Tag: best books

Online Display: Best Books of 2020

Lisa

We’re celebrating the best of 2020 – best books, that is! This year’s display features more than 190 titles that appeared on 17 year-end best books lists.* Visit the Best Books of 2020 display website to browse by category (fiction or nonfiction) and format (print or electronic). From the display website you can view a book’s current availability and/or place holds.

Curious to know about the “best of the best”? There were 20 books that appeared on five or more lists:

  1. A Burning by Megha Majumdar
  2. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
  3. City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
  4. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  5. Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X  by Les Payne & Tamara Payne
  6. Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town by Barbara Demick
  7. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
  8. Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
  9. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
  10. Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab
  11. Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine
  12. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
  13. Memorial Drive by Natasha D. Trethewey
  14. Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
  15. Missionaries by Phil Klay
  16. Real Life by Brandon Taylor
  17. The Searcher by Tana French
  18. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
  19. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
  20. Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Borrowing Books & Audiobooks from the Library

Those of you on-campus and enrolled in the University’s COVID screening program are welcome to visit the library to borrow books from the print book and CD audiobook lists. Either stop by to browse, or place a hold request in the catalog and we’ll notify you when the items are ready to be picked up. For a contactless experience you can retrieve your items from the “open holds cart” in the lobby and check them out to yourself using the self-check.

Accessing E-Books & Digital Audiobooks Online

Everyone in the Bentley community is able to access the titles on the e-book and digital audiobook lists from anywhere in the world with a current Bentley email address and password.

We hope you find something good to read from 2020 while we all await brighter days in 2021! Please contact us if you have any questions or need help using the e-book and digital audiobook collections.

*sources consulted: AudioFile, Bloomberg, Booklist, The Christian Science Monitor (fiction, nonfiction), The Economist, Entertainment Weekly, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, Publishers Weekly, strategy+business, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

On Display: Best Books of 2019

Lisa

If you’ve made a resolution to read more in 2020, our 11th annual Best Books display is a great place to start! We’ve consulted 19 book review sources* to create a display of the top books and audiobooks published last year. With more than 100 fiction and nonfiction titles to choose from, we’re sure you’ll find something to enjoy.

Visit the lobby to see the display or browse online via our catalog; simply click the “Request It” button to place an item on hold. Many of these books are also available to download from the library’s OverDrive digital ebook and audiobook collection.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and book-filled new year!

On display January 3 – February 16, 2020

*sources consulted: AudioFile, Bloomberg, Booklist, The Christian Science Monitor (fiction, nonfiction), CHOICE, The Economist, Entertainment Weekly, The Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Publishers Weekly, strategy+business, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

On Display: Best Books of 2018

Lisa

Happy New Year! Here at the library we are celebrating the arrival of 2019 and the 10th anniversary of our annual “best books” display!

Back in January of 2009 we thought it would be fun to comb through multiple year-end “best of” lists to put together a display of the previous year’s top fiction and nonfiction titles. Thus began an annual tradition, and here we are ten years later…

This year we examined 17 unique review sources* to bring you a display of 100+ books and audiobooks. As always, you’ll find titles by popular authors who regularly land on the bestseller lists, as well as books from outside the spotlight that are worthy of your attention. The common denominator is that they have all been hailed as the best of 2018’s publishing.

Please take some time to visit the library’s lobby or browse the items online in our catalog. Many of these books are also available as downloadable eBooks and audiobooks via the library’s OverDrive digital collection.

If you don’t see anything of interest at first glance, keep checking back. As new acquisitions arrive and currently checked-out books are returned we will add more books to the display. Happy browsing!

*sources consulted: AudioFile, Bloomberg, Booklist, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor (fiction, nonfiction), The Economist, Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company (business, technology), Forbes, Kirkus Reviews, Inc., Library Journal, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, strategy+business, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

On Display: Best Books of 2017

Lisa

Best Books of 2011Happy New Year! If one of your resolutions is to read more in 2018, we have just the thing you get you started…our 9th annual Best Books display! This year we have combed through 20 year-end best books lists* to bring you over 130 of the top titles published last year. The display includes fiction and nonfiction, print and audio. You’ll find wildly popular bestsellers alongside books that were critically acclaimed yet didn’t receive as much mainstream attention.

Stop by the library’s lobby to browse. If you don’t find anything of interest at first glance please keep checking back. We will add books to the display as new acquisitions arrive and currently checked-out books are returned.

Many of these books are also available as downloadable and streaming eBooks and audiobooks via the library’s OverDrive digital collection. For help using OverDrive, view their Getting Started page or visit the Reference Desk for personal assistance.

