Oh, it is list time, my favorite time of year for readers’ advisory!
I’m including a few of the SWHPL Staff and Patron’s favorites of the past year, and to round it all out, I’ve created a LIST of lists from a wide variety of other sources. These are “Best of 2014” lists as well as most anticipated 2015 titles. Enjoy!
BEST OF 2014, A LIST FROM THE SOUTHWEST HARBOR PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF & PATRONS
Lisa Murray, Library Staff
“Area X — The Southern Reach Trilogy — Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance” by Jeff Vandermeer.
This trilogy consumed me in 2014 and I was able to drag along a few other adventurous readers with me into this frighteningly conceivable world of natural “disasters”, environmental anomalies and government coverups. This trilogy is exquisitely written, but I warn you it takes an open mind and critical reading skills to truly appreciate the many layers of this trilogy. Deeply philosophical, critical of how we perceive and interact with the natural world, yet imaginative and a little weird at times. Are we truly independent as humans on earth, why are we so cocky as to believe we have mastered “nature” and how far does nature extend (on our planet, in our minds, in the universe…)
“Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free” by Cory Doctorow
So I felt like a jerk the entire time I was reading this because I bought it for my iPad on Amazon and read it through my Kindle app on my nonsecured home wifi. It doesn’t take too many pages of this book to make you realize how complacent and trusting the consumer has become in this age of electronic books, music, phones and computers. Spyware, tracking, digital copyrights are all very real and all affect the consumer by taking away your freedom to information, the freedom of expression and privacy. Ownership is an illusion, digital locks serve to make more money for certain levels of industry while taking away from the artist, writer and the cultural consumer…You!
BEST OF 2014 LISTS
NPR’s Book Concierge “Our Guide To 2014’s Great Reads”
The Year’s Best Books, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review
19 Great Small Press Books You May Have Missed in 2014, As Chosen By Small Press Editors
The Best Book Covers of 2014, from the New York Times Sunday Book Review
New York Times Book Review “100 Notable Books of 2014-The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction”
Best Nonfiction Books of 2014, from the Kirkus Review
The Atlantic’s “The Best Book I Read This Year”
Publisher’s Weekly’s “Best Books of 2014”
Mashable’s “21 page-turning books that captivated readers in 2014”
The Young Adult Library Services Association’s “Best of the Best Lists: 2014”
ANTICIPATING 2015