Are You Making a Beach Reading List? Need Some Inspiration?
Several weeks ago the library began its own pinboard on Pinterest for New Popular Reading Titles (and another for New Audiobook Titles). Why not check out our pinboards? You can re-pin the books you want to read to your own pinboard. Visit the New On Our Shelves link on Book Buzz anytime to be brought to our Pinterest page so that you can see firsthand what’s new on our shelves! On this page we are presenting the covers and linking to the catalog records of the books as we receive them.
Books to Take on Vacation
We’re here to help you select some great books for your next vacation! The current display at the library features our newest popular reading arrivals and includes many recent New York Times bestsellers. We’ve also thrown in a few favorites from past seasons. Stop by to browse before your next getaway. Or, click here to view the list online and log-in to your library account to place holds on the books you want. We suggest that you keep checking back – we will be adding the July and August releases as they arrive.
We’d also love to hear what you have to say about the books you’re reading… Hover over “Your Turn to Share With Us” at the top of the page and select “Write a Review”. Send us your thoughts and we’ll publish your review here on Book Buzz!
Bentley Readers Share Their Literary Recommendations / Summer 2011 Bentley University Observer
Have you cracked open the Summer 2011 issue of the Bentley University Observer yet? In “What are you reading?“, Bentley faculty, staff, students and alums share their literary recommendations. The list of suggestions includes some wonderful fiction and nonfiction titles, and we’re happy to report that almost of them are available here at the Bentley Library! So take a look, and let us know if you have something more to add. You can submit your own book review to our Book Buzz blog – just click on “Your Turn to Share With Us” at the top of this page, and then select “Write a Review”.
This Year’s Top 10 Popular Reading & Audiobooks [2010/11]
Have you ever wondered what the Bentley Library’s most popular items are? Well, we have the answer! Each May we query our database to find out which books, audiobooks and DVDs have circulated the most times during the academic year. 
Essentially, it’s our annual “best sellers” list.
Check out the BENTLEY LIBRARY TOP 10 POPULAR READING and TOP 10 AUDIOBOOKS lists for academic year 2010/2011 below to see which titles have been most in-demand this year. You can also check out our Top 10 Most Circulated Items lists for Stacks (the regular book collection) and DVDs over at the In the Know @ the Bentley Library blog!
Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Popular Reading Collection
- OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS by Malcom Gladwell [check availability]
- THE BIG SHORT: INSIDE THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE by Michael Lewis [check availability]
- FREEDOM: A NOVEL by Jonathan Franzen [check availability]
- CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins [check availability]
- EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert [check availability]
- THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett [check availability]
- INNOCENT by Scott Turow [check availability]
- THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- PRIVATE by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro [check availability]
Top 10 Most Circulated Audiobooks
- WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen [check availability]
- EARTH (THE AUDIOBOOK) by Jon Stewart [check availability]
- FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN SIDE OF EVERYTHING by Steven Levitt [check availability]
- NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH AND HAPPINESS by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein [check availability]
- THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK: ESCAPE 9-5, LIVE ANYWHERE, AND JOIN THE NEW RICH by Timothy Ferriss [check availability]
- THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- ROOM: A NOVEL by Emma Donoghue [check availability]
- BLACK HILLS by Nora Roberts [check availability]
- SUPERFREAKONOMICS by Steven Levitt [check availability]
- THE BIG SHORT: INSIDE THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE by Michael Lewis [check availability]
This Just In: Read the Most Recent Books in Your Favorite Series!
Do you enjoy book series? We’re constantly ordering new titles from bestselling series authors and below is a selection of their latest installments. Hover over the book image to learn more about the series and click on the image to view the current item availability in our Popular Reading collection.
New & Upcoming Movie Releases Based on Books / 2011 edition
All of the movies featured below are due out in 2011. Why not read the book before you see the movie?! Click on each image to view the current availability and location of the book in our collection. Release date and official movie website information are available under each image.
|
The Rite |
Unknown |
Jane Eyre |
Lincoln Lawyer |
|
Water for Elephants |
Winnie-the-Pooh |
The Help |
Moneyball |
|
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 |
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 |
Check These Out (Someone Else Has Recently)!
serendipity, n. The faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident. Also, the fact or an instance of such a discovery.¹
I love to see what others have been reading and find myself peering at the carts at the Library Services desk to discover what materials are waiting to be re-shelved. If you have a hankering to read something new and find yourself inspired by what others have recently checked out, take a look at the list below! Here you’ll find just a smattering of what’s been recently returned.
With the next storm due to start in the next twenty-four hours, I wanted to share this list in the hopes that you might find something to read while the snow continues to fall. Happy reading!
THE ALCHEMIST : A GRAPHIC NOVEL by Derek Ruiz [check availability]
APE HOUSE by Sara Gruen [check availability]
AS ALWAYS, JULIA : LETTERS OF JULIA CHILD AND AVIS DEVOTO by Joan Reardon [check availability]
BLOOD SECRETS : CHRONICLES OF A CRIME SCENE RECONSTRUCTIONIST by Rod Englert [check availability]
BRISINGR, OR, THE SEVEN PROMISES OF ERAGON SHADESLAYER AND SAPHIRA BJARTSKULAR by Christopher Paolini [check availability]
BURNING LAMP by Amanda Quick [check availability]
CHASING THE NIGHT by Iris Johansen [check availability]
CLUB DEAD by Charlaine Harris [check availability]
CUM LAUDE by Cecily von Ziegesar [check availability]
DEAR JOHN by Nicholas Sparks [check availability]
DECISION POINTS by George W. Bush [check availability]
DELIVER US FROM EVIL by David Baldacci [check availability]
ENDER IN EXILE by Orson Scott Card [check availability]
THE FALL by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan [check availability]
THE FASHION FILE : ADVICE, TIPS, AND INSPIRATION FROM THE COSTUME DESIGNER OF MAD MEN / By Janie Bryant [check availability]
THE FORT : A NOVEL OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR by Bernard Cornwell [check availability]
A GOOD FALL by Ha Jin [check availability]
HELL’S CORNERby David Baldacci [check availability]
THE HELPby Kathryn Stockett [check availability]
HOUSE RULESby Jodi Picoult [check availability]
I KNOW I AM, BUT WHAT ARE YOU? by Samantha Bee [check availability]
THE ICE PRINCESS by Camilla Läckberg [check availability]
IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM by Stefanie Pintoff [check availability]
JULIE AND JULIA by Julie Powell [check availability]
KIERON SMITH, BOYby James Kelman [check availability]
KINDRED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb [check availability]
THE LAST SURGEON by Michael Palmer [check availability]
LIFE by Keith Richards with James Fox [check availability]
LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE by Salman Rushdie [check availability]
THE MAGICIANS by Lev Grossman [check availability]
MINDLESS EATING : WHY WE EAT MORE THAN WE THINKby Brian Wansink [check availability]
MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins [check availability]
NAKED HEAT by Richard Castle [check availability]
NANNY RETURNS by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus [check availability]
AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY by Steve Martin [check availability]
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK : MY YEAR IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by Piper Kerman [check availability]
OTHER QUEEN by Philippa Gregory [check availability]
PIANO LESSONS : A MEMOIR by Anna Goldsworthy [check availability]
THE POSTCARD KILLERS by James Patterson and Liza Marklund [check availability]
PRETTY LITTLE THINGS by Jilliane Hoffman [check availability]
A RELIABLE WIFE by Robert Goolrick [check availability]
REMEMBER ME? by Sophie Kinsella [check availability]
RESCUE by Anita Shreve [check availability]
SAVOR THE MOMENT by Nora Roberts [check availability]
THE SHERLOCKIAN by Graham Moore [check availability]
TOUGH CUSTOMER by Sandra Brown [check availability]
UNDER FISHBONE CLOUDS by Sam Meekings [check availability]
WAR DANCES by Sherman Alexie [check availability]
WHERE THE GOD OF LOVE HANGS OUT by Amy Bloom [check availability]
WICKED LIES by Lisa Jackson [check availability]
WITHOUT A MAP : A MEMOIR by Meredith Hall [check availability]
¹ OED Online. November 2010. Oxford University Press. 27 January 2011 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/176387?redirectedFrom=serendipity.
Best Books of 2010 Are Now On Display
Happy New Year! Once again it’s time for our annual “best books” display. This year we have combed through 17 best books lists from a wide range of sources (Amazon.com, The New York Times, The Economist and Publishers Weekly, just to name a few) to bring you our Best Books of 2010 display.
Featuring fiction and non-fiction titles in both print and audiobook format, this display includes many books that were credited on multiple best-of lists – books like Parrot in Olivier in America, The Invisible Bridge, More Money than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite, The Coral Thief, and Country Driving: A Journey Through China From Farm to Factory. You will also find quite a few books that may not have received much publicity when they were released, but which shouldn’t be overlooked.
