Having just finished the fifth installment of the endlessing entertaining Flavia De Luce series by Alan Bradley, I thought this would be a good time to promote an oftentimes underappreciated genre, the Cozy Mystery.  "Cozies" are a subgenre of crime fiction, usually set in small communities and feature amateur sleuths who have great senses of humor. What's not to love, right?

Fiction

Lunatics by Dave Barry

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

Nonficiton

8 by Dustin Lance Black

The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

Why Read Moby-Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick

Well, it’s 2013, amazing as that may seem, and most people are looking ahead to the new year, making their resolutions…and resolving not to break them this time. But before we move forward, let’s take a moment to look back over the last year and remember some of the great novelists and writers who passed away. Though they themselves are gone, here’s to hoping their great works of fiction and nonfiction survive for many years to come! 

2012 has seen a lot of wonderful novels, many of them by well-established authors. But there have also been quite a few break-through successes for brand-new authors. Many of the most popular and well-reviewed books of the year have been debut novels from first-time authors or authors who had only published short stories or memoirs previous to their novelistic success. Here’s hoping the years to come bring more great novels from these rising stars!

Torres, Justin.  We the Animals

Can't get enough of Downton Abbey? These novels will keep you satisfied until the next episode:

Life Class by Pat Barker

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin