Top 5 most requested crime/mystery novels for November 2012

"Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book."
- Mickey Spillane

Introduction here. Or, better yet, an 'introduction here' that would have actually been an introduction. Due to ISP issues (saying it was connected but absolutely was not connecting - oh, interwebs, I thought you'd deserted me) this post published minus an introduction *sigh* And, as a result, I had to race into a local library (Otara Library you are full of win) to pop in and finish it. Only now I can't remember what it was that I wanted to actually write. It would have been EPIC, though. So I'm going to shush my face (as Mr2 says) and let you at the list: Top 5 most requested crime/mystery novels for November 2012.   If you get a chance make sure to check out what our most popular library books were for this year!  

Top 5 books for a roadtrip

"Babies are born with the instinct to speak, the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don't need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different."
— Steven Pinker

Today's list is courtesy of the fabulous Anne, Libraries Advisor Youth Service Development. Take it away, Anne :)

We had a discussion earlier this year about whether or not reading was natural. Like we all know from experience – babies make noise. It comes to them as naturally as some of their other bodily functions. In fairness there is an element of learning as they pick up the sounds and make sense of them, but in much the same way I believe movement is a babies first language, sound (or speaking) comes in a very close second. However reading is something that they have to learn to do.

And that may be one of the reasons why the joy of listening to a story never grows old. I am a fan of stories, storytelling and, by extension, this year have become a fan of the audio book. It may be something to do with an increasing commute and disillusionment with some of the random radio stations my car tuner picks up. It may just be one way to read a book without having to turn a page. It certainly does have its up side as while I am still number well down the list waiting my turn for a copy of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, I have already read it... on audio book. There might not be as many copies available through the library system, but as many people have not yet discovered the advantages of the audio book, they still come through much quicker.

So for those of you about to embark on the traditional long holiday haul to other parts of the country, here are my Top 5 to make the drive more bearable (and with something for everyone).

Top 5 most requested items for November 2012

"There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and a tired man who wants a book to read."
- G.K. Chesterton

I think I'm somewhat of a voyeur because I am always interested in what other people are reading/watching/listening to. It is the best part of conversations with other people. It is the worst part of conversations with other people. And so even as a small part of me goes SQUEE because YAY MORE BOOKS, an even smaller part of me groans in misery because my TBR (to-be-read) list cannot contain much more awesomeness. And yet I throw more at it, anyway. (Although not Fifty shades of Grey because I'm SO OVER THE HYPE OF IT. People, you need to find a new vanilla-BDSM book to OOH and AAH over). Today's list offers up some bad sex (although not so bad either of them won the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award, no, that honour went to Canadian author Nancy Huston), the 17th book in the Jack Reacher series (I still can't bring myself to watch Tom Cruise play the lead role - it's enough to make me want to cry), a lawyer in prison for the murder of a judge, and the youngest of the Walsh sisters. Et voilà! The top 5 most requested items for November 2012. ALL fiction.

Top 5 most requested items for August 2012

"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it."
- Oscar Wilde

I find myself having conversations about books in the strangest of places. I always think that I've gotten used to the idea of random book chats in random non-bookish type locations, and then one comes along to prove me wrong. (On purpose, I'm sure). Today's was while standing in queue at a petrol station. I was waiting to be served when the gentleman in front of me turned around, spotted my nametag (yes, I wear this everywhere to work/home from work because I have no shame about who I work for - in fact, I'm kinda proud of it) and asked me if I'd ever read Lee Child, had I heard that Tom Cruise was playing Jack Reacher in the movie version of the first book, how did that happen (insert exclamation mark), and did we still have romance novels because his wife likes them a lot? FTW! And that timely conversation reminded me that it was time to post our top 5 most requested items for August 2012. One of which happens to be the latest Lee Child novel. Spectacular timing.