Monday, January 10, 2011

ALA Top Genre Fiction Titles

The American Library Association announced its Top Genre Fiction Titles named to 2011 RUSA Reading List (Reference and User Services Association), The Reading List annually recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (including suspense, thriller and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and women’s fiction. The 2011 winners are:
 
Adrenaline
“The Nearest Exit” by Olen Steinhauer, Minotaur Books
 
Read-Alikes:
“The Quiet American” by Graham Greene
“The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” by John Le Carré
“Night Soldiers” by Alan Furst
           
Short List:
“Caught” by Harlan Coben, E. P. Dutton
“Crashers” by Dana Haynes, Minotaur
“Deep Shadow” by Randy Wayne White, Putnam Pub. Group
“They’re Watching” by Gregg Hurwitz, St. Martin’s
 
Historical Fiction
“The Invisible Bridge” by Julie Orringer, Alfred A. Knopf
In this sweeping yet intimate portrait of a Hungarian Jewish family in Europe, two lovers become enmeshed in the turmoil of the Holocaust. With gorgeous prose and an exquisite evocation of Paris and Budapest, Orringer writes movingly of their strength and the bittersweet power of hope and love.
 
Read-Alikes:
“Corelli’s Mandolin” by Louis De Bernieres
“The Piano Teacher” by Janice Y. K. Lee
“A Thread of Grace” by Mary Doria Russell
 
Short List:
“A Battle Won” by S. Thomas Russell, Putnam
“A Fierce Radiance” by Lauren Belfer, HarperCollins
“The Golden Mean” by Annabel Lyon, Alfred A. Knopf
“The Rebellion of Jane Clarke” by Sally Gunning, Morrow
 
Horror
“The Dead Path” by Stephen M. Irwin, Doubleday
Guilt-ridden Nicholas Close retreats to his family home in Australia after the tragic death of his wife, only to encounter an ancient malevolence lurking in the nearby woods. Childhood nightmares and fairytale motifs combine in this emotionally powerful tale of implacable evil. Arachnophobes beware!
 
Read-Alikes:
“It” by Stephen King
“Faerie Tale: A Novel of Terror and Fantasy” by Raymond Feist
“Dark Hollow” by Brian Keene
           
Short List:
“The Caretaker of Lorne Field” by David Zeltserman, Overlook
“The Frenzy Way” by Gregory Lamberson, Medallion Press
“Horns” by Joe Hill, William Morrow
“So Cold the River” by Michael Koryta, Little Brown
 
Mystery
“Bury Your Dead” by Louise Penny, Minotaur
Troubled by past mistakes, Chief Inspector Gamache, in his sixth outing, retreats to snowy and insular Quebec City, where he becomes embroiled in intertwining investigations both old and new. Penny expertly delivers a layered story that is haunting, moody, and exquisitely drawn.
 
Read-Alikes:
“A Test of Wills” by Charles Todd
“Haunted Ground” by Erin Hart
“In the Bleak Midwinter”by Julia Spencer-Fleming
 
Short List:
“Faithful Place” by Tana French, Viking
“The Taken” by Inger Ash Wolfe, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
“Think of a Number” by John Verdon, Crown
“Vermilion Drift” by William Kent Krueger, Simon & Schuster
 
Romance
“A Matter of Class” by Mary Balogh, Vanguard Press
A lady is ruined. A merchant’s son is trapped. Class differences loom large in this charming and playful take on the arranged marriage. Balogh’s Regency gem, where nothing is quite as it seems, is filled with affection and wit. 
 
Read-Alikes:
“Faro’s Daughter” by Georgette Heyer
“In for a Penny” by Rose Lerner
“The Viscount Who Loved Me” by Julia Quinn
           
Short List:
“Barely a Lady” by Eileen Dreyer, Hachette (Forever)
“The Forbidden Rose” by Joanna Bourne, Berkley
“The Iron Duke” by Meljean Brook, Berkley
“Something About You” by Julie James, Berkley Sensation
 
For the rest of the list, go HERE.
 

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