More about BTB...
BTB is published quarterly.
Free printed copies of BTB are available
at Middletown Thrall Library.
Check out our Booklovers Web Guide
for sites especially helpful to readers: book clubs, reading groups, book discussions, reviews, reading advisories, publishers, bookstores, and more!
Keep up with forthcoming titles and new authors
by visiting our Booklovers Blog.
Looking for something "good" to read? Or is there a book you really like and want to tell
others about? Check out Thrall's own free RAVES!
service for readers.
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Find books and authors based on ones you like. Login using your Thrall Library card.
Looking for suggestions?
Stop by our Readers' Advisory Center
by Reference or ask a librarian
for recommendations on what you
might like to read next.
Also check out our
Random Reads
and
Random GREATS
pages for random popular and awarded
titles, authors, as well as
topics you might find interesting.
Click here to view current bestseller lists
and other award-winning books.
Previous Issues
Click below for previous BTBs and more reading recommendations:
Free Services
for Booklovers!
- Booklovers Web Guide - Websites, forthcoming titles, book reviews, reading advisories, and more! Also check out our blog and "Booklover's Lane" on our home page.
- eBooks / eAudio / eVideos - Freely download books, audio eBooks, and videos at home! Please be sure to log into the eBooks catalog to search and see all Thrall's offerings!
- Future Title Watch - View monthly lists of notable new titles and future bestsellers!
- Literature & Poetry - Enjoy classic and contemporary writers and poets and much more! Also check out our literary criticism databases
- Novelist Database - Locate books and authors based on ones you like.
- Reader's Advisory Center - Visit our Reference Department and enjoy specialized guides designed to help you locate books and authors you might enjoy reading.
- Random Greats! - Explore randomly selected awarded books and authors!
- RAVES! for Readers - Discover fresh and different books and authors, suggest titles to other readers, and comment on books. You can also quickly check if a book is available in the library catalog!
- Reading Plans - Members of Middletown Thrall Library can request their very own reading plans for free. Tell us what you like to read, and we will present reading suggestions tailored to your tastes!
- Virtual NewsStand - Enjoy easy access to magazine articles and more on the Web.
- Virtual Reference Library - History, culture, religion, and more titles freely available online.
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Beyond the Bestsellers highlights new and notable authors
not often found on bestseller lists.
Discover new books and writers you might enjoy!
To learn more about a book and check on its availablity within the library system, please click or tap on its cover or title.
You can also click / tap an author's name to locate any additional titles by that writer in the library catalog.
General Fiction
 Shadowbahn - Steve Erickson - In the near future, as the country fractures, the Twin Towers reappear in the middle of the South Dakota Badlands. Tourists flock there to hear almost, but not quite, familiar music emanating from the skyscrapers. Meanwhile, siblings on a cross-country road trip to visit their mother decide to make a detour and visit the new "American Stonehenge". They soon notice music disappearing all around them, except for the playlists compiled by their late father streaming in their car in this lyrical, yet offbeat novel. Edgar and Lucy - Victor Lodato - An eight-year-old boy and his dysfunctional mother are shaped by tragedy in this compelling story of grief, healing and redemption. Edgar is a smart, sensitive boy with albinism. Lucy is his immature, irresponsible mother haunted by her husband's suicide. When Edgar's grandmother dies suddenly, Lucy is oblivious to her son's grief leading him to leave with a stranger who promises the comfort he craves. Lucy hits rock bottom with Edgar's disappearance and must climb back up as she searches for her son. Romance Reader's Guide to Life - Sharon Pywell - Sisters Lilly and Neave could not be more different. Lilly is popular and charming. Neave is volatile and bookish, with a passion for romance novels. After World War II, the sisters work together to start their own door-to-door cosmetics company to earn both income and self-respect. As their business rises towards success, Lilly suddenly disappears and Neave begins receiving threats. Neave must set aside her beloved books and find her sister in this smart, funny genre-bending novel.
Other titles to consider:
Historical Fiction
 The Horseman - Tim Pears - In 1911 rural England, twelve-year-old Leo finds a place working in the stables of the master of the estate and develops an unlikely friendship with Miss Charlotte, the master's daughter. Told in a series of episodic vignettes as the seasons change, industrialization looms and Europe marches towards war, this is a reflective look back at a previous way of life, when the landed gentry were responsible for a multitude of families working their estates and there was little chance of moving outside the strict social structure.
Other titles to consider:
Mysteries
 Swiss Vendetta - Tracee de Hahn - When an auction house appraiser is found murdered at the luxurious Chateau Valloton, Swiss-American detective Agnes Luthi is assigned her first case as part of the Violent Crimes Unit. A fierce blizzard makes roads impassable and knocks out power and phones, leaving Agnes trapped in the chateau with all her suspects and the murderer. A contemporary take on the English country-house murder with an appealing lead character, this debut should please most mystery lovers. Fever of the Blood - Oscar De Muriel - Inspector Ian Frey and and his boss 'Nine-Nails' McGray pursue the once forcibly committed Lord Ardglass from Edinburgh to Pendle Hill and find forces conspiring against them and rumors of occult practices growing the closer they get. The page-turning plot full of clever twists and vivid characters make this Victorian mystery one not to miss.
Other titles to consider:
Romance
Science Fiction / Fantasy / Horror
 Universal Harvester - John Darnielle - When customers begin complaining about strange things in the movies from the small town Iowa video rental store where he works, Jeremy finds short black and white scenes of possibly criminal behavior spliced into the tapes. With the help of an acquaintance, he begins to search for the origin of the odd clips and stumbles onto into a sinister mystery that stretches back decades in this ghost story. Ararat - Christopher Golden - Discovery of a buried ship high up Mount Ararat leads a crew of adventurers, archaeologists, scholars and filmmakers to what could by Noah's Ark. Trapped within the ship by a blizzard, the crew uncovers a sarcophagus containing a disturbingly humanoid, yet horned, skeleton. Then team members begin disappearing one by one. Golden's latest novel delivers thrills and excitement as it delves into the nature of good and evil. All Our Wrong Todays - Elan Mastai - The year 2016 was a technological utopia of jet packs and flying cars, where no one wanted for any material things. Then Tom Barren came along. The world's first chrononaut, he uses an experimental time machine to visit the day his future began in 1965 when the engine harnessing the earth's rotation for unlimited energy was unveiled. His presence has unintended consequences and when Tom goes back to 2016 it is the technologically backward time of the reader and he must try to correct the timeline. This humorous debut playing with all the tropes of time travel is reminiscent of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Other titles to consider:
Thrillers
 I See You - Clare Mackintosh - Zoe Walker follows the same routine everyday as she commutes to work. One day while reading her daily newspaper, she spots her own picture in an ad for an obscure dating site. When other girls pictured in ads for the same site end up victims of violent crimes, only disgraced Constable Kelly Swift takes Zoe's fears seriously. Zoe's increasing paranoia and suspicions towards even those closest to her will leave readers questioning their own comfortable and predictable daily routines. Well-crafted suspense and twists make this a good fit for fans of Tana French and Lisa Gardner. Say Nothing - Brad Parks - Respected federal judge and devoted family man Scott Sampson's life is turned upside down when his six-year-old twins are abducted from their private school. He is warned not to tell anyone and blackmailed into immoral legal rulings or else risk his children's lives. The stress of living his worst nightmare makes Judge Sampson increasingly mistrustful and paranoid of everyone he has ever confided in, even his wife. This fast-paced cross between domestic drama and crime thriller will keep fans of Harlan Coben or Gregg Hurwitz hooked.
Other titles to consider:
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