What Will Greenwich Read This Summer?

GREENWICH, Conn. – Summer has arrived, and if you’re looking to catch up on your reading list, upload a new ebook, or find some chick lit for the beach, the hottest titles are available at the Greenwich Library.

You may need to add your name to a list of holds for some of the more popular books, some of which have not yet been released. Thanks to the library’s new self-service holds and pickup feature, if a popular title is checked out you can request a hold and pick it up on the shelves in the self check-out area of the main library.

“People want to be self-directed, they don’t always want to have to have a staff member assisting them. That’s why we have the self-check out, and now they can pick up on-hold books on their own,” says Carol Mahoney, Greenwich's library director.

Popular reads on waiting lists at the library include Emily Giffin’s “Where We Belong”; “Fifteen Seconds” by Andrew Gross; the new release “Capital” by John Lanchester; “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: (a mostly true memoir)” by blogger Jenny Lawson; and “American Grown” by First Lady Michelle Obama.

If you go by bestseller lists, the fiction book to read is “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The three books in the series have been in the top three spots on The New York Times Book Review for many weeks. The Greenwich Library has several copies of the series available in both hardcover and electronic.  

When asked about “Fifty Shades,” best-selling author Ann Patchett told attendees of a recent book reading in Wilton that she didn’t care if they read porn but that it should be "good porn."

Even though “Fifty Shades” dominates several bestseller lists, others are standing their ground, including “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin, the book that inspired the popular HBO show, and recent release “Kiss the Dead” by Laurell K. Hamilton, an account of a vampire hunter searching for an abducted teenager.

That popularity broaches the question: "What will be the next 'big book?' ” The question that usually follows that is, “When will I have time to read it?”

At the Westport Barnes & Noble, one of the books that sellers cannot keep on the shelves is “Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn. “The Amateur,” a nonfiction book by Edward Klein, is another they said is selling well.

But if following “what’s hot” isn’t something you’re interested in, most libraries have summer reading lists — and they're not just for kids.

Some of the most popular and current titles in Greenwich include “The Amateur” by Edward Klein; “Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed; “Cronkite” by Douglas Brinkley; “Seating Arrangements” by Maggie Shipstead; “Bring Up the Bodies” and “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel; “Canada” by Richard Ford; “Mission to Paris” by Alan Furst; “Istanbul Passage” by Joseph Kanon; “The Alpha Masters” by Maneet Ahuia; “The Uninvited Guests” by Sadie Jones; and “Years of Lyndon Johnson: Passage of Power Vol. 4” by Robert Caro.   

For the kids in Greenwich, the Children's Summer 2012 Reading Program is themed “Dream Big … Read!” Visit the Greenwich Library Children’s Room to register and track your reading online. There’s also a Reading Program for Teens themed “Own the Night.” Call 203-622-7940 for more details on both programs.

What are you reading this summer? Email Anna Helhoski with your reading list.

 

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