Happy reading!

Best Books of 2017

* Lists consulted: AudioFile, Bloomberg, Booklist, The Boston Globe, CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, The Christian Science Monitor, The Economist, Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company, Financial Times, Forbes, Inc., Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, The New York Times, NPR, Publishers Weekly, strategy+business, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

On Display: Best Books of 2016

Lisa

Best Books of 2016Happy New Year! In keeping with tradition, we have spent the last couple of months combing through some of our favorite reviewer’s year-end best books lists* to bring you our 8th annual Best Books display.

Stop by the library’s lobby to browse 2016’s best fiction and nonfiction titles. With over 160 books to choose from, we are certain you will find something to capture your interest. Some of these books have received numerous accolades and publicity, but you’ll also find great books that did not receive as much mainstream attention.  Many of these titles are also available to download or read/stream online from OverDrive, our digital book and audiobook collection.

If you don’t find anything at first glance, we encourage you to keep checking back.  Books will be added to the display as new acquisitions arrive and currently checked-out books are returned. If you have a best books list to recommend, please share in the comments.

These are just a few of the best books of 2016

* Lists consulted: Bloomberg, Booklist, The Boston Globe, CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, The Christian Science Monitor (fiction; nonfiction), The Economist, Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company, Financial Times, Forbes, Inc., Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, The New York Times, NPR, Publishers Weekly, strategy+business, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

On Display: The Best Books of 2015

Lisa

blue ribbonHappy New Year and welcome to the library’s 7th annual best books display! This year we have combed through eighteen* year-end “best books” lists to bring you the Best Books of 2015.

The display features fiction and nonfiction titles that have spent weeks on the bestseller lists, and also highlights critically claimed books that have not garnered as much mainstream attention. Intrigued? Stop by the library’s lobby to browse the selections or click here to view a list of the titles on display. Many of these books are also available as downloadable and streaming eBooks and audiobooks via the library’s OverDrive digital collection.A few selections from the Best Books of 2015 display

More than 150 books and audiobooks are currently on display. More titles being added as they are acquired and returned, so keep checking back!

Please visit the Reference Desk if you need help finding a book or would like to learn more about downloading eBooks and audiobooks from OverDrive.

*Sources consulted: Amazon.com; Bloomberg; Booklist; The Boston Globe; CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries; The Economist; Entertainment Weekly; Financial Times; Forbes; Inc. Magazine; Kirkus Reviews; Library Journal; The New York Times; NPR; Publishers Weekly; strategy+business; The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

On Display: Best Books of 2014

Lisa

Happy New Year and welcome to the library’s 6th annual best books display! This year we have consulted eighteen* best books lists to bring you the Best Books of 2014.

Best Books of 2014More than 150 books and audiobooks are currently on display, with additional titles being added as they are acquired and returned. Many of these books are not only available in hardcopy and CD/Playaway formats, but also as eBooks and mp3 audiobooks via the library’s OverDrive digital collection.

The display includes bestselling fiction and nonfiction books that have garnered much publicity, as well as books that are critically acclaimed but may not have received mainstream attention. Does that pique your interest? Stop by the lobby to browse.

Please visit the Reference Desk if you need help finding a book or would like to learn more about downloading eBooks and audiobooks from OverDrive.

*Sources consulted: Amazon, Booklist, The Boston Globe, CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, The Christian Science Monitor (fiction, nonfiction), The Economist, Entertainment Weekly (fiction, nonfiction), The Guardian, Inc. Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, The New York Times, NPR, Publishers Weekly, strategy+business, TIME, Slate and The Washington Post.

On Display: Best Books of 2013

Lisa

Best Books of 2013Happy new year and welcome to the Bentley Library’s 5th annual best books display! This year we have consulted fifteen* best books lists to bring you the Best Books of 2013.

This is our biggest best books display yet, with more than 300 fiction and nonfiction books and audiobooks.  Many of these titles are not only available on our shelves, but also in digital downloadable format from OverDrive.  Some of the critics’ most frequently selected books, such Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life and Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, can be read in hardcover, downloaded as an eBook or mp3 audiobook to a mobile device, or listened to on CD. We are certain we have something to interest everyone. Take a moment to stop by and see if something catches your eye, or browse the display on Pinterest to discover which best books lists each book was named to.  Visit the Reference Desk if you need help finding a book or would like to learn more about downloading eBooks from OverDrive.

*Sources consulted: Publishers Weekly, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Inc. Magazine (sales, entrepreneurs, inspirational business books), Forbes, strategy+business, Bloomberg Businessweek, Entertainment Weekly (fiction, nonfiction) and CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.