Quick Summary
To help jump-start your 2016 reading resolutions, several Minitex staff members have shared the books they'll read to kick off the new year.
A 2015 Nielsen survey showed the top New Year's resolutions were pretty much what you’d expect: everyone wants to be happier and healthier. One great way people like to get there? Read more!
At Minitex, we fully endorse this path to Happy and Healthy, and we’ve got science on our side! So, to help jump-start your 2016 reading resolutions, several Minitex staff members have shared the books they'll read to kick off the new year.
Sarah Anderson - Information Technology
falseThe Nightingale - by Kristin Hannah
Fiction
“Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors. I also love historical fiction. This will be the first historical fiction I've read by Hannah, so it's sure to be great (and it has fantastic reviews).”
Lizzy Baus - Digital Initiatives & Metadata Education
false Anonymous Rex - by Eric Garcia
Mystery / Crime / Suspense
"A detective thriller featuring a velociraptor PI and a secret society of dinosaurs dressed as humans" ... classic noir with a twist!”
Beth Chekola - Documents to U
false Why This World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector - by Benjamin Moser
Non-Fiction
“Lispector is a rather mysterious figure. She was an innovative Brazilian writer whose works spanned a great many styles and dealt largely with the various roles women occupy, but her work has only recently come into greater prominence. I've read all of her published work, so now I'm curious to learn more about her life and how it may have influenced her writing.“
R.S. Fredrickson - Resource Sharing
13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi - by Mitchell Zuckoff
Non-Fiction
“Soon to be major motion picture!”
Tammi Halverson - Organizational Support
false Edgar Allan Poe Works - Edgar Allan Poe
Classics
“It's been several years since I've read any of his work, and I'm looking forward to revisiting familiar material as well as some I haven't read!”
Anne Hatinen - Cooperative Purchasing & Electronic Resource Services
false Morning Star - by Pierce Brown
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
“This is the third volume in an excellent trilogy that ended book two with a very nasty cliffhanger!”
Valerie Horton - Director
false Crimson Shore - by Douglas Preson & Lincoln Child
Mystery / Crime / Suspense
“I've read everything the pair has ever written. They write supernatural, but science-based suspense - smart and scary books. I'm also going to read Wilkie Collins, "The Woman in White" (1859). In Preston/Child's book Brimstone (which I just reread) they recommend Woman in White as the first true detective novel.”
Scott Hreha - Information Technology
false Everybody's Heard about the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock 'n' Roll in Minnesota - by Rick Shefchik
Non-Fiction
“I read a lot of music history/biographies in general, but I've heard particularly good things about this one. And, being a musician myself who is playing locally with people who were directly influenced by the artists this book focuses on, I look forward to learning more about the historical context I'm working in.”
Dana Kocienda - Organizational Support
false Saint Odd - by Dean Koontz
Mystery / Crime / Suspense
“It's the final book in the Odd series and I've read all the others, so I want to see how it unfolds in the end.”
Nicole Masika - Resource Sharing
false The Witch of Hebron - by James Howard Kunstler
Fiction
“This is the second book in the World made By Hand series, I started with the third, and am currently reading the first. They are post-collapse, post-oil novels, neither dystopian nor utopian, and so far each has featured at least one grisly murder! More interesting to me are the details of living without electricity or gasoline.”
Tim McCluske - Minnesota Library Access Center
The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden - by William Alexander
Self-defeating
“I'm an awful gardener. Every winter I get my hopes up that I can grow a garden that is bountiful as well as beautiful. Every year I'm wrong. “
The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks - by Amy Stewart
Self-help
“After killing all the vegetables in my garden, I need a stiff drink.”
Zach Miller - Communications Specialist
false The Labyrinth of Solitude and Other Writings - by Octavio Paz
Non-Fiction
"As the only person residing in Minnesota yet to visit Mexico, I am excited to finally travel there this spring. But before I go, I want to learn more about it."
Carol Nelson - Resource Sharing
false The Humans - by Matt Haig
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
“I like to try reading various genres. This book sounds interesting, and possibly funny, which is always a plus.“
Matt Niehoff - Information Technology
false Mistborn series - by Brandon Sanderson
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
“I first read Brandon Sanderson when he completed the "Wheel of Time" series for the late Robert Jordan. I enjoyed the writing so much that I decided to explore Sanderson's own works. I read the first two books, "Mistborn" and "The Well of Ascension," at the end of 2015 and have the third, "The Hero of Ages," on hold at the library. The series has plenty of action, drama, and politics to keep the reader excited for what is coming next. Exploring new fictional worlds is always exciting, and catching up on the entire Mistborn series is my primary reading goal for 2016.”
Michelle Penna - Minnesota Library Access Center
false A Wind in the Door - by Madeleine L'Engle
Young Adult - Sci-Fi / Fantasy
“L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" series is one of my favorite reads from childhood. I am re-reading the series (again), and am gifting a boxed set to my niece (who has not yet experienced L'Engle) for Christmas. This is the second book in the series. Share the Love!”
Becky Ringwelski - Associate Director: Resource Sharing, Information Technology, MnLINK
false The Waters of Eternal Youth - by Donna Leon
Mystery / Crime / Suspense
“I read all the books in the Brunetti series. They are consistently well written, with interesting characters and take place in Venice.”
Beth Staats - Reference Outreach & Instruction
false The Hobbit - by J.R.R. Tolkien
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
“My son (age 9) and I just finished reading the Harry Potter series and are looking for something just as grand to get us through the winter.”
Link Swanson - Information Technology
false Constellation Games - by Leonard Richardson
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
“The author of this book also happens to be the lead programmer of our beloved Library Simplified. I read it back in 2012, and loved it! I am adding this because I think others will like it. It's very original, interesting, and hilarious. “
Paul Swanson - Information Technology
false The Dog Stars - by Peter Heller
Fiction
“Who doesn't like a post-apocalyptic novel where a virus wipes out *almost* everyone?”
Additional Minitex Staff Recommendations:
false The Lord of the Rings - by J.R.R. Tolkien
Classics
“Re-reading something I read as a child. I know I liked it but I don't remember a lot about the story. Now that all the LOTR and Hobbit Movies are done as well, I wanted a fresh dose of Tolkien.“
false The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America - by Erik Larson
Non-Fiction
“It has been recommended to me for several years.“
false The Book Thief - by Markus Zusak
Young Adult
“I saw the movie and found out it was based on a book.”
