With 2016 coming to a close, we at the Marathon County Public Library are taking a look back at the past year to see what items have been most popular with our patrons here in northcentral Wisconsin.
When it comes to adult fiction, it seems that patrons can’t get enough mysteries, thrillers, and other action-packed books by popular authors like John Grisham, Janet Evanovich and James Patterson. Like the rest of the country, they have also been swept away by World War II epics like All the Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale, both of which spent much of the year on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
Take a look for yourself at the 10 most-checked out adult fiction books of 2016 at all nine MCPL branches. How many of them have you read yourself?
"THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN"
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning, flashing past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stopping at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. Their life, as she sees it, is perfect ... until she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but now everything is changed. Rachel goes to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
"THE NIGHTINGALE"
Reunited when the elder's husband is sent to fight in World War II, French sisters Vianne and Isabelle find their bond as well as their respective beliefs tested by a world that changes in horrific ways.
"ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE"
A stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
"ALERT"
After two inexplicable high-tech attacks, New York City is on edge. Detective Michael Bennett, along with his old pal, the FBI's Emily Parker, have to catch the shadowy criminals who claim responsibility -- but they're as good at concealing their identities as they are at wreaking havoc.
"GO SET A WATCHMAN"
Twenty years after the trial of Tom Robinson, Scout returns home to Maycomb to visit her father and struggles with personal and political issues as her small Alabama town adjusts to the turbulent events beginning to transform the United States in the mid-1950s.
"X"
This book features a remorseless serial killer who leaves no trace of his crimes and investigator Kinsey Milhone - the star of Grafton's alphabet series - must prove her case against him before she becomes his next victim.
"ROGUE LAWYER"
Sebastian Rudd is not your typical street lawyer. His office is a customized bulletproof van, complete with Wi-Fi, a bar, a small fridge, and fine leather chairs. He has no firm, no partners, and only one employee: his heavily armed driver, who also so happens to be his bodyguard. He defends people other lawyers won't go near. Why? Because Sebastian believes everyone is entitled to a fair trial, even if he has to bend the law to secure one.
"LEAVING TIME"
bandoned by a grief-stricken father and scientist mother who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, thirteen-year-old Jenna Metcalf approaches a disgraced psychic and a jaded detective in the hopes of finding answers.
"THE MURDER HOUSE"
Noah Walker isn't superstitious. But there's one beach house in Bridgehampton that has a troubling history of violence and mystery: when Noah was a kid, No. 7 South Ocean burned down in a devastating fire, killing the couple trapped inside. Rebuilt after the fire, the gorgeous, ocean-front property is still known by locals as The Murder House. Now, sixteen years later, a powerful Hollywood player and his mistress are found dead in The Murder House and the police unearth proof that the couple is undeniably linked to Noah's past.
"TRICKY TWENTY-TWO"
Stephanie Plum might not be the world's greatest bounty hunter, but she knows when she's being played. Ken Globovic, hailed as the Supreme Exalted Zookeeper of the animal house known as Zeta fraternity, has been arrested for beating up the dean of students. He's missed his court date and gone into hiding. People have seen him on campus, but no one will talk. Things just aren't adding up, and Stephanie can't shake the feeling that something funny is going on at the college
Dan Richter / Library Marketing Specialist