Book Review: Inferno

Inferno is a great thriller that introduces the reader to the history, culture, and art of three major cities: Florence, Venice, and Istanbul. Dan Brown is a master at tickling your interest. You seldom read his novels without wanting to read more about the city he uses to perpetuate his narrative. For example, in Inferno you become fascinated with Dante's epic poem, The Divine Comedy. Dan Brown provides such enticing, accurate information on the classic poem and the artists who have used this classic as a theme, that you are going to want to revisit (or read for the first time) Dante's classic, too - which I did!!  -- Henry (Downtown)

New Year's Resolutions? We can help!

It's that time of year where everyone starts promising themselves to go to the gym, look for a new job, or finally learn a new language. Whether you have a resolution to get fit or read more, we've got great resources to help you keep your New Year's Resolutions.

Want to read more?
Quick reads, long reads, teen reads, or kid reads -- we can help. If you're looking for ideas for good books, follow us here on more than books for reviews from library staff. Just need a few ideas for WHAT book out of the thousands to pick up next, check out our book lists page. Maybe you aren't ready for lengthy novels? Head to Zinio to read current magazines on your smartphone or tablet for quick reads in a variety of magazines like mental_floss, Rolling Stone, and The Economist. Or maybe you really want to join a book club? We've got those, too. Head to our Book Clubs page to find out meeting times and book picks.

Browse our cookbooks!

Want to be healthy?
Magazines, streaming videos, DVDs, and eBooks -- if you want to get healthy and be fit, we can help! Zinio for Libraries has Runner's World, Yoga Journal and more great Health & Fitness magazines you can read on your PC, tablet or smartphone. If you're looking for videos, head to Overdrive's new Streaming Video service -- you can watch on a variety of devices, even your tablet! If you're more traditional, we have a great collection of fitness DVDs  -- give us a call or come in and we can help you find a great video at one of our libraries. Maybe your "be healthy" means eating out less? We've got you covered there, too! Zinio has a great selection of Food & Cooking magazines or you can browse our extensive cookbook collection. Don't forget to check out our great collection of Health & Fitness Axis 360 eBooks, too!

Want to learn a language?
We've got two great resources to help you learn a foreign language -- Mango Languages & Rocket Languages. With Mango, once you create a profile on their website, you can access the Mango for Libraries app on your Android or iOS smartphone to learn on the go! Mango offers over 50 foreign language courses and more than a dozen courses for ESL learners. Rocket is another great language learning resource that offers Spanish, French, Arabic, and Sign Language. Check out both and decide which one you prefer! Or if you prefer the traditional method of books & language CDs, browse the 400s next time you stop in one of your libraries.

Browse our craft books!

Want to get crafty?
Whether it's knitting, quilling, quilting, crocheting, sewing, embroidering, beading -- you name it -- we have loads of great resources available to help you get started! Plus we have great eMagazines on Zinio for all the want-to-be-crafty folks out there! You can also browse our crafty eBooks on Axis 360 like the Complete Photo Guide to Sewing and Felt It!. You can also browse our shelves at any of our libraries for thousands of craft ideas.

For more resolution ideas and info on how we can help, head to our 2014 New Year's Resolutions page.

Book Review: Joyland

Joyland is a short book (by Stephen King standards) about relationships of love and friendship. There are some supernatural aspects to the book centered around the "Joyland" amusement park, it is Stephen King after all, but they exist only to move along the real story of one transformative summer in the life of college-aged Devin Jones and his broken heart, a beautiful woman, and a dying child. As much as I love Stephen King's horror, when he notches it back a bit and tightens up a story I get reminded of why I have been reading his work since the 1970s, when he first succeeded in scaring a teenager to death with his tale of vampires in a small Maine town. - Peter (Downtown)

Staff Favorites of 2013

Why should newspapers, magazines, and websites get to have all of the best book list fun? We decided to make our own Best Books list and below you’ll find our favorite Adult Fiction titles published in 2013. Check out Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and our Book Lists page to discover even more books CPL staff loved reading over the past year.

Chandler Public Library Staff Favorites

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman -- Check out our review.
Vatican Waltz by Roland Merullo

Breaking Point by C.J. Box -- More adventures of our intrepid Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett! If you haven't read them before start at the beginning with Open Season so you can get to know Joe.

Inferno by Dan Brown
Joyland by Stephen King

The Circle by Dave Eggers -- If you do use social media and think about who has access to your information, this book will scare the heck out of you!! Who is tracking your information and habits every time you search for something, or comment online? How can that information be used? While some may think this book is unrealistic, others will realize that many of the "stories" in the book are already actually happening. - Rosanna

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Longbourn by Jo Baker -- Check out our review.

The Partner Track by Helen Wan -- Debut novel about the inner workings of a prestigious Wall Street firm. Ingrid Yung, a brilliant and attractive associate is on the fast track to becoming a partner, but must decide if she is willing to sacrifice her core values to make it to the top. - Saren

Fin & Lady by Cathleen Schine -- Check out our review.
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes --I loved this book, especially the story of Sophie during WWI in her German-occupied village in France. I thought that the modern day story of Liv slowed down the momentum a bit. Sophie was so strong, her story was engrossing, and I cared about what happened to her, but Liv's character was lacking something...Or maybe it was because her story seemed a little disjointed. However, the use of alternating stories/time periods worked well in my opinion. So very good -- highly recommend it! - Marybeth

Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud

Llama of Death by Betty Webb -- The third installment of the Gunn Zoo mystery series by Arizona author Betty Webb. Innocent animals accused of murder but our zookeeper Teddy Bentley is on the case. Filled with crazy characters and a good mystery!

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton -- A welcome return for Grafton's female private detective hero Kinsey Milhone. Two seemingly unrelated deaths intersect with Kinsey's past and present. Engaging characters and a complex mystery make this a perfect rainy day read. - Lucy

Want more Best Books of 2013 lists? We’ve linked to a few lists from around the web below and you can find even more of our favorites on our Book Lists page and on our Pinterest boards.

• Publishers Weekly
• Entertainment Weekly -- Fiction | Nonfiction
• NPR -- Book Concierge
• Washington Post
• New York Times

Book Review: What Doctors Feel

What does it feel like to mess up on the job - or to simply be afraid you might? How does it feel to work under crushing stress, or when the people you work with are stubborn, difficult, or even frightening? What if those people are your patients and a mistake might cost them their lives?

What Doctors Feel is an eye-opening account of what it feels like to work under these conditions. Danielle Ofri interviews many doctors about the most stressful, frightening, and shameful incidents of their medical careers, interspersing their stories with many of her own from her long career as a physician at Bellevue. She writes about freezing up as an intern handling a code for the first time, struggling with negative feelings that interfere with caring for difficult or drug-addicted patients, and the long and heartbreaking process of treating a slowly dying woman. What Doctors Feel is a fascinating look at a world many of us have never seen, and might make us look at our doctors in a new light. - Michelle (Sunset)

Book Review: Life After Life

My first instinct when I got to the end of Life After Life, a novel set in the Pine Haven retirement center, was to throw it across the room. But since I read a digital ARC (advance reading copy), I thought better of it. I wanted to throw the book, not my iPad. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED this book. McCorkle made me feel real emotions. REAL, ya'll.

While the events of the book only cover a couple of days, you get each character's story. You love some, you despise some, and some you want to hug. And in the end you realize that life isn't always easy, but it goes on. We lose people around us, but they live on in our memory.

While I felt like some stories weren't finished, we got a snapshot of life (and death) in and near Pine Haven. The more you read, the more heartbreaking each story becomes, but also hopeful because there was someone with them: Joanna. Great book.

(And if you think...life in a retirement village? Why would I want to read about that? This book is so much more than that. SO MUCH MORE.) - Melissa (Downtown)

Tumbleweed Tree and the Parade of Lights

Join us in Downtown Chandler for holiday festivities! The Tumbleweed Tree lighting ceremony will be held Saturday, December 7, culminating in the Parade of Lights and the lighting of the 57th Tumbleweed Tree.

Entertainment begins at 4:30, and the parade begins at 7:00. Admission is free. See this map for parking, and note that Arizona Avenue and other streets in the Downtown area will be closed. For more information about the evening's events, including a detailed schedule, a list of performers, and road closure information, visit the City's website.

Want to see more of the Tumbleweed Tree? Find photos of the tree through the years on the Chandler Museum's Chandlerpedia website. Chandlerpedia also hosts archives of the Chandler Arizonan newspaper, where you can take a look at some historical Christmas celebrations.