We’re certain that this display contains something for everyone, but if you don’t see anything of interest at first glance keep checking back. We are adding to the display daily as new acquisitions arrive and currently checked-out books are returned. Please stop by and browse, or view the entire listing online.
Top 10 Popular Reading & Audiobook Titles
You’re probably familiar with the The New York Times weekly bestseller lists and Amazon’s Top 100 books and DVDs lists. But did you know that here at the Bentley Library we track our own “best sellers” each academic year?
Check out the BENTLEY LIBRARY TOP 10 POPULAR READING and AUDIOBOOKS lists for academic year 2009-2010 below. You can also check out our Top 10 Most Circulated Items lists for Stacks (the regular book collection) and DVDs at the In the Know @ the Bentley Library blog!
Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Popular Reading Collection
- THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown [check availability]
- ALEX CROSS’S TRIAL by James Patterson & Richard Dilallo [check availability]
- I, ALEX CROSS by James Patterson [check availability]
- THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL by Tucker Max [check availability]
- DEAD AND GONE by Charlaine Harris [check availability]
- THE LAST SONG by Nicholas Sparks [check availability]
- THE SHACK: A NOVEL by William P. Young [check availability]
- THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS by Malcolm Gladwell [check availability]
Top 10 Most Circulated Audiobooks
- SUPERFREAKONOMICS: GLOBAL COOLING, PATRIOTIC PROSTITUTES, AND WHY SUICIDE BOMBERS SHOULD BUY LIFE INSURANCE by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner [check availability]
- THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett [check availability]
- THE PROFESSIONAL by Robert B. Parker [check availability]
- THE INFORMANT by Kurt Eichenwald [check availability]
- THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC by Richard Russo [check availability]
- THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson [check availability]
- TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer [check availability]
- PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL: THE HIDDEN FORCES THAT SHAPE OUR DECISIONS by Dan Ariely [check availability]
- I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!) by Stephen Colbert [check availability]
What We’ve Been Reading…
It should come as no surprise that those of us who work at the Bentley Library are frequent borrowers from our popular reading and popular audiobook collections. I recently asked my co-workers to send me a quick blurb or two about their favorite books of the 
summer. Here are a few of their responses:
- from Amy Galante, Interlibrary Loan Supervisor:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audio book)
I adored the audio book version of Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book”. I always love listening to Gaiman read his works. When I read his books, I often hear his voice in my head. Looking for heavier Gaiman (literally, heavy books), then check out our recent acquisition of the four volume set, “The Absolute Sandman”. To complete your fill: follow Gaiman on Twitter http://twitter.com/neilhimself
- from Barbara Rayburg, Assistant Manager, Circulation Services
Intent to Kill by James Gippando
This is a murder mystery involving the Pawsox and lots of familiar territory in Boston. I greatly enjoyed it! The author writes about Boston evidently, as the one other book we have is also about Boston lawyers – Lying with Strangers – which I’m reading now. It is good too. I love reading about familiar territory.
- from Kim Morin, Reference Librarian
The Killing Way by Tony Hays is touted as “An Arthurian mystery” and it is. I heartily enjoyed this novel. In a rough way it reminded me of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries. The main character, Malgwyn, has much in common with Cadfael. If you liked the Ellis Peter’s stories you may want to give this one a try.
Storm Cycle by Iris Johansen & Roy Johansen
I loved it. Great collaboration of this mother and son team creates an interesting thriller. Most of the characters were over the top and unbelievable, but that didn’t stop the thread of an interesting story with lots of twists and turns.
- from Lisa Curtin, Reference Librarian
In the Woods by Tana French
This a great mystery novel centered around two crimes that took place twenty years apart but which have spooky similarities and may be interconnected. Set in a Dublin suburb, the author portrays the eerie side of the Irish countryside. The relationship between the main characters and the psychological suspense of the story kept me interested until the end.The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
This novel features a familiar locale (Burlington, VT), a unique concept, and interesting characters, but what I loved most about the story was the unexpected twist at the end. I was totally taken by surprise, despite the clues being there the entire time. This is a book that I will most likely read again – just to catch the things that I missed the first time through.Duma Key by Stephen King
Another classic Stephen King thriller. I think this is one of his best ghastly tales. Nobody paints a picture like Uncle Stevie.
We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what books you’ve been enjoying by commenting on this post.