Have you been downstairs at the library lately?  If not, the Winter Reading Challenge is the perfect opportunity to take a peek!  This year, our challenge has several categories that encourage us to read bigger by venturing into nonfiction categories.

READ A TRUE CRIME BOOK ABOUT A HEIST, A CULT, OR AN UNSOLVED CRIME

Sure, this category isn’t for everyone, but there are some interesting titles to be found here.  The most recent bestseller is I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, or you could try The Gardner Heist, about the still unsolved theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.  You can’t go wrong with some of the best-known authors of the genre – Ann Rule is the first to come to mind – but you will also find books by thriller writer James Patterson here.  A few last suggestions: Killers of the Flower Moon, The Devil in the White City, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, Under the Banner of Heaven and If You Tell.

 READ A BIOGRAPHY OR MEMOIR

 There is such a wide variety of titles in our Biography section.  You can find straight biographies or gripping memoirs.  Interested in Jane Austen?  Try Jane Austen at Home.  How about women aviators?  West With the Night by Beryl Markham is a classic.  What about some of the hot titles that everyone has talked about – Educated, Wild, Hillbilly Elegy, or Untamed.  We have books about writers, politicians, presidents, sports figures, war heroes (and villains!), actors, historical figures and more.  Or, how about picking up a title about someone you have never heard of, and thought you were not interested in? My favorite biography is a graphic novel called Radioactive about Marie and Pierre Curie – it was fabulous, and I never once thought I wanted to know more about them until I read it.

 READ A NONFICTION TITLE ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT INTERESTS YOU

This one is my favorite, because it encompasses everything found in the nonfiction section!  There are so many amazing narrative nonfiction reads that you can try:  The Boys in the Boat, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Hidden Valley Road, Hidden Figures, Fly Girls, The Devil’s Teeth, and The Gratitude Diaries – just to name a few!  How-to books work just as well – do you want to learn a craft, or get a head start on your spring gardening, or get some tips for your job search?  We have a book for that too!  You can also see our list below for some of our favorites from 2021!

What else will you find downstairs?  Glad you asked!  You will find our Reference Desk, staffed with a librarian or two that are glad to help with any questions you might have.  You will find study rooms, computers, printers, copiers, microfilm readers, and scanners.  We have laptops and tabletop games that can be checked out for use in the library. And of course, you will find more books!  Not just our entire nonfiction collection, but also our Young Adult section, our Career Help area, and our Local History Room.

We hope to see you downstairs soon!