Past Issues

Missed a past issue of Beyond the Bestsellers? Click below for previous BTBs and more reading recommendations:

Consider any of the titles below the next time you're looking for something interesting to read. To learn more about a book and check on its availablity within the library system, click a title link below.

Some book records in the library catalog have additional links you can click to learn more about the book and the author. Some titles even have chapter excerpts that you can read online!

Scroll down and browse by genre to begin!



GENERAL FICTION

  • Capote in Kansas - Kim Powers - Powers' first novel about friends Truman Capote and Harper Lee has been called dark, captivating and exceptional. It blends truth and fiction about these two authors and "ghosts of the Clutters."
  • Life Class - Pat Barker - The Booker Prize-winning author explores the role of art in war as well as war's devastation and psychological damage in a love story set during World War I.
  • Between Two Seas - Carmine Abate


Other titles to consider:

MYSTERIES

  • Down into Darkness - David Lawrence - Poet David Lawrence has written another highly praised Detective Stella Mooney mystery. A naked woman's body is found hanging from a London tree with the words "Dirty Girl" written on her back. With no leads, the case is left until another body is found. This time a man. Mooney works furiously to find a connection before the serial killer can strike again.
  • The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo - This mystery, voted the best "Norwegian Crime Novel Ever Written," features Police Detective Harry Hole. Due to a mistake, Detective Hole is reassigned to supposedly quiet surveillance duty. He uncovers an international conspiracy as the writer takes you back and forth between the end of WWII on the Eastern front and modern day Oslo.
Other mysteries to consider:

FANTASY

  • Breath and Bone - Carol Berg - The concluding second volume of Lighthouse Duet which began with Flesh and Spirit will not disappoint fantasy readers who enjoy Marion Zimmer Bradley or Sharon Shinn. The story of the heroic quest of Valen to save his world from destruction is rich in characterizations and excellent plotting.
  • Heart of Stone - C.E. Murphy - This urban fantasy is the first book of the exciting new Negotiator Trilogy. Lawyer Margrit Knight defends Alban Korund, a gargoyle, who has been framed for murder.
Another title to consider:

NONFICTION

Other nonfiction titles to consider: