The Check-out Champs of 2021!

January 5, 2022

Happy New Year, and welcome to our annual In Case You Missed It list of AAPLD's Top 50 most checked-out Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fiction and DVD/Blu-Ray titles for 2021!

Most of the items were released in 2021, but you'll also find perennial favorites, and a few surprises on our lists.

How many have you seen or read? We've profiled check-out champs in each category, and also included two special online catalogs, our Top 50 favorite movies, and a Best Books of 2021 catalog, which includes "Best of" picks from Kirkus, Booklist, Goodreads, The Atlantic, NYT, Time, Literary Hub, Vulture, Vogue, New Yorker, and NPR.

You can also browse in person in the Adult Services department, where we've set up ICYM displays. Pick up a handy list of our Top 50 check-outs, and mark off what you've seen or read. Then add one of our Top 50 reads to your Winter Reading selections, or settle in with one of 2021's most popular movies. We hope you discover a new favorite of your own!

With 396 check-outs, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah was AAPLD's most popular Adult Fiction selection of 2021.

Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. Elsa Martinelli must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

With 289 check-outs, our second most popular Adult Fiction book is The Guest List by Lucy Foley.

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

With 41 check-outs, our Young Adult check-out champ is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. When she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price. Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

With 38 check-outs, Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer is the Young Adult runner-up!

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward's past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

Our most checked-out movie in 2021 was Godzilla vs. Kong, with 148 check-outs!

Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash in a spectacular battle for the ages. As a squadron embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans' very origins and mankind's survival, a conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.

Black Widow, with 132 check-outs, was the second most popular movie at AAPLD in 2021!

In Marvel Studios' action-packed spy thriller "Black Widow," Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

November Reading Resolutions…When I Was Growing Up

November 10, 2021

Our online catalog includes books set in decades from the 1920s through the 2000s. You'll find selections from every genre: classic literature, thrillers, heartwarming gentle reads, romance, horror and more. Browse the collection, or come into the Adult Services Department at the Main Library on Harnish Drive, and check out the books on our monthly Reading Resolutions Display. You can also give us a call, and ask an Adult Services staff member for suggested reads set in your favorite decade.

When you've finished your book, enter the title in Beanstack and activate this badge. You'll be entered into our monthly drawing for a $10 gift card, and eligible for our year end grand prize drawing for a $100 gift card.

Read on for suggested reads for each decade!

Palisades Park by Alan Brennert- Growing up in the 1930s, for Toni, there is no more magical place than Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. She and her brother help their parents at the stand where they sell homemade French fries amid the roar of the Cyclone roller coaster. There is also the lure of the world’s biggest salt-water pool, complete with divers whose astonishing stunts inspire Toni to take on impossible feats of her own. Evocative and moving, Palisades Park takes us back to a time when life seemed simpler—except, of course, it wasn't.

The Lieutenant's Nurse by Sara Ackerman. In November 1941, Army Corps nurse Eva Cassidy is stunned by the splendor of Pearl Harbor; even more so by Lt. Clark Spencer, a navy intelligence officer, who clearly has secrets of his own. When Clark warns Eva that the United States won’t be able to hold off joining the war for long, nothing can prepare them for the surprise attack that will change the world they know.

In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Eva and her fellow nurses band together for the immense duty of keeping the American wounded alive. Amid the chaos and heartbreak, Eva will have to decide whom to trust and how far she will go to protect those she loves.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín- Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. An Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America--to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland." Eilis finds work in a department store, and when she least expects it, love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future

Downtown by Anne Rivers Siddons- The year is 1966, a time of innocence, possibility, and freedom. And for Atlanta, the country, and one woman making her way in a changing world, nothing will be the same . . .

After an airless childhood in Savannah, Smoky O'Donnell arrives in Atlanta, dazzled and chastened by this hectic young city on the rise. Her new job as a writer with the city's Downtown magazine introduces her to many unforgettable people and propels her into the center of momentous events that will irrevocably alter her heart, her career, and her world.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid- In 1970s LA, everyone knows Daisy Jones. She's been sneaking into clubs on the Strip since her teens, and while the sex and drugs are thrilling, it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard- In 1980s Austin, Sean Suh, just released from a psychiatric prison, is determined to stay away from temptation. But he can't resist Annabelle, who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. The man he's desperately trying to be. Then Annabelle disappears.

Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the center of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened then he’s able to remember?

How To Be Famous by Caitlin Moran- Johanna Morrigan has it all: she lives in London and writes for the coolest music magazine in Britain. But Johanna is miserable. The man of her dreams John Kite has just made it big in 1994’s hot new BritPop scene. Suddenly John exists on another plane of reality: that of the Famouses. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Johanna hatches a plan: she will write a monthly column, analyzing fame, its power, its dangers, and its amusing aspects. But as Johanna’s own star rises, she begins to realize that with celebrity comes sacrifice, and hers may mean giving up the one person she was determined to keep.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer- Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.

Get knee-deep in snow-bound thrills, with the latest Big Library Read

November 3, 2021

Between November 1 and 15, this page-turning Young Adult thriller is available from our Libby digital collection with no holds, no waiting. Just download the Libby app, borrow the book and start reading! Share your thoughts on social media using #biglibraryread and be entered into a drawing to win a tablet and a copy of the book signed by the author.

Teenager Mira is desperate to get home to Pennsylvania. When a blizzard grounds her connecting flight, she reluctantly accepts an invitation from her glamorous seatmate, Harper, who plans to drive with three other stranded students. They’re five total strangers traveling through a treacherous storm. All of them have a secret. And one of the strangers doesn’t want Mira to make it home at all.

October Reading Resolutions…Read A Scary Book

October 7, 2021

October is here, and it's time to pair that Pumpkin Spice Latte with a tasty, and terrifying read.

While every Reading Resolution challenge encourages you to step out of your comfort zone, picking up a horror novel can really feel that way. Of course, you're free to choose something a bit less scary. Cozy mysteries work just fine, as do thrillers, spooky classics, haunted histories, and true crime.

But if you're in the mood for a good scare, the horror fans among the Adult Services staff are happy to offer suggestions. Read on, if you dare. You can also visit our special online catalog to place an item on hold, or browse more selections on the pop-up display at the Main Library.

Be sure to check off this badge in the Reading Resolutions challenge in Beanstack, to be entered into our monthly drawing.

Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - The lives of the Barretts are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts' plight. With Marjorie's father out of work and bills looming, the family soon find themselves the unwitting stars a hit reality television show. When events explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend. A mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

Clown In A Cornfield by Adam Cesare - Quinn and her father moved to Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher - When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be? Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. Mouse stumbles across a journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you.

Discover A New Author During Hispanic Heritage Month

September 27, 2021

A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria- Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent, as her marriage-minded family keeps pointing out. Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx to escape his parents' demanding expectations, and broke Michelle's heart. Now, he's the successful co-owner of LA's hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. When Michelle is hired to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe's been running from catches up with him. As old feelings resurface, and facing mounting pressure from their families--who think they're dating--can they resolve their past mistakes?

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - A riveting noir set in 1970s Mexico City. Maite, a lonely secretary, envies the exciting life of her beautiful neighbor, Leonora. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who loathes violence and loves old movies and rock 'n' roll, and is searching for Leonora at the order of his boss. As Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora's disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives.

Celebrate Pride Month with an Award-Winning Read

June 15, 2021

Reading for Understanding- Celebrating Pride Month

June is LGBTQ Pride Month, and Algonquin Area Public Library District is delighted to celebrate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community, by highlighting some the best in LGBTQ literature, including winners of the 2021 Lambda Literary “Lammy” Awards.

The awards are given by Lambda Literary, which began in 1987 when the owner of the Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington D.C., published the Lambda Book Report, (now the Lambda Literary Review) covering the LGBTQ book world. The awards were launched in 1989, and award excellence in numerous categories of LGBTQ fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

AAPLD’s Adult Services staff has created a special Pride Month display, located near the reference desk, which showcases selections by LGBTQ authors, including recent Lambda “Lammy” Award winners.

