Nominated titles from this year or last year, provide fodder for book club reading. Consider attending the Awards Gala on April 12, 2012 to celebrate Minnesota's literary culture!

USA Today recently reported that Minneapolis is the third most literate city in the country (Washington D.C. and Seattle are #1 and #2).  Our wonderful libraries and bookstores must take some credit! http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-10-literary10_ST_N.htm  Let's see Minneapolis take the #1 spot next time!

Christmas Eve is not starting well for under-sheriff Estelle Reyes-Guzman of Posadas County, New Mexico. Statute of Limitations is part of the Posadas County series.  The  Chief of Police has a heart attack while confronting car thieves, Sheriff Torrez has a pulmonary embolism Christmas morning; a deputy's fiancée is murdered that afternoon; and former sheriff (and Estelle's best friend) Bill Gastner is brutally attacked that night. Just visiting everyone in the hospital would be a full time job, let alone tracking down the perpetrators and raising two children.  This series is a favorite of mine.

Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) has named Connie Willis as its latest Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master, and has joined fellow women Anne McCaffrey, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Andre Norton on this lifetime achievement list.

Living in Minnesota is a connection between these Grand Masters: Poul Anderson and Clifford D. Simak.

Other great masters of writing you can check out include Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Damon Knight, Frederik Pohl, Ray Bradbury, Alfred Bester, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Fritz Leiber, and the first ever winner, Robert A. Heinlein (1975).

John Barron of the Chicago Sunday Sun-Times says of Chad Harbach's novel The Art of Fielding, "It's hard to figure who wouldn't take to this captivating, breezy debut... it has it all: love, the search for identity, redemption, a superbly drawn setting, engaging characters...and baseball." It's been compared to John Irving's The World According to Garp (which piqued my interest as Garp remains one of my all-time favorite novels). Ten years in the writing, The Art of Fielding brought Harbach a whopping $665,000 advance. It's a character-driven novel set at a fictional Wisconsin college. I loved the first half.  Then Harbach lost his way and my interest waned. Where was this book going, I wondered?  I wasn't emotionally engaged at its dramatic and tear-jerking ending. Tighter editing was sorely needed (the book goes on much too long at 512 pages).   Harbach's talent is evident but I hope he finds a new editor.

Want to know which comics Europeans love the most? Check out the British Eagle Awards.

Favourite New Comicbook - Daytripper by Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba
Favourite American Comicbook: Colour - Batman & Robin by Grant Morrison
Favourite Manga - Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Favourite European Comicbook - Blacksad by Juan Diaz Canales
Favourite Continued Story - The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

Unfortunately the Favourite British Comicbook: Colour (2000AD by various) and Favourite British Comicbook: Black & White (Commando by various) aren't readily available here. Check out the list for even more suggestions!

According to the Federal Government, some of the most popular New Year's resolutions are:
•Drink Less Alcohol
•Eat Healthy Food
•Get a Better Education
•Get a Better Job
•Get Fit
•Lose Weight
•Manage Debt
•Manage Stress
•Quit Smoking
•Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
•Save Money
•Take a Trip
•Volunteer to Help Others 

Maybe your top resolution this year is to keep your resolutions!   Whatever your goals might be, use the library to help you achieve them.  Our Health and Wellness Subject Guide is full of resources, and we have books for almost any resolution can think of. Here's a book list with a few titles to get you started:
Making (and Keeping!) Your New Year's Resolutions

Booklist has named the year's top 10 Romance Fiction featuring "smart, strong, and witty women rescuing animals, creating elegant dresses, studying medicine, and falling in love with men who truly cherish their wonderful, authentic selves."