Learn a little more about some of the Lambda Award winners you’ll find at AAPLD:

Written In The Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur – After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love-and the inevitable heartbreak-is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass. (Amazon.com)

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby – “Irby is forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin despite what Inspirational Instagram Infographics have promised her. She has left her job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, has published successful books and has been friendzoned by Hollywood, left Chicago, and moved into a house with a garden that requires repairs and know-how with her wife in a Blue town in the middle of a Red state where she now hosts book clubs and makes mason jar salads. This is the bourgeois life of a Hallmark Channel dream. She goes on bad dates with new friends, spends weeks in Los Angeles taking meetings with “TV executives slash amateur astrologers” while being a “cheese fry-eating slightly damp Midwest person,” “with neck pain and no cartilage in [her] knees,” who still hides past due bills under her pillow. The essays in this collection draw on the raw, hilarious particulars of Irby’s new life. Wow, No Thank You is Irby at her most unflinching, riotous, and relatable” (Amazon.com)

Fiebra Tropical by Juliana Delgado Lopera – “In this novel told in Spanglish, fifteen-year-old Francisca is uprooted from her life in Bogotá, Colombia, and moves with her family to Miami, Florida, where she is ushered into an evangelical church and falls in love with the pastor’s daughter” (from the publisher)

Browse the display virtually here or click here to learn more about the Lamdba Awards. Place items on hold online, or give the Adult Services department a call. We’re happy to help!

Fascinating lives, unforgettable stories

March 17, 2021

“It is not my deeds that I write down, it is myself, my essence.”
Michel de Montaigne

Pick up a memoir this March, and get to know someone remarkable.

Whether it’s an ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances, or someone who is already a household name but has a story about how an unexpected challenge or tragedy has shaped them, memoirs can inspire, make us laugh, cry or cheer, and see our own lives through a different perspective.

What makes a memoir different from a biography or an autobiography? While the forms are similar (and shelved together at AAPLD!) a memoir is an account of a person’s life, usually the author’s, that’s centered around a theme or experience. Whether that’s a harrowing childhood, a serious illness, addiction, tragedy; or a fight to succeed against enormous odds, a good memoir can give us insight into the writer’s experience and how we can apply those lessons as well.

To celebrate our month-long focus on memoirs, we’ve created a special collection which you can browse by clicking here. If you stop by the Main Library, you’ll find some of our staff’s favorite memoirs displayed by the Adult Services desk, on our Staff Picks shelves.

Listed below are memoirs that have been turned into films– bonus points if you’re also looking for a March “Twice Told Tales” Reading Challenge:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls – A journalist tells the story of her nomadic childhood in a highly dysfunctional, but uniquely vibrant family.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – Following a divorce, a writer embarks on an international journey of healing and self-discovery.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed – After battling addiction and grieving the loss of her mother, a young woman sets out alone to hike the 1,100-mile Pacific Crest Trail.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt – A teacher recounts his poverty-stricken Irish childhood, with humor and compassion

If you’re looking for something new or a little different, try one of these titles:

Sanctuary: a memoir by Emily Rapp Black After losing her three year old son, a mother questions and redefines the idea of resilience.

Surviving the White Gaze: a memoir by Rebecca Carroll A black woman’s search for racial identity, after being adopted by white parents, and later meeting her racist white birth mother.

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: a memoir by Justine Cowen A British woman explores her late mother’s secret past, growing up in a notorious English orphanage.

Floating In a Most Peculiar Way by Louis Onuroah Chude-Sokei A unique coming to America story, told by an African immigrant who finds himself in the midst of racial unrest and the growing Los Angeles hip-hop scene, in the early 1990s.

To Be Honest: a memoir by Michael Leviton A memoir about an unusual upbringing in a family fanatically devoted to honesty, and what came next.

Celebrate Women!

March 10, 2021

March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the contributions of women– from great leaders, and top achievers in sports, entertainment, and literature, to the anonymous women working daily to build a better world for their families and communities.

The annual recognition began in California as a local week-long celebration in 1978. In 1980, President Carter issued a presidential proclamation designating the second week of March as National Women’s History Week. It was expanded to a month long event in 1987.

At AAPLD, we’re recognizing the accomplishments of women in several ways, starting with two special collections that tell women’s stories, one dedicated to books, the other to films.

A few stories you might have missed include:

Frida – Salma Hayek stars as ground-breaking Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, from her humble beginnings, to international fame as a talented painter with unique vision.

He Named Me Malala – A documentary tells the incredible story of Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai, who was attacked by the Taliban for pursuing an education.

On The Basis of Sex – Felicity Jones stars as a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, struggling to balance the demands of her rising career and new motherhood, as she partners with her husband Martin (Armie Hammer) to argue a landmark case of gender discrimination.

A Skating Life: My Story by Dorothy Hamill – An Olympic medalist and international skating star by the age of 19, Hamill faced significant personal challenges in adulthood, but found strength to persevere through her love for her daughter.

Becoming Beyonce by J. Randy Taraborrelli – The first comprehensive biography ever published about America’s favorite living pop icon, from New York Times bestselling biographer Taraborrelli.

Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt – If you loved Hidden Figures, you won’t want to miss this story of the women who propelled the space program from missiles to the moon and beyond.

We’re also pleased to offer these special online programs. Two focus on history-making female leaders, the other is an evening with a best-selling woman author, as she shares insights about her process and experience in the publishing industry.

On Thursday, March 18, from 6:30- 8:00 p.m., historian Jim Gibbons will present Notorious: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and her tireless crusade for women’s rights. Ginsburg was many things: Glamour magazine’s 2009 Woman of the Year, one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, a cancer survivor, and an inspiration to many. But she was not a quitter. Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, Ginsburg served until the time of her death in September 2020. Click here to register for the program, presented on Zoom.

Best-selling suspense author Mary Kubica will present a program on Thursday, March 25 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Kubica is the bestselling author of The Good Girl and five other thrillers. Her latest novel, The Other Mrs., scored her a film deal with Netflix. Mary will discuss her writing process, how she balances her personal and professional life, and the unprecedented success of The Other Mrs. Mary’s next title, Local Woman Missing, will be released in May. Click here to register for this program, presented via Zoom.

On Wednesday, March 31, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., popular historical presenter Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., returns with a new presentation, Becoming Queen Elizabeth II, which explores the life of England’s longest reigning monarch: her childhood, the abdication of her uncle, her marriage to a navy officer named Philip, her World War II service, and her struggle to balance her roles as queen and mother. Get to know the woman behind the images, her sense of humor, and savvy intelligence with which she meets her demanding obligations. Click here to register for the program, presented on Zoom.

If you prefer to register or place your holds by phone, give the Adult Services Department a call at 847-458-6060. We’re happy to help!

Black History Month- By the Book

February 17, 2021

February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the contributions and history of Black Americans, past and present.

The celebration dates back to 1926, when it was created by African American historian, educator and publisher Carter G. Woodson as a one week observance. It expanded to a month-long celebration in 1976. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and abolitionist Frederick Douglas (Feb. 14).

We’ve created a display highlighting the work of Black authors, non-fiction titles by prominent Black voices, and films centered on Black stories. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find in our collection:

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke – A Black Texas Ranger investigates a murder in a small town in East Texas, and uncovers a shocking secret. Steeped in the culture, music and atmosphere of the East Texas bayou country, the novel creates a vivid portrait of contemporary Black life in rural America.

No One Is Coming To Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts – A successful man returns to his North Carolina hometown to build his hillside dream home and win back the love of his high school sweetheart. But his success, contrasted with the town’s decline, forces everyone to consider what they really want from life, and how they might go about finding it.

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory – When a Los Angeles writer goes to a Dodgers game with an actor she’s casually dating, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. After she refuses, she’s trailed by a camera crew, until a handsome fan comes to her rescue. When what begins as another casual affair unexpectedly blossoms into love, can she find the courage to follow her heart?

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid – An influential businesswoman tries to help her babysitter, who was falsely accused of kidnapping a child. But when a viral video reveals unwelcome aspects of the businesswoman’s past, both she and the babysitter are forced to confront what they think about themselves and each other.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – An enslaved young woman escapes from a plantation in Georgia, via the Underground Railroad, which Whitehead reimagines as a literal railroad of tracks and tunnels running beneath the ground of the Civil War-era South.

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole – A psychological thriller set in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood. A young woman investigating the neighborhood’s vanishing history, with the help of a new arrival, begin to uncover the deadly secret of what really happened to the departed residents.

Find these books, and lots more, in our Black History Month featured collection. Click here for more titles.

Hail to the Chief with these Presidential Reads

January 18, 2021

This week, Joseph R. Biden will be inaugurated as our nation’s 46^th president, which makes it a great time to read a book written by or about a president, his family or his legacy. AAPLD has a large collection of books devoted to American history, current events, and also biographies. If you’re taking part in Reading Resolutions, January is the month to read a biography, autobiography or memoir. Why not give a one of these a try?